Anie Rouleau (BCom ‘92) is the Founder and CEO of The Unscented Company, a sustainable woman-owned BCorp-certified business. This year, we are recognizing Rouleau’s leadership and successful journey in sustainable entrepreneurship with a Trudeau Medal.
First awarded in 1989 to recognize leading alumni, the Trudeau Medal is the highest honour given to an alumnus or alumna at the Telfer School of Management. The award was established in honour of Reverend Father Roland Trudeau, the former director of the University of Ottawa's Commerce department from 1950 to 1965. It recognizes leadership, initiative and contributions made by an alumna or alumnus to the business world, the community and their alma mater — the definition of our longstanding relationship with Anie Rouleau.
Rouleau has set an exceptional example of what both a strong leader in sustainable entrepreneurship and an extraordinary Canadian leader at the helm of a woman-owned business can achieve — an inspiration to fellow BCom students and graduates.
Influenced by Family Values
From a very young age, entrepreneurship was an important pillar of Rouleau’s life. “One day you will have your own business,” said Anie Rouleau’s father when she was just eight years old, sitting at the dinner table.
Raised in a family of entrepreneurs, Rouleau was taught early on to have confidence: “Back then, women did not have the same access to resources and my father was aware of this. He built my character to confront that.”
In 1992, she graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the Telfer School of Management and joined her family business, Hydrocom International. She went on to hold prestigious roles at Maclean Power Systems and Société de Gestion du Commensal until 2011.
At 42 years old, Anie Rouleau founded Baleco / The Unscented Company, following in the entrepreneurial footsteps of her parents. The moment in which she decided to make the leap is a reflection on her decades in the business world: “Entrepreneurship is something that’s always been on my mind growing up and in my years at Telfer. It’s at Telfer, that I had entrepreneurship courses for the first time and case competitions like Jeux de Commerce.”
Her family values first built the blueprint of her business journey to come, Rouleau shares: “My mother and father were entrepreneurs, and I saw that you could be successful in your own business and provide. For me, as a woman, when I had young children, I could see my life being better to balance as an entrepreneur.”
Taking a Risk in Sustainable Entrepreneurship
Rouleau says that entrepreneurship is a build-up — at some point, something makes you jump. To choose that path, an entrepreneur needs to be comfortable with and accept failure. She instructs us to accept ‘no’ for an answer and to not take it personally. And, perhaps most importantly, an entrepreneur needs to be able to take a risk, a financial risk.
It is safe to say the risk paid off. In 2021, The Unscented Company was named one of Canada’s Top Growing Companies by The Globe and Mail, reporting a 526% 3-year increase in revenue growth and $5-10M in revenue. In 2019, on CBC’s Dragon’s Den, Canadian Tire announced they would bring The Unscented Company’s sustainable products into their 500 stores across the nation. “Ten years ago, I bet on the right horse,” comments Rouleau.
The Importance of Upbringing, Education and Values
Rouleau’s contributions to the business world and professional success did not come out of thin air. For her, the formal education she received during her Bachelor of Commerce at Telfer helped in establishing her successful business. Rouleau confidently says, “It’s not even a doubt in my mind. I personally love Telfer, the accessibility to the teachers and the directors. I still see the Dean to this day and there is a sense of belonging. For me, it was a smaller university on the French side. Today as an entrepreneur, I’m very grateful to have gone through a program like that, which had classes in marketing and HR too. I was lucky I did something I studied, and it definitely helped me prepare for my career.” Rouleau’s familial entrepreneurship values and education at Telfer are two factors that contribute to The Unscented Company’s exponential success — the third is that Rouleau leads with uncompromising values that set the tone for everything. “Today, an entrepreneur needs a set of values that are about people and the planet. If a company in 5 years is not socially or environmentally responsible, transparent and inclusive, they will be old-fashioned,” says Rouleau. “Good entrepreneurs and good businesses will prevail.”
It’s this unrelenting commitment to sustainability that sets Anie Rouleau and her company apart. Believing wholeheartedly that entrepreneurs and employees have to play a role in sustainable entrepreneurship, Rouleau certified her company as a BCorp, a highly sought-after designation highlighting the social and environmental impact of a business, thus cementing these values into the business’ foundation.
Challenges are Opportunities
In an uncertain economic market, businesses have an opportunity to demonstrate their unwavering commitment to their values through sustainable entrepreneurship. With inflation and rising prices, it can be easy to choose the path of least resistance. Not for Rouleau: “When the market is shifting, it doesn’t mean you stop; you rebalance. This is who we are, we are involved in our community. Values are tested in tough times and it’s not even an option to compromise them. You just do the right thing. We support each other on the market and make it to the other side together.”
Well-Deserved Recognition
Rouleau’s familial entrepreneurship values and education at Telfer are two factors that contribute to The Unscented Company’s exponential success — the third is that Rouleau leads with uncompromising values that set the tone for everything. “Today, an entrepreneur needs a set of values that are about people and the planet. If a company in 5 years is not socially or environmentally responsible, transparent and inclusive, they will be old-fashioned,” says Rouleau. “Good entrepreneurs and good businesses will prevail.”
“I’ve made it and it’s like Oscar’s Night, I can’t believe it,” she smiles.
In Canada, around one in five Canadians aged over 15 years old has one or more disabilities. As we grow older, the chance of disability increases with age. As mobility is one of the most prevalent disabilities, it is important that the built environment in Canada is as accessible as it can be for those who need it. More particularly, building accessibility needs to be a priority to ensure inclusivity.
From May 29 to June 4th, the country was celebrating National AccessAbility Week. The week, which starts on the last Sunday of May, celebrates Canadians who self-identify as disabled and their contributions to the advancement of this country.
National AccessAbility Week also recognizes the key people, organizations, and communities who have put work in to make Canada a more accessible country. The Accessible Canada Act is among the contributions we now celebrate during this week. The act, established in 2019, aims to remove all barriers to accessibility in the country by 2049.
To celebrate this week, we are happy to announce that five buildings at the University of Ottawa, including Telfer’s own Desmarais Hall, have been awarded the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) for their contribution to building accessibility. Other awarded facilities at the university were the Social Sciences building, Minto Sports Complex, STEM Complex, and Henderson Residence.
Just like the Rick Hansen Foundation, the University of Ottawa and the Telfer School of Management want to improve accessibility in our buildings and ensure that user needs and standards are met.
Last month, Telfer’s Entrepreneur Club (TECDE) hosted the 31st annual Toast to Success dinner. This year’s theme focused on celebrating diversity in business, particularly marginalized entrepreneurs. The sold-out event featured a West African drummer, Black and Ukrainian artists, and a keynote address by Wes Hall, Chairman and Founder, Kingsdale Advisors, Founder of the BlackNorth Initiative, and the newest dragon on CBC’s Dragon’s Den.
As a keynote speaker, Wes Hall presented several key aspects of his career as well as tips for future entrepreneurs in the room. During the event, it was revealed that Hall had recently established the Wes Hall Scholarships: two full, four-year scholarships for black and indigenous Telfer Commerce students who intend to pursue a career in finance.
These unique scholarships aim to remove financial barriers to education by reducing the need for these students to seek employment throughout the school year. Recipients of the Wes Hall Scholarships will also receive mentorship to further promote student success in academics and to provide career direction and advice on extra-curricular life at Telfer, possibly by Mr. Hall himself.
In addition, at Telfer, we’re proud to announce the creation of nine equity and diversity scholarships aimed to truly make a difference in the lives of students from racialized or indigenous communities. Join Wes in promoting equity and diversity at Telfer and contributing to a Better Canada for us all.
Donate now to the Telfer Diversity and Equity Scholarships.
Relive the moments of the event with the article published by the Ottawa Business Journal at: https://bit.ly/3wbANYE.
On March 8, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. This year from February 28 – March 11 (and beyond), Invest Ottawa with its partners will run the 4th Annual International Women’s Week (IWW) with a shared goal - to inspire, equip and empower women professionally. It will take all of us working together to expedite change. That is why the University of Ottawa is partnering with Invest Ottawa to bring nine jam-packed days of virtual events to you. Visit the Invest Ottawa website to register for all other events in the community.
This is event is part of University of Ottawa Women in Innovation learning series
Want to know how to break through? These amazing women leaders will share how they are breaking through and impacting their communities. Join us for an insightful hour of three amazing women leaders sharing their individual professional journey and how they are staying the course. Learn their tools and techniques in breaking through as we share a few laughs together. Sophia Leong, EMBA 1995, will moderates the panel with introductory remarks from Martin Bernier, CIO University of Ottawa. These amazing leaders will share their individual journey, their strategies in breaking through and impacting their communities as well as sharing a few laughs:
Join the Indigenous Alumni Council for the live premiere of The Link Season 2 Episode 5 with Anishinabeg entrepreneur and clean water activist Sunshine Tenasco (BEd '04; BA '03) CEO of Pow Wow Pitch, founder of Her Braids and author of “Nibi’s Water Song”.
Attendees will get the chance to ask questions to Sunshine Tenasco during the Q & A session led by the Indigenous Alumni Council following the episode premiere!
Did you know? The uOttawa Library is home to the Canadian Archive of Women in STEM. In collaboration with Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Institute of Women in Engineering and Sciences (CIWES), the uOttawa Library has established a centre of expertise documenting the history of women who have contributed to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Canada.
Join us for a panel discussion with three trailblazers in the fields of STEM in Canada. Our panelists will discuss their journeys and the importance of sharing and archiving women's stories in order to better foster the next generation of women in STEM.
The journey to success of Telfer School graduate Brennan Loh inspires how he supports and empowers the next generation of entrepreneurs.
No two paths to success are entirely the same. Yet some guideposts are more dependable than others. Brennan Loh’s entrepreneurship journey is a reliable route for any budding businessperson to follow.
The Telfer School graduate and top Shopify leader started early, made connections and seized challenges. This path has not only taken him to the pinnacle of Canadian business, but has also guided how he helps the emerging generation of entrepreneurs at the Telfer School through generous donations, purposeful involvement and volunteer activities.
Start your journey early!
Entrepreneurship has always been near and dear to Brennan. As a child, he was motivated to start businesses and create something from nothing. His natural inclination for entrepreneurship was partly the reason.
The other was the inspiration he received from his businessman father, who immigrated to Canada from Singapore. After losing his job, Brennan watched as his father took the risk of becoming an entrepreneur to support their family. It was a proud moment for Brennan, and one that helped catalyze the importance of fostering an entrepreneurial spirit not just in those that want it but who need it to survive.
Motivated to unleash his entrepreneurial spirit, Brennan joined the Telfer School in 2007. He was so eager to hit the ground running that he became a member of the Telfer School’s Entrepreneurs’ Club before he even began his studies. This early and enthusiastic start by the budding entrepreneur was a clear sign of things to come.
The Entrepreneurs’ Club offered Brennan a vibrant and welcoming gathering place, and put him in close contact with fellow entrepreneurs. It especially gave him learning opportunities that enabled him to dare boldly yet fail safely, without suffering significant personal or financial consequences. Brennan so enjoyed his membership with the Entrepreneurs’ Club that he served on its executive team for four years, two of them as president.
“The Entrepreneurs’ Club was a natural fit for Brennan’s entrepreneurial talents,” said Professor Stephen Daze, Dom Herrick Chair in Entrepreneurship at the Telfer School. “From an early age, he knew how to create value for sponsors and motivate team members; and he had a scrappy startup mentality—something that he has carried through to today!”
Make connections to discover opportunities
Entrepreneurial success is never a solo mission. Again, Brennan’s experience supplies a telling example. As part of a third-year course, he and two friends from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Engineering created a tech startup. They called it Avitu. When the school year ended, the entrepreneurial trio decided not to halt their enterprise but to keep their budding business active.
That summer, Brennan and his Avitu partners worked tirelessly out of a hot apartment before being given the opportunity by a uOttawa alumnus to use part of Shopify’s office space to run their company. The alumnus, Harley Finkelstein, a graduate of the combined law and MBA program, was chief platform officer at Shopify at the time.
Brennan took advantage of being in a shared space with Shopify to exchange best practices and discuss business strategies with Harley every week. The dedication and effort shown by Brennan and his business partners impressed Harley and the other Shopify executives so much that they offered them jobs within the company.
Seize challenges and reap the benefits
By the time Brennan graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing in 2011, he was already working over 40 hours per week at Shopify. The combination of school and full-time employment was demanding, but the valuable real-world experience he acquired only served to bolster his confidence and motivate him to take on increasingly greater challenges in the company.
In the decade since he joined Shopify, Brennan has helped the company grow from fledgling startup to e-commerce titan. His rise through the company’s ranks has been equally impressive—going from head of business development, to director of business development, to director of international markets. His varied and impressive portfolio of projects include Shopify media productions and Shopify Rebellion, the company’s e-sports organization.
Today, as the company’s director of brand and marketing partnerships, Brennan says his motivation stems partly from looking back with pride at successful projects he once thought would be impossible to achieve. Despite his impressive resume and achievements, he remains humble and prefers to operate under the radar. Case in point: in the years when he travelled frequently for the company, he would joke that few people at the Shopify head office knew who he was.
An inspiring journey that empowers a new generation
In keeping with his natural humility, Brennan is quick to acknowledge how much the generosity of others helped shape and propel his career. His professors, his classmates, and his colleagues at Shopify each gave him their trust and encouragement.
In turn, Brennan uses his journey to success as inspiration for how he supports and empowers the emerging generation of entrepreneurs at the Telfer School. To help budding business people start early, Brennan volunteers as an informal mentor, inspiring the next generation to seek out the opportunities that will shape their futures. To enable them to make connections, Brennan continues his work with the Entrepreneurs’ Club as an advisory board member. And to motivate and support emerging entrepreneurs, Brennan is a mentor at the Entrepreneurship Hub’s Startup Garage and an angel investor in the technology sector.
Most notably, Brennan funded the Loh Entrepreneurship Experience Scholarship to allow students to dare boldly. The bursary provides students from any faculty at the University of Ottawa with financial and mentorship support in their entrepreneurial journeys.
“We must give students opportunities to fail safely,” Brennan said. “I see encouraging a student to take four months to pursue entrepreneurship with a financial safety net and minimal opportunity cost to their formal education (in other words, letting them earn credits) as one of many possible solutions. I would love to see universities embrace innovative bets on fostering student entrepreneurship.”
As a result of this generous and intelligent contribution, the Telfer School named Brennan the 2021 Young Donor of the Year. The deserving honour is yet one more step along a career path worth following.
If you would like to support the student experience at the Telfer School of Management through a donation, click here to make a gift to the Telfer Nation Fund. For more information, please don’t hesitate to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. a member of our team.
Canadian industry chief executive says our country needs a catalyst to spark space innovation and entrepreneurship.
Are you aware of the Space Race? It began on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into orbit around the Earth. Over the ensuing dozen years, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in a fierce and sometimes deadly duel of technological space one-upmanship. The race culminated in 1969, when the U.S. landed a manned mission on the Moon and brought the astronauts back home safely.
According to Daniel Goldberg—president and CEO of Telesat, Canada’s largest satellite company—a new space race is underway. But this one is of a different kind. We spoke with Goldberg recently and our conversation revealed that this new space race is a satellite-driven dash for commercial supremacy of low Earth orbit—and the high-paying jobs, vast sums of revenue, and surging economic growth that come along with it.
To be more specific, today’s space race is propelled by private and public sectors working in tandem. Private companies lead advancements in communications satellite manufacturing and production, while governments monitor, regulate and promote an increasingly complex panorama of technological development. The complicated and evolving interplay between private and public has created fascinating industry conditions.
Canada is in fierce competition for commercial supremacy in space
Dr. Wadid Lamine, associate professor of entrepreneurship at the Telfer School of Management, is at the forefront of scholarly research to understand how innovation and entrepreneurship play out in the space industry. His most recent article concludes that certain policies in Europe have created a space industry in that region with barriers to access, leading it to be dominated by two giant French aerospace companies—Airbus and Thales. As a result of this closed environment, new European entrepreneurs have constrained ability and little incentive to enter the aerospace market.
Goldberg and Telesat experience firsthand the industry conditions that Lamine studies. The company’s advanced constellation of 298 state-of-the-art low Earth orbit satellites, known as Telesat Lightspeed, puts Telesat in direct and fierce competition with U.S.-based industry giants SpaceX and Amazon. “We are in a market that is brutally competitive,” he says. “The companies we compete against often have access to very significant financial resources, and a lot of that is connected to support from their domestic governments.”
SpaceX is a prime example. According to Goldberg, the company has been so successful so quickly in large part because of its close relationship with the U.S. government, which provides SpaceX with major funding to develop products. The same conditions largely hold true for other Telesat competitors around the world. The biggest space industry firms in China and Russia for instance are either state agencies or receive major backing in the form of funding and purchases from national governments. In Goldberg’s mind: “For our country to maximize the likelihood of success, we have to harness the abilities of our different stakeholders and make sure they are executing where the big opportunities are.”
Canada needs a space for collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship
The Telesat CEO offers a solution. He contends that Canada’s space industry needs what he calls a catalyst or convening function to bring government, businesses and academia together in common cause. Only then can the industry gain the clearest possible understanding of the opportunities that warrant substantial investment, the insights emerging from university researchers, and the technological innovations arising from universities writ large.
A space industry catalyst is not a completely unfamiliar idea. The United States established its National Space Council, chaired by the country’s vice-president, because it recognized the strategic importance of the public and private sectors working together. The United Kingdom has followed the U.S. example. Closer to home, Canada has taken much the same approach in various sectors other than space. Our country’s Innovation Superclusters are convening agents to nurture innovation ecosystems in industries such as digital technology and advanced manufacturing.
Goldberg’s rallying cry dovetails neatly with Lamine’s most recent research findings. Lamine found that innovation and entrepreneurship in the space industry only really take off when policymakers, entrepreneurs, established firms and university researchers build strong alliances. “This could be achieved by policymakers creating a space and working at the regional level to bring universities, industry and policymakers together to learn from each other, share ideas and transfer knowledge,” he writes.
Universities and their researchers are central to space industry partnerships
Both Lamine and Goldberg believe that universities and academics must be part of any relationships sparked by a space industry catalyst. Goldberg in particular sees two main benefits from university participation. First and foremost are new insights that are unearthed by expert university researchers.
“You have a lot of academics doing ground-breaking research on space communications and new battery technologies,” he says. “I believe there should be greater dialogue between what we are doing in the private sector and universities, and ongoing, regular dialogue and exchange about things that we are both seeing.”
Goldberg also anticipates a workforce benefit. “We are hiring a lot of people, including co-op students, out of universities,” he says. “We need to make sure graduating students come with the skillsets we need.” Dr. Lamine concurs. He notes that establishing the kind of deep, multi-faceted partnership referenced by Goldberg would create a vital “triple helix relationship” among universities, industry firms, and policymaking officials and institutions.
Two prominent voices—one in the private sector and the other in academia—are calling for the same thing: greater dialogue and richer partnerships within Canada’s broader space industry. Their voices might just be the catalyst our country’s industry needs to thrive even more in the new space race.
New research from the Telfer professor Darlene Himick suggests that public pressure is necessary if we are looking for ways to tackle the climate crisis. But while dialogue is important to put pressure on the financial system, Telfer alumnus Sean Sirois (BCom ’83, CFA, ICD.D, RIPC) believes we need concrete action now. We sat down with Sirois to discuss new research and practices, from selective divestment to responsible investing, and identified some of the major transformations needed to make our financial system more sustainable.
Defining sustainable investing is tricky but necessary
Many first-time investors are turning to what is being advertised as “sustainable investing,” hoping that their investment choices will help reduce carbon emission and address the climate crisis. For Telfer alumnus Sean Sirois, who has worked extensively in capital markets with large financial firms such as TD, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank and is now a senior adviser at KingsRock, a global strategic advisory firm, often this is not the case.
Investors may think that they are purchasing sustainable or responsible funds, but the real impact of what they are doing is often minimal. For Sirois, also the founder of Demeter Advisors Inc., which consults on sustainability issues, “by greenwashing the economic system, Wall Street is delaying overdue systemic solutions.”
Sustainable, or responsible, investing is new, and there is no universally accepted definition of it. National and provincial regulatory bodies and other organizations such as the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute will be clarifying what can be called a “green fund” or another type of sustainable investing, taking into account environmental, social and governance issues. Sirois hopes this will enable investors to direct their capital to the right area for the right reasons, help regulatory bodies discourage greenwashing and hold companies accountable.
Many organizations have developed frameworks for responsible investing. The UN-produced Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), for instance, outline six internationally recognized principles to help organizations implement responsible investing and publicly demonstrate their commitment. To date, over 2,500 institutions and investors with US $121 trillion in assets have signed on to the PRI.
