Ryerson MBA

Aahona Banerjee (MBA 2007) grew up in Scarborough, ON and received her undergraduate degree in Information Technology Management from Ryerson University. Before obtaining her MBA at Ryerson, Aahona worked for five years in the IT industry. She chose to specialize in Marketing Management to further her education in both business and marketing.

During her MBA studies, Aahona participated in a number of case competitions and presentations. “I was apart of the strategy case team representing Ryerson at the MBA games in Edmonton. I also participated in the exchange program in China at Tsinghua University. The competitions and travelling were such great experiences. Throughout it all, the faculty was so supportive and encouraging.” On top of these accomplishments, Aahona was the Gold Medal recipient for the 2007 graduating class.

Aahona currently works in marketing at Hallmark Cards Canada as a Gift Wrap Product Planner. Her responsibilities include planning, analyzing and developing gift wrap product line offerings in Canada. She works on the gift wrap and merchandising for some of the biggest retailers in Canada, giving consideration to market trends, channel and consumer needs, and inventory management while maximizing profitability.

Aahona really appreciated the close-knit community and faculty in the MBA program, “because the classes were smaller, it gave us the opportunity to get to know the faculty and for them to get to know us,” says Aahona. “Also, it was great to have female faculty members such as Dr. Wendy Cukier supporting the women in the program and taking the extra step to introduce us to other successful women in our areas of interest. These workshops helped to broaden our network and development by meeting other women in business, providing a different prospective.”

“The Ryerson MBA program is one that you will not find anywhere else. The faculty members are specialized in the areas that they teach, the classes are small and focused, and in this day and age the international perspective is a mandatory one.”

Kasi Bruno, Ryerson University MBA (2008) is now the Director of Marketing for Don Tapscott’s new book, “Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World.”

“We’ve broken new ground,” explains Bruno. “We’re trying to incorporate innovative marketing and communications strategies into our outreach for this book.” Part of this outside-the-box strategy includes a “teaser campaign” she created. The ads used a mix of thought-provoking and mysterious statements related to the book’s themes that appeared in online banners and national print ads a month before the book hit shelves.

Before completing her MBA at Ryerson, Bruno worked in communications. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a double major in Political Science and Ethics, Society and Law. Bruno was first hired to work with Tapscott as part of her final term MBA internship. She is now responsible for every aspect of the book’s marketing campaign - developing ads for the National Post, the Globe and Mail and Business Week Magazine as well as publicity and events throughout Canada and the USA.

"I originally applied to another graduate program at Ryerson - Communication and Culture - but the MBA Administration reached out to me and recommended that I explore their marketing specialization. I had worked in marketing before and I gravitated toward it. I like to write, I like to talk to people, address groups and crowds - it's natural for me."

Kasi loved that the MBA focused on building strong relationships. "It's a really small program so you get to know all your classmates and professors. It has such a personal touch. I mean, when the Dean actually knows who you are and what you're interested in; that is fantastic."

The faculty worked with Kasi and helped her find an internship placement they thought would match her interests. That internship led to her new exciting career.

As a Product Manager at MediaTrust, Daniel Cheriyan (MBA 2007) is responsible primarily for business planning and product planning. This entails performing market opportunity analyses, developing business cases, investigating and piloting new business initiatives, managing product roadmap and more. Additionally, Daniel has recently taken on facilitating the development of the corporate strategy and execution plans with senior management.

Daniel earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University. After working as both a Product and R&D Engineer, Daniel became interested in the Innovation and Technology focus in the MBA program at Ryerson. Initially, he chose to specialize in Supply Chain Management to supplement his technical background, but ended up adding the Information Systems Management specialization to gain management skills centered around the interaction of process and technology.

The Ryerson MBA has allowed Daniel to branch out of just a technical role, “Lately, I’ve been able to leverage it in driving, facilitating and implementing strategic initiatives at the corporate and senior management levels,” says Daniel. “Additionally, it has allowed me to transition from the manufacturing sector to the internet and marketing sectors.”

He praises the MBA program at Ryerson as “…a rewarding learning and career development experience, with faculty and staff devoted to supporting your development as an innovative leader grounded with real-world experience. The program is relevant and rooted in applicability to the real-world and industry.”

Rumyana Eneva (MBA 2009) grew up in Bulgaria and completed a double major in Economics and Business Administration in her undergraduate studies from the American University in Bulgaria.

Prior to completing her MBA at Ryerson, Rumyana worked for seven years in the advertising business, her last position being Deputy Client Service Director at the Bulgarian office of Leo Burnett.

She chose Ryerson as the school to earn her MBA because of its professional ways of delivering education that focus on developing real-world skills. “The MBA program, with its one year format, various specializations and internship at the end of the program is specifically designed for professionals who are looking for the most efficient investment of their resources,” she says. “I liked the diverse and extremely cooperative environment. This is yet another feature of the program that prepares MBA graduates for working in business environments where team work and cooperation are highly valued.”

Upon graduation, Rumyana became part of the TDBFG Management Rotational Program. This is a 24-month program that gives her an opportunity to explore various businesses in the bank sector and develop an array of experience along the way.

Rumyana says the MBA program was a good investment in every respect. “The MBA opened a whole new spectrum of opportunities for all of us who graduated in a year of increased competition in the labour market. It is in those tough times that Ryerson MBA showed its true potential to prepare world-class professionals.”

