SFU Beedie alumnus highlights impact of MCCP on career start at McKinsey & Co.

When Chase Landa began his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at SFU’s Beedie School of Business, he was looking for optionality—he was interested in how the SFU Beedie program allowed space to explore different business functions.

Landa was recently hired into a business analyst role by McKinsey & Company, the oldest and largest of the world’s three most prestigious management consulting firms. He credits much of his success to the foundation he built at SFU Beedie—and, in particular, his experience in the Management Consulting Career Preparation (MCCP) program offered by the school’s Career Management Centre (CMC).

Choosing a path with optionality

Landa chose to pursue a BBA because he wanted a degree that allowed him to explore different business functions before narrowing his focus.

“I knew I was interested in business at a high level,” he says. “What stood out about SFU’s program was the ability to ‘choose your own adventure’ and develop interests over time.”

That exploration eventually led him to concentrate in Management Information Systems (MIS) and Operations. Witnessing the impact of COVID-19 on global supply chains sparked his curiosity about organizational resiliency, business processes, and data-driven decision-making. Courses in business processes, data modelling, and supply chain management deepened that interest, and completing a Business Administration (BADM) certificate further solidified his passion for analytical problem solving.

The MCCP difference

While Landa was involved in several student organizations—including JDC West, BASS, Enactus, and Axis Consulting—he describes the MCCP program as having an “outsized impact” on his university and early career experience.

Founded in 2015 and in partnership with SFU Beedie’s CMC, the MCCP program is a rigorous 10-week skill development program for undergraduate business students who are interested in careers in management consulting—with an emphasis on strategy consulting or strategic functions of a company. 

“Consulting recruitment can be a difficult process, especially for students who don’t come from families with large-scale corporate experience,” he explains. “The MCCP program provided a much-needed crash course in the consulting recruitment process and case interview skills preparation.”

Beyond technical preparation, the MCCP program’s networking component proved transformative. Through the program, Landa built connections within the consulting industry—relationships that ultimately helped lead him to his role at McKinsey & Company.

Just as importantly, the cohort model made a challenging recruitment journey more collaborative and enjoyable. “Going through the process alongside like-minded peers made a huge difference.”

From case competitions to client work

International case competitions and SFU Beedie’s strong case community were defining parts of Landa’s experience. These opportunities sharpened his analytical thinking and reinforced his interest in consulting.

“The skills I developed through case training—communicating ideas in a top-down manner, structuring ambiguous problems, even building PowerPoints—are things I use daily in my role.”

Many SFU Beedie courses use the case method, including BUS 478, BUS 468, and BUS 464, giving students repeated exposure to real-world problem solving in a lower-risk environment. Courses like BUS 439, which involve working with live clients, also provided valuable practice in co-developing solutions with clients—an essential consulting skill.

In his current role, Landa’s work often involves owning the approach to complex, ambiguous problems and collaborating with teams and experts to develop actionable solutions. The parallels to his classroom experiences are clear.

Saying “yes” to opportunity

Looking back, Landa credits SFU Beedie not only for skills and experiences, but for a mindset.

“One of the biggest lessons I learned was the importance of being open to opportunities and saying ‘yes.’”

During his time at SFU, he participated in extracurriculars, case competitions, co-op, exchange programs, and worked as a research and teaching assistant. While these experiences strengthened his résumé, they also gave him a broad base of experiences and perspectives he now draws on when serving clients across industries and functions.

“It’s surprising how often a connection is made with a client counterpart or topic based on something I experienced at SFU Beedie years ago,” he says. “I’d encourage students not to overly optimize for one path too early—be open to exploring.”