The impact of public pressure in the financial system
The oil and gas divestment movement is one of the many environmental initiatives pressuring the financial system to go greener: to date, 1,300 institutions, with investments worth over US $14 trillion dollars, have committed to divesting from fossil fuels.
Pressure from these public groups may reduce the amount of capital flowing into these stocks, but Sirois, who also is working for a U.K.-based innovator that is commercializing an environmentally friendly substitute for single-use plastic materials for e-commerce and a Singapore-based company that has developed engineering innovations that improve container shipping efficiency and effectiveness, warns that some of these actions may have a limited effect on the financial system.
The commitment to divest from oil and gas is relatively small: over US$230 trillion of investable assets are currently floating in the global capital and public markets. Oil, gas, coal and energy stocks represent only 3% of total capital markets assets. “We also need to remember that … other companies or investors will be willing to buy oil and gas assets for a lower price, in which case the harmful gas emission activities will continue,” Sirois says.
Directing capital to promising sectors
Sirois advises investors to identify the sectors where their investment will reduce carbon emissions. “One area leading the way is the renewable energy sector.” According to the International Renewable Energy Agency list of financial commitments in renewable energy, the global renewable energy market had US$700 billion in revenue in 2020. The sector offers opportunities to investors: “If you’re in a growing market, your investment can potentially be more profitable than in a sector in decline” he says.
A lot of investment will be needed to support energy efficiency, electrification, infrastructure, and other areas, which total US$110 trillion according to a 2020 IRENA report on investment needs. “We need a major turnover in where our capital is invested today to meet some of the international environmental targets and improve the environment tomorrow,” says Sirois.
On the right track, but bigger changes needed
In Canada, a growing number of retail investors are choosing funds and products that support energy efficiency, renewable energy, water purification and other initiatives. In the public sector, large pension funds are working to lower the carbon emission weight in their portfolios, and some funds set out specific responsible investing guidelines for their asset managers. Sirois mentions the Responsible Investment Association call to action: “The association has recently called members to commit to take action that can help us achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”
There is certainly momentum, but Sirois thinks a larger transformation needs to happen for Canada to reach the 2015 Paris Agreement climate goals. “The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that we need to listen to science. We also need to encourage our political leaders to bring in rules and regulations that will force real change,” he says. Open dialogue is also key. “This includes understanding others’ points of view and communicating how we move forward to reach our goals,” he adds.
What Telfer is doing for sustainability
Telfer’s programs and research around responsible investment can help finance leaders, policymakers and companies support a greener future for Canadians.
The Telfer Capital Markets Program is a two-year development program for students seeking to learn more about capital markets. The program’s curriculum includes course work in finance, as well as mentorship, workshops, networking and the opportunity to manage a real investment portfolio.
Sirois is on the program’s advisory board. He explains the new program focus: “We are revamping the Telfer Capital Fund into a program for students that considers environmental, social and governance factors and focuses on investing capital in the companies of the future, companies that will help with the transition to a lower carbon economy.”
One of Telfer’s areas of strategic impact is Globalization, Governance, and Sustainability. Researchers are advancing our understanding of the role and impact of organizations on social, environmental and economic sustainability in Canada and globally.
One of these researchers is Professor Darlene Himick. Himick’s recent research is on how public pressure affects oil and gas divestment by public funds. According to Sirois: “Governments must change the rules of the game in order to create incentives for industry to literally clean up its act, and for investors to put their capital into areas that will create a sustainable future.”
The acknowledgement of the need for reconciliation through Truth and Reconciliation Day is a step in the right direction, but there is still more progress to be made as hundreds of Indigenous communities currently hold boil water advisories.
Advisories like these mean that in order to consume and use the water through their existing water systems, Indigenous communities must first boil the water to consider it safe. In some communities, the water is not usable at all.
University of Ottawa student and Project Manager of the Nibi Project at Enactus uOttawa, Alexandra Whiteduck, grew up with unsafe drinking water, despite only living an hour and a half from the Nation’s Capital.
“I grew up in a community 1.5 hours north of Ottawa, and I grew up without clean drinking water,” shared Alexandra.
As someone who has experienced the issue first hand, Alexandra now works on the student-led initiative, Nibi, to bring safe drinking water solutions to other Indigeneous communities through testing and purification solutions.
The map on the left shows the number of Indigenous communities in Canada with boil water advisories (note that the map does not include the do-not-use advisories) - via watertoday.ca.
The Importance of Clean Drinking Water
Without clean drinking water, the basic necessities of life are not met. Alexandra encourages you to ask yourself the question:
“What tasks do you plan on doing today? Are you going to wake up and have coffee? Drink a glass of water? Take a shower? Brush your teeth? Wash the dishes? All these tasks are not accessible to Indigenous communities.
As you go throughout your day, consider these questions and ask yourself: could I do this if I didn’t have access to clean water? There will be many tasks where the answer would be no, and for Indigenous communities, it continues to be the truth for them everyday.
If we work hard towards a future where Indigenous communities all have access to clean water, their everyday lives and everyday productivity would change drastically.
The Nibi Solution
How they’re helping
Alexandra became a part of the Nibi team as the second Project Manager. The two Project Managers before her who started the initiative were other uOttawa students Michelle Wronski and Elisabeth Mercier.
“Michelle and Elisabeth founded this project because they saw a large gap in research and support for the water crisis in Indigenous communities. They were extremely passionate about the issue and wanted to find a solution to fix it.”
The two founders saw Alexandra speak on the issue, and instantly saw her as a good fit to join the team. As someone who has lived without clean drinking water, Alexandra is able to bring first-hand insights on where support was lacking and how it could change to better Indigenous communities.
The student-run initiative now focuses on three different pillars of support: Testing, purification solutions and workshops.
For testing, Nibi connects communities with certified partners that help teach them how to monitor water on site. This gives Indigenous people ownership of their water treatment and the ability to monitor the systems themselves.
Nibi also helps Indigenous communities find purification solutions that work with their socio-economic needs. Unlike working with government bodies, the communities are not forced into accepting any help or taking action after the results are given.
“We conduct need-based assessments to identify purification solutions that meet their needs. It’s all their choice; if they want to work with us we will, but if they don’t, no problem.” The Enactus team then finds the contaminants in the water and asks the communities what they hope to see from the purification process.
Lastly, Nibi hosts workshops to empower youth to keep control of their water quality and infrastructure. The Nibi team also converses with Indigenous youth to see what they hope their communities look like in the future.
On this day of Truth and Reconciliation, it's important to remember that there is still a lot to be done. We hope everyone takes this day to continue to educate themselves on the lives of Indigenous people and how they are impacted by current legislations.
Wiam Ben Karroum graduated from the Telfer School of Management with a double degree in Finance and Business Technology Management (MISA) in just April of 2021. She has already secured a full-time role at Deloitte on the Technology, Strategy, and Transformation team, after completing a co-op with the company during her studies.
Not stopping there, Wiam is also actively working with Forget For A Moment Foundation, which is focused on sensitizing healthcare facilities by bringing nature inside their walls. A registered charity since 2012, the foundation was started by uOttawa alumna Jeannine Lafrenière, who went through cancer herself and wished to see something other than magazines in hospital waiting rooms for patients, families, and staff working.
We met Wiam virtually to better understand how her extracurricular involvement in clubs like Women in Management Network (WMN) helped her get involved with the Forget For A Moment Foundation. Like many other Telfer grads, Wiam is now helping to build a Better Canada.
Why was it important for you to be involved in extracurricular activities when you were a student? What did you learn in your time volunteering with clubs?
“Getting involved in multiple student-led clubs at Telfer helped me develop myself personally and professionally. I had a chance to gain more leadership and communication skills and it gave me the opportunity to discover my interests and passions outside of taking classes! I fostered meaningful relationships with like-minded students that helped and supported my growth through the university experience and beyond.
I also launched the podcast “Words with WMN” during the pandemic! Being part of the Women in Management Network (WMN) allowed me to meet incredible women leaders and made me realize where we stand on the topic of diversity and equality today and how much work is yet to be done. I was able to give back to my community and be part of causes bigger than myself, which ultimately brought me to the Forget For A Moment Foundation.”
As a new grad, what was the best thing you took away from your Telfer experience?
“The best thing I took away from Telfer is my now refined ability to network and maintain genuine connections. Overall, I had a wonderful experience, from trying new things and exploring the community to being involved in clubs and the Profession of Management Consulting Program (PMCP). I learned the power of saying “yes” and continuing to get involved past graduating. Telfer made me realize I am interested in things I didn’t even know about so the curiosity and opportunities I took away are so important.”
Wiam actually joined the Forget For A Moment Foundation as a Campaign Coordinator in her last year of university, thanks to the suggestion from Omer Livvarcin, her professor of Digital Enterprise. Currently busy raising funds for the living wall in the Orléans Health Hub, the foundation works to finance the construction of natural structures inside healthcare facilities and to help pay for their first year of maintenance. And they’re not doing it just because plants look beautiful. Numerous studies have proven that simply looking at plants in healthcare surroundings helps patients, families, and staff reduce stress.
The Foundation seeks to give the sick, their relatives, their caregivers and staff, a natural, healthy, and delightful garden to provide a momentary break from their fear, pain, and stress.
Wiam is working with interested individuals and companies to join the partnership program or donate directly through the website. The Foundation has a goal of systematically including nature in the designs of 10 hospitals, long-term care facilities or nursing homes over the next decade.
Wiam’s passion for this cause shines brightly and it’s a perfect example of Telfer’s mission to create profound social change through the Better Canada initiative. In addition to this wonderful project, we also asked Wiam about her future:
What are your plans for the future? Anything in particular you are looking forward to?
“My plans are to continue working with WMN founders to expand the network and to be involved with the Forget For A Moment Foundation to grow it to a national level. I am also excited to start my full-time journey in Technology consulting!”
We are so proud of all Wiam’s accomplishments and we are so happy that her involvement in Telfer Nation was able to provide her with confidence and leadership skills to pursue non-profit work alongside full-time employment. We are also proud to see an alumnus connect with our mission to Build A Better Canada. We wish Wiam the best in her future endeavours.
At the age of 19, Audrey-Claire Lawrence (EMBA, 1997) started her teaching career in Rouyn-Noranda over 850 km away from Québec City where she has been living. Little did she know, this was only the beginning of a lifelong journey that would lead her to rethink Canada’s health and educational system.
Teaching in a remote region of Québec brought on a lot of firsts for Ms. Lawrence. Due to the lack of school past grade 6, Cree students were flown in from different communities in the James Bay area; ‘It was an interesting environment to be in,” remembers Lawrence. “The North was quite different then Québec City. At school, you could see kids were divided between Cree and Town Children, but the class they integrated very well.”
One day, a dentist sent by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (now Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs; Indigenous Service) came into her students’ class for what was presented as a routine visit for the Indigenous children. Lawrence (born Swaffield) was confused at the time, knowing there was already a dentist in town, but giving the official statement from the dentist, she sent in her first student. She was shocked when the young girl returned: “She came back green and looked terrible.” The dentist had explained that he needed to pull out 7 teeth to treat the young girl's cavities. After that, Lawrence immediately refused him permission to touch any more of her students and had the principal send the dentist away. “I simply didn’t understand the logic given how a local dentist could have taken care of the kids,” she added.
The consequence of this event sent Lawrence on a journey to understand the “system” regarding Indigenous relations in our education and health systems. Of Cree and Inuit Ancestry herself, she was already attentive to the Indigenous rights cause, but from that day, she knew she had to take a stand.
Starting On a Mission
After completing further degrees, Lawrence became an experienced facilitator, motivational speaker, and organizational development specialist. She has worked in management positions in government, education, and healthcare, most notably as Director of Educational Services at The Ottawa Hospital (Civic then) and as Director of Education for the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists.
She has also served in leadership positions in national, provincial, and local organizations involved with organizational development, libraries and concerns affecting Indigenous communities throughout Canada, including in Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. Author of several journal articles and study guides, Lawrence has presented at numerous conferences on cultural safety, humour in the workplace, stress and change management, and before retiring had her own consulting practice supplying facilitation and event services, customized to the needs of her clients.
In addition to her MBA from the University of Ottawa, Lawrence also holds an MA in Sociology and Organizational Behaviour from the University of Calgary, an Honours BA from McGill, as well as a Teaching Diploma in Later Childhood from MacDonald College. She is a Myers-Briggs Facilitator and has extensive experience in the provision of training and leadership programs.
Developing Critical Thinking Skills
Lawrence has extensive experience in policy analysis, report writing, and strategic planning. She attributes her success in these fields to her time at Telfer EMBA, which was known as the Faculty of Administration at the time.
“One of the classes I remember the most was held by Professor Raj Gandhi,” she recalled. “As he introduced his class on cost-benefit ratio, he said jokingly, that the biggest mistake we did was to put our money on an MBA when we should have bought a house. It’s a simple example, but it gets you thinking about how to develop your critical thinking as well as doing cost benefit analysis.”
Lawrence shared how the program helped her to further shape her skills: “My MBA helped develop my critical thinking as well as negotiations with teammates to get things done.” She noted that it helped one to be a system thinker so one can change the state of things: “When you have good people, but a lousy system, the barriers are too strong to do anything, the world is already too complex. When you get to fix the system, thinking and see what can be leveraged, that’s when change can happen.”
Lawrence is now a thriving member of the Telfer alumni community: “I enjoy seminars and the continuing learning opportunities offered by the University. I think I might be holding the record as the alumna with the longest time attending learning events” she said candidly. She continued: “If you have a good experience, it will build a lifelong learning objective, and I simply enjoy learning.”
The Career After the Career
Officially retired and living in Ottawa, it would be impossible to think that Lawrence would have left everything behind. She has been involved in the community through volunteer work at a few health and organizations and libraries, including serving as Chair of the Canadian Health Care Educators Association, the former President of the Ontario Library Board Association (OLBA), the former Chair of the Cumberland Public Library (now part of the Ottawa Public Library), and the Vice-Chair of the Southern Ontario Library Service Board and Volunteer Leadership Development Program (VLDP) of Volunteer Ottawa.
“I surely know how to keep myself busy. My husband would tell you that I’m spending more time volunteering now than I worked during my career,” exclaimed Lawrence.
Most recently, Audrey had served on the Public Witness for Social and Ecological Justice Committee. She now serves as the Indigenous Co-Chair for the All My Relations Circle for the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa for work on Reconciliation and has been on the Algonquin College Board of Governors since 2017.
Standing Up for Distance Learning in the Indigenous Community
Audrey has long been aware of the needs for financial support for university and college students and especially for Indigenous students, so she set up a special bursary for Indigenous learners at Algonquin College in 2019. Then upon hearing that there was no bursaries for online students, she recently in May 2021 established the Audrey Lawrence AC Online Bursary, the first bursary for learning distance which will be awarded to full-time and part-time online learners in financial need, following a second gift of $15,000 from Lawrence.
The Online Bursary will encompass two $6,000 bursaries for full-time learners, with one preferably directed toward an Indigenous student. Additionally, three $1,000 bursaries will also be awarded to part-time students.
As a former teacher to Cree students at the very beginning of her career, it simply seems natural for Lawrence to give back to the community and encourage distance learning: “As I went on through my teaching career, I’m glad I could count on correspondence courses (distance learning process at the time) to complete my degree. I am very sensitive to the needs of distance learners,” she said.
Audrey mentioned that even if it has been a few decades ago, the gap in providing essential services, such as education, to the Indigenous community is still very much a topical issue. “Over the past 20 years, not much has changed,” she said. “Gaps are being identified, but little is done to shorten them in the end. We bring infrastructure to the communities, but we do not take the time with them to ensure the facilities have operational support - and that’s a big issue.” She concluded: “Apart from the mea culpa, we need to learn from the past to make positive action and the most important thing to do is to ask the community what and how it should be done above all.”
A new Telfer study shows that traditional families with businesses often treat their children differently based on gender, including in succession planning and entrepreneurial education. We talked to two women raised in entrepreneurial families to learn how gender bias can affect women’s careers and experiences in entrepreneurship. They also shared some advice for family businesses.
Emma O’Dwyer
Emma O’Dwyer, regional manager at Family Enterprise Canada, has seen bias first hand in her own family. She says she was not given support even though she earned “two MBA degrees from prestigious universities, gained outside experience, and built a professional network beyond the family business.” She often wonders if this stopped her from building the confidence to take a more entrepreneurial path.
O’Dwyer says that gender bias can damage both daughters and sons. “Today, I see that a lot of men who are expected to inherit the family firm or start their own business receive pressure to be successful.” She believes that “forcing sons to lead the family firm restricts their opportunities to gain experience outside the walls of the family business and develop the business knowledge they need.”
Susan St. Amand
Susan St. Amand is the founder and president of Sirius Group Inc. and Sirius Financial Services. Like O’Dwyer, St. Amand always had an interest in the business world. “My dad and a group of local entrepreneurs would meet for coffee every day, and I loved it when I was able to join them to hear their stories.” This led her to studying business.
Even though St. Amand gained experience and education in entrepreneurship, her brother was still the one expected to take over the business on her father’s retirement. “It was just not common for women to run or inherit a family business, so I was not considered.” This didn’t deter St. Amand from pursuing a career in a large finance organization, before starting her own business. But despite her success, St. Amand was often asked when she would sell her business and fulfil a more traditional female role.
Advice to families to challenge gender bias
O’Dwyer and St. Amand shared some suggestions to help families challenge gender bias and prepare the next generation to succeed in the family firm and beyond:
Treat children as equally as possible and make sure the expectations and pressure are the same for all.
Identify what the children need to do and experience, and what support they need to build their skills and succeed in any career.
Great things come from failing and learning. Let the next generation try things, fail, learn, try again and repeat to succeed, within a safe environment.
Your legacy as a family does not and should not be limited by the business, no matter how many generations it has existed. Let the next generation find their passion and explore the world outside your walls — you’ll be surprised what happens.
Introduce children to role models and mentors across genders very early in life.
Engage them in conversations about the business and about finances. Don’t assume children aren’t interested in numbers, investments or business because of their gender.
Use stories to share knowledge and make information accessible.
Teach children how to make decisions and take responsibility early on. Being comfortable with risk is critical to feeling confident and independent.
O’Dwyer reminds parents who run a family firm: “You play an important role in the success of the family and the business.” St. Amand highlights the need to question rigid norms: “Families are members of communities and communities share cultural norms that are embedded for generations. It takes strength and courage to be disruptive and time to evaluate the results.”
The Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) is a UN-supported initiative whose mission is to transform management education, research, and thought education leadership globally by providing the PRME framework, developing learning communities, and promoting awareness about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 2020, the Telfer School of Management joined over 800 leading business and management schools from around the world that are committed to building a more sustainable future by implementing the Six Principles and striving to achieve the SDGs.
Ultimately, it is PRME’s vision to have the UN Sustainable Development Goals realized through responsible management education. The Six Principles of PRME are based on internationally-accepted values endorsed by UN Member States and provide an engagement framework for higher education institutions to embed responsibility and sustainability in education, research, and campus practices through a process of continuous improvement. Higher education institutions that become signatories to PRME make a public commitment to knowledge creation and education that supports and develops leaders capable of managing the complex challenges faced by businesses and society in the 21st century. PRME is a multi-stakeholder platform with a dynamic network of local and global learning communities, including thematic Working Groups and regional Chapters, which collaborate on projects and events. Since its official launch in 2007 by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the PRME initiative has grown to more than 800 leading business schools and management-related academic institutions from over 80 countries across the world.
As a PRME Signatory, Telfer is committed to investing in our world’s future and doing what we can to ensure the planet is here to stay. As part of Globalization, Governance, And Sustainability area of strategic impact, the Telfer Institute for Sustainable Business is putting sustainability at the centre of decision-making, influencing a new era of business thinking.
Strategic planning with sustainability in mind, renewable business practices, and greener values have a positive impact on our global environment and enables us to build a better Canada. In order to build a solid foundation for our future, we need to completely rethink and reorient the way our economy does business. If Canadian businesses invest in technologies and practices that foster a green economy, then over time, we can make progress towards a sustainable world.
Telfer alumna Chantal Butler (BCom ’94) believes there is a momentum in the food retail sector for driving sustainable actions within supply chains. Chantal is Vice President Sales and General Manager of Loblaw Business at Weston Foods. She works with several clients who seek to influence the food retail industry so that it becomes more sustainable. How can the food and grocery retail sector create a greener world through their supply chains and what are the main challenges? We interviewed her to learn more about positive changes ahead.
Changes ahead
An increasing number of companies worldwide are committing to reducing their carbon footprint and to creating a better society. But to create real change, companies must trigger sustainable actions along their supply chains. A study led by Telfer Professor Sara Hajmohammad suggests that companies can make improvements at the industry level by shaping and transforming their suppliers’ environmental and social sustainability practices and behaviours.