Miranda Fong is one of many Ryerson MBA success stories. After eight months of courses in the Ryerson MBA program, and an internship in the financial sector, Miranda was selected to join the highly competitive Royal Bank of Canada's Financial Management Development Program (FMDP), a 24-month rotational program in various finance areas such as risk management, financial reporting, real estate and capital markets.

"The RBC FMDP program is only open to recent MBA graduates and is highly competitive" said Fong. "Thanks to the generous Ted and Loretta Rogers scholarship, CREW scholarship, and the competition opportunities which were made available to me, I was able to hold my own among other applicants from top ranked Canadian schools."

Prior to joining Ryerson's MBA, Miranda studied accounting and economics at the University of Toronto. She worked as a tutor at the Brainchild Education Centre, and as a journalist for the University of Toronto Finance Association. While in the MBA, Fong took part in the first international competition for Ryerson MBA students, placing second at the prestigious Leeds-Net Impact Case Competition held at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Miranda praises "the close-knit community of the students, as well as the support from our faculty," in the Ryerson MBA program. "For example, Professor Dale Carl accompanied the Leeds-Net Impact Case Competition team all the way to Colorado."

Beverly Nollert (MBA 2009) grew up in a small town outside of Barrie called Minesing. She received an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario. Prior to beginning her MBA, Beverly worked for a company called AMEC-NSS which provides nuclear safety analysis for the nuclear industry in Canada.

Beverly chose Ryerson as the school to earn her MBA for a variety of different reasons. “The prospect of an intimate learning experience with small class sizes and accessible administration was very appealing to me. I really valued Ryerson’s down-to-earth personality and its key focus on teaching in a co-operative team environment,” she says. “Not only does the program offer excellent value, but also opportunities for personal growth that are made possible through small class size and the dedication of the administration.”

Beverly is currently working as a Market Risk Analyst for Ontario Power Generation where she gets to apply what she learned in the MBA program to real-life scenarios. She says that the MBA program at Ryerson has been beneficial on multiple fronts.

“Not only do you learn business theory at Ryerson, but also the importance of being confident within yourself. Our professors really emphasized this point by spending countless hours helping the students improve presentation style and effectiveness. I believe that these softer aspects are much more difficult to learn than business theory and it was amazing to have such open access to the staff to be able to accomplish this.

Melanie Nunez (MBA 2009) earned a degree in Environmental Studies, a minor in Political Science and a certificate in Environmental Assessment from the University of Waterloo. She excelled for two years at a global real estate company, taking on two project management positions before entering the MBA program at Ryerson University.

Melanie became interested in Ryerson to get her MBA because of its distinguishing factors such as small class sizes, location and specializations, like Retail and Commercial Development. “I knew that I wanted to get a rounded perspective of the real estate market and, based on the course listings, I felt that it would provide me with the breadth of knowledge that I needed without restricting me too much to one particular area of real estate.” Melanie appreciated the fact that the professors at Ryerson brought many years of business experience with them. “I think that having professors with these backgrounds is a critical element to any MBA education because it enables students to better understand different theories and principles in real world applications.”

Melanie currently works as a Business Analyst at Ontario Power Authority, where she is involved in the program design and management of conservation programs from the small commercial sector. “This position is ideal for me as I am able to draw on my MBA studies and real estate background and tie these in with my environmental interests.”

Shortly after finishing his MBA at Ryerson in 2008, Adrian Sluga was hired into the industry he was determined to break into. Adrian is now a Senior Manager with Cadillac Fairview where he manages major capital and facility projects, staff and corporate budgets, policy and procedure development as well as corporate strategy development.

Adrian earned a degree in Civil Engineering at Ryerson University in 2002. After excelling in his career with a construction and engineering firm, Adrian set his sights beyond the tasks of engineering, and towards the activities of running a successful business. Adrian found a match for his background and interests in the Ryerson MBA program specializing in Retail and Commercial Development.

"I have a much broader perspective of business and corporate strategy. Instead of handling individual projects tasks, I now oversee the management of those tasks" said Adrian. "I now address a much broader spectrum of issues and I am better equipped to deal with various managerial challenges such as human resource issues, business development and accounting. The MBA in Retail and Commercial Development helped prepare me for positions for which I would not have previously considered otherwise."

Luke Southern (MBA 2009) became interested in the Ryerson MBA program after working on a project alongside Mark Patterson, Manager of External Relations and Academic Support for the MBA program. The idea that Luke could have an MBA in one year and have the option of an internship convinced him that Ryerson was the best choice.

Luke completed his internship at GCI Group, a Toronto-based boutique public relations firm. Upon graduation, Luke was hired with the same firm as a full-time Digital Strategist. His job is to understand online communities and find ways for clients to engage using their social media technologies.

Luke earned a BA in Communication Studies from the University of Windsor. He then went on to complete a post-graduate certificate in Corporate Communications at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology. He worked as a freelancer in communications before getting his MBA from Ryerson.

Luke appreciated the access he had to one-on-one instruction and guidance with staff. “Ryerson is the right choice for anyone looking to take their career to the next level. Understanding the fundamentals of business is valuable no matter what industry you are in.”