Sasha Manohar

Sasha Manohar, MM-A '23 Candidate, didn’t fit what he considers the “typical” MM-A profile, but he’s found the combination of business and analytics skills he’s gained during the program have proved to be the right mix for him to grow in new roles.

“The majority of our class comes from a financial and numbers background, but my profile is very different,” says Manohar, whose background is in health sciences.

“My approach going in has always been that this program should give me a managerial edge, helping develop a familiarity with frameworks for data-driven decision making and the business management implications. From a managerial perspective working with technical teams, I think you really need to know at a high level what you’re asking folks to do.

For me, it's about understanding what goes into technical teams’ efforts, and having the credibility to take those outputs, convey impact and value, and convert them into something larger.”

Before Ivey, Manohar worked in clinical research, focusing on cancer research. He then moved to the pharmaceutical industry at AstraZeneca as a global study manager, and shortly before starting his MM-A, was promoted to Associate Director in Product (Digital Health), bridging his science background, business acumen and technical skillset to help lead software development for business intelligence and decision support products.

“The software side of things requires us to really understand the business users, the data requirements, and how we can enable outcomes through designing certain features our in products,” he adds.

Within the program, Manohar says he has found the most value so far in the Ivey Essentials courses. These have helped him effectively communicate his ideas and concerns and given him the confidence and knowledge to back up his assertions.

“I feel like I've received an accelerated, abridged MBA from those courses,” he says, adding that the classroom discussions and interactions with classmates have allowed him to put his learnings into practice, and to discover more both about his strengths as a leader, and areas he can still work on.

“My brain goes a mile a minute. It can be difficult for me to slow down, and sometimes I find myself talking over people who have different approaches to problem solving,” he says.

“It’s been helpful, during the program, to be exposed to a larger group of managerial talent and become mindful of what I'm doing and how I'm doing it, and to practice giving people space to talk and grow.

The program, for me, has been about rounding out my toolkit, gaining skills and techniques that I can hone for the rest of my career.”