Sean Coleman

The Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University

“Critical thinker who embraces life’s big moments, the stillness of nature, belly laughs and sporting events.”

Hometown: Montreal, QC

Fun Fact About Yourself:  I found out I was allergic to cats after agreeing to cat-sit for a friend who was away on a two-week trip. Those two weeks were not fun.

Undergraduate School and Major: McGill ’14, Double Major in Economics and Political Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title:  Radio announcer (TSN Radio 690 & CJAD 800), Bell Media. Previously, television sports anchor with CTV Montreal.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:  Becoming the youngest sports anchor in the nearly 60-year history of CTV Montreal. Not only was I achieving a childhood dream of presenting sports highlights on television, but I was doing so for one of Canada’s most storied newscasts and an institution of English Montreal.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Impassioned. After being admitted to the program, I was added to a WhatsApp group comprised of all my classmates. My phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since. Whether it’s discussing upcoming classes, bitcoin technology, art history, international politics, the proper way to eat ice cream or setting up nightly excursions, the conversation flows relentlessly.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? There’s no place like home. By making the jump from media to business school, I’m launching myself into an entirely different world with new terminology, new approaches and new philosophies. With all this novelty, I wanted something familiar to help me feel anchored. McGill was my alma mater, and Montreal is my hometown. I believe returning to McGill will facilitate my career transition and allow me to grow my network where it’s strongest, in my hometown.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I’m most excited to work with the group at Vocaprep. I developed strong interpersonal skills interviewing hundreds of people in my time as a journalist. I hope Vocaprep (a consulting interview preparation platform providing regular coaching to McGill students) can help me transfer my skills to a new field.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Losing your job isn’t fun. Losing it twice even less so. Seeing all your friends and idols in the industry dropped one-by-one? It’s the reality for many journalists.

Media, especially conventional television, is going through a turbulent time; every week there are layoffs in the industry affecting hundreds of talented journalists. I’ve bounced back from two department closures. But I’m not Madonna or Cher – there are only so many comebacks and new identities I can don before realizing I’d prefer to work in an industry with greater stability.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I broke into media as a 19-year-old without any formal training which meant my first year in the business was, to put it politely, one giant learning experience. Since then, I knew if I was going to make a career change, I wanted to prepare myself to hit the ground running. A two-year MBA not only provides the theoretical foundation for my next career but also gives me time to shape my new identity and explore different areas before selecting the right avenue for me.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Rotman (Accepted with scholarship)

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I considered Smith, Ivey and a number of schools in the US, but I only applied to the two schools atop my list. Ultimately, I framed my decision as Canada’s historically top-ranked MBA vs the program where I felt I was most likely to succeed over the next two years. I opted to pick the later, which was also significantly cheaper financially and allowed me to remain close to my established circle of friends.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I attended Phillips Exeter Academy, considered by many to be the top prep school in the US. Before arriving, I was intimidated by the idea of class discussions; I thought I would be overwhelmed intellectually by classmates who would go on to graduate from the likes of Harvard, Yale and Stanford. But the seminar-style learning gave me a voice and proved to me that I could hang with the very best. Exeter also gave me a platform to develop my humour and expressiveness, which led me into a career in journalism.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? Journalism is the art of telling stories, so naturally marketing is an avenue that I may explore. Consulting is another field that requires many of the same skills found in journalism. Despite the uncertainty regarding media’s future, I hope I don’t divorce myself entirely from the field. If possible, I’d like to incorporate my eight years of experience in sports and media into my new career.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Five years ago, a career in television or a return to graduate school would have been hard to imagine. I won’t speculate career-wise, but I’d like to be married and starting a family, surrounded by great friends, working a stimulating job and cheering on a hopefully much improved Montreal Canadiens side.