Ade Fashina ’25 MBA

The tangible and intangible benefits of an MBA

Technology is often seen as the great enabler of our time. But Ade Fashina sees its flip side just as clearly.

“Everyone is accelerating. Everybody's taking in big data,” she says. “Things are coming in and nobody is really looking at the risks. That's where I come in.” 

As senior manager of technology audit at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Ade’s role requires her to see all aspects of a given issue — the tangibles and the intangibles. In a world of fast-moving technology decisions, her measured approach allows RBC to slow down and consider the business risks inherent in new technology. 

With a decade of experience in technology risk and a thriving career at RBC, Ade is a recognized expert in her field. To celebrate that achievement, she wanted to give herself the gift of an additional degree. The Kellogg-Schulich Program stood out to her because of its unique partnership with a number of global universities. “I would never imagine connecting with somebody in Hong Kong,” she says. “I wouldn't think of a world where that would happen, but here I am today.”

A cohort that brings out your best

When she first started the program, Ade was nervous at the caliber of her classmates, many of whom are C-level executives. But she quickly found her footing.

In fact, the caliber of her classmates helped her realize the value of her own unique perspectives she brought to classroom discussions. “Being in a setting where you have to do a group assignment with a CEO, it helped me to bring more of myself forward,” she says. “I realized that there were some things that they didn't know that I knew, and that was a huge confidence booster.”

Job titles aside, Ade's EMBA cohort quickly bonded. “It immediately felt like family. It felt like we were meant to be in the same space,” she says of the Kellogg community. “It felt like everybody was coming here because they knew that they had something to learn.”

Her experience working and connecting with her fellow leaders in the classroom has shaped how she interacts with leaders in her own organization. “I'm just different with how I engage my boss's boss's boss's boss's boss now. For me, it's that confidence that I can speak with anyone. It has really transformed how I see myself and carry on conversations.”

The tangible benefits

For Ade, Kellogg’s focus on real-world applications of knowledge has been a game changer. “My professors are definitely top quality. What sets them apart is they try to make it as practical as possible,” she says. “And to be honest, that's what you really need for an Executive MBA program. You don't need somebody to tell you what the textbooks say. You need somebody to show you how to apply that in real life.”

Even in areas she hadn't considered strengths, Ade left the classroom with tools she could put immediately into practice. “I can take a look at a financial statement now and immediately point out five, ten things that are wrong with it.”

Ade's leadership courses have been especially rewarding. They’ve focused on how to create a more cohesive team, including tools that, as an organizational leader, she can put into practice immediately.

“I've already used some of the frameworks that I have learned, and they have worked beautifully. I am amazed at the turnaround, at how I can get a return on my investment almost immediately.”

The intangible benefits

In Ade’s work and in her life, the intangible growth is often just as noteworthy as the tangible. “Time management is not advertised. Finding yourself is not advertised,” she says. “But it's something that you can really quickly learn and pick up if you take on the opportunity to go through a program like this and let it go through you.”

At a time with such rapid acceleration, both within technology and seemingly life in general, Ade’s team often turns to her for guidance. What does she tell them?

“Be deliberate. What do you want to take out of your career or your experience in one year, in five years, in ten years? It's really not about what you see other people doing. It's really not about what you see me doing. It's about what you want to achieve within that period and what you're doing deliberately to get there.”

In the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA Program, Ade is following her own advice and deliberately pursuing her future. When asked about her growth within and outside of the classroom, she smiles, “I'm really just finding out new things about myself after almost more than three decades. That's amazing for me.”