Warren Dressekie

Prior to coming to Ivey, I spent over seven years in the property and casualty insurance sector as both a broker to fortune 500 clients and a strategic consultant for several global insurers. While working as a consultant, I was able to gain tremendous exposure to industry executives and better understand the challenges facing management teams in the industry. The sector was undergoing a spate of consolidation brought forth by low investment yields, excess capacity, and deteriorating underwriting results. As large mergers and acquisitions began to transform the industry, I found myself becoming inquisitive about the dynamics of these deals, which subsequently peaked my interest in investment banking.

I decided that it would be in my best interest to pursue an MBA from a school with an extensive industry network that would allow me to build the necessary relationships to enter the field, while simultaneously strengthening my knowledge of capital markets. I chose Ivey mainly for the case-based teaching approach, which focuses on real-world application as opposed to theory. Because I already held an undergraduate degree in finance, I felt that what I learned through cases would better prepare me for success upon the completion of the degree.

My time at Ivey thus far has been both challenging and invigorating. The intensity of the workload forces you to become an expert at optimizing your most precious resource, time. Often, cases are dense from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective; however, the Ivey method enables you to synthesize copious amounts of information in order to make effective decisions. One of the other things that I love about the Ivey experience is the central theme of working in groups. My classmates, many of whom come from various academic and cultural backgrounds, all bring an abundance of information and experiences, which make both classroom and group learning even more valuable.

After three months into the program, I still feel that my decision to attend Ivey was one of my best choices to date. The Ivey way of learning has given me the confidence to approach business challenges with more confidence and tackle complex issues from new angles. My advice to anyone considering Ivey is to simply attend an open house or class visit. There you will begin to understand the strength of the case-based method and also see the close-knit relationships that have been built among classmates.