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Christine Wheatley, MBA'13

Business Design Consultant, Fidelity Investments

Why did you decide to do your MBA? Why Rotman?

Prior to my MBA, I served as assistant director of scheduling for former President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Foundation. I was tasked with helping to develop President Clinton’s schedule in line with his personal goals and the strategic goals of the foundation. I had the opportunity to travel with him on behalf of the foundation. During that time I recognized that I needed to round out some of my analytical skills so I could grow to my full potential. I chose the two-year program at Rotman because of its great reputation and location. It also offered me an opportunity to try out my new skills in an internship before committing to a long-term job.

How did Business Design fit into your MBA education?

I’ve been always passionate about people and was immediately drawn to Business Design as a way to supplement some of the other problem-solving approaches I was learning about in my courses. I connected with the purpose of Business Design – designing for people was at the centre of problem solving. I realized that it was a skill set that could be learned and honed over time. A lot of people have a natural predisposition to understanding people and coming up with ideas, and Business Design formalized those abilities for me. I participated in as much Business Design learning as I could – extracurricular workshops, courses and leading the case competition – it helped me deepen my skill set.

What was your most impactful Business Design experience at Rotman?

Participating in the Rotman Design Challenge was a formative experience for me. It was the first time I worked on such a diverse team, and having to tackle a real problem using this process was enlightening for me. While we got to some cool insights about our users and solutions that might fit their needs, we learned just as much from the competition experience itself. We received great feedback from the judges that informed how I would do it differently next time. It drove my desire to apply this methodology again and again.