Rewind: Who am I?

I thought it would be a good idea to kind of start over with an introduction of myself for all the new readers of my blog. I recently took on an initiative as a Student Ambassador for the Ivey MBA School, and was tasked with getting a blogging site up for the school. The idea behind the blogging site is to offer prospective students a view on what a day in the life of an MBA student at Ivey is like. Six curret Ivey MBA students were chosen to blog (including mysefl). Check out the site at http://iveymbastudents.blogspot.com/. As a first blog entry, I did an introduction of myself by writing about my ambitions, influences, and background. Anyhow, I figure it would be a good idea to formally use that same blog entry to introduce myself on my own personal blog for all my new readers that don’t know me. I’ll follow up with a regular blog entry soon detailing my thoughts on a heart breaking week at Nortel, a busy week off of school, and my recruitment plans etc…stay tuned.

So who am I? I’m a 27 years old engineer born in Canada and of East Indian decent. I’ve been married for 4 years, and have an incredibly beautiful and supportive wife who’s followed me to Ivey and put her own career on hold for me for the year. I have no children of my own yet although my wife and I hope to have kids soon. I’m born and raised in Ottawa, Canada; a place that I love and I hope to live there again one day down the road. I come from a close-knit family with a strong background in academics (both parents are PhDs).

I like to describe myself as a hard worker, and a team player with a good understanding of my strengths and development areas. People often describe me as being very goal-oriented in nature. Throughout my life I’ve always had a very clear idea of what I’ve wanted to accomplish and where I’ve wanted to go, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to follow-through. Going to b-school was one of those life goals, and I’m proud that I’ve gotten myself here to Ivey after a stringent application filtration process.

I’ve had three idols throughout my life that have dramatically shaped and influenced my morals, values, and thought process: my mother, Bono (rock star/social activist), and Wayne Gretzky (hockey legend).

My mother is an incredible women; she’s an executive at the Department of Foreign Affairs (Canadian Federal Government) and somehow was able to lead a hugely successful career while raising four kids. I think of her as the super mom. She’s a selfless nurturer and giver to all, and a woman that would rather give you her five minutes of personal time than take rest. Not only did she manage to successfully raise four kids and a run a household while juggling a travel schedule that had her out of the country 50% of the time, but she somehow managed to take me to all my 6AM Saturday hockey practices while I was growing up. She has advanced in her career and is one of only a small number of visible minority women in her generation to have reached the executive ranks in the Federal Government. I’ve grown up watching her work ethic and commitment to the family, and I’d like to think that I’ve gotten that from her. I respect her, and we are alike in so many ways; that’s probably why we argue and disagree so much!

Bono, a rock star from the band U2, has also been a long-standing idol of mine. It’s not just because I’m a huge fan of the band’s music, but it’s more about what he stands for and what is possible if you put your mind to it. Bono is a part-time social activist bringing visibility to the key issues facing third world nations in Africa. He’s changing the world in some ways by spreading awareness of the AIDS, debt and the Malaria pandemics facing these countries. His strategic use of his celebrity, network, and influence allow him to execute on his mandate, and there is a lot to learn from him on these aspects. He does all of this while being a successful husband and a father, and while being one of the biggest rock stars in the world. His words are melodic, his charisma is contagious, and his passion is inspirational to me.

Wayne Gretzky is another hero of mine. He’s an example of what hard work, intelligence, and confidence can allow you to achieve. Wayne Gretzky was never the biggest, fastest, or toughest person on the ice, but he used the eyes on the back of his head to outsmart everyone else and arguably became the most successful hockey player in history (I say ‘arguably’ but I truly don’t believe there is any debate here ;). Wayne Gretzky has inspired me throughout my life to work hard, to use my intelligence, and to be confident.

I’ve spent the last five years working at Nortel, one of the world’s leading telecommunications company’s, and have loved every minute of it. My last couple of roles at Nortel heightened my interest in wanting to develop my business acumen skill set particularly in the areas of decision making, finance, and effective leadership. Furthermore, it heightened my awareness of the power of networking, and the importance of extending one’s ability to leverage and influence others. In my last role at Nortel before leaving for b-school, I was given a team leader opportunity and failed at it. This failure took a large toll on my confidence, but it turned out to be a good reality check for me; it shed some light on some of the areas that I needed to improve upon. It was at that point that I realized that an MBA would be useful to me. In addition, earlier during the year I was unsuccessful at landing a Product Manager role because the competition all had MBAs. Based on some of my discussions with Nortel leaders, mentors, and MBA grads; going to a prominent, well-recognized b-school appeared to be the best way to accomplish my professional objectives. I applied and successfully achieved admission to the Richard Ivey School of Business and have loved every minute of it. What an incredible experience it has been thus far!

Hopefully by now you’ve got an idea of who I am, what I’m about, and why I’m doing an MBA. I look forward to sharing my b-school adventures with you all in the coming months.

Until next time…

Sacha Gera