Philippe Boucher
I’m originally from Montreal in Quebec, Canada. I would describe myself as a disciplined, hardworking and ambitious individual who loves to laugh and stay active! Like most Canadians, I’ve always loved ice hockey and competed at the Division I NEPSAC and Division III NCAA levels in the USA. Apart from that, music has always been a big part of my life: I started playing the guitar when I was 12 years old and went on to form a couple of bands with friends growing up and throughout university.
"IE Business School was very accommodating in allowing me this flexibility to accept the best work opportunity for me while supporting me in my studies."
A springboard to new career heights
Before joining IE Business School, Philippe Boucher worked as an estimation and cost-controlling engineer for one of the largest engineering firms in the world. He started on this path just two weeks after graduating from Polytechnique Montréal, where he studied civil engineering.
Philippe’s first assignment was in the company’s infrastructure projects division, working alongside 25 or so engineers on the bidding team to analyze preliminary plans and submit a final bid for a 42-mile-long electric train track project encompassing the city of Montreal. Through their combined efforts, the firm won the $6.3 billion contract, working with a combination of Federal and Provincial governments with large Canadian pension funds. His in-depth knowledge of the construction estimate allowed Philippe to stay on for the project’s development phase for three more years.
However, Philippe’s long-term career aspirations have always revolved around finance, global markets and investment banking. His passion for finance, specifically, stemmed from his father, who worked on one of the satellite trading floors for a major investment bank in Canada. For Philippe, one of his fondest memories is going to work with his father, often as early as 6.30 a.m. and in -22℉ weather! Despite these challenges, Philippe discovered an innate love for the trading floor environment. And from his mother—who obtained her undergraduate degree in Economics at 23 and continued to take classes to build on her skill set throughout her career—he was inspired to keep learning every day while staying resilient in his work habits.
This unique mix of motivations led Philippe to IE Business School and the Dual Degree International MBA + Master in Finance. With a background in engineering, he was already a quantitative-focused individual; however, he was looking for a program that would cover the full scope of areas and topics in Finance. He found all that and more in this comprehensive dual degree: it immersed him in a broad range of topics right from the first semester, from corporate finance to financial engineering and more. Moreover, the program is specifically designed not only to help students build careers in private equity, sales and trading, or investment banking; but to also provide a broader perspective and in-depth understanding of how each of these disciplines is connected. This has proven quite beneficial in his current role.
What’s more, Philippe wanted to travel. Growing up so focused on school, athletics and other extracurricular activities, he never got the chance to venture outside his comfort zone. So he not only wanted to attend a reputable institution but also live in a vibrant city that was nothing like home. Philippe’s wish came true when he made his way to Madrid in 2020—his first time traveling to Europe. He believes that being part of the IE Community while living in the heart of a major financial hub and being submerged in Spanish culture really accelerated his personal and professional growth.
And that’s not the only way IE Business School helped Philippe prepare for the career of his dreams. Philippe joined the program with no formal business or finance training. In fact, the first time he saw what an income statement looked like was in September 2020, when he started his dual degree. 10 months later, Philippe had already interned in the M&A deal advisory team for a Big Four consulting firm, participating in complex buy and sell-side mandates. According to him, this is a clear testament to the high-level learning that takes place at IE Business School, as well as the quality of resources available to every student.
Right before his final exams, Philippe was already back in Toronto to start a new role as a sales and trading summer associate. However, IE Business School allowed him the flexibility to accept this competitive position while still supporting him in completing his studies. Two weeks after graduating, he settled into his role at TD Securities as a member of the Global Markets team on the fixed income, foreign exchange and precious metals trading desk covering the firm’s Retail and Wealth clients.
Now, he’s moved on up and settled into his full-time position at the same company. After completing the summer program, Philippe was one of the few associates who were admitted into TD Securities’ main trading floor in Toronto. He works on the institutional equities desk, both covering index products and beefing up his knowledge of market structure strategies and furthering his development in the global markets business.
Philippe’s advice to future students is simple: you get from the program what you put into it. Attend every class, participate in every project and join student clubs to make the most of your time in the dual degree. While it’s an intense program, it does go by fast and you will wind up competing with other talented students for coveted Finance roles at top firms, not only from IE Business School but also other top academic institutions in the world. And though this scenario might be intimidating for some, you can rise to the challenge as long as you aren’t afraid to make and learn from mistakes along the way. The Dual Degree International MBA + Master in Finance can be the springboard that allows you to reach new heights, and Philippe’s career path is a testament to that fact.