When asked if the food and grocery retail sector can play a role in driving sustainability within their supply chains, Chantal shares her optimism: “Ten years ago, things were different, but there has been a lot of progress in the industry and I really think this is only the beginning.”
As consumers become increasingly aware of their environmental impacts and seek ways to shop for greener products, many food and grocery retailers today are aspiring to achieve bolder goals. Not only do they want to engage in sustainable practices in house, but they also want to encourage their suppliers to do the same. Chantal explains that “there is a major opportunity for businesses to influence the entire supply chain in the long run.”
Company size matters
Large food and grocery retailers work with multiple suppliers of raw ingredients, including food ingredients and packaging. When large companies like Weston Foods set out sustainability goals, they can influence their suppliers, according to Chantal. “If suppliers may not support us in achieving these goals, then we can identify vendors who have our shared vision,” she adds.
Joining forces is the best way to drive sustainability
Professor Hajmohammad’s study suggests that when companies in the same industry collectively build strategies to influence their suppliers, they are more likely to push their suppliers to engage in sustainable actions across the whole sector. Chantal agrees with this collective ability to trigger change across an industry: “Leading food retail companies may be competing, but when they all start asking for the same sustainability standards and pushing their suppliers into adjusting and accommodating, change can happen.”
Leading groups in the industry have forged alliances to encourage suppliers to become sustainable, particularly when it comes to packaging. “Large and small companies alike are forming alliances to push suppliers to start sourcing recyclable plastics or to eliminate some types of products in their plastic materials,” says Chantal.
Challenges
Although a large company’s size and power can definitely influence its supply chain, the company’s size can make innovation challenging. According to Chantal, large companies often face obstacles to innovation and to implementing changes on a larger scale and across a large part of their portfolio.
Companies will need to further innovate if they want to address new goals and consumer expectations. For instance, the next generation of consumers may be looking to purchase from companies that focus on zero waste.
While sustainability is widely accepted today, Chantal explains that changing a supply chain is not simple and requires time. “Some suppliers can be selective in some of the ideas that they want to embrace, some are more willing to innovate with you, and others are a little concerned about how to get there,” she says.
She also mentioned that some companies that want to become sustainable may face financial challenges. Sustainability policies can generate incremental cost increases for everyone, in the end, so companies need to lobby for relevant government policies and tax breaks. Failing to do so could lead to additional costs to the consumer: “Even when organizations make an effort to absorb those costs as much as they possibly can, consumers may end up paying more.”
How Weston Foods is driving change
Weston Foods has a ten-year plan for sustainability that Chantal has been implementing for the past two years. Packaging has been one of Weston Foods’ key priorities because the company is aware of how relevant this is to consumers. “Today, consumers want to eliminate the really bad plastics and replace them whenever possible.”
To meet their sustainability goals and reduce the impact of packaging on the environment, Weston Foods is partnering with vendors to source more sustainable packaging solutions. For instance, the company is currently working on a pilot project with a client to test if reusable packaging can play a role in consumer-packaged goods and food.
Advice for other companies seeking to go greener
Chantal believes that not only leading companies can implement greener goals: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can also play a transformative role in the supply chain. She shares a few recommendations for SMEs seeking to become sustainable:
All large organizations now have a sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies that they publicize and track: pay attention to what they are doing and latch on to those actions that are important to your business model.
Smaller companies often have the flexibility to test out more creative or more ambitious sustainable ideas: leverage your size as an advantage to innovate further so that you go beyond what the big companies can do.
Small or large, companies across industries can support the development of a greener Canada and a better future. As a mother, Chantal knows how crucial it is to drive environmental sustainability: “The reality is what will the world of our children, and their children, look like if we do not collectively address these issues now?”
Chantal Butler (BCom ’94), Vice President Sales, Loblaw Companies Limited
Successful in her career, Maria McKay (Telfer MBA, 2012) is a caring mentor and a true agent of change for her clients in the public sector and for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities and beyond. Maria is a Senior Manager in KPMG's People & Change Advisory Services Practice. She grew up in an environment where differences of opinions and ideas were encouraged and seen as a strength. Throughout her life, she lived according to the values of promoting good, both for herself and others around her, by standing up for what’s right and supporting people to do the same.
Maria was adopted as a small child by two people she considers to be her original allies: “I am very lucky to have been raised by thoughtful, humanist parents,” shared Maria. Her late father was a United Church Minister who shared his beliefs about social justice and inclusion with her growing up: “My dad grew up in New Glasgow and told me about a teenage experience he had there when a Black woman refused to leave a Whites-only area of the local movie theatre, and the disgust he felt at the violence against her that ensued. I only figured out who this incredible woman was in 2016 when Tim Harper of the Toronto Star wrote a story about the heroine, whom he suggested should be put on our new $10 bill (Viola Desmond), which was the same story my dad had told me as a child. My dad would have been absolutely thrilled at the ultimate decision to put Ms. Desmond on our new currency! This early experience may have been part of the reason why Martin Luther King and the US Civil Rights Movement had such a profound influence on my father, and was why he chose to study in Boston, where my parents met me.” Despite hopes to the contrary, Maria’s parents were powerless when she was on the school ground, and she had many early, difficult personal experiences of exclusion and racism. However, this opened Maria’s eyes to observe human behaviour from many different angles and led to her interest in the study of groups and organizational values and norms, or cultural anthropology.
After completing her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Cultural Anthropology and History, and later her Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) in Canada, Maria’s career took her back to the United States East Coast and the cities of Atlanta and Boston. She worked at McKinsey & Company as a Research Analyst and as a Strategic Market Intelligence Analyst at EY. Her strong strategic research and analysis capabilities combined with her interest in working with others made a career as a management consultant seem like a perfect fit. At least, that’s what Gregory Richards, Director of Telfer’s Executive MBA program, thought back in 2011 when Maria showed interest in pursuing an MBA.
Telfer MBA: A Life-Changing Decision
Maria decided to come back to Canada and pursue her Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Telfer. We have Gregory Richards, Cognos Professor of Performance Management at the time, to thank for it: “At the time, we interviewed everyone who applied to the MBA program. Maria had non-consulting experience at McKinsey and EY,” recalled Professor Richards. “After talking with her, it struck us that she had the analytical, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills to become an excellent consultant. I think we might have asked her why she hadn’t considered consulting before given her professional background.”
Maria shared how she chose to pursue her MBA at the University of Ottawa: “Greg Richards is a big part of the reason why I picked uOttawa. I wanted to study with an expert in strategy and performance management and my big brother strongly recommended Greg. I also did not have a long history of having had Black professors as I only had two as an undergraduate at U of T . In my MLIS I did not have any Black professors, but the school was incredibly supportive of my interests including my final project, a comprehensive bibliography that detailed the history and experiences of Black American librarians. I learned a great deal from all my professors at Telfer, and especially Gregory Richards and Gerard Brathwaite-Sturgeon, who is an expert in organizational behaviour and HR. And in the end, Greg was right, and I ended up doing very well in my consulting course.”
A proud mentor and teacher, Professor Richards saw Maria excel in the program: “Her work in the MBA program showed her capabilities to not only solve problems, but to work collaboratively even with people she found to be difficult sometimes. It is good to see that she has become an accomplished consultant post-graduation.”
Maria now has close to twenty years of professional experience. She helps people and organizations to identify desired outcomes and to determine how to realize value through structural cultural and operating model changes. She lives according to the spectrum of belonging that celebrates diversity and inclusion, and she also pushes for anti-racism, equity, and justice. Above all, Maria is passionate about serving clients and other people, and she’s been recognized for her ethics and support of students, professional peers, and newcomers to Canada. Her contribution to the Telfer MBA Mentorship program after graduating is no surprise to all.
A Passion for Mentorship and Coaching
Maria is a mentor in the Telfer MBA Mentorship program, providing useful advice to Telfer MBA students. The program allows current MBA students with the opportunity to interact with an accomplished professional to build their network and seek career advice. “A program like the Telfer MBA mentorship program couldn’t function without people like Maria,” exclaimed Caroline Hannah, Relationship Manager at the Telfer Career Centre. "Maria was a mentor before even joining the program. It all came naturally to her. Throughout her MBA, and following, she would welcome having coffee chats and meetings with students as she enjoyed those connections and guiding others. That’s passion for mentorship.”
Maria does indeed have a strong inclination for mentorship: “I am always on the lookout for somebody who needs my help as a mentor or coach: clients, colleagues, friends, strangers on planes, business school friends. If someone asks me for help, it may be just once or several times, I try to say yes if it makes sense and I have something of value to offer to them,” declares Maria. “I try to be a confidence lifter for others, and especially women and racialized people, as they build their feelings of self-efficacy and self-worth while also building a professional network.”
Mentees of Maria’s start with the end in mind by doing an exercise called ‘the life I want,’ and then they align their personal and career aspirations to their own desired future state. She helps to guide them on setting and achieving goals, and she engages in discussions with them about philosophies on management practices, work-life integration, and professional success. The mentor/mentee relationship might evolve from there, depending on the needs expressed by each mentee.
“A wise business leader shared with me her perspective on the difference between a mentor and a coach. When you are mentor, others learn by direct or indirect ‘osmosis’ when you share your own experiences and hope it inspires them. As a coach, you try to establish conditions for others to see what might be possible and what could be different through their own exertion of energy and effort and then support them as they build their own plan. What happens next is up to them in terms of how much they want to practice their craft and what actions they are willing to take, or which sacrifices they are willing to make to work toward their future life; so sometimes I am a mentor and sometimes I am a coach,” explains Maria.
She has enjoyed her experience as a mentor at Telfer, including helping students get started in their careers: “There is a component to my work at Telfer that involves communication training for newcomers related to learning how to do business in Canada and translating cross-cultural experiences. I have also been able to help some students make connections to employers and make decisions about job offers,” added Maria. “It’s an honour to help them with this, and to have others trust me enough to let me help them think about their future. I’m grateful for this experience, and I’m so glad Caroline Hannah brought me in with open arms.”
Standing Up for Herself to Help Others
With a successful career in consulting and dozens of mentees she has helped, it can be concluded that Maria has always found it easy to help others and advocate on their behalf. During her undergraduate degree she marched on campus and fought against discrimination in a group called ‘United Coalition Against Racism.’ However, it wasn’t until the tragic events surrounding the death of George Floyd in May 2020 that Maria rediscovered her activist roots and the courage to speak out more publicly again against racial injustice.
“One of the leaders at my firm told me last June: ‘You don't have to worry anymore about being labelled an ‘Angry Black Woman’ when you raise important issues – just be yourself,’" said Maria. “I honestly thought I would have to wait until I retired before I could voice strong opinions about racism, bigotry, misogyny, able-ism, and to loudly support Black Lives Matter, Indigenous Lives Matter, LGBTQIA2+, and Mental Health movements amongst others because I did not think the mainstream world would listen. What I realized in the last year is that there are so many people around the world who are as ready for change as I am and that if I speak from the principles of honesty, authenticity, integrity, and love for my fellow humans, there is nothing to fear from speaking the truth on any stage, private or public.”
Inside her firm, Maria is an active member of KPMG’s Black Professional Network and an ally in the National Indigenous People’s Network. She is also a change management leader who seeks to help organizations prepare for a future of work that is ‘inclusive by design.’ “The digital business transformations that were being planned or were underway before the pandemic are necessary to modernize how work is carried out to enable workers to do their jobs more safely and enable the large-scale shift to hybrid and remote work. However, when we introduce automation and AI to enable changes, many of the workers most at risk are women and BIPOC staff. If our guiding principle is to ‘leave no one behind,’ then we must use data and analytics to assess the impact of emerging technologies on workers by race, age, gender, and location before we change anything – and then build a people-centric path to the future for all, especially considering the differential impact of COVID by race and gender,” stated Maria.
According to Maria, without the support of others, it would not be possible to make changes in one’s personal life or career, and that is why she is so invested in being a mentor and coach to others. While she has experienced many challenging periods throughout her life, she has always had people who advocated on her behalf and helped her, so passing it forward comes naturally. It is also why she tries to live by the adage (exact origins unknown), ‘We are not put on earth to see through people – we are put on earth to see one another through,’ Maria concluded: “One of the greatest privileges in my life is to have mentees share their hopes and aspirations related to the life they want with me. It is fulfilling beyond words to serve others by helping them articulate their own vision, plan the required steps to get there, and then cheer them on as they make moves toward achieving their dreams.”
Abtin specializes in onboarding and engaging with clients for growth and expansion. He enjoys helping clients efficiently solve their problems while offering consultative services to enable cost and time savings with the use of data and analytics.
Abtin works on projects across various verticles, applying advanced data analytics, technologies, data intelligence, data mining, data modelling, algorithms, automation, and visualizing tools. He is passionate about building his clients’ trust in comprehensive data products and services, while emphasizing education and developing more sophisticated and scalable tools to tackle complex data problems within the industry.
The Journey of Ottawa’s Top Data Analyst
After obtaining his Bachelor of Honours studying E-Commerce in Malaysia, he completed his Masters in Systems Science Engineering in 2012, a joint program from the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Engineering and the Telfer School of Management. During his Masters, he worked closely with his thesis supervisor, Telfer Professor Sandra Schillo. Abtin shared: “I always enjoy the numbers and relations between them. However, the journey started at the University of Ottawa when I was doing my Master's thesis under Professor Sandra Schillo’s supervision. We gather, collect and analyze the numbers to search for questions and solutions for real-world problems.” He also reflected that he gained the ability to look at questions from different angles: “I learned to look at the questions from different perspectives, think outside of the box, learn life lessons, and develop and hone my skills.”
Upon reflection of his journey up until his Ottawa Award achievement, Abtin noted: “I started working in a couple of startup organizations (I highly suggest it to everyone), which helped me build my professional network and slowly move up in my personal and professional life. I kept in contact with friends from university, classmates, professors, subject matter experts and anyone who taught me something new. Those were the people who nominate and support me, and I will be there for them when they need me.
Abtin continued to work with Professor Schillo when she brought him onto a research project she was working on in the area of biofuels. Professor Schilo shared her experience working with Abtin on the project: “the data we were looking for was hard to find. Abtin had to dig quite a bit to find the data we were looking for.” In 2017, Professor Schillo, Abtin and Professor Diane Isabelle from Carleton University’s business school would see their publication, “Linking advanced biofuels policies with stakeholder interests: A method building on Qualty Function Deployment”, shared in Elsevier’s Energy Policy. The paper discusses advanced biofuels and the impact it has on Canadian decision-makers in the renewable energy industry.
Professor Schillo was thrilled to see Abtin’s latest win: “I am very proud of Abtin’s accomplishment. He works incredibly hard, which is the reason why he would have received such an award. He is a team player who has always been passionate about continuous learning, and I have a lot of respect for him after working together over the years during his thesis, on our publication, and when he was a teaching assistant for one of my classes.”
In conclusion, Abtin shared his takeaways when it comes to career development: “No matter where you work, when you start and where you are in your life, the hard work, professionalism, and grinding will always show themselves when you least expect it.”
Congratulations to Abtin on his exciting achievement, and we wish him continued success in his career.
Telfer School of Management MBA alumni, Soumi Sarkar, Anjaney Agashe, and Arun Subramanian performed excellently at the 8th annual Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (SG-FECC), placing second on the podium in the Graduate Studies category. SG-FECC is a case competition hosted by the University of Vermont, in order to prepare participants for unique and troublesome issues related to Family Enterprise. Participants are expected to solve complex cases as well as present their solutions over the course of four rounds of competition. The competition was exceptionally held online this year.
According to the team’s coach and Telfer Full Professor of Family Business and Entrepreneurship, Peter Jaskiewicz, despite Telfer’s first time competing in the SG-FECC, they were held in very high regards by the organizers of the event, stating that “our team rocked although we lacked the experience of prior SG-FECC competitions and the track record of a long-standing family business curriculum at Telfer.”
Moreover, business owners and consultants who worked as judges at SG-FECC, highlighted on many occasions how well the Telfer former students performed, which Professor Jaskiewicz believes is a good indication that the MBA program is performing well.
“It has been very rewarding for me to coach them because they are smart, hard-working, and fun”, stated Jaskiewicz. “I enjoyed seeing them excel at analyzing complex family business problems and offering intriguing solutions to address these problems.”
“Moreover, they have shown a great team spirit from the time they took my class ‘Advising Family Business’ to their final presentation at the case competition: they always worked smoothly as a team, behaved very professionally, supported each other, and had lots of fun along the way. Well done & chapeau!”, added Professor Jaskiewicz.
See the full recording of the award ceremony here.
For more information on the Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition click here.
Looking for a fresh perspective on a new or special business project or simply interested in working with highly motivated and qualified MBA students? The Telfer School is seeking organizations to engage our MBA talent in hands-on business challenges.
Telfer's MBA students are equipped with an average of 6-7 years of full-time work experience. This ensures a quality base of theory and technical skills that our students can utilize for success in an internship. All of our MBA students are supervised by a faculty member, and they have access to cutting-edge data to resolve even the most complex of problems that your organization may encounter.
There is no doubt that the experience will be valuable for both your organization and our students. The MBA Internship Program provides businesses with the chance to find qualified individuals and evaluate potential fit within your workplace without going through the traditional lengthy hiring process.
The MBA Internship Program Experience
In previous years, our business partners who have hired MBA students on their team have been pleased with what they were able to gain.
“The MBA internship program helped successfully fulfill a niche project role in our Finance department. Ultimately, we hired our intern into a full-time role, which speaks volumes on the quality of the program and the students” - Paul Richards, Director of Business Development and Commercial at The Ottawa Hospital.
"Happy Goat Coffee Company is a big fan of Telfer's "MBA Consulting Project"! The project helps us to find answers to questions and solutions to problems that we usually don't have the time or staff - or both - to deal with. The high qualification of the participants and the quality of the results of the projects carried out so far is self-evident. Happy Goat Coffee Company can do nothing but highly recommend this project!" - Dr. Hans-Juergen Langenbahn, Head Roaster at Happy Goat Coffee Company.
"I would like to offer my entire support for the internship program offered by the Telfer School. It is a tremendous opportunity for students to obtain knowledge of a more practical nature that will assist in their job search. The organization itself also benefits, not only from a mentorship perspective, but also in acquiring additional expert advice and counsel." - Elizabeth Kingston, President of the Canadian International Council, National Capital Branch.
Here’s how you can benefit from our program:
What constitutes an acceptable internship?
A challenging project that provides meaningful results for you. For example, current internships include market development, process improvement, and strategy process review.
How many hours can interns work?
There are two delivery options: part-time or full-time internships. The part-time internship represents 15 to 20 hours per week for a period of 6 months, starting in January. The full-time internship consists of 40 hours per week of work from September to December. The exact number of hours depends on whether the internship is sponsored by Mitacs* or OCE** or if the internship is directly funded by the organization.
What will it cost my organization?
The average hourly salary paid to the MBA intern ranges from $20 to $25 per hour. The total salary paid depends on whether the internship is supported by Mitacs or OCE or if it is paid directly by your organization. It is possible to offer an unpaid internship opportunity, but offering a salary increases your chances of a student ultimately selecting your organization for their internship.
What do I have to provide to the intern?
A motivating and challenging project.
Organizational and technical orientation as required.
Time to discuss issues with the student, and to provide feedback on progress reports.
Find the Right Telfer MBA Intern For Your Organization
Contact the Telfer Academic Success and Student Experience Team:
Telfer MBA Internship Program
Phone: (613) 562-5884
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Visit the MBA Internship Program page on our website.
* Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that provides matching funding to companies that hire full-time student interns.
** The Ontario Centres of Excellence Talent Edge program provides matching funding for companies who hire graduate students.
The Dean’s Philos Award recognized individuals who have demonstrated outstanding philanthropic achievement and social commitment. This award was established in 2004 on the Telfer School of Management’s 35th Anniversary.
We’re both grateful to have grown up in, been educated in and live in a bilingual and multicultural country that has a deep Indigenous heritage. Because of our good fortune, we’ve long believed we have an obligation to give back to our community. When Dan was a student at the Telfer School in the early 1980s, the concept of corporate social responsibility made a lifelong impression on him. Later on, the Jewish principle of tikkun olam, which in Hebrew means repairing the world, became a beacon to guide our life together.
The idea behind tikkun olam is to do something small every day to mend the damage you see around you. While we’re fortunate to be able to contribute financially to causes we value, we believe our society sometimes pays too much attention to big donations. A million-dollar gift may get the headlines, but Canadians should also be excited by the idea of a million working people parting with some of their hard-earned money to fund causes and charities important to them.
