Eshcol Akonu, MM-A ’25, is charting a new path forward – personally and professionally – with a unique blend of technical expertise and leadership insight.

As manager of replenishment at Lindt & Sprüngli (Canada) Inc., Akonu oversees customer planning, forecasting, and Replenishment for the premium chocolate creator for major retailers, including Walmart, Loblaws, and Shoppers Drug Mart. It’s a deeply data-driven role, and the skills he has gained through Ivey Business School’s one-year Master of Management: Analytics (MM-A) program are helping him transform how he works.

“I’m leveraging data to make faster and better decisions,” he said of the program’s impact on his skills. “The data shows me what the key business drivers are. It lets me forecast when a store will be out of stock based on current inventory levels.”

Trained as an industrial engineer, Akonu’s interest in data led him into supply chain management. As a senior analyst at Dell Canada, he spent his early career crunching numbers to optimize shipments and cut costs. But he was always searching for a better way to solve problems and build his leadership skills.

That search ultimately led him to Ivey. Attracted by the program’s blend of technical depth and leadership development, he took the leap.

“I found the leadership component incredibly helpful in my day-to-day work,” he said. “It changed how I think and how I approach challenges.”

Ivey’s renowned case-method learning immersed him in the realities of decision-making, enabling him to weigh trade-offs and navigate ambiguity — just as leaders do in the real world.

“The case method put me in real situations,” he said. “I don’t forget the lessons I learned there. I might not recall every detail, but through class discussions and readings, you build experience across different industries without ever working in them.”

The program’s AI-focused content also opened new possibilities for Akonu. While supply chain has been the backbone of his career, he now sees new paths ahead.

“There are other ways I can leverage what I learned at Ivey,” he said. “I feel like I have more options.”

Most programs he explored focused on either data or leadership. Ivey’s ability to integrate both over the course of the program set it apart — and set him up for an exciting future.

Looking ahead, Akonu imagines combining these skills as an entrepreneur, perhaps launching his own business. For now, he remains close with his classmates and grateful for the experience that reshaped how he sees his work, his opportunities and the road ahead.