Meet the MBA Class of 2022: Chi Nguyen, Ivey Business School       

Chi Nguyen       

Ivey Business School at Western University

“A passionate person who thrives on diving into complex issues, helping others, and coffee.”

Hometown: Hanoi, Vietnam

Fun Fact About Yourself: My spirit animal is alpacas. When is the next flight to Peru?

Graduate School and Major: Temple University (Philadelphia, PA); Major: Risk Management & Insurance

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Associate – Willis Towers Watson

How has the case method enriched your learning? I love that every single case is a real business problem that needs to be examined and resolved, which makes the learning process very engaging. Through the discussions with my classmates, my ideas are constantly challenged and expanded in new directions. That dynamic is hard to come by in a traditional classroom.

Aside from classmates and cases, what part of the school’s MBA programming led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Ivey truly has a strong and “sticky” alumni network. All the alumni I have reached out to have been very responsive and supportive of the current MBA candidates. I have also heard countless stories of how the alumni support each other during their careers as well. As a new immigrant to Canada, having that strong network from the get-go is very important to me.

What quality best describes your MBA classmates and why? My cohort inspires me with their growth mindset. Everyone is extremely hard-working, and always aim for the best. They motivate me to be better every day. At the same time, I have met some of the funniest and most caring people here as well.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At AIG, my team was also responsible for the Cambodia portfolio – especially for the financial institutions segment. I have developed a number of meaningful relationships with local brokers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions in the country. Leveraging my relationships and technical knowledge, I successfully grew the portfolio by 15%.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: It would be the relationships that I have made in this program! I have quickly learned to not judge a book by its cover, and found friendships in so many wonderful people here.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Having a highly specialized undergraduate business degree, I have enjoyed applying my technical knowledge in my day-to-day work. However, as my career progresses, I realize that I lack some operations, marketing, and human resources business skills. Acquiring these skills is critical for my career growth, and I hope that they can be supplemented by the MBA coursework.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? I applied to the program at Queen’s and Schulich

What did you do during the application process that enabled you to get accepted into Ivey? Be authentic. Instead of trying to figure out what the school wants, I have learned to gain confidence in who I am and my story. When I got the acceptance call, I was told that the interviewer was impressed with how I showed grit and initiative through my life journey.

DON’T MISS: MEET IVEY’S MBA CLASS OF 2022