Here’s what we mean. The Royal Ottawa Centre for Mental Health gives out Inspiration Awards each year. One winner a few years ago was a woman who had been treated at the Royal and decided to give back. A new Canadian who worked as a cleaner, she managed to volunteer her time and contribute $500 a year to the organization. Her shining example shows us that the truest measure of giving is not size but giving in a manner that is most meaningful and appropriate to the giver at that stage in their life.
This way of looking at giving is especially relevant to Telfer School students and recent graduates. Yes, you’re just starting out on your business careers and, yes, the coronavirus pandemic is playing havoc with the economy; yet you still can give even though you don't have much, if any, extra money. At the same time, the pandemic has laid bare many breaks in our worlds—small and large, figurative and literal—that cry out for repair.
Start simply, and start now, by finding time in your day for acts of kindness. And if you have options about how to handle a difficult situation, choose the kindest one. Adopt this attitude as you enter and rise in the business world. Show your best personal qualities—fairness, generosity and empathy—in your workplaces. Use them to make your organization more inclusive, your company’s relationships with customers and partners more rewarding, and your business’s operations more sustainable and responsible socially. Tikkun olam.
This is a summary of the interview conducted on September 16th, 2020 with Dan Greenberg and Barbara Crook.
Since 2010, Project F.L.Y. (Future Leaders in Youth) has been run by Enactus uOttawa as a leadership program with the dedicated mission to empower youth. These university students strive to teach youth some of life’s most important skills through engaging workshops that will benefit them with the opportunity to grow personally and professionally.
Last week, Project F.L.Y. was mentioned in an article posted by The Star in Toronto, which highlighted the team’s ability to help students navigate through mental wellness: a topic that is becoming increasingly important especially with the COVID-19 restrictions put in place.
With the help of Jack.org, ambassadors of Project F.L.Y. have created a mental health curriculum across local schools, community groups, and rural communities in order to educate youth of all ages about mental wellness, while also increasing their ability to seek for help and support when needed. Content topics within the elementary curriculum includes positive self-talk, care activities, and mindfulness instruction.
Enactus uOttawa has grown tremendously over the past year, collaborating with 8 new partners, and attracting 500 attendees to their workshops.
Learn more about the various initiatives prepared under Project F.L.Y. shared in the Star.
It is with great sadness that the family of Professor William (Bill) Rentz announces his recent passing.
Esteemed professor and member of the Telfer family since July 1st, 1975, Bill has influenced 3 different generations of young minds mainly through Financial & Portfolio Management classes and acted as Coordinator for the Accounting and Finance section at the School. Over the years, he has welcomed and helped numerous finance faculty members as they joined Telfer, and he was considered a mentor to his students.
"Bill contributed so much to the University and especially to the Accounting and Finance section. He sat on the University’s pension committee for many years and we enjoyed the benefits of his expertise. He would always ask the tough questions at committee level or School Council. He had a wonderful sense of humour that will be sadly missed. When I arrived at Telfer, Bill was always there with a smile to give me advice whether I wanted it or not. His door was always open if you just wanted to shoot the breeze or discuss a more pressing topic. Office 7106 will seem very empty in the months to come. The Telfer community has lost a beloved colleague whose compassionate and endearing manner will be greatly missed."
- Professor Philip McIlkenny
"Bill was a respectful and supportive colleague, always ready to provide his time, input, and ideas. His research insights and teaching expertise provided many of us with novel ways to approach our own work. While Bill would not always agree with you, he would always listen, and end the conversation on a positive note. We will dearly miss his counsel and advice."
- Professor Samir Saadi
"Sharing the 7th-floor hallway with Bill encouraged many late-afternoon chats. His door was always open to seek his opinion, trade news on research and teaching, debate politics, and to learn about his vibrant love of family. Bill's students raved about his classes; the long lines outside his door were a testament to his rapport with them. Working with Bill on the School Council and the APUO offered us the opportunity to observe his enviable skill for saying little and much at the same time. Bill was a kind and dear colleague, who understood and fostered community and collegiality. We were blessed to have known him."
- Professor Cheryl S. McWatters
Bill will be missed by all of us. Given the current public health measures, his family has announced that there will be no public funeral. A private ceremony with close relatives will be held in his memory.
Any additional details about the condolences will be communicated in time.
This year is a new experience for everyone due to the “new normal” we have been adapting to over the last six months since the COVID-19 pandemic began. These changes have brought about many new learnings, challenges, and even opportunities.
After having to postpone their usual in-person event in March, The Legacy Conference team is committed to delivering another memorable conference experience this year, even if it means going virtual. As the largest student-run conference in Canada, this year is extra special for the team as they celebrate 10 years of The Legacy Conference in Ottawa. In 2010, a University of Ottawa student saw an opportunity to inspire the next generation of student leaders through entrepreneurship, and thus, the Legacy Conference was born.
The Legacy Conference is designed for the learners and doers of this world. Speakers have a laid-back attitude and provide a personal experience, often wearing casual attire like t-shirts & jeans. “Legacy is all about sharing those genuine, real-life moments of entrepreneurship. We are empowering the future generation of leaders at our workshops, mentorship sessions, career fairs and more,” as their website states.
Legacy Conference 2020
As always, the conference is open to all University of Ottawa students with an interest in leadership and entrepreneurship intended to “provide the next line of leaders with the necessary resources to help them cultivate new ideas, kickstart business endeavours or build onto current ones.” This year's Director, Sally Adam, and the rest of the Legacy team is excited to present their first-ever virtual edition of the event, as they have made it clear it will be the same phenomenal experience, but “now all in your sweatpants.”
Sally her motivations for joining, and leading, the Legacy Conference movement this year: “I found out about Legacy randomly and since then, I've been hooked on our mission. We're focused on sharing the powerful moments of passion, failure, and perseverance that often define entrepreneurship. University is sadly when students let fear drive life-altering decisions about the paths worth travelling. Legacy is changing that for a lot of young people, including myself."
Interested in joining the fun and learning from this line of leaders to cultivate new ideas, kickstart business endeavours or elevate existing ones? Grab your tickets to attend this year’s virtual Legacy Conference on Friday, October 2nd, 2020.
Pouya Safi (MBA 2013), Associate Director - uOttawa Professional Development Institute, 2020 Young Achiever's Award Recipient.
The Young Achiever's award was created to honour the individuals (under 40) who have been able to achieve greatness in their lives within an exceptional period of time.
I’m being recognized as a young achiever, and I’m grateful for the honour. Yet I must admit that all I’ve accomplished has come about as a result of the opportunities presented to me. The Telfer School has provided many such openings. I’m astounded by the confidence it has placed in me.
Shortly after I graduated from the Telfer MBA, a school official asked me to help enhance the experiential learning component of the Telfer BCom finance curriculum, so that graduates are better prepared to take on any role in the financial world. Then the school offered me the chance to become a lecturer and part-time professor. I leveraged that learning and experience to become the associate director at uOttawa’s Professional Development Institute.
The undergraduate courses I teach focus on ethics, sustainability and social responsibility. They are vital to finance and to innovation. Innovation is as much a product of equality of opportunity as it is a function of technological acumen and scientific excellence. I believe Canada can have excellence and equality of opportunity, building on our country’s multicultural foundation.
In fact, our country can become a leader in innovation by ensuring new Canadians have opportunities to integrate successfully; by ensuring all Canadians have opportunities to re-skill and up-skill through continuing education; and by ensuring young Canadians have opportunities to stay in Canada to pursue their professional and business goals.
The coronavirus pandemic is an opening of a different kind. We didn't ask for it and yet it’s forcing change upon us rapidly and profoundly, especially in how we work. Many outlets for improvement will soon present themselves. Canada must seize them to become fairer, more equal and more sustainable. I encourage Telfer School students to do their part.
As you do so, follow five lessons I’ve learned. First, chase happiness and not money. Happiness will bring out your best qualities, and the money will come. Second, don’t compare yourself to others; you’ll be more successful if you follow your own path. Third, when the world opens up again, broaden your perspective by travelling. Fourth, keep learning after your undergraduate education is done. And fifth, find a charitable cause you believe in that could profit from your knowledge. Your opportunity is out there. Grab it.
This is a summary of the interview conducted on August 28th, 2020 with Pouya Safi, Associate Director - uOttawa Professional Development Institute
Lloyd Koch (MHA 1973), Former CEO, Pembroke Regional Hospital, 2020 Trudeau Award Medal Recipient.
Established in honour of Reverend Father Roland Trudeau, OMI, former director of the University's Commerce department from 1950 to 1965, the Trudeau Medal is the highest honour given by the Telfer School of Management to its alumni. It was first awarded in 1989 to recognize leadership, initiative and contributions to the business world, the community and their alma mater.
Sharing our country’s resources more equitably among our own people and with those in
poorer countries is the path to a better Canada. Sharing at home is an attitude. It involves
being inclusive and tolerant. It's also an action—supporting peaceful responses to our
disagreements and bringing the contributions of all kinds of people together to solve
problems.
Sharing abroad presents limitless opportunities. Following my retirement from administering
hospitals in Thunder Bay, Hamilton, Wingham and Pembroke, my wife and I began leading
teams of Canadian volunteers to improve the infrastructure of hospitals in Tanzania. Over
the past 15 years, in cooperation with Canada Africa Community Health Alliance (an affiliate
of the University of Ottawa), we’ve supervised 16 missions made up of 120 Canadian
volunteers. They have put in 500 weeks of work to complete 25 hospital improvement
projects worth more than $300,000 in donated money.
I’ve found helping others brings personal and professional satisfaction. You feel good as a
Canadian to be able to do this kind of work. It makes for a better Canada, too. People
abroad see us as a peace-seeking country that brings a non-partisan attitude to solving
problems. Our nation’s unbiased outlook—focused on sharing our knowledge with the most
affected and vulnerable—is a rare commodity these days.
The need for this approach is greater now than perhaps ever before. The coronavirus
pandemic has revealed how close-knit the world has become and therefore how vulnerable
we all are and how reliant on each other we must be. As Canadians, we have built a
healthcare system designed to serve all people’s needs and enable them to live healthier lives.
We must continue to support and improve that system.
The Telfer MHA was a leader in elevating the profession of health management when I
graduated from the program in 1973. It remains so to this day. Some of the tools and
methods I’ve used in my 50-year healthcare career have changed over time, but the bedrock
principles have endured—data use and strategic planning, leadership and teamwork, caring
and sharing.
The Telfer School also connected me to classmates who I’ve called on for advice and
support. I urge today’s Telfer MHA students to keep their classmates close. As you become
healthcare leaders, you’ll recognize you can't do it all yourself—neither personally nor
organizationally. As a leader, you must put yourself at the centre of a sharing environment
within your organization, between your organization and others, and between the healthcare
system and the people it serves.
This is a summary of the interview conducted by Telfer School of Management on August 21st, 2020 with Lloyd Koch, Former CEO, Pembroke Regional Hospital, 2020 Trudeau Award Medal Recipient.
Caroline Xavier (BAdm 1990), Associate Deputy Minister Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 2020 Trudeau Award Medal Recipient.
Established in honour of Reverend Father Roland Trudeau, OMI, former director of the University's Commerce department from 1950 to 1965, the Trudeau Medal is the highest honour given by the Telfer School of Management to its alumni. It was first awarded in 1989 to recognize leadership, initiative and contributions to the business world, the community and their alma mater.
Canada is increasingly diverse. People come to our country from a wide range of places and with a variety of backgrounds, experiences and knowledge—wider and richer than ever before. That’s great to see and something we need to continue. Yet diversity is just half the equation.
We also must be a more inclusive country. A truly equitable Canada is a place in which our businesses, organizations and public institutions have an array of faces, and the people behind them are in positions at every level and play fundamental roles in decisions and actions.
A more inclusive public service is imperative. A public service that reflects the people it serves makes more informed policies, does a better job of delivering services and, because it’s smart and efficient, earns and keeps the trust of Canadians. Diversity and inclusion make for good business, period. Any workplace that’s diverse and inclusive is likely to be successful and resilient.
A more inclusive public service is also personal. I’m the child of Haitian immigrants and the first Black person—male or female—to reach the deputy-minister rank in the federal public service. I started as a student in an HR role over 30 years ago and just recently assumed the duties of Associate Deputy Minister at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. It’s an achievement I’m extremely proud of. Yet this milestone also raises the question: What took us so long?
We’re all asking similar questions these days. The coronavirus pandemic—which has affected so many, especially vulnerable populations disproportionately—and the urgent call for social justice are forcing a reckoning in Canada and in its public service. My colleagues and I are committed to make sure federal representation, policies, programs, services and organizations accurately reflect the changing makeup of our country and respond to its most pressing needs. It is my duty and privilege to ensure the door stays wide open for others who look like me to join.
The Telfer BCom taught me to look for opportunities in good times and especially in crisis. While on parental leave in 1995, I used my entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to co-found The Bagel Run, Inc.—the first Montreal-style, wood-burning oven bagel shop in Orleans, Ontario, which is still going strong 25 years later. Now, more than ever, it is important that all Telfer students apply their knowledge and skills in their communities. Assess the new reality. Spot opportunities. Then make a plan and take action to build a better Canada.
This is a summary of the interview conducted on August 14th, 2020 with Caroline Xavier, Associate Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Dan Moorcroft (EMBA 1997), Co-Founder, President/ CEO QMR Consulting & Professional Staffing, 2020 Trudeau Award Medal Recipient.
Established in honour of Reverend Father Roland Trudeau, OMI, former director of the University's Commerce department from 1950 to 1965, the Trudeau Medal is the highest honour given by the Telfer School of Management to its alumni. It was first awarded in 1989 to recognize leadership, initiative and contributions to the business world, the community and their alma mater.
A better Canada is a more empathetic Canada. At my business, QMR Consulting and
Professional Staffing, we bring empathy to life to create an upbeat workplace for our team
and to nurture successful relationships with our clients. First, we hire for empathy. When
considering new people, we value candidates who show willingness to listen to and learn
from the views and experiences of others.
Then we practice it daily. Empathy in everyday action starts with slowing down and paying
attention to colleagues and customers to understand their problems, situations and
circumstances. I’ve found when you listen to comprehend rather than merely to react, you
show respect, caring and kindness—all of which are hallmarks of empathy.
We also encourage employees to savour the positive moments of their days. When they
achieve something meaningful for clients, colleagues or themselves, we urge them to pause
awhile and soak in the feeling. Don't feel the need to rush on to the next task. On the flip
side, show gratitude to others when they’ve accomplished something big or small.
Expressing emotions effectively is another empathetic skill we stress. In our workplace, we
take the tone down: No problem is so severe we can't correct it. We ask each other to be
accountable and learn from mistakes, yet it’s amazing how conversations and relationships in
any organization improve when you make it possible for employees to channel their
emotions constructively.
The coronavirus pandemic has reinforced my appreciation of empathy. It’s revealed our
shared obligation to listen to and learn from the most vulnerable among us if we are to build
a better normal in Canada and not merely return to the old one.
My relationship with the Telfer School has also given me a fuller understanding of this vital
quality. The school has not only enabled me to gain essential knowledge through the Telfer
MBA, but also enhanced my life through my tenures as CEO-in-Residence and Dean’s
Advisory Board chair, and especially as executive mentor to students. I encourage them to
reap the personal and professional returns that come from slowing down and listening
closely, from being grateful and making kindness a habit, from emphasizing empathy to
build a better Canada.
This is a summary of the interview conducted by Telfer School of Management on August 7th, 2020 with Dan Moorcroft, Co-Founder, President/ CEO QMR Consulting & Professional Staffing.
This year’s CEO of the Year breakfast was hosted as a webinar, with Dan Goldberg, CEO of Telesat, as the guest speaker. The panel consisted of Catherine Elliott, Paul Marshall, and Michael Curran.
Explaining Telesat’s current state since the pandemic, Dan Goldbers says that Telesat, being a communication service, has remained steady.
The company has taken a hit in terms of providing telecoms to airplanes and cruise ships, but since employees have been working from home, there has been a huge increase in Broadband demands. He discusses the ways the internet has been a massive disruptor in the satellite industry, but how that can also be seen as a growth opportunity.
Telesat is embracing a new multibillion-dollar technological innovation of launching a constellation of satellites which communicate other through lasers, providing more affordable broadband connectivity all over the globe.
The Telfer School of Management held a webinar discussing the Future of IT Strategy Telfer Webinar. Moderating the webinar is Assistant Professor Lysanne Lessard, along with guest speakers Elizabeth Rhodenizer, Chief Information Officer at the Public Service Commission of Canada, and Paul Vallée, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tehama.
Elizabeth discusses how the public and private sectors have responded to the pandemic within the Government of Canada. Her presentation focuses on accessibility, security, and privacy in the new age of technology. Paul discusses the resources needed in order to send employees to work from home.
He also explains the advantages and disadvantages of enterprises issuing out personal laptops in comparison to allowing employees to gain access to work information through their own devices. Both speakers answered questions about data analytics, how they overcame COVID issues, and the importance of de-soiling data.
Telfer Talks hosted a webinar on opportunities and changes in consumer behaviors with professor Steven Daze as the moderator. Speakers on this webinar include Telfer Alumni Anie Rouleau, Founder of the Unscented Company; Dipalli Bhatt, Director of Marketing at Incognito Software; Professor Michael Mulvey at the Telfer school of Management; Moktar Yusuf, Cofounder and CEO of Relmogeo; and Karla Briones, Founder of Karla Briones Consulting and Immigrant Entrepreneur Academy.
These speakers all have different and unique outlooks into the current changing consumer market. They discuss the pivots in each of their respective fields, as well as trends in consumerism as a whole. Questions are answered about business opportunities during a pandemic, privacy concerns in a virtual world, adaptability, and hiring new employees in this environment.
On June 3rd, the Telfer School of Management hosted a webinar titled MHA CEO in Residence with Matthew Anderson, President and CEO of Ontario Health. The webinar discussed the reconstruction of the Ontario Government’s healthcare system in terms of management and delivery.
This transformation will occur based on the Peoples Health Care Act, and the new delivery system will be centered around Ontario Health Teams. The transformation will also include several provincial agencies who merged into Ontario Health, which will conduct their plans and operations similarly. Matthew Anderson, leader of this transformation, discusses this transition and the next key deliverables to be in the early evolution of the organization.
On May 29th, the Telfer School of Management held a webinar discussing Compensation Strategy and Performance Management: Dramatic Changes and Implications in Response to COVID-19. The Speakers, Ian Cullwick, Partner at Mercer Canada and Telfer EMBA Faculty member, and Manon Laliberté, HR manager at the Ottawa Hospital discussed strategic context, board compensation, executive and workforce compensation, and workforce support.
They also gave insight to an applied perspective approach using communication, collaboration, as well as agility and flexibility as guiding principles. They tackled issues from a practitioner’s point of view, emphasizing the phrases social responsibility vs survival know your workforce, and beware of the ripple effect. The speakers also analyzed performance management trends up to vs post-February 2020. Finally, they gave advice on making performance management work, and finished the webinar by emphasizing that one size does not fit all.
It is with profound regret and sorrow that we have learned recently of the passing of our former professor Tom Brzustowski following a brief illness.
Following a brilliant career as a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and as a public servant, as deputy minister in the Government of Ontario from 1987 to 1995, first in the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, and later in the Premier’s Council. He was appointed President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in October 1995, where he would spend the next 10 years.
Tom completed his professional journey at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, where he was the inaugural RBC Professor in Commercialization of Innovation. Author and lecturer, he advocated tirelessly for innovation in Canada and received Honorary Doctorates from several universities across Canada.
His life’s work to build a better Canada was nationally recognized, as he received the Order of Canada in 2002 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada the year prior. In 2006, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Professional Engineers of Ontario.
On behalf of the Telfer School of Management, we wish to offer our most sincere condolences to his entire family.
We invite you to send your message of sympathy to the family. Please visit his obituary page here.
The escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic is putting unprecedented financial burdens on many uOttawa students, and lower income students are especially vulnerable. A special emergency fund has been established by the University to provide critical support now. We are asking alumni - if you can - to support uOttawa’s student emergency fund, or one of two Telfer-specific funds also set up to support our efforts in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
University of Ottawa COVID-19 Student Emergency Aid Fund
Created to help students who are experiencing emotional and financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students are dealing with unprecedented disruptions to their academic lives as they transition to remote learning, see local and summer jobs eliminated, and most had to leave their campus residence to minimise public health risks. Your emergency financial contributions help students University-wide to overcome distressing financial situations and help mitigate mental health issues. Students urgently need your support to remain focused on academic success now and in preparation for the Fall semester.
Our students physical well-being, emotional intelligence, and mental health are top priorities for the Telfer School. Students today are having to manage stressful situations in their lives that affect their physical and mental well-being. From raising awareness to providing counselling service and training, your support of this fund will help Telfer students cope successfully during their time of need to help them during the university career and beyond.
