Meet Ivey’s MBA Class Of 2026

A TASTE OF CONSULTING

Among the Class of 2026, the learning teams are considered the unheralded ingredient behind the success of the case method and the 24-Hour Reports. Working in 6-7 member teams, students can “cross-check each other’s logic” – not to mention provide support during the low points according to Sophie Yang. She adds that the team-building started with their very first coaching session. Here, they were asked to tell their resume’s story through drawings that often touched on very personal experiences.

“We laughed, cried a little, and set ground rules for how we’d show up for one another. That day became the template for everything after: the 24‑Hour Report sprints, midnight Excel triage, and celebratory patio nachos at Barney’s. Somewhere between swapping models and life advice, classmates became family. The psychological safety we built in those hours let me take bigger risks in class, ask for help sooner, and give feedback with courage and care.”

Ask alumni about the most valuable part of the Ivey MBA and many will list the Field Project, a capstone consulting project. Working in teams, students gain over 100 hours a piece in consulting experience, with past clients including Accenture, IBM, A&T, and 3M. ’25 alum Melanie Starke, for one, developed a sustainable AI action plan in her Field Project.

“[We] explored how AI could be used in construction to reduce waste and improve efficiency. The experience pushed me to think beyond functionality and consider the ethical and environmental implications of technology. It reinforced that while AI is a powerful tool, it must be applied thoughtfully, with long-term impact in mind.”

THE ALUMNI DIFFERENCE

Ranked as the #1 MBA program by Bloomberg Businessweek, Ivey also benefits from a highly-engaged alumni base, whose reach extends to 36,000 members across over 100 countries – plus Bay Street and Wall Street. These include Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, not to mention past and present heads of the Bank of Montreal, Toronto Stock Exchange, Royal Bank of Canada, BMO Capital Markets, Sun Life Financial, Bell Canada, and Janus Capital. That doesn’t count Ivey’s connection to the larger ecosystem of Western Ontario University, one of Canada’s premier research universities with over 300,000 alumni.

Luke Fior noticed this alumni difference first with his alumni client and later as a student. “[As] a Commercial Banking Manager, I had the opportunity to support a business run by an Ivey HBA alum. In every conversation, I was struck by his professionalism, intelligence, and the pride he had in the Ivey community. He spoke highly of the alumni network’s deep commitment to helping students succeed, which made a lasting impression on me. Since joining Ivey I’ve seen this support firsthand; every alum I’ve reached out to has been generous with their time, offering guidance and insight into how to thrive in the corporate world.”

Ivey’s Get Connected event also brings together students and alumni for one-on-one meetings along with panels on industries ranging from finance to consulting to social impact. At this event, Racheal Bhosha experienced just how “generous” the alumni were with their time and expertise.

“Many offered to review our resumes and LinkedIn profiles, some participated in scheduled one-on-one coffee chats and provided tailored advice, and many stayed after the sessions to continue engaging with us. The event reminded me that Ivey is not just a school but a thriving, supportive network of professionals who genuinely want to see each other grow.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH MARTHA MAZNEVSKI

Looking at the numbers, the Ivey MBA Class of 2026 includes 150 students. Women and international students account for 40% and 35% of the class respectively, with students hailing from 29 countries. As undergraduates, 46% of the class majored in Business, with Engineering (20%), Sciences (19%), and Arts (15%) majors making up substantial shares of the class. The average class member is 29 years-old and possesses 5.5 years of professional work experience. The largest segment of the class – 25% — last worked in Finance and Insurance. Consultants account for a 19% share of the class, followed by Technology (8%), Healthcare (7%), Consumer Packaged Goods (7%), Marketing and Public Relations (5%), and Accounting (5%).

In an April interview with P&Q, Dean Birkinshaw outlined his strategic plan vision for expanding Ivey’s experiential learning programming and global reach. This summer, P&Q reached out to Martha Maznevski, Ivey’s faculty director for the MBA Program to learn more about recent developments at the school. From AI integration to international student and alumni support, here are Maznevski’s thoughts on the state of the Ivey MBA.

P&Q: What have been the two most important developments in your MBA program over the past year? What type of impact will they have on current and future MBAs?

Maznevski: “For the MBA Cohort that started in March 2025, we introduced a Pathways to Lifelong Learning milestone. Pathways to Lifelong Learning is an overarching component of the program aimed at ensuring our students are set up for success during their time at Ivey, but also as they move forward into their careers. The milestone requires students to set specific personal goals around four learning themes – Business Acumen, Interpersonal Leadership, Resilience, and Domain Expertise – which were submitted early in the program. Along the journey, students engage with Career Coaches, Faculty Advisors, and Ivey Alumni to support their progress towards these goals. The culmination of Pathways to Lifelong Learning will be a 20-minute presentation to a panel of Peers, Faculty and Alumni. Students will showcase how their goals were shaped, achieved, or even revised throughout their MBA journey, what they learned about themselves as individuals, and how they will commit to lifelong learning throughout their careers. We see already the impact of the Pathways to Lifelong Learning curriculum. Students have indicated that they now feel more confident working in teams, working through conflict, and practicing resiliency during periods of stress.

Secondly, we have reimagined the traditional orientation for our students and introduced a week-long immersive experience that introduces them to the Ivey way of learning. Over a three-day Leading Critical Issues immersion, students participated in intensive integrative around themes of Sustainability (Electric Vehicles), Leadership, and Social Responsibility (Novartis’s Ozempic), and Exploring Mutual Funds. Each session was team-taught by three faculty from different disciplines who challenged the students to think more broadly about how different competencies can be applied when thinking about business problems. Our new students developed comprehensive analytical reports and presented them to peers and faculty, all in their first days. The final component of the orientation immersion was focused on developing a strong foundation for the assigned Learning Teams. Ivey Executive Education’s team of senior coaches facilitated a full day of experiential and reflective exercises in Learning Teams.”

