Schulich Alum’s Career Goes Global

Sammy Ayoub (MBA ’05) Vice President, Middle East, Ellis Don
Sammy Ayoub (MBA ’05)

When Sammy Ayoub (MBA ’05) moved to Toronto from Lebanon to study at Schulich, he was looking to land a job in Toronto. Specializing in Real Estate and Infrastructure as well as Finance during his MBA, he landed a career before he even completed the program.

According to Sammy, one of the main reasons he came to Schulich was the reputation of the Real Estate and Infrastructure program. While completing research for his 601 project on Condo Development, the Schulich network gave him an important connection. “I had the opportunity to interview the Vice President of Operations at EllisDon on construction, challenges and cost. During the conversation they started interviewing me and by the end our meeting they offered me a job,” said Sammy.

After eight years at Ellis Don and three different promotions, he was offered a position as Vice President, Middle East located in Dubai. As Sammy recalls, he never planned to return to the Middle East, but knew that it was an opportunity he could not pass up.

An Engineer before coming to Schulich, Sammy feels that aside from his classroom learning, the MBA gave him valuable soft skills and a change in mindset.

“It shifted how I saw challenges and approached opportunities,” he said. “As an engineer I was driven by numbers, but at Schulich I realized it was all about communication whether you’re negotiating a deal, making a sale or interacting with clients.”