Their destinations may differ, but they all began at the same place. A look at alumni stories of success that started at Ivey.
I grew up in Xi'an, the ancient capital of Shaanxi province in northwest China, home to the Terracotta Warriors and one of the few cities in the world whose downtown is still surrounded by a centuries-old city wall. Living there gave me an early appreciation for history, but also for ambition: Xi'an, the twin city of Xianyang, was where the First Emperor unified China by conquering six rival states more than 2,000 years ago.
I moved to Canada in 2010, drawn almost on impulse by a single photograph of Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland that I'd come across while researching universities. I spent the next seven years there, earning my undergraduate degree at Memorial University and beginning my career in public accounting. I now live in Toronto with my wife and two young daughters, working in a strategy role at RBC.
My family raised me on three core values: diligence, persistence, and determination. They were instilled early. I trained as a competitive table tennis player for eight years, competing in municipal and provincial tournaments back home, and they've stayed with me through every chapter since.
What led you to your career, and how has it evolved over time?
My early career goal was to build a strong technical foundation in finance. Coming out of school, I wanted a credential that would be respected anywhere and would teach me how businesses actually worked from the inside out. That led me to pursue my CPA designation, working across different service lines including audit, tax, and transaction advisory at professional firms. With hindsight, I underestimated how demanding the path would be, but completing the three-day Common Final Exam and earning the designation gave me both the technical foundation and the confidence I was looking for.
From there, I wanted to apply those skills inside a company rather than serve it from the outside. I joined TELUS in 2018, where I spent nearly six years in Corporate Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) across several business units – including TELUS Health and Business – leading and supporting transactions in industries I genuinely cared about, particularly technology.
After closing meaningful deals across those verticals, I felt ready for a new chapter, one that would broaden my industry exposure to financial services, one of the largest sectors of the Canadian economy. That's what brought me to RBC in 2023. I spent my first two years on the venture and innovation side of the bank, leading strategy and investments in high-growth technology companies. More recently, I've moved into a growth strategy role within RBC's Commercial Banking business, applying the same investor and strategist lens to a different part of the bank.
Who inspired you?
My parents. The three core values I grew up with – diligence, persistence, and determination – came directly from them, and the older I get, the more I realize how much of my approach to work and life is shaped by theirs.
Their influence has shown up most when things got hard. During my CPA years, there were stretches where I was working 15-plus-hour days at the firm while studying for the exams on top of that. Whenever I considered easing up, they were the ones who quietly reminded me to stay open-minded, keep pushing, and trust that the difficult chapters were the ones that mattered most.
They modelled persistence themselves, supporting me through every important milestone, from sending me abroad to building their own life in Canada after immigrating later. Having them here now, watching them experience things they helped me reach for, is one of the parts of my journey I'm most grateful for.
How did Ivey play a role?
Once I'd completed the CPA, I set a new development goal: to broaden my perspective from technical depth into something closer to business leadership. I researched MBA programs across Canada and the U.S., and Ivey stood out for the case method. I knew it would force me to think and decide under pressure rather than just absorb material.
In practice, Ivey did more than that. The case method reshaped how I structure problems and communicate recommendations at work, and the diversity of the cohort taught me to value perspectives I'd never have encountered in my own industry alone. Years out, I still draw on that experience constantly, particularly in roles like the one I'm in now, where every initiative requires synthesizing input from people with very different backgrounds.
Why did you choose the Accelerated MBA specifically?
When the Accelerated MBA (AMBA) launched in Toronto, I was one of the first applicants and joined the inaugural cohort. A few things drew me to it: the case method, the condensed format, and the part-time flexibility that meant I didn't have to step away from the M&A work I was loving at TELUS.
Being in the first cohort came with a unique twist. We started in late 2019, and within a few months the pandemic hit. Overnight, the entire program shifted to a fully virtual format. For an MBA, where so much of the value comes from sitting in a room together, debating cases, and building real relationships with classmates, doing it through laptop screens was genuinely hard. We adapted, the school adapted, and together we found ways to make it work, but it tested everyone in the cohort.