Immediate, accessible funds that our Dean can rapidly draw upon and meet crises like COVID-19 head-on. At Telfer, this means equipping our researchers to develop analytic models that will support the healthcare system to better plan and manage their capacity. It also means supporting research that will help us navigate the unchartered waters of our new work-life reality; working from home, coping with new job tasks or lack of childcare, and the impact it can have on employees’ mental health as well as the ways in which organizations can support their employees during these difficult times.
Interested in supporting a fund that you dont see here? click here.
To make your donation by phone, we invite you to communicate with Joella Gencher, Development Officer, Leadership Giving at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In an effort to keep the Ottawa community as healthy as possible and the coronavirus (COVID-19) from rapidly spreading, the University of Ottawa has implemented measures to maintain “social distancing”.
Ottawa restaurant, Dreamland Cafe, located on Preston Street in Little Italy, has chosen to close their restaurant to the public. However, they stay open with special hours to make delicious meals ready for delivery or pickup at the back. Dreamland Cafe expanded their online menu (including homemade pasta sauce) and lowered their prices to help out during this financially difficult time. You can order from them using UberEATS, since Uber has decided to waive delivery fees to also assist the community during this time.
Like Dreamland, Luxe Bistro, located in the Byward Market, has taken a similar approach. They will be closed to the public, but are open for take-out by providing their food via UberEATS, DoorDash, and offering "drive-through" and personal home delivery service. They are even offering a few grocery staples to customers in order to keep grocery stores from getting too busy.
Although many food stores and restaurants made the difficult decision to close, La Bottega Nicastro did what they could before closing up shop. They donated over $1,000 worth of food to Operation Ramzieh, a crisis Relief team that has assembled to assist seniors and other vulnerable Canadians during the COVID-19 crisis.
Many other restaurants making an effort to serve the community with the availability of their food include:
As we are all advised to stay inside, many gyms and fitness studios have closed in the city to help reduce the spread of germs. One Ottawa dance studio has come up with an idea to help citizens stay active, while participating in online live video dance classes. Dance Fusion Studio has emailed their dancers providing virtual classes via Zoom to help you “dance away in your living room” while you are staying inside.
In addition, popular Ottawa yoga studio run by co-entrepreneurs Amber and Jen, Pure Yoga, is hosting yoga sessions on their online platform, where they have over 150 classes available. During this time, they are offering the first two weeks free, and a discounted price using specific promotional code.
Other Ottawa fitness and wellness businesses that are adapting to these new circumstances include:
Wallack’s Art Supplies is a store on the corner of Bank Street full of art supplies for those of you who are painters, sketch artists, and do-it-yourself enthusiasts. They too have closed their store due to advice from public health officials, but their online store remains open with both pick-up and delivery options available.
Local bookstore on Bank Street, Black Squirrel Books, is putting together and delivering packages of mystery books for their customers. According to the Ottawa Citizen, “Customers can select any genre they’re interested in — mysteries, fiction, history, self-help, children’s books, etc. — or simply order a surprise box. With either option, customers have no idea of what specific titles they’ll receive.”
Many other local businesses have modified their business models to serve the many needs and interests of the Ottawa community, such as:
4. Keeping Us Healthy and Protected from the Virus
Several local businesses are stepping up to the plate when it comes to staying healthy by using their existing resources. For example, Perth distillery, Top Shelf Distillers, has been producing hand sanitizer to combat the depleting amounts in stores. They launched a “crowdfunding campaign to fund the production, procurement and scale of batches of hand sanitizer as the already overwhelming demand grows,” which was extremely successful as they exceeded their fundraising goal in just one day, sharing their story on CTV News.
Another distiller contributing to sanitation efforts is Dairy Distillery in Almonte, located about an hour outside of Ottawa. The company is creating two products: a surface sanitizer, and a large format hand sanitizer with a pump. They wanted to share these products with members of the community, including health clinics, hospitals, veterinarian hospitals, and charities.
In addition, members of the University of Ottawa are finding a way to directly help healthcare workers stay protected from the virus. At Makerspace on campus, Midia Shikh Hassan, a manager at the university’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Engineering Design (CEED), is using 3D printers and laser cutters to manufacture vital personal protective equipment. CEED can create 10 to 20 face shields every two hours, and plans to make even more equipment needed with feedback from physicians from The Ottawa Hospital.
You can support our local businesses by purchasing gift cards, shopping online, or ordering take-out or delivery items.
What local businesses have you noticed making a change during this time? Let us know some of your favourites and what they are doing to support the Ottawa community.
If you know an alumnus or alumna whose efforts deserves to be recognized, nominate them for an award.
There is no shortage of exemplary alumni at the Telfer School of Management. In 2019, Mari Teitelbaum (MHA 2010), Marc Tassé (MBA 1997) and Luc Fortin (BCom 1990) were awarded the Trudeau Medal for their leadership, initiative and contributions made not only to the world of business and health care but to their communities and alma mater. Derek D. Ricci (BCom 2002) was recognized with the Young Achiever’s Award for his personal and professional achievements in an exceptional period of time.
This is your chance to tell us about a Telfer alumnus that you feel is deserving of our Alumni Awards. Details on the two award categories, as well as the nomination form can be found below.
The nomination period opens on January 30, 2020. These recognitions will be awarded at the next Gala of Excellence, in Ottawa, on October 17, 2020.
The awards selection committee is composed of representatives from the Telfer School, the Telfer School of Management Alumni Association, the MBA Alumni Association, the MHA Alumni Association and the Executive MBA Alumni Association.
The deadline for nominations is June 15, 2020 at 12 p.m.
On November 9th, 2019, 90 students from francophone high schools across Ontario came to Ottawa to participate in the business case competition, Place à la jeunesse at the Telfer School of Management.
Each year, Place à la jeunesse is organized by Telfer students to introduce high school students to the business world, and prepare them for university. At this year’s 16th competition, 30 teams were selected from 90 schools to test their business case skills. The students competed in one of four categories; marketing, accounting, entrepreneurship, or debate.
The event started the evening before the competition, where Telfer students led workshops on PowerPoint, problem-solving, and presentation skills to coach the high school students who had never been in a business environment before. The next day, the teams received their business cases, created solutions, and presented to the judges. Winners received scholarships to the University of Ottawa from sponsors that added up to $82,500.
Telfer is thrilled to congratulate the winners of each category:
Marketing
1st place: Emma Iusan, Vanessa St-Denis et Julianne Lacelle from ÉSC L’Escale
2nd place: Ashley Edouard, Elyse-Anne Bordeleau et Saïma Altimo from CC Samuel-Genest
3rd place: Kara D’Arcangelo, Chloé Emery et Christian Ricard from ÉSC Thériault
Accounting
1st place: Marika Brunet, Emma Phillips and Annabel Clément from ÉSC L’Escale
2nd place: Mélodie Chartrand, Jade Poirier and Julien Lemieux from ÉSCR de Hawkesbury
3rd place: Alexa Caron, Keenan Roy and Emma Bertrand from ÉSC Thériault
Standout competitor: Marika Brunet
Entrepreneurship
1st place: Lyra Sheldon, Cameron Chevalier and Mathias Lazure from ÉSC. E.J. Lajenesse
2nd place: Alexis Jeaurond, Laurie Boucher and Maxim Sauvé-Rozon from ÉSP Le Sommet
3rd place: Patrick Ibrahim, Simon Willemsma and Cyril Fayek from ÉS Père-René-De-Galinée
Debate
1st place: Lia Charleois, Cassandra Joly and Catherine Vaillant from ÉSCR de Hawkesbury
2nd place: Nathalie Shuh, Sarah Clouston amd Anne-Sophie Autale from ÉSP. Le Sommet
3rd place: Delhia Mainville, Kassandra Marleau and Marie Luciani-Grimaldi from ÉSC de Plantagenet
Best Presenters
Marketing: Kara D’Arcangelo
Accounting: Mélodie Chartrand
Entrepreneurship: Maxim Sauvé-Rozon
Debate: Marie Luciani-Grimaldi
My time at Telfer taught me how to work hard and push beyond my limits. Not long after graduating, I earned my Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation. To me, this was an accomplishment worth celebrating. It has continued to pay dividends over the years, providing me with a number of professional opportunities. I strongly value continuous growth and learning, which is why giving back to Telfer means so much to me, and why I am honoured to be receiving this award. It demonstrates that you do not have to wait to make a difference. When you give from your own abundance, you can contribute time or money at any age and regardless of the resources at your disposal.
Volunteer Donor of the Year
Jodie Harrison
I am an extrovert by nature, I love working with people and having a chance to impact their lives. It is something of a recurring theme in my life. It is what I liked about Telfer: the opportunity to meet other professionals, to be mentored. That connection is important. That is why I volunteer. The Executive Mentorship Program allows you to take a student under your wing and help them with career counselling and networking. It is very rewarding. As was chairing Telfer’s 24th Annual Golf Tournament: We set up a family scholarship for a student from Northern Ontario, where I am from. I am honoured and humbled by this award, and thankful for opportunity to be able to give back and help the next generation.
Loyal donor of the year
Marie Fortier
I started in Commerce, but in 1969, I discovered a new program existed – Masters in Health Administration – and I never looked back. I got a lot of satisfaction in my first 10 years at the old Ottawa General Hospital and when I became CEO of what was then the Hull Hospital. However, my impact was limited to one city, so I took a low-level government job in Indigenous Health. It stimulated me into thinking about the country as a whole. This eventually served me well as Associate Deputy Minister and Deputy Minister in my work with minority language communities, resulting in organizations that continue to make a big difference today. I am very proud of that. It was the main reason I was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2016. I feel partly humbled and partly grateful for this recognition.
Five notable alumni will be recognized by the Telfer School of Management by receiving Trudeau medals, the Young Achiever's Award and the Dean's Philos Award for their outstanding contributions to the world of business, healthcare, community and their alma mater at the 2019 Gala of Excellence. The Gala will be held at the Shaw Centre on Saturday, October 19, 2019 and this event also serves as an opportunity to collectively celebrate the Telfer School and highlight the graduation anniversary of the classes of 1969, 1979, 1994 and 2009.
Trudeau Medals
Luc Fortin, BCom 1990
Although going to the University of Ottawa for Business was an eleventh hour decision for me, it was one I will never regret. The Telfer School of Management gave me the fundamental skillset I needed. More importantly, it peaked my curiosity and completely opened my eyes to this horizon that was Finance. For me, the best way to achieve success is by being collaborative, being eternally optimistic and most importantly helping to unleash people’s potential. When you start leveraging the strengths and complementary skillsets of the whole team, it can be a very, very powerful thing!
Marc Y. Tassé, MBA 1997
My Telfer journey started in 1986 as an undergrad. It’s 2019, 33 years later, I’m still there — and I’m very happy to still be there. I have spent my professional life working in forensic accounting, fraud detection, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. There is a lot of negativity that comes out of my day to day but I find optimism in my academic life, especially when I see that the new generation of students actually rejects unethical behaviors. The core values that we need in the business world right now are integrity, ethics, and transparency. At Telfer, we promote those values. I am confident that what I am sharing my students will be remembered and applied. This, to me, is certainly a major cause for celebration.
Mari Teitelbaum, MHA 2010
As I am an electrical engineer by training, I had 15 fun years in the high-tech field. I enjoyed the work, but needed something more meaningful. A friend recommended the Telfer MHA program. It was perfect, and I luckily landed at CHEO for my residency. What drives me is that there is an endless amount of work to do to become a truly patient-focussed system of care. I believe innovation and technology are fundamental in that transformation. To get there, I celebrate people that move beyond their comfort zone to reach their potential. It is magical when committed, smart, hard-working group of people find that rhythm, and that is what I am in this for.
The Young Achiever's Award
Derek d. Ricci, BCom 2002
For me, there is no real secret to success. No shortcut. It is just hard work and taking everything one day or one task at a time. Telfer most importantly taught me about working in teams and the importance of presenting your ideas clearly and succinctly. This has helped me in everything since, be it graduating Law School, making full equity partner in six years, negotiating settlement of a $500 million mining dispute, or joining an elite global network of fraud and asset recovery specialists. I have the privilege of working with a group of truly gifted and amazing colleagues who share my passion for the law, so I share this award with them. At our firm, the work comes before any individual accomplishment.
The Dean's Philos Award
Bernard Raymond, BCom 1981
I am a native of a small village in Abitibi Témiscamingue, where the words "community" and "solidarity" were important. Education has always been one of my priorities; I have been a member of the Board of Trustees of Aylmer Montessori School and Joan of Arc Academy in Ottawa, president of major donations for the University of Québec, made a donation towards admission scholarships at Telfer, and participated in their mentoring program. Inspired by my son, Alexandre, who lives with an intellectual disability, I am proud to have created my own foundation to help people living with intellectual disabilities and their families. Through this foundation, my wish is to ensure the perpetuity of a tradition of giving and sharing.
The Telfer Impact goes beyond the classroom. There are countless stories of students and alumni who have truly made a difference through their involvement, community engagement, entrepreneurial vision, and hard work. Over the last 6 weeks, we’ve shared some incredible stories of Telfer students developing into the next generation of leaders:
The CASCO Impact
20 years ago, two inspired Telfer students founded the non-profit organization, CASCO. Every year, Telfer students team up to host spectacular events that raise money for families at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). CASCO has donated over $560,000 to the cause ever since.
The Growcer Impact
After visiting communities challenged with food insecurity in Northern Canada, two Telfer BCom alumni, Alida Burke and Corey Ellis created a hydroponic system that grows produce in controlled shipping containers. From there, the business, The Growcer Inc. was born. Today, the company is part of Invest Ottawa’s accelerator program, and its systems are being sold across Canada, empowering communities around the globe to grow their own produce.
The PhD Impact
Telfer PhD candidate, Alex Chung researches the design of wearable technology that influences human behaviour change. As a result of the balanced program, Alex has been able to lead an active and fulfilling life, while impacting the future of wearable technology.
The Unscented Company Impact
BCom alumna, Anie Rouleau is living her dream, running her own eco-sustainable, B Corp certified cleaning product business, The Unscented Company (TUC). Through her innovative business model, Anie has caught the attention of the public with her Dragons’ Den deal to sell TUC products in 500 Canadian Tire stores across Canada.
The MBA Impact
After discovering the world of administration while working at Montfort Hospital, Mélanie Potvin decided to elevate her experience with an MBA in French at Telfer. Now she has the crucial knowledge and confidence in her leadership role as Project Manager for the Orléans Health Hub at the hospital.
These are just a few stories of the meaningful change that Telfer Students are creating. What will be YOUR impact?
The CEOx1Day program from Odgers Berndtson offers student-leaders the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to spend a day with a top Canadian CEO.
For many management students, the ultimate career achievement is to earn the title of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of an organization. While being a CEO is a much sought-after position, the job is complex and constantly changing. This one-day event offers third and fourth-year students a unique opportunity to explore a CEO’s role at their respective company.
Last year, there were two Telfer students who advanced far into the program:
Audrey-Anne Délage, semi-finalist
Nayaelah Siddiqui, finalist
International Management and Entrepreneurship student and CEOx1Day finalist, Nayaelah earned one of 18 competitive finalist spots, getting to spend an inspiring day of learning and mentorship with Teresa Marques, CEO of the Rideau Hall Foundation. Nayaelah shared that she “had the opportunity to learn lots of different things” from meeting Former Governor General David Johnston, spending time at the Senate of Canada, and spending one-on-one time with Marques.
Nayaelah faced an intense and eye-opening selection process. To get her day with Teresa Marques, she went through four selection phases: Application, Online Leadership Assessment, Phone Interview, and In-person Evaluation. Nayaelah recalls that she “didn't know if [she] would be the finalist, but just getting through so many rounds gave [her] the confidence boost to never give up and be [herself]. There is a lot to learn even if you don't make it all the way!”
The Telfer MBA was a huge catalyst for change in the career of our graduate Mélanie Potvin, who is now project manager of the Orléans Health Hub at Montfort Hospital.
After graduating from the University of Ottawa with a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy, Mélanie began her career in the health care system. Following several years working in clinical services at the Montfort Hospital and in the Ottawa community, she landed a job in the field of occupational health and safety. This position exposed her to the administrative side of the health care system, sparking a desire to learn more about management. That’s when she decided that an MBA was what she needed to boost her career.
During the application process, the Telfer School of Management contacted Mélanie to determine whether she was interested in completing her MBA in French. The opportunity to benefit from scholarships for this program, but especially to use her mother tongue, really appealed to her and she jumped at the opportunity to do her graduate degree in French.
Thanks to her experience in the healthcare system, and Telfer’s MBA and MHA (master’s degree in health administration) courses, Mélanie has learned how to work on the system and its various challenges. Her educational and practical experiences have provided her with the skills needed to manage complex projects.
Beyond project management, Mélanie has also developed her skills in oral presentation, leadership, human resources, and other management disciplines that are important in her new role.
Mélanie can now proudly say she has what it takes to make an impact at work and in her daily life.
Much more than just a company selling soaps and household products, TUC is trying to redefine the very concept of cleanliness by focusing on innovation and eco-design.
For Anie, sustainable development is not only a fundamental value, it is in the DNA of Unscented Co. From research and development, to minimalist, recyclable and plastic-free packaging, to re-filling stations at local retail partners, to the very furniture of its offices made from recycled materials, every decision is guided by this eco-responsible corporate philosophy.
Her innovative re-definition of the consumption model was not an immediate success, but her patience and strong convictions will have finally paid off in a market where until recently, the environment was not considered an issue."It will have taken a video of a turtle with a straw stuck in its nose for people to wake up," she told us during our interview. "Now we are seeing a real willingness on the part of people to change their consumption habits, and business is starting to move," Anie concluded.
On that note, her business is definitely moving. On October 10, 2019, Canadian Tire announced on a CBC episode of Dragons’ Den, that they would bring TUC products into their 500 stores across Canada. Although Anie was already seeing some craze for her products in local markets, a national distributor such as Canadian Tire will allow her to amplify her message, and together, they will have a real opportunity to change the country's consumption habits.
Her story is an inspiration for the business community that proves that when you have strong convictions, you can make your dreams come true. Once again Anie, congratulations, and we are very proud to have a graduate among us who has such a great impact on our world! #TELFERNATION
Alexander is a PhD candidate at the Telfer School of Management, in the Health Systems specialization. His research interests lie in applying analytics and management information systems methods to health-related issues, more specifically to the area of mobile health technologies.
He holds a Master’s degree in Systems Science with a specialization in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Ottawa, and an undergraduate degree in Biology from Carleton University. His master’s thesis focused on the formal definition, measurement, and simulation of coastal community preparedness for severe environmental events.
Following his Master’s degree, Alex worked as an independent management consultant and researcher while also teaching part-time at the Telfer School of Management. He has had the opportunity to work on topics that include: applying real-options analysis and financial modelling to the solar energy industry in Ontario and modelling how organizations use social media in order for them to anticipate problems that may arise later on. Alex also has an interest in fisheries management and has been involved in several projects with government and private industry on the management of Canadian fisheries and coastal areas.
Alex is a member of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants’ Eastern Ontario Chapter Council where he is responsible for marketing and social media. During his free time, he enjoys travelling, playing volleyball, and riding and restoring his many bicycles.
Alex holds the Lilian and Swee Chua Goh Doctoral Scholarship, the first admission scholarship created by donors for PhD candidates at the Telfer School of Management.
Find out more about the Telfer PhD program.
At the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, we believe that it is through hands-on learning experiences and community support that we can help our students reach their goals, accelerate their careers and make a positive impact on our collective future.
This is the case for The Growcer Inc. - an Ottawa-based social enterprise co-founded by Corey Ellis and Alida Burke, two Telfer BCom Alumni. The pair came up with the idea for their modular hydroponic growing systems after having visited remote communities who face food insecurity in Northern Canada.
The plug-and-play hydroponic system gives produce everything it needs to grow in a controlled environment, built inside retrofitted shipping containers. These enable northern communities, schools, Indigenous and regional governments, as well as other businesses and non-profit organizations to develop more self-reliant and sustainable local food systems.
Through Telfer opportunities and extra-curricular activities such as the E-Foundry course and Enactus, Corey and Alida were able to travel the world, understand the challenges communities face, and build their business. Enactus is a student-led organization that uses the power of entrepreneurship and business, to help solve social problems. In 2017, the University of Ottawa became one of The Grower's first customers and acquired one of the systems to grow local food that’s now being served in our own cafeteria.
Now, The Growcer has over 15 employees and operates out of Invest Ottawa’s accelerator program at Bayview Yards.
