Alistair Leighton

Ivey Business School at Western University

“Relaxed, runner, missing the beach, but excited to see where life takes me.”

Hometown: Albany, Western Australia

Fun Fact About Yourself: Conversational in Japanese, although it needs some practice!

Undergraduate School and Major: Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Majoring in Offshore Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Installation Manager – Vattenfall Wind Power – London UK.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Overseeing the construction of the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm from start to finish. It was amazing to see 11 of the most powerful wind turbines in the world spinning off the coast of Aberdeen.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Diverse and humble.

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? For me, the case-based method was the number one factor in choosing Ivey. I had been trying to select between a couple of different programs and took the opportunity to attend one of the Ivey case-based classes. I’ve always enjoyed learning an applied subject over a theoretical subject. While I did have my concerns over how a fully case-based program would work I was sold after seeing the one class.

Now just over three months into the program, I can confidently look back to the start of the program and say that I have learned and experienced a lot more than I expected already.

What club or activity have you enjoyed the most at Ivey so far? I’d have to say the Ivey Run Club! I run a lot in my spare time. When I arrived in Canada with the freezing temperatures, snow everywhere, and ice over all the footpaths, I felt a bit lost on how to actually go outside and do something I enjoy. A couple of us started the run club and we meet up at Ivey every Sunday and go for a run through campus, along the river or wherever we feel like it! The warmer weather now is definitely a bonus.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? For me, it was a natural point in my career. I’d spent a few years after my undergraduate degree working as an engineer on an offshore oil and gas project in Western Australia. Working overseas had been a long-time goal for me, so I re-located to Europe and switched into the renewables sector as an installation manager for Vattenfall Wind – which had been doing some really great work developing offshore wind farms all throughout Northwest Europe.

I had been considering an MBA for a couple of years.  When I saw my current project winding down in the second half of 2018,  I seriously started researching programs and getting ready to apply (the GMAT!) in late 2017. Having just seen a project through from start-to-finish, it was the perfect time to get back to University.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? I applied to Ivey and Rotman.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? My main criteria for selecting a school was the style of teaching, course duration and reputation.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I was lucky enough to be able to study Japanese in high school and then have the opportunity to spend a couple of months studying there between my final two years of high school. During this trip, I really decided that I wanted to live and work overseas throughout my career. This led me to choose an undergraduate in engineering, which has subsequently given me opportunities to live in Australia, Asia and throughout Northwest Europe.

Where do you see yourself in five years? This is a tough question to answer. I think my dream job is to join a small start-up that is trying to do something impactful or disruptive to an existing industry. I have also really enjoyed working within the renewables sector the past few years and I hope that my future career will involve making some renewable technologies mainstream. I believe that the industry has a big future, especially back home in Australia.