It took the Romans almost 900 years to establish what we now consider to be one of the greatest historical powers of all time. From its humble beginnings to the peak of its conquests, Rome has left behind a legacy that has stood the test of time; although we no longer live in a world ruled by gladiators and chariot racing, fundamental creations of the Roman Empire continue to lie at the heart of modern society.
Now, I’m not about to go claiming that the Ivey School of Business is the same as the Roman Empire - that would be an egregious take that would baffle even the most philosophical of thinkers. But if you stretch your mind far enough to bear with my outlandish analogies, the two do bear some faint similarities.
On anniversaries, one tends to do a lot of reflecting and reminiscing about the past. This past September, on homecoming weekend of 2023, many alumni of the Ivey program found themselves back in London, reflecting and reminiscing on the school that opened the door to the world of business 100 years ago. I was fortunate enough to have the chance to speak with two such alumni, Martha Ivester (MBA ‘93) and Bill Whiteside (HBA ‘63), who, hopefully alongside myself, represent three generations of Ivey students. Three generations of newcomers into the world of business, all coming from different backgrounds.
In talking with these returning alumni, I not only gained insight into the Ivey experience of years past, but also how the program has continued to evolve to respond to the changing business world. That despite the ever-changing world around us, the fundamentals within the Ivey program continue to hold true today.
Let’s face it, a lot changes in a century. 100 years ago, technology wasn’t even a distant fragment of the imagination, and today, businesses around the world are becoming ever reliant on artificial intelligence to streamline their procedures. However, what has remained constant is the success of the case-based approach that Ivey uses as a teaching method. Drawing on the diverse backgrounds of its students, Ivey provides a gateway to learning that mimics the world outside of the university gates.
“The operations and management of people is the most fundamental aspect of business,” said Ivester, now the Group Brand Marketing Manager for Google in Northern Europe. “In my experience, the best leaders are those who can determine the ‘superpowers’ of the people in their organization and put together the best team accordingly, and that’s something I don’t see changing in the foreseeable future.”
Whiteside echoed these feelings of gratitude towards his Ivey experience. Although his degree is 60 years old, to this day he admits that “respect for the space you live in and are responsible for continues to be one of the key measures of successful management.” He accredited much of his learning to simply experiencing the case-based method taught at Ivey. Even though it’s been a staple of the program for so many years, it’s still something that both Whiteside and Ivester acknowledged to being fundamental in shaping their views of doing business with people.
For many years, Ivey has served as a gateway to opportunity; a launchpad for a budding career set to take flight. It has opened its doors to people from all backgrounds and given them the tools and the methods to pursue their own dreams. The beauty of Ivey is exactly that: by choosing Ivey, you are choosing to break free of the metaphorical box that you find yourself entrapped within.
Ivester was one such student. After graduating from Concordia in 1998 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, she wanted to pursue an MBA, yet felt like an outsider due to her non-business background. “I had massive imposter syndrome in my first few weeks of school,” she recalls. “At the time, I didn’t consider much of my previous work experience to be relevant to my studies and coming from a non-business background felt like a huge leap.”
While the program isn’t the same today as it was back in 1922, the core fundamentals that are taught to HBA students are just as applicable today as they were back in 1963 when Bill Whiteside graduated with his HBA. And while I have yet to experience what it feels like to be an Ivey student, the prospect of one day walking through the halls of the build ing and rolling up my sleeves to tackle a business case excites me.
Before heading back to their homecoming festivities for the day, I was lucky enough to receive some advice from both Whiteside and Ivester. Advice from successful students to an Ivey hopeful, on how to make the most of my time at Ivey. Both told me to enjoy the ride. To learn to grow and respect not only the place and the program, but also the people I’m doing it with.
People often say that Rome wasn’t built in a day. To create something that lasts, it takes many years of laying the foundations and piecing it together piece by piece. Throughout its history, Ivey has grown from a small extension of the Arts program at Western to a thriving community of the world’s next business leaders. Although the program isn’t the same as it was when it first began, its core fundamentals remain true.
As we continuously shift more online with every passing year, it grows more essential that the leaders of tomorrow understand that the “grit and grind” of an Ivey case study, as Ivester described it. The fundamentals taught at Ivey continue to be important in the shifting landscape of business and will always be crucial cornerstones of the mindsets of the next generation of leaders.
Many people consider the Roman Empire to be an important influence on modern society. Despite the lack of technology at the time, the innovations produced by the Romans continue to be intrinsically vital to everyday life . Although Ivey doesn’t have the same level of historical presence as ancient Rome, the methods taught in the HBA and MBA programs still lay the foundations of business. Sure, maybe our names are less cool than Augustus Caesar, and we might not get to wear fancy helmets walking around the hallways of the Ivey building, but the foundations laid here continue to be the cornerstone of a successful career.
As Ivey ventures into its next chapter, the next waves of graduates will start entering the workforce, taking with them the principles that have defined an Ivey education since the beginning. When Ivey reaches its next milestone, these graduates too will find themselves reflecting on years past, and they too will see that all the roads lead back to Ivey.