Corey Ellis is the Co-founder and CEO of The Growcer, a company he started three years ago with the goal of providing a tool for northerners to grow food. As Co-Founder and CEO, Corey leads sales, community engagement and business development activities, maximizing social impact in the communities The Growcer operates in. In addition, Corey oversees the research and development function of the organization, ensuring continuous improvement in customer offerings.
Corey is an alumnus of Enactus, an international leadership development organization focused on the next generation of socially-conscious entrepreneurs. His unique perspective as a social entrepreneur has helped him understand how to enable community-level impact through profitable market-driven business models.
The Growcer is a social enterprise that empowers remote Canadian regions to grow fresh produce locally using modular hydroponic systems. Growcer systems are specifically designed for Arctic regions, enabling local food production with a steady stream of affordable fresh produce grown in outdoor temperatures as cold as -52°C. Our company also provides ongoing services to allow local entrepreneurs to own & operate their own systems, and additional supports to enable better nutrition for the community, including meal packages, a series of food education and kitchen literacy tools, and an automation system that cuts labour requirements by over 80%.
Why not use a strong leadership to create inspiring, socially and environmentally innovative businesses? Proactive, Anie Rouleau didn’t have to ponder this question long.
A Montrealer born to a business-oriented family, Baléco’s Founding CEO knows how to do business without compromising her values and convictions. That’s why she chose to redefine the notion of clean by creating a line of ecofriendly home and body care products designed for conscious living.
In 1992, Anie graduates from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Business, majoring in Finance. She joins Hydrocom International, the family business. Quickly made Vice-President, she leaves Quebec to start Hydrocom USA in Birmingham, Alabama. When the family business is sold, she is offered the role of President for Maclean Power Systems’ Canadian branch, before becoming President at Société de Gestion du Commensal.
Trilingual, open to the world, Anie runs on new challenges. Her values guide her choices. Fervent defender of local sourcing, she sits on different committees, including Made in Montreal. Women leadership and ethics being causes close to her heart, she is a mentor for young women in business. She is also part of Quebec entrepreneurship promotion groups.
Anie strongly believes that a business’ social values are no obstacles to its profitability and financial viability. That is why she is a BCorp ambassador, giving conferences on this new business model. HEC, UQAM, and ETS also invite her as a guest speaker to discuss the importance of including one’s values at the heart of one’s business management.
Mother of two, Anie is driven by her desire to protect future generations. By investing in innovation and eco-design within an industry which sets his sight far from sustainable development issues, she seeks with Baléco to define tomorrow’s business as a transparent entity, respectful of its employees, the community and the environment.
Tammy Labelle was appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) on March 12, 2018 at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).
In her new role, Tammy is driving the evolution of the PSPC information management and information technology strategy. As CIO, Tammy leads the maintenance of technology operations and key government-wide projects in support of government priorities and departmental service improvements. In addition to her role as CIO, she is also responsible for common Government of Canada services such as shared human resources, information management (GCdocs), shared case management services, finance (FreeBalance and Integrated Financial and Material System) and the Shared Travel Services program.
Before that, Tammy was Assistant Deputy Minister of the Integrated Services Branch where she led several government programs and initiatives, including public opinion research; publishing and depository services; the Canada Gazette; Electronic Media Monitoring Services; advertising; MyGCHR, GCSurplus, seized property management, the Canadian General Standards Board, as well as the PSPC Client Service Strategy.
Tammy has extensive experience in developing and implementing large-scale business programs, computer applications and infrastructure systems. She joined the department in February 2014 as Director General of MyGCHR, where she led the successful implementation of MyGCHR, a new human resources system, across the federal government.
Additionally, Tammy was appointed by the President of the Treasury Board to the Board of Directors of the Federal Public Service Health Care Plan Administration Authority, effective June 2016.
Tammy has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Ottawa and is a certified information technology project management professional.
Over the past 20 years, CASCO, a Telfer student non-profit organization, has inspired the Ottawa community to give back to the families at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). Every year, a hundred students from the Telfer School of Management come together to host events to support and fundraise for CHEO. Through the hard work and dedication of the uOttawa CASCO team, over $500,000 has been raised for CHEO.
The CASCO non-profit organization was founded by two students in the BCom program at the Telfer School of Management in 1998. Their mission was to raise money for their friend who had passed away from Leukemia. Today, a fourth-year BCom student, Michaela McLoughlin, is running CASCO as this year’s president, with the help of 51 students on the executive team. Michaela joined CASCO three years ago when she discovered that the daughter of a family at work was being treated for brain cancer at CHEO. Since CASCO was an initiative that fundraises for CHEO, she decided to join so that she could make a direct impact.
CASCO’s mission for this year is to grow its presence in the Ottawa community. The executive team is working with CHEO to create more events to support the families at CHEO. The non-profit’s main event, the CASCO gala, features students from the Telfer School of Management in an evening of song, dance, and fashion. Telfer students, business professionals, and community members come together to support CHEO and see a year’s work come together on stage.
Find out more about the involvement of Telfer students in the student club CASCO, their impact on CHEO, and their pursuit of making an impact in the Ottawa community:
Thank you to all of those who attended the 2019 Gala of Excellence on October 19. With over 330 guests in attendance, we celebrated the achievements and outstanding contributions that our alumni make to the world of business, health-care, the community and their alma mater. It was also a chance for us to celebrate the milestone anniversaries of the graduates of 1969, 1979, 1994 and 2009.
You can find photos from the evening on our Flickr page. Feel free to download and share with your friends!
Did you graduate in 1970, 1980, 1995 or 2010? We are looking for class champions for the 2020 Gala of Excellence that will be held on October 17, 2020. Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested in being a class champion and helping your classmates reconnect after all these years!
I arrived at the Telfer School almost 30 years ago as a young student, unsure of how I would perform. I needn’t have worried: my professors gave me all the tools I needed to succeed. Best of all, they nurtured in me a confidence I didn’t know I had—the self-assurance to see myself in a top job, to be a leader of a successful organization and to improve my community through giving.
So I made that vision a reality, becoming a top executive at one of Canada’s biggest banks and an active contributor to many charitable organizations. Yet the higher I climbed in my career, the more I realized that there were even fewer women in philanthropy than there were in high leadership positions. Generations of men had looked to other men as mentors and guides in their professional lives, but we women didn’t have that luxury—either as executives or as philanthropists.
I decided to change that. To supply rising career women with the role models they needed, I started acting as a giving mentor. As these younger women became increasingly engaged as philanthropists, they became mentors themselves. We created a community of women that encouraged other women to cultivate generosity alongside their career successes. Steadily but surely, this growing group of women blazed a trail of giving.
Our work is far from done. We must make certain that women continue to have powerful examples of giving that they can emulate. We need to foster a culture of giving and, in doing so, leave a clearer, wider trail of generosity behind us to guide the way for others.
Philanthropy matters most to me. The importance of giving time, money and knowledge to others is one of the most valuable lessons I learned as a student of the Telfer School. My experiences as a member of our School’s Jeux du Commerce team, the Finance Society and the Entrepreneurs’ Club supplied and reinforced this truth.
My involvement in the Entrepreneurs’ Club was especially instructive. Not only did I come to understand the role philanthropy plays in a rewarding career, but I also discovered the value of a mentor to help steer my career in the right direction. Luckily for me, I’ve since found two advisors who, among other things, have stressed just how essential reconnecting with my alma mater is to being a professional. Simply put, everyone who thrives in business has a duty to share his or her success in meaningful ways.
As someone who has succeeded as a partner and portfolio manager in an investment firm, I give to the Telfer School in several ways—speaking at events, acting as a mentor and funding scholarships that stress academic achievement and community involvement. A few years back, I based my philanthropy on a simple principle: support two students per year and then build from there. I urge young Telfer School alumni and soon-to-be graduates to profit from my example. Find a mentor who is passionate about his or her business. Adopt a giving principle that works best for you. Start sharing your success.
There are over 250 student associations at the University of Ottawa, which encourage students to work with their peers while discovering their strengths and passions. One of the newest teams, Formula uOttawa, continues to evolve and promote experiential learning opportunities in the STEM fields through a collaboration of multiple faculties, including the Faculty of Engineering and the Telfer School of Management.
Formula uOttawa is the University of Ottawa’s student race car team. Each year, the team is required to design and build a brand new race car, which is judged at various international competitions and scored based on the overall design, cost, and performance of the car. The team’s third season has officially come to an end, after their most successful competition to date at Formula North 2018. The team placed 23rd out of 49 registered teams. By gaining this hands-on experience, the members of the Formula uOttawa team are able to highlight to employers that they can apply the knowledge and skills that they have learned in the classroom. As a result of the hard work of the students on this team, numerous members have secured internships at multinational companies including Tesla, Chrysler, and Continental Tire.
Not only were the racing events at Formula North a success, the talented group of students from the Telfer School of Management were able to capture 2nd place in the business presentation out of 27 teams. These outstanding students made this year’s car possible by securing 26 sponsors who provided over $30 000 in donations. The students from the Telfer School of Management are members of the Formula uOttawa Marketing Team, Accounting Team, and Administration Team.
Formula uOttawa could not have attended the international competition without the hard work and collaboration of students in both faculties.
For more information about Formula uOttawa and to learn how you can get involved, visit their website at www.formulauottawa.com
Telfer School of Management is delighted to announce that the recipients of this year’s MBA Student Leadership Award are Emily MacKay, Obinna Eze, Laurine Avallone and Sanane Guy Cédric Behi. These individuals are recognized for their leadership and for making exceptional contributions to the MBASA and/or the MBA program in general.
The award recipients elicited many comments, and the MBA class were effusive in their support for them.
The MBA class spoke to Emily MacKay’s non-stop contribution to the 2018 MBA cohort for all contingents, especially her “beyond expectations” involvement in the MBA Student Association, the MBA gala and the MBA games. Cited as an exemplary leader she elicited respect from classmates and professors, and was admired for her ability to excel in her academics while being highly involved.
Obinna Eze was commended for utilising his vast experience to ask the right questions to stimulate discussion and draw out information that was highly beneficial for the collective learning experience.
Students expressed their admiration for Obinna’s solid leadership and team player skills. He is referred to as a “hard worker with selfless intentions to help and motivate his peers”.
Laurine Avallone was recognized for “her strong will power and temperament to succeed facing lots of odds”. For her peers, she is an example on how a young international student can make the most of the program through her participation in events representing the Telfer School of Management, including at the MBA games and several other case competitions around Ontario and Quebec.
Sanane Guy Cédric Behi was applauded for his leadership as the French cohort representative in the MBASA, a leadership style described as “built on respect, humility and dedication”. His unifying spirit and his respect for his peers inspire everyone who works with him.
We expect great things from these individuals, and extend our warmest congratulations to each of them.
This year’s recipient for the Robert Wood Johnson Award for the University of Ottawa is Belinda Maciejewski. The criterion for this award is based on the student’s likelihood to make valuable contributions to health services management. The presentation of the Robert Wood Johnson Awards took place during the National Health Leadership Conference presented by HealthCareCAN and the Canadian College of Health Leaders held in St John’s, NL, from June 4-5, 2018.
Since its inception in 1956, the award has been presented to nearly 300 Canadian healthcare professionals. It is supported by Johnson & Johnson Medical Products in partnership with six leading Canadian universities, which offer a Masters’ program in healthcare administration, including: Dalhousie University, Université de Montréal, University of Ottawa, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta and University of Toronto.
After completing her CPA, CA designation with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Vancouver, Belinda Maciejewski decided to combine her business acumen with her lifelong passion for healthcare by moving to Edmonton to work for the then-newly formed Alberta Health Services. Through over half a decade as a Senior Financial Analyst in advisory services supporting high priority programs, Belinda learned that administrative leadership in Canadian healthcare organizations is dominated by clinicians with limited or no formal training in business concepts. She also observed a divide between administrators and clinicians which often became an obstacle which stalled or stopped progress.
Having enjoyed the role as the bridge between administration and clinicians as an analyst, Belinda desired to expand this bridging role beyond Finance by undertaking the Telfer School of Management Master of Health Administration program at the University of Ottawa. Belinda is a firm believer of the benefits of diverse perspectives and backgrounds which leads to more balanced and robust decision making. Her aspiration is to become an agent for change by marrying business practices and technology with clinical operations as well as breaking through silos which inhibit Canadian healthcare from truly innovating and transforming into a world-class 21st century system.
In December 2017, Belinda was also recognized as an award recipient of the Michael Garron award which recognizes a University of Ottawa MHA student who has demonstrated innovative health solutions to practical problems encountered during their residency placement. Belinda completed her residency at The Ottawa Hospital, and presented her project entitled “Mapping the Operational Process for the New TOH Home Dialysis Program”. Belinda is currently Operations Manager at the Ottawa Hospital.
The empirical report and action strategies will be of interest to policymakers, small business and innovation organizations, advocates, industry associations, and corporations that support supplier diversity.
A new Telfer study, conducted in collaboration with Public Services and Procurement Canada, identifies action strategies to increase federal SME supplier diversity and inclusive innovation. Showcased at the Chatham House International Policy Forum in the UK, the report provides important benchmarks about the progress of women entrepreneurs in Canada, and sets a standard of reporting in examining gender of firm ownership, breadth and types of innovation and federal SME contracting.
The empirical report and action strategies will be of interest to policymakers, small business and innovation organizations, advocates, industry associations, and corporations that support supplier diversity. The research, for example, helped to inform a key Chatham House conference resolution, one that the W20 adopt entrepreneurship, procurement, and trade as one of its three policy priorities.
Telfer report recommendations include:
Adopting sector-specific strategies to help achieve the Government of Canada's commitment to increase the participation of women business owners from 10 percent to 15 percent in federal contracting. Sector-specific strategies follow from the Telfer finding that gender differences in the likelihood of SMEs being federal contractors varied significantly by industry sector.
Improving SME procurement data and analytics, including large samples and detailed analyses to move beyond anecdotal evidence and to increase SME contracting opportunities.
Developing gender-sensitive procurement training in collaboration with industry organizations, such as Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC), WBE Canada, WEConnect International Canada, Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC), among others.
All our grads would agree: internships and consulting projects are defining moments in their Telfer experience. Help us give the next cohort of students the same opportunity. Telfer is currently seeking organizations to engage MBA talent in real-life challenges.
There is no doubt that the experience will be valuable for both you and our students. All MBA interns and consulting teams are supported by a faculty member and have access to cutting edge data in order to resolve even the most complex problems that your organization may encounter. Equipped with, on average, 7 years of pre-MBA work experience, these future leaders will give you a fresh perspective thus helping you reach your goals. Sample projects include (but are not limited to), market development, process improvement, and strategic process review.
Beyond the scope of a specific project, if you are looking for new talent, this is your chance to find qualified individuals and evaluate their potential fit within your workplace without the hassle of painful interviews!
You think you might have a project for our students? Contact Nathalie Paré by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 613-562-5800 ext. 4714. She will walk you through the process and explore the many possibilities our experiential learning initiatives can offer.
For the 5th year in a row, Telfer is proud to sponsor the APEX Award of Excellence in Leadership that was presented at the APEX Leadership Symposium, held May 29-30, 2018 in Ottawa. The Leadership Award recognizes an executive in the Public Service that has demonstrated outstanding leadership and that presents a role model for leadership. This year’s recipient is Mr. Michel Doiron, Assistant Deputy Minister at Veterans Affairs Canada; Mr. Doiron received the award in front of over 800 attendees at the symposium. The award was presented by Mr. Michael Wernick, the Clerk of the Privy Council, Mr. Michel Vermette, CEO of APEX, and Glen Orsak, Director of Telfer Executive Programs.
“We are proud to work with public service executives and welcome over 200 participants from the public service into our leadership programs every year.” says Glen Orsak. “Telfer is mission-focused on providing learning and development that transforms the leadership capacity across the Federal Public Service and we are proud to sponsor an award that recognizes leadership excellence in the FPS”.
About Telfer Executive Programs
Telfer Executive Programs is the premiere provider of executive & leadership development programs across the National Capital Region, with a reach across Canada and internationally. More info: Telfer Executive Programs.
About APEX
Established in 1984, APEX is governed by a board of directors made up of fifteen executives representing the National Capital Region and every other region of Canada. The wide range of APEX activities and initiatives is designed to provide executives with opportunities to develop a strong community of practice, promote their physical and mental well-being, and support excellence in leadership.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the very first Telfer International Exchange Video Contest!
The Telfer International Exchange Video Contest was for Telfer students who had participated in an international exchange during the 2017-2018 academic year or before that. The competition’s objective was to promote our exchange destinations and to reward our students’ creative talent.
From left to right: Sarah E Downey, Debbie Fischer, Deanna Monaghan, Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips & Michelle Savoy
Five notable alumni will be recognized by the Telfer School of Management by receiving Trudeau medals, the Young Achiever's Award and the Dean's Philos Award for their outstanding contributions to the world of business, healthcare, community and their alma mater at the 2018 Gala of Excellence. The Gala will be held at the Shaw Centre on Saturday, October 20, 2018 and this event also serves as an opportunity to collectively celebrate the Telfer School and highlight the graduation anniversary of the classes of 1968, 1978, 1993 and 2008.
Trudeau Medals
Sarah E Downey, MHA 1992
Sarah Downey joined Michael Garron Hospital (formerly Toronto East General Hospital) as President and CEO in 2015. Prior to joining MGH, Sarah held senior leadership positions at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and at University Health Network’s Princess Margaret Hospital. She has worked in hospitals for 25 years since graduating with a Masters in Health Administration from The Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. Sarah has been fortunate to lead clinical programs, support service operations, and major redevelopment projects in her career. Sarah is also the President of the uOttawa Toronto Regional Alumni Council.
Debbie Fischer, MHA 1979
Debbie Fischer has held senior leadership positions in professional consulting services, in health care and government. She is currently an Executive Associate with KPMG where she consults on organizational change and large-scale system transformation in health care and public sectors. Debbie serves on several boards including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace, North York General Hospital, the Health Care Advisory Council of GS1, Prodemnity as well as Joule, a Canadian Medical Association subsidiary.
Deanna Monaghan, BCom 1983
Deanna Monaghan was admitted to EY’s partnership in 1994 and has served as Ottawa’s Managing Partner for over eleven years. She is also the firm’s National Leader for Government & Public Sector Assurance Services and the Market Leader for the Ottawa Assurance practice. Deanna is highly active in the volunteer community and serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Ottawa and is Chair of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Board of Governors for the University of Ottawa. She is also the Chair of the Audit Committee for the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health.
The Young Achiever's Award
Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips, BCom 2005
Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips is a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Van Berkom and Associates, a Montreal-based investment firm focused exclusively on managing portfolios of small-capitalization (“small cap”) equities on behalf of large North American pension funds, corporations, foundations and endowment funds. As Portfolio Manager for the Canadian Small-Cap Equities Team he is responsible for conducting fundamental research on a broad spectrum of the Canadian small-cap market. Prior to joining Van Berkom and Associates in 2011, Gabriel was an Analyst, Canadian Equities for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (“CMHC”) Investments and Pension Fund Division (2008-2011)
The Dean's Philos Award
Michelle Savoy, BAdm 1982
Michelle Savoy is President of Quill Ridge Capital. She is an active philanthropist and has served on the Big Brother Big Sisters Council of Champions and on the Board of the Invest in Kids Foundation; she has also co-chaired several events raising money for teen mental health. Michelle is currently supporting Women’s Rights within Human Rights Watch (HRW) and is very active with United Way supporting 'Women United'. Michelle is a SheEO activator and is the founder of GROW (Giving Ring of Women), a group of women dedicated to learning about philanthropy, helping women across Canada gain economic self-sufficiency, and creating a community of givers.
Once a year, the Ottawa Business Journal (OBJ) honours professionals for their business achievements by naming them to their Forty Under 40 list. These award recipients represent the economic diversity, entrepreneurial spirit, and dynamism of Ottawa's business community. This year, more than 300 applications were submitted for the 21st edition of the awards and, for the first time ever, the majority of those who made the coveted final cut – 22 out of 40 – are women.
Among this year's recipients, ten are alumni of the University of Ottawa, of which six studied at the Telfer School of Management. The Telfer School would like to congratulate:
Priya Bhaloo, BCom 2003
TAG HR
After graduating from the Telfer School in 2003 with a Bachelor of Commerce with options in Finance and Management Information Systems, Priya joined The Associates Group as an HR assistant. Priya learned about every facet of the business over the next few years and eventually was named Vice-President of the consulting firm in 2013.
Annik is a Partner in the Ottawa office at BDO with more than 16 years of experience in the accounting profession. In 2004, she obtained her accounting designation and is a member of CPA Ontario. She is also a member of the assurance and accounting resource team of BDO’s Ottawa group of offices, a member of the task force on not-for-profit organizations in the Ontario Lakeland Region and a quality control reviewer.
