Fiyin Oyewo

Ivey Business School at Western University

“Passionate financial analyst with interests in soccer, community service, and business education.”

Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria

Fun Fact About Yourself: While in the strategy division of a commercial bank, I once launched and featured in a video series to discuss key macroeconomic developments in Nigeria.

Undergraduate School and Major:

Covenant University (Nigeria) –  Bsc Economics

Strathclyde Business School (UK) – Msc Investment and Finance

Most Recent Employer and Job Title:

• Oriental Energy Resources Limited (2017 -2019): Economist
• Deloitte (2015 – 2017): Consultant, Financial Advisory Unit
• Sterling Bank Plc (2013 – 2015): Associate, Strategy and Innovation

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: One of my biggest accomplishments was passing the third level of the CFA exam with a score in the 90th percentile. I passed the exam while driving the capital-raising process of over US$60 million for a 50MW solar power plant. I am proud of this achievement because my ability to combine several highly demanding engagements was tested and I believe I found the capacity to deliver excellent results despite the situation.

Describe your biggest accomplishment at Ivey so far: It has been only three months into the program, but I have already experienced an improvement in my social and networking skills. My major achievement is using these skills to support professionals in Africa in making their business school decisions. Through the recruitment team at Ivey, I had had the opportunity to offer meaningful advice to several young professional interested in pursuing an MBA program at Ivey.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? The case teaching approach at Ivey, which rewards class participants for making good contributions during class discussions, has allowed me to get to know my classmates well. My classmates can be best described as excellent learners. I have witnessed several of my classmates with professional backgrounds unrelated to business development an advanced understanding of diverse business-related principles and apply this knowledge to solving complex cases. For instance, we have a former sommelier who is now an expert at crunching DCF models. Classes have been most insightful because everyone presents a unique but intelligent perspective to case-worthy business problems.

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? A key factor for me in choosing the Ivey MBA program was the pedigree of the program’s alumni. Among Ivey’s alumni I found high performing professionals who I could gladly approach for mentorship. This includes the CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada and top executives in other leading banks such as BMO. While this was more pronounced in Canada, I found a number of high achievers even in Nigeria who had also graduated from Ivey. I viewed the exploits of Ivey’s graduates as a reflection of the quality of education at Ivey.

What club or activity have you enjoyed the most at Ivey so far? I am a member of the Consulting, Finance and International Business clubs. I am also a Senator in the MBA Association (MBAA). While these clubs have had some exciting activities for interested students, the activity I enjoyed the most was a three-day simulation exercise in our marketing course. The simulation involved competing for profits in a hypothetical device market with four other companies over an eight-year period. It was highly competitive and presented a good opportunity to understand how strategic decisions can result in the gain or loss of market share.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? My professional experience over the last six years has generally overlapped between finance and strategy. While I had acquired good training in finance through the CFA program, I was keen to deepen my knowledge and skills in areas such as strategy, marketing, business decision-making, and leadership. I also wanted a safe place to fail during my learning process. The Ivey MBA program, which is known for producing some of the best management consultants in Canada, presented an excellent opportunity for me to achieve my goal. So far, I have developed a number of skills that are unrelated to finance but highly applicable in any business setting. I am confident that, by the end of the program, I would have developed the skills to achieve results at the management level of any leading organization.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? When I was applying to Ivey, I also applied to the MBA program at Queens University, which is also regarded as one of the leading programs in Canada. I got into both schools and received scholarship from both schools.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? In selecting Ivey for my MBA program, I considered a number of factors such as the reputation of the program in Canada, the profile of the school’s alumni, the likelihood of getting a high-quality job after graduation, and the learning experience. In researching these factors, I spoke with past and current students of the program and researched LinkedIn to independently observe the type of organizations where Ivey graduates had typically secured employment. In addition, I read several reviews about the program on online MBA application forums. The positive finding from my research led me to apply to the program, after which I was most impressed by the enthusiasm and thoughtfulness of the program’s recruitment team. In the end, the Ivey MBA program appeared to be a strong fit for achieving my objectives.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? In the latter days of high school, I was one of the smallest guys in my class. While this wasn’t such a big deal, I found that it was affecting my confidence and social skills. I generally avoided putting myself out for anything that appeared highly competitive. My mindset totally changed when I mistakenly won a student leadership election during my bachelor’s degree program. It was a mistake because I went into the election without realizing I was going to be opposed by someone I viewed as a stronger candidate. In fact, if I knew about the competition, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to enter the election. What followed was a highly competitive campaign process that involved me kicking myself for getting involved in the election while doing my best not to lose by a landslide. I ended up winning the election, which demonstrated to me the power of a can-do attitude and mindset. This mindset has led me to consistently try to be the best version of myself and reach out for the best things in life, regardless of the competition.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Five years from now, I hope to be an influential leader in a firm focused on capital markets or business strategy. The Ivey MBA program has exposed me to limitless opportunities in both financial services and management consulting, which I intend to consider. I plan on leveraging the program resources, such as the alumni, career coaches and networking events, in narrowing down on my options. After the “narrowing down” phase, I plan on working with the best minds in my chosen field to deliver exceptional service – and maybe in five years I would be referred to as “the boss.”