Rio Baudisch-McCabe

Ivey Business School at Western University

“I am a friendly, driven, and well-traveled individual with a diverse employment and educational background.”

Hometown: Toronto, Canada

Fun Fact About Yourself: I grew up the child of two international school teachers and lived in Asia until the age of 15.

Undergraduate School and Major: Wilfrid Laurier University: Bachelor of Business Administration

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Senior Analyst at NielsenIQ

How has the case method enriched your learning? One of the many benefits of learning through case methodology is that it requires you to apply critical thinking and theory to real life scenarios. Growing your confidence and ability to discuss your thoughts through the discussions in class has really enriched my MBA learning 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? From my personal perspective, I have always considered Ivey to be Canada’s best business school. The combination of a collaborative culture, an experienced academic staff, and a distinguished alumni network drew me towards Ivey. When I decided I wanted to complete an MBA, Ivey was the only real option that I was considering.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My career has spanned a number of roles throughout a variety of industries and practices, including sales, category management, analytics, and operations. Without getting too deep into the quantitative metrics, the thing I have been most proud of is my ability to succeed in whatever role I have worked in and the relationships I have built with people along the way.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: Getting through our first core of classes was a big accomplishment for me. This program challenges you with a significant workload, a requirement to contribute to classroom discussion, and multiple group projects that need you to be both flexible and collaborative. The largest challenge, however, is the balancing act you must perform in order to be successful. I feel as if I have done a good job in managing my time, relationships, and workload to be successful in this program.

What has been your most memorable experience as an Ivey MBA thus far? My most memorable experience to date has to be around the 24-Hour Reports, specifically within our “Decision Making with Analytics” course. For background, this course challenges you to think as a manager and use complex data analysis to make strategic decisions. I remember staying on campus until past 1AM working on analytical models with classmates. I think it is a really good example of pushing yourself and applying a new skill set to deliver a product that I wouldn’t have thought possible prior to my MBA.

Where is your favorite hang-out in London (Ontario)? Why do you (or your classmates) gravitate there? The most frequent hang-out for our class has to be Joe Kool’s, although it’s hard to turn down Barney’s patio in the summer. The reality is, whenever we all get together it can be a fun time wherever we are.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? As of right now, I am exploring opportunities in Management Consulting; however, I hope to also explore roles within the CPG industry.

DON’T MISS: MEET IVEY’S MBA CLASS OF 2026

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