Meet Abid Ladhani, HBA ’13, and Max LaFortune, HBA ’13: Two consultants with two distinct perspectives and educational backgrounds to contribute to their teams and clients.
They are both graduates of the same HBA class, but with two different degrees. Ladhani completed a dual degree in Business Administration and Political Science and is now a Management Consulting Analyst at Accenture, where he supports clients with process design, program management, and customer experience strategy development. LaFortune finished his dual degree in Business Administration and Chemical Engineering and works as an Associate Consultant at Bain & Company to help develop enduring results for clients and their companies.
The Ivey HBA program is different from traditional undergraduate business programs, because of its “2+2” style of learning. Students take their first two years in the faculty of their choosing, with only one required business elective, before immersing themselves in business administration for years three and four. For those students interested in completing both majors, like Ladhani and LaFortune, they can complete a dual-degree option over five years.
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Intrigued? Here’s how Ladhani and LaFortune describe the benefits of the dual-degree program:
Q: Why did you decide to do a dual-degree program?
Max LaFortune:
In my final year of high school, I found it tough to decide between pursuing engineering or business at university. Having always been interested in math and science, I felt engineering was a natural progression, but business had been in the back of my mind for some time. I ended up applying to both programs at various institutions, but once I learned of Ivey’s dual-degree program, the decision was easy. At Western, I could do both.
Q: What was the highlight of doing two degrees?
Abid Ladhani:
The highlight of my dual degree was being forced to switch hats, from a student participating in practical discussions in a business classroom, to a student participating in theoretical discussions in a political theory class. The experience forced me to become a versatile thinker and interact with different people appropriately. Being persuasive in the business context required a different approach from the political science context. The biggest challenge was getting accustomed to the different environments and adjusting my thinking accordingly.
Q: How are your two degrees similar? How are they different?
Abid Ladhani:
The biggest similarity of the two degree programs is that I was constantly forced to think about the “so what?” of an event or a decision. Both programs stretched my thinking to continuously consider the implications of theories, policies, business decisions, corporate governance models, and other things. The biggest difference was that the level of student participation in both settings varied significantly, and the work at Ivey was more quantitative in nature.
Q: How has this educational background helped your career?
Max LaFortune:
Studying both chemical engineering and business has broadened my career options and also provided me with a diverse skillset that I feel is becoming increasingly valued in today’s world. The analytical toolkit of engineering coupled with the business judgment that comes from the HBA has certainly helped me to take a more holistic view of problems that I face on a day-to-day basis.
Q: What are the advantages of having two degrees?
Abid Ladhani:
It's very important to show that you are an interesting person when applying for your ideal job. Being an interesting candidate differentiates you from other candidates. This dual degree was one aspect that differentiated me, because it made me less one-dimensional and demonstrated intellectual curiosity, which is something a lot of firms value. It also helped me secure an internship at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an organization started by former U.S. president Bill Clinton, in New York before starting my full-time job. The dual aspect of my degree showed that I was interested in both government and business: two sectors that are a big part of CGI. In my mind, my dual degree was an important component that allowed me the opportunity to secure this internship and meet Clinton himself!
Q: What advice do you have for students considering a dual degree?
Max LaFortune:
Make sure that you are following your passion. In my case, I felt like I had a few major interests and was reluctant to give up any of them. Dual degrees do involve an extra year of commitment, but if you’re someone who wants to keep more doors open down the road or who thinks that two degrees will make you more effective in your desired career, then I can’t recommend the program enough.
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