Jay Switzer, president, Chum Television, Toronto

Masters of Business Administration, Ivy School at the University of Western Ontario

‘If you can survive two years of MBA boot camp at Western, you can pretty well survive anything. That’s a confidence builder; a terrifically positive experience…[it gave me] a different skill set that I can rely upon when we’re dealing with traditional financing questions and merger and acquisition situations.’

John Cassaday, president & CEO, Corus Entertainment, Toronto

Masters of Business Administration, Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto

‘What I took away from that training was the importance of learning for the sake of learning. I find in my business that I am constantly reading journals and books of interest to our industry. The notion of continuous education is one that I wholeheartedly embrace.’

Michael MacMillan, president and CEO, Alliance Atlantis Communications, Toronto

Bachelor of Applied Arts in Film, Queen’s University

‘It taught me to think and the importance of lifelong learning, staying curious and staying passionate about everything you do.’

David Paperny, documentary producer, Vancouver

Master of Arts at Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania

‘At first I found it irrelevant. I did my thesis on comparing how kids from different socio-economic backgrounds interpret the media. It wasn’t until working at CBC that I realized how much school taught me – how practical the academic side of it can be – how much I use the theory on a day-to-day basis. It was a tremendous help.’

Michael Hirsh, CEO, Nelvana, Toronto

Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, York University (dropped out)

‘You learn good analytical skills. And you learn some skills that are useful in terms of aesthetic analysis, which is kind of the work that I’m in.’

Robert Lantos, producer/founder, Serendipity Point Films, Toronto

Master of Arts in Communications at McGill

‘What I learned at McGill was how to analyze, how to exercise my critical faculties and, most important, how to coherently and succinctly write and express myself. Those qualities have been of the essence in everything that I’ve done since.’

Niv Fichman, producer/director/partner, Rhombus Media, Toronto

Bachelor of Arts, Film Studies at York University

‘In fact, [myself], Larry Weinstein, Barbara [Willis] Sweete and Sheena Macdonald – the four original [Rhombus] partners – all went to York. That’s where we met, so I’d say it was a pretty integral part of our careers. We made our first film there. We liked working together and have kept it up for 23 years now. In terms of the learning, when I go to lectures at film schools I always say, it’s not necessarily what you learn, it’s who you meet.’