Apourv Pandey

Ivey Business School at Western University

“Words, strokes, and friendships intertwine—I swim, write, and connect with people.”

Hometown: Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have a few here.

* In the summer of 2022, I rode my bike over 1800 miles over a 7-day bike trip across the mountains of Ladakh, India.

* I also once solved Mirror Cube and 2,3, and 4-sided Rubik’s Cubes within 30 minutes.

* I have been kidnapped twice by the tribals whose land I wanted to survey for geological explorations. Though terrified at first, the healthy relations I built with them over the years proved critical for my work and the firm.

Undergraduate School and Major: Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad Major: Applied Geology

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Coal India Limited; Assistant Manager (Geology)

How has the case method enriched your learning? Understanding and building up on the perspectives of fellow classmates, while polishing up my own take on a problem-in hand, has been quite an enriching experience.

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? The “It’s a go game from day zero” environment created by Ivey that intrigued me most about the school. As someone who worked at mines seven days a week, often across multiple shifts, I am looking to contribute through consulting firms with the problems they face. This program offered me to build up my learnings and apply to the school, which is a significant factor for me choosing this program.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest professional achievement would be discovering a coal mine that is expected to create over 1,000 jobs from its discovery in 2020 to the commencement of its operations in 2026. The discovery stands out for me not solely because it covered pretty much everything a coal mining company asks of an Assistant Manager (Geology), but also because of the experiences and learning I received throughout the extraordinary journey I have had working in the jungles of Jharkhand, India.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: My biggest accomplishment so far as an MBA would be organizing a successful Mental Health Symposium as a DE&I Senator at Ivey Business School. The event held a special place in my heart, given how I and my team wanted to organize the event. The team and I had to constantly adapt to several changes associated with the event until the last minute. Thanks to the panel members who agreed to come to the front and share their stories and learnings with the mental health – and to my peers who arrived in large numbers – we made the event a success.

My primary goal with the event was to provide a path to at least one audience member in need. It was only last week that I received a confirmation from one of the audience members, whose action towards reaching out to help was based on the learnings from the symposium I helped organize.

Where is your favorite hang-out in London (Ontario)? Why do you (or your classmates) gravitate there? Answering the question while sitting in Toronto immediately makes me want to sit at the Grad Club at Western University with my friends and peers. As I recall, the place was recommended one of my friends. Since my first visit, it just became a tradition of ours to visit the place after each 24-hour report, mid-term exam, end-term exam, and sometimes, just to celebrate the comrade we all share with each other. What makes the Grad Club our primary hangout place is just the comfort we all share with the place and with each other.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? I plan to use my domain knowledge of Oil & Gas, Coal, and Metal Mining fieldwork to solve different problems across the North American energy space. As someone who wants to drive the energy transition and sustainability spaces, I wish to keep learning and applying my skill sets to the success of a firm whose values resonate with those of mine.

What did you do during the application process that enabled you to get accepted into Ivey? Understanding my own values and that of the school was one of the major enablers behind my strong application to the school. I relied heavily upon networking with school alums. Getting in touch with the seniors not only allowed me to learn about the school curriculum and culture, but also addressed the questions I needed to ask, and I wasn’t even thinking along those lines. I also leveraged several publicly available podcasts, blogs, and LinkedIn posts to gain a broader level perspective of the school and the industry dynamics.

I believe attaining a clarity in my requirements and the school offerings helped me immensely to present a strong case before the school for my MBA admission.

DON’T MISS: MEET IVEY’S MBA CLASS OF 2024