It was around 8:00 p.m. when Shreya Ranch, MBA ’26 candidate, went to check the mail at her home in Ahmedabad, India, last November. As she opened the envelope, she saw a letter telling her she’d been admitted to Ivey Business School’s MBA program.
That alone thrilled her, but as she continued reading, she learned she’d also been selected to receive the Gudaitis-Bluzas Health Sector Scholarship, worth $10,000.
She was so happy, she started dancing. When she took the letter inside to show her husband and parents, they all began dancing with her in celebration.
“That was a memorable day for me,” she says. “I still remember that feeling. It was very special.”
About the Gudaitis-Bluzas Health Sector Scholarship
Established in 2006 with a generous gift from Ed Gudaitis, MBA ’93, the Gudaitis-Bluzas Health Sector Scholarship is an MBA admissions award based on academic achievement, demonstrated community leadership, and a strong desire to pursue a career in health care.
When Gudaitis was completing his undergraduate science degree, biotech companies were just beginning to take off. Fascinated by recombinant protein-based therapeutics, he became curious about how that world worked from a business perspective. “I always tell people, if I didn’t gravitate to the industry, I probably would have gone to medical school,” he says. “My MBA from Ivey kind of brought things full circle.”
For close to 30 years, Gudaitis has worked at several pharmaceutical giants, including Roche Pharmaceuticals and Gilead Sciences, where he was instrumental in bringing two life-changing HIV products to the United States, and Hepatitis C cures to the Canadian market. Today, he’s the CEO of Micellae Delivery Systems, a Canadian drug delivery start-up, where he also serves as a board member.
“I’ve seen the significant impact the pharmaceutical industry can make on patient outcomes and the fascinating part of it that blends aspects of business and science,” he says. “That was always kind of a sweet spot for me.”
Bridging the gap between medicine and management
It also happens to be a sweet spot for Ranch. A medical doctor with a background in pediatrics and homeopathy, she has spent the last three years working in hospitals, clinics, and rural health-care camps across Ahmedabad, India.
While in hospitals, Ranch often worked 24-hour shifts multiple times a week. Management felt the best way for doctors to learn was to be on the floor at all times, but this meant she and her coworkers didn’t get adequate rest.
“It’s too much to take in a day,” she says. “And doctors have to be very alert because we are dealing with humans, so we cannot make mistakes.”
Ranch, who is also a Forté Fellowship recipient, wants to use her MBA to better understand the management side of medicine, and change the way health-care employees are treated. “If I learn about that, maybe I can work on improving the whole culture of a hospital.”
An MBA can be a tremendously helpful tool for health-care professionals to have in their arsenal. Throughout his own career, Gudaitis has worked with scientists, researchers, and others with medical degrees who he says can get “thrown into leadership and management” without adequate training.
“If you're a primary care physician, you have to run your own business,” he says. “If you're in a hospital or other tertiary setting, there is also an element of leadership and management that has to be considered.”
The impact of the Gudaitis-Bluzas Health Sector Scholarship
While Ranch’s pursuit of an MBA marks a “huge transition,” she is encouraged by the fact that this scholarship recognizes those who want to pursue a career in health care. She’s been passionate about medicine since she was in grade 12 and isn’t looking to leave it behind.
“I don't want to completely pivot to something else,” she says. “I want to stay in health care. One of the most important things was that I felt my decision was being supported by someone.”
In establishing the scholarship, that was precisely Gudaitis’s hope — that recipients could ask themselves what they really wanted to do, without as many financial constraints. “An MBA is a big decision,” he says. “There are a lot of things to think about. I would hope this scholarship would take one more consideration off the table.”
For Ranch, it did just that. “Coming to a new country, there are already a lot of expenses,” she says, having moved to Canada with her husband a mere two days before the MBA program started in March. “This scholarship alleviated a lot of financial strain and helped us to easily transition.”
Establishing a legacy
When Gudaitis was reflecting on how to give back to Ivey, he knew he wanted to do something that would have long-lasting impact.
“What I like is that it continues,” he says of the scholarship, which is now in its 19th year. “In some ways, it has a multiplier effect, where you can help more than just one person. I see it as a way to make ongoing, sustainable impact as opposed to a one-time impact.”
Gudaitis named the scholarship after both sides of his family, wanting to recognize his parents’ journey as refugees from Lithuania to Canada after the Second World War: Gudaitis is his father’s family name, while Bluzas is his mother’s.
Both former teachers, his parents took joy in seeing the thank-you letters Gudaitis received from past scholarship recipients over the years, and were happy that he was providing educational opportunities for students in their names.
Returning with purpose
After she graduates, Ranch plans to stay in Canada for a couple of years but is intent on eventually returning to India. “Because I faced those challenges there, I want to bring the change I talked about to that area,” she says. Her big dream is to start her own hospital one day.
Gudaitis believes that curiosity, a structured mind, and the ability to approach things with a level head — “almost that clinical mindset” — can be of great help in affecting real change.
“Bring your scientific side, get some leadership and management training, and hopefully we create a cadre of people that can bring both of those things together and try to solve problems in a different way.”
If you’re interested in establishing a scholarship or award, please contact Holly Gati at hgati@ivey.ca.