If a new applicant asked me today whether they should do the AMBA, my answer would be yes, without hesitation. Even through the disruption, the experience was transformational and immersive, and the friendships I formed will last a lifetime. That, to me, is the real measure of an MBA, and Ivey delivered on it.
What personal or professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
Becoming a CPA. On paper, it's a standard credential – most people who know me today probably don't think of it as my most defining accomplishment. But the work it took to earn it as a new immigrant, while building both a career and a life in a country I was still learning, is something I look back on with real pride.
Through that period, I was working 15-hour days at the firm during peak season while preparing for the CPA modules and, ultimately, the three-day Common Final Exam, a single assessment that determines whether years of training translate into the designation. Passing it felt less like checking a box and more like proof that the values my parents raised me on actually worked in practice.
Everything I've done since – the corporate move into M&A, the MBA, and the work I'm doing now at RBC – was built on the foundation that earning my CPA gave me. The credential matters. But the lesson the journey taught me about persistence matters more.
What do you like to do when you're not working?
Most of my time outside work goes to family. Chasing two young daughters around is a full second job, and a much better one.
When I do get time for myself, I'm usually outside and on the move. In the summer, you'll often find me running or biking along Toronto's lakeshore trails early in the morning, or out at Toronto Island kayaking and paddle boarding on weekends. Growing up, I played a lot of different sports, including table tennis competitively for eight years, as well as swimming, soccer, and basketball, so being active has always been part of how I reset. And like a lot of people in this city, I'm a long-time Raptors fan; there are worse places to be a basketball fan than Toronto.
What might someone be surprised to know about you?
That I think of myself as half-Newfoundlander. I lived in St. John's for nearly seven years – from arriving at Memorial University in 2010 through to moving to Toronto in 2017 – and that chapter shaped me as much as anywhere else I've lived. People in Toronto are often surprised when it comes up, since it's not the typical path from Xi'an to Bay Street.
What I'm most proud of from that period isn't academic or professional; it's the time I spent volunteering on East Coast Trail maintenance. The trail runs along hundreds of kilometres of Newfoundland coastline and is maintained almost entirely by volunteers. I'd grown to love hiking there, and giving back to a place that had become a second home while spending whole days outside in some of the most spectacular landscapes in Canada was one of the most meaningful ways I've found to volunteer.
I still call Newfoundland home in a real sense. Some of my closest friends are still there.
What is your favourite memory from your time at Ivey?
The two-week onsite orientation at Spencer Hall, before classes officially started. Most of the cohort didn't know each other yet, and we spent those days living and learning together – long stretches of case discussions, group prep sessions, and a lot of late nights.
The moment that stays with me most clearly was a late-night case prep session that dissolved into laughter. We'd been at it for hours, the analysis was going nowhere, and someone made a joke that landed with the right group at the right time. We never quite got back to the case that night.
What I didn't realize then was that those evenings, when the work dissolved into something more human, were where the real friendships were being built. Years later, many of those people are still in my life, both professionally and personally. The cases I remember; the relationships I won't forget.
What is the most important takeaway from your Ivey experience?
The people. It sounds simple, but I don't think you can replicate the cohort experience anywhere else. Ivey brings together classmates from a remarkably wide range of ages, industries, professional backgrounds, and life stages, and forces you to learn together intensely over a sustained period of time.
What that does, more than any single case or framework, is reshape how you think. Every classmate brings a perspective you wouldn't have encountered on your own, and you absorb that across every discussion. Years later, when I'm working on a problem at RBC and instinctively ask, “What would someone outside finance see here?”, that habit came from Ivey.
The credential is portable. The case method is sharp. But the network and the way of thinking are what stay with you.
Are you still connected to the School in any way?
Yes, and probably more actively than I expected I would be. I attend Ivey events through my workplace and broader professional circles, including Global Ivey Day, and I make a point of staying engaged with the alumni community. I also volunteer time through the Ivey Career Connection Program, meeting with current students and prospective candidates who are weighing whether the AMBA, or another Ivey program, is right for them.
One of the things I've come to appreciate post-graduation is how genuinely willing Ivey alumni are to make time for each other, and for current students. That spirit is part of why I keep showing up. This very profile, in fact, came out of exactly that kind of connection – and it feels like a small way of paying it forward.
Related Articles