P&Q: What do you see as the main differentiator that distinguishes your MBA program from other schools? How does it enhance the student experience and make them more attractive to employers?

Maznevski: “Ivey is a deep believer in the case method and experiential learning, and this goes far beyond using cases as a vehicle for teaching in class. We develop students’ competences and critical analysis in the context of real situations, so they also develop judgement about how to adapt their decision-making in different circumstances. We integrate many real-world experiences – live cases, applied projects, leadership opportunities – deeply into the curriculum so they develop systems-thinking and collaborative relationship capabilities. More specifically, all MBAs are required to complete a major Field Project to help a client with a strategic business problem or to develop their own venture. Students are encouraged to participate in experiential learning opportunities through electives such as study trips (Dubai, Paris or São Paulo) and Leadership Under Fire, a course that takes students outdoors for a week in the Canadian winter. Even our Careers program is integrated closely into our academic curriculum and follows the same principles to help students with their life journeys.”

P&Q: What types of services do you provide to first-year MBAs to ease their transition into business school?

Maznevski: “As a one-year program, Ivey students hit the ground running from day one. We recognize that this is often daunting for those who have been away from an academic environment for a period of time, and we are committed to ensuring students are set up for success. To that end, we ensure that all students are assigned a faculty mentor who checks in regularly with them and helps them to navigate any challenges they may face as they transition to Ivey – both within the school and more broadly. Each student is also connected with our Academic Advisor who provides tailored support that extends far beyond the classroom. Our Advisors are trained in Mental Health first aid and are a wealth of knowledge with respect to resources at Western and within our community to make sure that our students feel supported. Finally, each MBA student participates in Career Management sessions to assist them with all facets of recruiting, from creating a compelling CV to negotiating offers and networking. They are also assigned a dedicated Career Management Coach with whom they can meet and receive customized assistance with their employment goals.”

P&Q: What types of support do you provide to international students before and during business school to enable them to better acclimate to your country?

Maznevski: “Ivey’s MBA recruiters are incredibly well-versed in international student strengths and challenges, which allows our incoming students to feel confident that they are being supported. Students are connected with Western International, where professionals who are trained in immigration and visa support can help them navigate any hurdles they may experience. Ivey has also engaged with an International Recruitment specialist who can provide specific, tailored support for our incoming international students as they navigate the ever-changing world of student visas.”

P&Q: How does your program integrate other disciplines, such as the liberal arts and STEM, across your curriculum to provide students with a more interdisciplinary experience in business school?

Maznevski: “In addition to an intensive Core program, which includes Finance, Accounting, Analytics, Communications, Operations, Economics, Marketing, Strategy and Information Systems, our MBA students participate in a fall and winter elective period where they can tailor their own learning pathways. For the 2025/26 Academic Year, students can choose from over 50 electives from disciplines ranging from Negotiations to Artificial Intelligence. Our variety of electives allows students to develop their skills in areas that may not be considered “traditional” business fundamentals, but are important in ensuring our students are well-rounded and ready to tackle the diversity of the modern workplace.”

P&Q: What are two ways that your program is incorporating Artificial Intelligence into your programming? How do they better prepare students for the future world of work?

Maznevski: “First, our main learning goal is to cultivate judgement and wisdom in decision-making and the ability to apply knowledge to practical situations. To this end, we encourage students to use generative AI tools to synthesize information, explore new ideas, and analyze data efficiently. At the same time, we acknowledge the limits of AI, and the increased importance of developing critical thinking skills in order to work effectively with an AI “partner.” Across the curriculum we learn about AI and use AI tools to support learning.

Second, all students participate in a three-day, hands-on AI app building workshop using a live case company. The workshop culminates in a team competition for the most effective AI business model development. All students develop the basic knowledge of how to build AI models, and are better prepared to build or use these models in their future work.”

P&Q: What types of educational and career support do you provide to alumni after graduation? How does it make them more valuable to employers during their careers?

Maznevski: “Ivey is incredibly proud of its commitment to lifelong learning and engagement. We have a robust Alumni network that our graduates are embraced by upon graduation. These alumni are passionate about networking and giving back, which means that our students are made aware of new and exciting career opportunities regularly.

Additionally, Ivey Executive Education provides a full suite of Lifelong Learning opportunities for alumni, ranging from online livestreams with interactive participation to targeted short courses on current topics, offered either online or in person. Ivey’s Executive Education is committed to the same principles of integrated, experiential learning, so our alumni continue to be able to drive their organizations and communities.”

Click on the links below for in-depth profiles of MBA students. 

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergraduate Alma Mater	Last Employer
Arham Ali	Lahore, Pakistan	McGill University	Espace Real Estate
Rio Baudisch-McCabe	Toronto, Canada	Wilfrid Laurier University	NielsenIQ
Racheal Bhosha	Harare, Zimbabwe	National University of Science & Technology	First Capital Bank
Nikolay Dimitrov	Toronto, Canada	Wilfred Laurier University	CIBC
Erin Drury	Burlington, Ontario	University of Guelph	The Hospital for Sick Children
Omar Elaraby	Ottawa, Ontario	University of Ottawa	Assured Telematics
Luke Fior	Caledon East, Ontario	University of Western Ontario	CIBC
Mansargun Kaur	Amritsar, Punjab	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur	Armourline Corp
Jeff Liu	Shanghai, China	Renmin University of China	Deutsche Bank
Namita Tyagi	Delhi, India	Rajasthan Technical University	Alstom Transport
Sophie Yang	Shanghai, China	University of Toronto	RBC
Daniele Petricca-Sciamanna	Woodbridge, Canada	York University	RBC Dominion Securities

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