John Molson School Of Business - Concordia University

Country: Canada
Pre-MBA experience: 4 years of experience in the music industry, 2 of which was running my own business

Why JMSB: Coming from a music background and looking for a complete career change, I really wanted an MBA where I could fully immerse myself. The John Molson MBA really stood out for me. I was attracted to the rich extracurricular  and experiential learning opportunities and strong case competition program. I was interested in personal growth and looking for a program that would take me beyond those three letters—Concordia’s MBA was the best fit. 

Your experience in the John Molson MBA: It was an incredible journey. I met amazing, like-minded individuals, learned beyond my expectations, and was able to achieve the career shift into consulting that I was aiming for. What truly stood out for me were that the opportunities to get involved, learn and grow seemed endless. You can get as much from the program as you need. 

Chosen area of specialization within the MBA: I focused on strategy, an area I discovered during the program that I found challenging and exciting. I joined the case competition team, and later became president of the case competition committee, which helped me apply everything I learned in class to real business problems.

Country: Lebanon
Pre-MBA experience: 4 years as a Senior Immigration Consultant with the Canadian Embassy in Lebanon.

Why JMSB: After completing my Masters in Finance in Lebanon, I wanted to work in a private equity firm. However, despite having a great knowledge in Finance I knew there was something missing; I needed to understand the other business dimensions (operations, management, marketing, and strategy) in order to excel in the business world in general. So I decided to go for an MBA.

I was inspired by my finance professors, who all graduated from JMSB, and always spoke passionately about the school that changed their lives. I wanted the same for myself, so I decided that JMSB will be my destination.

Your experience in the John Molson MBA: My experience at JMSB surpassed my expectations. It positively affected my career and personality in every dimension. The quality of the team work, the collaborative projects, and case competitions enriched my personal skills and gave me the confidence that I needed to get my dream job.

Chosen area of specialization within the MBA: I have specialized in strategy, marketing and consumer behavior since I had limited knowledge in regards of these fields before my MBA.

Country: Canada
Pre-MBA experience: 3 years in Pharmaceutical Research

Why JMSB: I was very attracted by the case competition experience offered by the John Molson MBA. I wanted to enhance my public speaking skills while learning about business. The program has a great reputation in Canada and choosing JMSB was an easy decision.  

Your Experience in the John Molson MBA: I had a wonderful experience and I had the chance to meet very talented people. The skills and confidence I acquired in the program really helped me personally and professionally. The MBA was a challenging, life-changing and very rewarding experience.

Chosen area of specialization within the MBA: I focused on strategy and consumer behavior.

Country: Canada
Pre-MBA experience: 7 years in Strategy Consulting

Why JMSB: I chose JMSB because it offered me the opportunity to pursue my MBA while continuing to work in my field and still maintaining a strong family life. The flexibility of the part-time program enabled me to complete my degree on my own terms and timeline. The structured curriculum focused on maximizing knowledge through creative and interesting classes. 

Your experience in the John Molson MBA:  I am extremely grateful for the experience. I met some of the most interesting, talented and diverse people in my entire academic and professional career. I became a member of a strong support network that encouraged, motivated and pushed me to be the best. Many of the professors and lecturers that I engaged with over the months and years, during my degree, profoundly impacted my way of thinking and the manner in which I engage in day-to-day business. 

Chosen area of specialization within the MBA: The beauty of the John Molson MBA is that it provides you with a strong and solid business foundation while giving you the freedom to specialize in many different areas. I fell in love with marketing and chose to focus many of elective classes on furthering my expertise in this domain. I also challenged myself by pursuing finance classes that would have scared me during my bachelors degree. Despite the steep financial learning curve, I never felt discouraged, unsupported or ill-prepared. In fact I felt empowered, educated and ready to use this new found knowledge.

Country: Iran
Pre-MBA experience:  2 years in Civil Engineering Consulting

Why JMSB: The reason I chose JMSB and will continue to recommend it to prospective students is the variety of extracurricular activities and out-of-classroom projects that are available to you as part of your MBA. I have also always been passionate about consumer behavior and marketing, and the reason I decided to pursue an MBA was to change my career path and work in the consumer goods industry.

Your experience in the John Molson MBA: I have been encouraged and guided to participate in case competitions from the first month I started my MBA. I have competed in a number of external case competitions as well as helped in organizing the largest case competition in the world, the John Molson MBA International Case Competition. In addition, being part of the co-op program allowed me to find out in what areas of business I would like to take more electives in.

Chosen area of specialization within the MBA: I am planning on specializing in marketing and finance through electives such as: consumer behavior, marketing and consumer research, strategic marketing, investment analysis, business valuation and tax planning.

Country: India
Pre-MBA experience: 4 years of experience in the manufacturing, not-for-profit and services sector, particularly in the pre-sales, sales & marketing departments. 

Why JMSB: I chose to pursue my MBA at JMSB as I believe the program is in line with achieving my personal and professional goals. JMSB not only provides value for money, but also has wonderful opportunities to learn outside the classroom. In addition JMSB has multicultural mix of students and an experienced faculty.

Your experience in the John Molson MBA: The MBA program at JMSB has been a thrilling experience for me. Each term has been both challenging and exciting. It is great to work with people from different cultures and professional experiences, learn and apply the knowledge gained in the real world.

Chosen area of specialization within the MBA: I am specializing in marketing through my choice of electives such as Integrated Marketing Communication, the Concordia Small Business Consulting Bureau and my involvement in the MBA society.