Nadine has been a Deputy Chief Risk Officer at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and served as its Vice-President of Audit since 2016.
Scott McLaren, BCom 2006
Festival Promotions
Scott purchased Festival Promotions in 2009 and became Partner and President of the company. He and a fellow Telfer alumnus founded Baron Hockey in 2016, which provides high-end hockey sticks to consumers without the retail mark up.
Amy is Vice-President of Public Affairs, Planning and Family Medicine. In this capacity, she provides leadership and oversight for Bruyère’s planning process, partnerships development, cultivation of external relations and communications. She has over 12 years of experience working with senior leadership teams in the Ottawa area, at both Bruyère and the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre.
Taylor is the Chief Administrative Officer and Vice-President of finance at downtown tech firm Fullscript. Since he joined the online system for prescribing and delivering natural health products in 2012, the company’s headcount has grown from five to 85, and the firm topped OBJ’s list of fastest-growing companies in both 2016 and 2017.
The Telfer School would also like to congratulate Jean-Michel Carrière, Samantha Iturregui, Anna Lambert, Sandra Sbrocchi who all graduated from the University of Ottawa and made it on the list.
This year's Forty Under 40 awards gala will take place at the Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel on June 15, 2018. The event will feature cocktails, fine food, music and dancing and is sponsored by the Telfer Executive MBA. Click here to register for the 2018 Forty Under 40 Gala »
On May 24, 2018, three speakers delivered powerful presentations on three unique topics at the Telfer School’s collaborative learning alumni event focused on Emerging Trends in Leadership and Management. The three presentations - cybersecurity, emotional intelligence and diversity & inclusion - were followed by a panel discussion and Q&A for all participants.
Here is a recap of some of the lessons learned from each session.
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace
Justine Hendricks (MBA 2004), Vice-President, Working Capital Solutions Guarantee and Bonding Programs at Export Development Canada
“You can be invited to the party, but not invited to dance”
When understanding the concept of diversity and inclusion, Hendricks is quick to assure us that she is not only talking about gender and ethnicity, but organizational needs to employ a compliment of employees with different professional backgrounds and mindsets which will allow for innovation in the workplace.
Hendricks continued her talk advising that diversity without inclusion is not enough, that inclusion is needed to be successful and that it is tough to achieve within an organization. Companies with inclusion are twice as likely to meet or exceed their goals, six times more likely to be agile and innovative and eight times more likely to achieve a better business outcome.
Throughout her talk, Hendricks repeatedly used the line “You can be invited to the party, but not invited to dance” as a metaphor otherwise saying that there is value in not only listening to employee suggestions but implementing them as well, which a lot of organizations tend not to do. There is value in performing a culture reset, measuring outcomes, setting targets and seeing if change is occurring in key areas.
Cybersecurity and emerging trends: Is someone going to hack my pacemaker?
Mari Teitelbaum (MHA 2010), Vice-President, Tech. & Chief Information Officer, CHEO
Cybersecurity is a very real matter, and public and private organizations consider it to be a priority. Although in the past it was possible to hack a pacemaker, today our knowledge of these possibilities for intrusion makes things much more complicated. Hackers must be more agile and creative and know how to exploit users. After all, as Mari says, the problem is a human one, and it is humans that open the door. Therefore, the solution lies in staff education and awareness.
Although major financial transactions are not occurring at CHEO and in the health sector, the confidentiality of patients and their medical records involves sensitive data that must be protected at all costs. Mari explains that many attempts to access the databases occur every day, but thanks to a prevention and risk management strategy, no intrusion has been possible at her organization.
It is essential to keep the risk in perspective, but the key resides in the concept of shared risk. When she needs to make a decision, Mari says that teamwork is crucial in developing her prevention strategy, and guidelines are made with the board of directors.
Integrating emotional intelligence to navigate through workplace conflict
Manali Haridas Scott, Spiritual Wellness Coach
Emotional intelligence starts with our own self-awareness. That is how Manali begins to explain the difference between intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ). Although both contribute greatly to each person's development, emotional intelligence is what enables us to face multiple challenges each day.
Manali has said multiple times that having continuous negative thoughts will negatively affect a person to the point of inhibiting the brain and its capacity for rational thought. Thus, it is important that we condition ourselves to think positively to maintain a balance and better ability to handle the unexpected and situations that require emotional engagement.
Her advice? Be open and curious, forget old emotional patterns and learn new ones. When facing failure, practise self-discipline and compassion, live in the present moment and move forward, and so on. In short, there are many pieces of advice, but these lessons can be summed up in five factors of success: resolve, record, reconcile, regroup and rejoice.
After a 14 year tenure at the Telfer School of Management, Alain Doucet, Assistant Dean (External Relations), will be leaving his position at the University of Ottawa to pursue new challenges. He was appointed as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian College of Health Leaders.
Alain’s last day at Telfer with be on June 30 and he will commence his role with the College on August 20, 2018.
During his mandate at the Telfer School, Alain had a tremendous impact on marketing, engagement, fundraising and development. Among his many accomplishments, we should highlight the negotiation of Ian Telfer’s transformative gift and 80 other major gifts, over $70 million raised for the school’s priorities, and increased engagement with alumni across Canada and in several global markets.
“His commitment, dedication and outstanding contributions over the past 14 years speak for his passion for his alma mater, as well as his great talent and leadership,” said François Julien, Dean at the Telfer School. “We wish him good luck with his new challenges and look forward to working with him in his new role.”
The RBC Training Ground competition recently took place across multiple cities in Ontario in the search for the next Olympic hopefuls. One of the participants, David Ephraim Butumbi, a second year accounting student from Telfer impressed the top coaches and sports officials in the nation with his speed, power, strength and endurance during the competition. He was selected to participate in the RBC Training Ground Ontario finals taking place Saturday, June 2, 2018 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Complex. Set to compete against the top 100 athletes in Ontario, David has been training full-time for the past five weeks and is aiming for nothing other than to win.
“I didn’t aspire to anything at the beginning but found a competitive drive early on during my training. I’m more than ambitious, being selected in the final wasn’t a coincidence. There’s talent to showcase and it’s not too late for me” explains the 21 year-old athlete.
The amateur athlete manages his Instagram page (@Dev_ephr) and offers tips for developing flexibility and mobility, strength and endurance. This passion was the beginning of David’s journey towards the RBC Training Ground final.
“The ad gave me a challenge and pushed me to see if I can measure up”.
Building on past experiences, such as competing in soccer championships and with support from friends and trainers, David is training with much gusto in the Gee-Gees High Performance Centre and is looking forward to the next step. With recruitment offers from varsity Gee-Gees teams, currently, he is focusing all his efforts on the RBC Training Ground competition. “I haven’t decided anything yet but I think everything will take shape after this weekend. All I can think about now is the final.”
Visit the RBC Training Ground website for more details about the competition.
Every year, we recognize outstanding Telfer School of Management donors in order to demonstrate our appreciation and create meaningful relationships with those in our community who choose us amongst a sea of giving opportunities. This year, the Telfer Donor of the Year awards will be presented at our annual Gala of Excellence on October 20, 2018, along with the celebration of our anniversary classes (1968, 1978, 1993 and 2008) and the presentation of our Alumni Awards.
Congratulations to our 2018 Donor of the Year awards recipients:
Donors of the Year:
Rob Ashe (BCom 1982) & Sandra Herrick (BCom 1984)
Rob and Sandra's generous support of the Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence position has allowed us to hire Stephen Daze who has moved the School forward substantially in the entrepreneurship curriculum, student activities, support for start-ups and community engagement. Their renewal of their pledge for an additional 5-year term will drive even greater impact for our students. Rob has been a champion and supporter of the School for nearly 15 years, first through Cognos, then IBM, and now personally. He holds a Trudeau Medal and an Honorary Doctorate from the University.
Loyal Donor of the Year:
David Bishop (BCom 1967)
David graduated from the University of Ottawa with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce in 1967. He was chosen as the Loyal Donor of the Year for his contributions to the School spanning over 30 years.
Young Donor of the Year:
Alex Dettman (BCom 2008)
Alex has been supporting the Telfer School since 2012 and was one of the first donors to support the Telfer Capital Fund in 2014. Today, Alex is still involved with his alma mater, having participated in the 2017 Giving Tuesday campaign as a social media influencer.
Fundraising Volunteers of the Year:
George Khalife (BCom 2015)
Since graduation, George has remained very engaged with the School at different levels. George has committed his time to judging at different student financial activities and competitions, as well as becoming a coach and mentor for the Stock Simulation at the 2017 Financial Open, which was hosted at uOttawa. George was very active as a social media influencer during the 2017 Giving Tuesday campaign.
Diana Kolesarova (BCom 2016)
Still very much involved with the School since graduation, Diana is now President of the Telfer Alumni Association. As a student, Diana participated in numerous Telfer Student club events and activities. In addition to her role as TAA President, Diana was very active as a social media influencer during the 2017 Giving Tuesday campaign.
On April 19th, twelve Ottawa women were honoured for their entrepreneurial and professional achievements at the Ottawa’s Businesswoman of the Year Awards (BYAs). The BYAs presents a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the professional achievements of businesswomen working in organizations across the National Capital Region as well as to celebrate the recipients recognized within our business community.
Of those recipients, Linda Eagen (EMBA 2002), president and CEO of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, and alumna of the Telfer School, was named the winner in the ‘organization’ category. Over the past 13 years, Eagen and her team raised $60 million for cancer care and research in eastern Ontario. She is the founder of Cancer Coaching, an innovative community-based health and social care service for cancer patients. A mother of two, Eagen is an active volunteer with the Life Saving Therapies Network, BioCanRx and Arvizio Health Technologies.
We wish to congratulate all the finalists and recipients on their inspiring accomplishments.
For the last four years, the Fondation franco-Ontarienne (FFO) has been highlighting the commitment of women in the Ontario community and their achievements through the Sapphire Night. This year's theme was Diversity, and a total of seven women were recognized under four categories. Two women were recognized for each of the following categories; Community Engagement, Youth component, and two for the "Professional" component while one winner was named for the "Female Personality of the Year" category.
We would like to congratulate Bernadette Sarazin on being named "Female Personality of the Year" as well as all the other nominees who were highlighted during this evening.
On May 17, 2018, Ian Telfer was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame (CBHF). Each year, the CBHF recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of the country most distinguished business leaders and our very own Ian Telfer; Chairman of Goldcorp has been inducted into the class of 2018.
After completing his Masters in Business Administration at the University of Ottawa, Ian began a career in the resources sector eventually climbing the ranks to become CEO of Goldcorp from the years 2004 to 2006. Following a substantial donation in 2007, the University of Ottawa honoured Ian by naming their School of Management, now called the Telfer School of Management, after him.
Currently, Ian Telfer acts as chairman for Goldcorp. He manages and guides the company’s national and international projects and acquisitions. As one of the world’s top gold producers, Goldcorp and Ian are dedicated to sustained and meaningful growth.
Congratulations to Ian Telfer on being named to the Canadian Business Hall of Fame class of 2018!
On April 24, the Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale (RGA) recognized two of our alumni with its announcement of the four award winners at the second edition of the Temple de la renommée des gens d’affaires (Business People’s Hall of Fame). The induction of Guy Laflamme, Managing Director of Ottawa 2017, and Bernard Marcil, Co-founder of Marcil Lavallée, will take place on May 30, during the 2018 Gala. The other two winners are Estelle Patenaude, Founder and CEO of Impressions inc., and Martin Paquette, Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Nordik.
In addition, the Hall of Fame wall was unveiled during the press conference to honour those business people who distinguished themselves by their leadership, innovative spirit and contribution to the prosperity of the region. The wall is located on the second floor of the Desmarais Pavilion at the Telfer School of Management.
About Bernard Marcil (BCom 1966)
In 1980, Bernard Marcil co-founded the accounting firm of Marcil Lavallée, with offices in Ottawa and Gatineau. It quickly became a committed partner that actively contributed to the success of its clients, as well as a major player on the francophone and philanthropic scenes in our area. In addition to sitting on several committees related to the practice of accounting, Bernard sat on the board of directors of the Fondation franco-ontarienne, of which he was co-founder and treasurer. He sat on the boards of the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario and the Hôpital Montfort, and was a member of the steering committee on the regional study of services for francophone children and young people in the Ottawa-Carleton region.
About Guy Laflamme (MBA 1989)
With more than 25 years in the field, Guy is a specialist in creating, producing and marketing cultural, recreational and tourism products. He was managing director and producer of Ottawa 2017, the organization responsible for planning and implementing the capital's 150th anniversary celebrations of the Confederation of Canada. This program, which was staggered throughout 2017, targeted an audience of more than 11 million people with anticipated economic benefits exceeding 320 million dollars. He participated in the production of more than 200 major events consisting of large-scale cultural, sporting and social performance, thus leaving his fingerprints on the Ottawa region.
About the Business People's Hall of Fame
Through its Hall of Fame, the Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale pays tribute to local business people who distinguish themselves by their leadership, innovative spirit and contribution to the prosperity of our region. The RGA recognizes these visionary women and men for their unwavering integrity and their inspirational achievements.
About the Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale
Through its leadership, the RGA promotes the mobilization of economic partners on both sides of the Ottawa River, to ensure unparalleled economic prosperity and quality of life. By bringing regional business people together into a single francophone and francophile economic force, it creates a climate conducive to its members' welfare and contributes to the region's economic development.
TORONTO, May 7, 2018 - With its continued focus on maintaining the highest ethical standards, CFA Societies Canada has named a group of four students from Telfer School of Management as winners of the 2018 CFA Societies Canada Ethics Challenge at a reception at Terminal City Club in Vancouver, BC. The Ethics Challenge asked participants to analyze and evaluate a case study identifying ethical dilemmas based on the CFA Institute Code of Ethics & Standards of Professional Conduct with the goal of increasing knowledge and professionalism among future finance professionals.
Finalist teams were announced in March, and on May 3, 2018, they gathered in Vancouver for the final round of the competition. The winning team earned its title by providing the best analysis of a new case study to a judging panel of CFA charterholders and participating in a question and answer period. They, along with their competitors from four other schools, had three hours to complete the analysis.
"The CFA Societies Canada Ethics Challenge was a great opportunity to put what we've learned in school into practice," said Aamena Chatoo, part of the winning Telfer School of Management team along with James Beaudoin, Christian Cotroneo and Natalie Dokmajian. "Learning more about the CFA Institute mandate to uphold the highest ethical standards and accessing mentors helped our team accelerate our learning and make connections as we start our own careers in the finance industry. Winning was truly just the icing on the cake."
The winning team members each won $500 in addition to a commemorative award from CFA Societies Canada. All participants received a certificate of participation in the National Round. For more information about the CFA Societies Canada Ethics Challenge, please visit CFA Societies Canada online.
About CFA Societies Canada
CFA Societies Canada is a collaboration of CFA Institute and the 12 Canadian member societies, whose mission is to build brand awareness of the CFA designation and to advocate for the highest standards of integrity and ethics for the ultimate benefit of Canadian investors. For more information, please refer to www.cfasociety.org/canada.
On March 23rd & 24th, the 8th edition of the Legacy Conference took place at the Delta Hotels Ottawa City Center. From Vancouver to Halifax, and everywhere in-between, Legacy 2018 brought together over 700 like-minded hackers, doers, and builders.
This year’s conference flew in speakers from San Francisco, New York and Nebraska, with the common goal of inspiring the next generation of hustlers. On the Legacy stage, these world-renown founders of America's fastest growing media company to Canadian godfather of weed shared their stories and inspired Legacy attendees to get the courage to start, seek new skills & tools, and find cofounders.
Throughout the duration of the conference, the entrepreneurial icons provided 15-minute mentorship sessions in which attendees could ask them about anything, and everything. Attendees had the rare opportunity to interact with talent acquisition leads in an organic setting - without the pressure and without the formality.
One of the most attractive features at this year's conference were the interactive workshops headed by top Canadian companies such as Microsoft and Shopify. “Why Should We Care about AI?” the workshop ran by Microsoft outlined the groundbreaking innovations in the field of artificial intelligence, and how it will shaped our society for years to come. Attendees were also able to join instructors from Soshal and the Telfer Digital Marketing Certificate to learn about personas, user journey mapping, digital marketing strategy, customer relationship management, design for marketers, writing for websites and apps, search engine optimization, and landing page design.
The Legacy Conference will be hosting "The Legacy Bootcamp: Coding 101" in June 2018, where attendees learn basic HTML and CSS skills in the span of 12-hours. Stay tuned for more details at facebook.com/legacycon/.
Upon graduating from a private school in Bahrain, George Khalife set out to find a university that he could grow with, and help grow. After deciding on the Telfer School of Management, George graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2015. George came to the Telfer School because of the genuine professors, untapped opportunities, a strong and improving curriculum and a student and alumni base that was, and still is, very closely connected.
During his time at Telfer, George remembers certain classes and professors that stood out as making an impact on him, including MIS with Nour El-Kadri, the Financial Research and Learning Lab with Pouya Safi, and Equity Valuation with Miwako Nitani. George also mentions three classmates, with whom he helped found a student-run investment fund called T&V Capital Management, which is now known as Telfer Capital Fund. It was this initiative that introduced him to the fund’s first capital sponsor, and lead him to joining the TMX group.
George lists many things from his time at Telfer that helped get him to where he is today, including the connections he built with professors, the friends he made while studying, the clubs and extracurricular he took part in, the alumni network, networking events and academic workshops held by Telfer. George says: “these are the things that positively contributed to my success during university and post-graduation”.
As for his inspiration, George draws that from his parents. George’s parents moved from the Middle East in order to give him and his sister a chance at a better future. As George puts: “every time I feel challenged, I feel tired, or I feel like giving up, I go back to them and remember how much they struggled to help me get here – that’s all I need to keep going”.
Post-graduation, George immediately started working for the Toronto Stock Exchange (TMX Group), in their two-year rotational Associate Program. At the conclusion of this program, he signed to stay on full time and lead TMX’s sales efforts in Toronto and New York. While working at TMX, George had many projects being developed on the side, including BookBack, and app for university students to buy and sell books, hosting his podcast – “Let’s Grab Coffee”, and blogging on LinkedIn as well as his personal site.
CEO Magazine (London, UK) released its 2018 ranking of the top Global Executive MBA programs on Wednesday, March 21 and has ranked the Telfer Executive MBA program #1 in the world for a second consecutive year.
The ranking system used by CEO Magazine focuses directly on fact-based criteria about the programs and provides potential candidates with a performance benchmark for those schools under review.
“Our program is honoured to be recognized by CEO Magazine and we are determined at staying on top. The Telfer Executive MBA focuses on a 'Global, Practical, Relevant’ application-based learning platform for high potential candidates from all industries. We are in the business of developing executives that are strategic thinkers that can consistently execute to drive compelling value in an increasingly competitive global market”, said Sophia Leong, Executive Director of the Telfer Executive MBA. “To be ranked again by CEO Magazine as the premier Global Executive MBA program underlines key pillars of the program - moral compass, prepared leadership and extended network of communities.”
“Being recognized as the top ranked Global Executive MBA program for the second year in a row is an incredible achievement and a clear demonstration that we provide consistent excellence and superior learning experiences to our Executive MBA candidates year after year. Such international recognition is the result of the remarkable work and commitment of our professors and the excellent support of the staff of our Executive MBA program, led by Program Director Sophia Leong”, said François Julien, Dean of the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management. “I am also grateful for the support of our alumni and members of the business community who contribute to the leadership and professional development of our Executive MBA candidates by participating in the delivery of the program, and providing them exciting project opportunities which enrich their learning experience, allowing the graduates of our program to lead successful and impactful careers, thus building the Telfer School’s reputation.”
The Telfer Executive MBA Program accelerates value in three distinct ways: business leadership, organizational impact and value to the community. Our program offers professionals from all industries a ‘live’ and transformative application-based learning environment that focuses on international market and leadership experience to excel in today’s global economy. The curriculum is anchored by the unique Signature Series of Six Business Consulting Projects, of which two are global in focus and involve two international business trips.
ABOUT CEO MAGAZINE
CEO Magazine has been showcasing top business schools from around the globe since it first launched in 2008. In 2012, the publication launched its annual Global MBA Rankings, profiling MBA, Executive MBA and Online MBA programs.
This year CEO Magazine reached out to business schools across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the BRICS, and received responses from over 270 institutions.
Almost every person knows of someone who has experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. It is not uncommon for the victims of sexual harassment to feel ashamed and afraid of social retaliation if they speak out. As a result, many people keep their experiences as a secret locked in a box.
But this is slowly changing. Following the recent wake of allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace, an increasing number of women from all over the world has found the courage to unlock these burdensome boxes.
As prominent Hollywood actors, golden-medal winning athletes, and female members of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have come forward to share their stories, we finally began to grasp the extent of the problem.
What seems to be different this time is that these women are finding the safe space to be heard.
“I believe the #metoomovement and the fact that more people are supporting and listening to the victims have really encouraged a lot of women to siege this opportunity to voice their own experiences of sexual harassment in their everyday lives, including at work,” explains Telfer School of Management Professor Jane O’Reilly. Professor O’Reilly is doing research on interpersonal mistreatment in organizations, including sexual harassment.
Click here if you would like to learn why organizations should take even subtle forms of sexual harassment seriously in order to create a respectful workplace environment.
As a renowned management school, Telfer prides itself on connecting students to what matters. One of the ways it does this is by outlining strategic goals to inspire continuous improvement and innovation. One of the main goals of the 2017-18 academic year is to encourage and stress the importance of a global mindset in all students. Eric Muellejans, a 2nd year BCom student has benefitted from being recently appointed to the position of Director of International Relations for AIESEC , the world’s largest student run organization that provides volunteer and career opportunities for students abroad in over 126 countries.
In the 2016-17 academic year, Eric served as the President for AIESEC Ottawa; one of many Telfer Clubs at the University. Eric reflected that, “Being President of a Telfer club gave me the skills and confidence I needed to incorporate a global mindset into every work environment. It’s fantastic to be at a school where professors are teaching lessons that are relevant and applicable on many scales. This equips students with the skills to thrive in ever-growing international business situations.” In April, 2017, Eric travelled to Peru to represent AIESEC Ottawa and AIESEC Canada for the Americas Congress which featured young leaders from over 20 countries in the Western Hemisphere. Eric noted, “AIESEC is run by youth, for youth. This enables participants to interact with people of many different nationalities, get new perspectives and hear about their respective ambitions for their home countries. It’s truly an inspiring atmosphere.”
As Director, Eric will be travelling to Colombia, Mexico, and a variety of other countries to negotiate and collaborate with other entities on creating job opportunities for Canadian youth abroad. His, and AIESEC Canada’s, ambition is to deliver over 1100 professional exchange opportunities for Canadians in the next 6 months. Eric stated, “This job is going to be very demanding with travel and meetings, but I am fortunate to be in Telfer where my classmates and Professors can support me in my role”.
If you are interested in going on an AIESEC experience this summer to gain much needed professional skills, you can visit aiesec.ca to learn more and begin applying.
Jodie Harrison has been a planner. As a Telfer BCom student, Jodie set her sights on becoming an investment advisor. So she specialized in finance and took advantage of the school’s Connexions Program to intern with a national investment firm during her final year. Jodie also worked at the Career Centre and served as president of the Telfer BCom students’ association, roles that enabled her to gain several skills and many contacts that would prove especially valuable once she graduated.
“Everyone in the program earns the same degree,” she said. “It’s the things you do beyond your schoolwork that not only set you apart from other graduates, but also equip you to move closer to your goal.”
Jodie Harrison remains a planner. She does it professionally for BMO Nesbitt Burns, helping families and entrepreneurs achieve financial success. She also does it for our school. Jodie has served as president of the alumni association; she is a member of the executive mentorship program; and she was just named chair of the 2018 scholarship golf tournament.
“Heading up the tournament is a perfect fit for me as an investment advisor,” she said. “I want Telfer students to have access to many generous scholarships, so they can graduate with little or even no debt.”
Jodie Harrison is forever a planner: “My advice to Telfer students is to find your own path and then work hard—building networks, sharing experiences, finding mentors and supporting peers along the way.”
The 27th Annual Toast to Success Business Dinner, organized by the Entrepreneurs' Club (TECDE), is a networking event celebrating entrepreneurial success within uOttawa and the local community. The event, held at the Chateau Laurier on February 1, 2018, is one of the largest networking events organized by Telfer School students. As keynote speaker, Terry Davis, CEO of Home Hardware presented several key aspects of his career as well as tips for future entrepreneurs in the room.
The Women in Management Network (WMN), officially launched to a room of over 150 professionals, faculty and students on January 16th. WMN is a student-run initiative under the Telfer Career Centre that strives to empower and support women in the Telfer community to succeed by connecting them with female mentors, all while encouraging increased female participation in all areas of Telfer.
In the opening speeches of the WMN launch, Polly Leung [WMN network lead], stated that “Despite women being half of the student population at Telfer today, there is still so much room for potential for women to become leaders, achieve greater heights, and not be afraid to say ‘What if I am the best person for the job?’ in a world that might not always agree with us. Our network strives to empower women to own their talent and be a voice to drive them to be more confident in the world of business.”
The launch party was an interactive event, meant to facilitate the beginning of conversations and mentoring relationships. With this in mind, the event was thoughtfully organized down to the smallest detail- from conversation ‘bowls’ containing prompts to start meaningful discussion, to an interactive station meant to connect attendees with women-related resources in Ottawa.
WMN would like to thank everyone who attended the launch event. A special thank you to DavidsTea for providing refreshments, SnapLite for the LED signage seen throughout the event, and to the Telfer Career Centre for their continuous support.
We are pleased to inform you of the recipients of the MHA Alumni Association (MHAAA) Health Leadership Award, the Michel Lalonde Award, and the Michael Garron Award.
MHA Alumni Association (MHAAA) Health Leadership Award
On Friday, December 8th, the Fall 2017 MHA residents completed their Field Project final presentations.
As part of this activity, a selection committee composed of Craig Kuziemsky, George Langill, Pat McCaron, Greg Fougère, and Sarah Downey evaluated the presentations to determine the recipient of the MHA Alumni Association Health Leadership Awards.
The MHAAA Health Leadership Award is given to an outstanding MHA student upon the presentation of the Health Care Management Field Project.
The qualities of the presentations were very high throughout. Each presenter was very articulate, clearly owned his/her project and demonstrated significant initiatives that will impact organizations and the health care system.
That being said, we are pleased to inform you that Anne-Marie Parent is this year’s recipient of the MHAAA Health Leadership Award. Anne-Marie completed her field project, “Coordinated Access to Home and Community Services” at the Champlain LHIN. Her presentation clearly demonstrated her leadership abilities and how her project was an innovative contribution to the health care system. The presentation also demonstrated her ability to plan and implement a complex concept. For these reasons, the committee is pleased to give Anne-Marie this award.
Michael Garron Award
The Michael Garron Hospital, formerly known as Toronto East General Hospital, and the University of Ottawa Master of Health Administration program have a deep and longstanding relationship that has extended over a decade.
The Michael Garron Award recognizes a University of Ottawa MHA student who has demonstrated innovative health solutions to practical problems encountered during their residency placement. This year’s recipient of the award is Belinda Maciejewski. Belinda completed her residency at The Ottawa Hospital, and presented her project entitled “Mapping the Operational Process for the New TOH Home Dialysis Program”.
Michel Lalonde Award
The goal of the Michel Lalonde scholarship is to recognize a student in the MHA program who exhibits exceptional leadership qualities manifested through academic excellence and engagement in extracurricular activities.
We are proud to report that several candidates displayed great leadership qualities. This is not only an attestation of the excellent students that enroll in the MHA program but also evidence of the leadership skills that are developed within the program.
We are pleased to inform you that Anne-Marie Parent is this year’s recipient of the Michel Lalonde MHA Scholarship for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Congratulations to Anne-Marie and Belinda - we wish you much success in your future careers.
“Coming to the Telfer School of Management gave me the opportunity to have a fresh start; I knew very few people, and really wanted to maximize my university experience. Becoming involved in the school community through a number of clubs and associations proved to be the perfect way to achieve this,” said Spencer Lee, a fourth year student pursuing his BCom with option in Finance. Spencer explains, “The Telfer School of Management has been incredibly instrumental in connecting me with unique learning experiences, professional contacts and lifelong friends. Through my coursework, club participation, and extracurricular activities, I have truly been connected to what matters to me time and time again, as I develop and grow as a student and a person.”
The Telfer School’s dynamic tagline “Connects you to what matters” has been especially true for Spencer, who has taken full advantage of the multitude of opportunities available to him by getting involved on campus with initiatives like the Capital Markets Mentorship Program (CMMP), the Telfer Capital Fund, being a Teaching Assistant, and being a uOttawa ambassador for the Montreal Exchange program. During the summer, Spencer worked as a Summer Associate at the TMX Group and he will be Telfer Peer Mentor for the 2017-2018 school year. He was also recently accepted into the Telfer Executive Mentorship Program, which will allow him to be mentored by an industry executive, receiving career guidance, one-on-one learning, and networking opportunities.
Always eager to learn new things, Spencer says that being involved in clubs and initiatives that interest him has allowed him to share his passions, while also learning from his peers and industry professionals. “I am constantly motivated by upper year Telfer students who have taught me a great deal and have shown me the countless opportunities available through participating in these clubs and associations, which has been a truly invaluable experience.”
Through his studies at Telfer, Spencer has been able to network, gain practical experience, and travel. He credits much of his success to the initiative he took to get involved. Outside of Telfer, Spencer plays intramural hockey, which he says “provides a great opportunity to stay in shape and socialize with other classmates.”
Spencer concludes that, “One should never stop learning and growing, and it is this concept that really inspires me to get involved and try to gain new knowledge and understanding from any opportunity available to me.”
Polycycle, an initiative by the Telfer student club Enactus uOttawa, has been named the recipient of the $150,000 Community Legacy award through Aviva Canada’s Community Fund Program. The Community Legacy Award targets young social entrepreneurs who have ideas focused on the theme of creating a community legacy.
Aviva’s Community Legacy Fund targets individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 years old with a unique solution to tackling climate change or an idea that benefits Canada’s environmental legacy. Polycycle was one of five Community Legacy Finalists that received the most votes during the initial voting round. In the end, Polycycle was chosen as the winner of the Community Legacy Fund and were awarded $150,000 in funding to implement their idea within a two-year period.
Polycycle’s project focuses on reducing plastic waste through the collection, and up cycling of post-consumer plastic goods. The project utilizes special machines to shred, melt down, and remould plastic waste into a variety of consumer goods. The project also works with community members to ensure that social employment is an integral part of each system’s operation.
For the 18th edition, the annual CASCO Gala brought together wonderful musical, fashion and dance performances, raising an impressive $63,506.67 for The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). “The success of the event comes from great collaboration, and we would like to particularly thank our title sponsor Fahel & CO, the Infinity Convention Centre for hosting our gala for the first time, Co-Founder Tuan Nguyen, and Amanda Richardson, our Faculty advisor at the Telfer School of Management” said Conor O’Doherty, President of CASCO, the Telfer School’s Student Charity Organisation.
“I am extremely proud of all the work everyone on CASCO has put into our 18th Annual Gala. Our cast managed to put together an incredibly impressive show at a brand new venue and our Executive team has worked for over 11 months to make sure this was one of our highest donations to CHEO”, added Conor.
For the past 17 years, CASCO has been a major event for the Telfer School of Management, which has raised more than $500,000 in funds to date. CASCO is entirely choreographed, organized and executed by like-minded Telfer School students. In recent years, students from other faculties have joined, as performers, in what became a spectacular show of talent and philanthropy that brings together over 500 people including prominent community leaders and ambassadors for CHEO.
In preparation for this event, CASCO students spent countless hours auditioning, choreographing, and organizing this annual gala show to raise money for CHEO. The Telfer School of Management and the wider University of Ottawa community remain very proud of students who decide to commit time and energy on this event every year for the positive impacts that they leave on our community
You can find photos from the evening on our Flickr page. Feel free to download and share with your friends!
In less than two months, close to 600 MBA students from over 20 schools across the country will descend on the Telfer School of Management to compete for the glory of the MBA Games 2018 Queens Cup.
The single largest gathering of MBA students in Canada, the MBA Games is a 3-day annual event, organized entirely by students, that brings participants together to network and build relationships while competing in series of academic, athletic and spirit competitions. The Student Association at Telfer is proud to host the 30th annual MBA Games over the weekend of January 5-7th 2018, for the first time ever in our nation’s capital.
The MBA Games is more than a competition. It is an opportunity for students with diverse backgrounds to come together to create lasting memories and innovate for a better future. To highlight how much more can be achieved in business when we create space for diversity, the 2018 Organizing Committee has chosen to mark this year’s games with the theme, More Together.
This year, the MBA Games has partnered with the Moose Hide Campaign, a grassroots, Indigenous-led initiative of men standing up against violence towards women and children. Participating teams have found creative ways to raise funds in their communities for this worthy cause: from bake sales and trivia nights to professional headshots. All funds raised will be donated to the Moose Hide Campaign’s Safe Spaces, Safe Places Initiative, which works to end violence towards women on university campuses across the country.
At the MBA Games, participating students will compete in academic cases sponsored by prominent organizations: platinum event sponsor Deloitte, platinum case sponsor, Export Development Canada (EDC) and Gold Case sponsor, Canada Post.
Athletic events will include volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, and for the first time, participants will get to try their hands at Canada’s other national sport, Curling at the Rideau Curling Club.
The spirit competitions will blend fun team-building with activities to get students thinking about social responsibility and the future.
The MBA Games 2018 Organizing committee is counting down the days until MBA students from across the country become More Together!
With a successful year for the Telfer Alumni Association (TAA) in the books, the Annual General Meeting sparked interest from Telfer alumni to join the growing association. This year, the TAA Board broadened with Iskandar Alex Nasrallah (BCom 2017) as the Director of Marketing, and Nader Rustom (BCom 2016) as the Director of Communications.
Alex, a 2017 accounting graduate, obtained a gold medal for winning the CPA Ontario Case Competition and is the founder of a student tax prep start up company. He brings an entrepreneurial background to the board, as well as a large network to help grow the Telfer Alumni Association.
Nader has been an actively involved alumni since graduating in early 2016. He has been a judge for the Equity Valuation live case competition for 4th year Finance students and a volunteer for Junior Achievement Canada.
Returning members include Director of Events – Arianna Farley, Director of Finance & Strategic Partnerships – Lucas Ghosn, Director of Operations & Engagements – Sushil Dahiya, and President - Diana Kolesarova.
We also want to thank Alexandra Batchelor, Carl Lafleur and Aproov Chawla for serving on the 2016-2017 TAA Board.
“The growth of the TAA is not only very exciting for the Telfer alumni in the Ottawa region, but also those across the world. We’re looking forward to another year of connecting alumni to what matters.” - Diana Kolesarova, TAA President
To get in touch with with the TAA:
Email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Facebook - facebook.com/telferalumni
Medium - medium.com/@telferalumn
On November 7, we had the honour of welcoming Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada and Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, to the Chancellor's Master Class. This class brought together all Telfer School MBA and Executive MBA candidates. Mr. Rovinescu shared his experience at Air Canada and discussed its turnaround in the global market.
As Telfer Executive MBA Director Sophia Leong explains, we have to learn from our successes, but especially from the successes of our Canadian companies.
“Air Canada’s transformation from near death to market success is a perfect example of active learning from M. Rovinescu” stated Ms. Leong. “He led the financial and commercial turnaround by making bold and risky moves to transform Air Canada to a global player. Air Canada is a live case of ‘The Art of the Possible’ and M. Rovinescu brought that reality to both the Executive MBA and MBA candidates.”
In his presentation, Mr. Rovinescu discussed the role of a president and CEO, who must make bold decisions when standard practices fail. He likened this approach to solving a Rubik's Cube. “To move to more sustainable business outcomes, Air Canada had to let go of former business strategies or practises despite the associated risks and difficulties” said Mr. Rovinescu.
“This created significant change management for Air Canada personnel and stakeholders. In addition to frequent and mindful communication, we had to emphasize on the importance of ‘symbols’ to instill pride in the workforce and stakeholders. By leveraging the maple leaf symbol, Air Canada is mindful it is branding ‘Canada’ by proxy.”
On November 2nd at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, the Fraser Institute held their annual Founder’s Award tribute dinner honouring Canada’s greatest business and philanthropic leaders. This year’s Award was presented to Ian Telfer, Chairman of the Board and Director of Goldcorp. That week Ian Telfer attended and networked with our alumni at the receptions in Calgary November 1st and in Vancouver November 2nd as a special guest but also to cap off the 10th anniversary of the Telfer School.
The Fraser Institute Founders’ Award, named after founders T. Patrick Boyle and Michael A. Walker, is the Institute’s highest honour. The award is presented annually to individuals in recognition of their exceptional entrepreneurial achievements, generous philanthropic endeavors and dedication to competitive markets. These individuals are role models for the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders.
Ian Telfer was also honoured along with his wife, Nancy Burke, as the recipients of the Children’s Charity Gold Heart Award at the annual Gold Heart Gala. The couple are well-known across British Columbia and beyond for their generous giving, including to Variety - the Children’s Charity of BC (Variety BC) through their family foundation.
The Gold Heart Award is Variety BC’s most prestigious mark of distinction, honouring exceptional philanthropic contributions throughout local communities. The Gala is chaired by Mary Zilba, and vice-chaired by Fiona Forbes, local television celebrities and longtime friends and supporters of Variety BC.
Ian Telfer will also be announced as one of the 2018 Canadian Business Hall of Fame inductees at the Gala Dinner and Induction Ceremony that will be held in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on May 17, 2018.
“I believe it is important to continue learning – learning never stops. I love that Telfer supports personal growth and development through learning. It also connects its students to experts in their field,” said Andrea Ghazzawi, a PhD candidate in the Management Program with a field of study in Health Systems.
Inspired by Dr. Craig Kuziemsky and driven by the opportunity to contribute to improving the Canadian healthcare system, Andrea chose to continue her studies at the University of Ottawa in the Telfer School of Management. She completed her masters and is now currently working on her PhD.
Andrea went on to mention that the many opportunities available at the Telfer School of Management attracted her to begin and continue her studies here. “Having the chance to learn from a multidisciplinary group of professors with varying areas of expertise was an incredible experience for me.”
When asked which classes left a strong impression on her, Andrea answered, “The health systems courses stood out to me, especially the classes that covered the use of information technology in healthcare and the application of quantitative health research methods.”
While fulfilling the duties of being a mother, fulfilling her passion for cooking, and spending time with family and friends, Andrea works to maintain her academic success and continues to think about improvements needed in the healthcare system to benefit all Canadians, and how she can contribute.
“Thinking back, I would never have thought that I would be doing a PhD—it just wasn’t on my radar—but I am thankful to be here and to be participating in this program,” concluded Andrea.
The Telfer School of Management’s undergraduate office is thrilled to announce the official launch of the Telfer Workshop Initiative! This initiative offers an overview of post-secondary education in management, as well as professional development training to students in grades 10 to 12, in secondary 4 and 5, and in cégep.
Offered free of charge during the school year (October – June), this initiative is organized in collaboration with our School’s dynamic professors, our current Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) students and alumni, our industry partners, and our Student Services Centre. The workshops have been designed to complement students’ curriculum, while allowing them to experience a taste of university studies.
We are convinced that these workshops offer an unparalleled opportunity for students to discover commerce, and for teachers to enrich their course content. If you are a teacher or guidance counselor and would like your class or school to participate in this innovative program, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Marketing and Liaison Coordinator, for further information!
Goldy Hyder, CEO of Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada, with 2017 CEOX1Day finalist, Anna Halawa.
Goldy Hyder, CEO of Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada, with 2017 CEOX1Day finalist, Anna Halawa.
The CEO1XDay program, run by executive recruiting firm Odgers Berndtson, matches Canada’s top students with CEOs from across the country. Today’s students are the leaders of tomorrow and the yearly program aims to uncover some of Canada’s most promising future talent by giving them an unforgettable real-world experience.
Launched in 2013, CEOx1Day has matched close to 70 third and fourth year undergraduate students from across Canada with leading Canadian CEOs from organizations like Purolator, IKEA, the CFL, Manulife Financial and Economic Development Canada. This year, there is another fantastic line-up of CEOs from organizations in the private, public and not-for profit sectors including the Ottawa Senators, PayPal, Edelman, Amnesty International, Kellogg’s, and Purolator.
Past CEOx1Day students who have taken part in the program say that they received valuable experience that equips them with the tools to start building their careers. Because the selection process has several stages, there is an opportunity for students to get feedback on their leadership and interview skills, even if they don’t make it to the final round. The different phases of the selection process include an online leadership assessment, as well as phone and in-person interviews and a half day with Odgers Berndtson recruiters.
The application process kicks off September 28th until October 27th and the actual day spent with the CEO occurs in February of 2018.
Why Should You Apply?
The program gives third and fourth-year students an opportunity to take in-class learning and apply it to a real-world situation while providing them with the tools and skills needed to start building their career.
What Are the Benefits?
There are many benefits of going through the CEOX1Day application process – even if you don’t reach the finals:
2 out of 3 applicants will have the opportunity to receive a personalized leadership report from Hogan Assessments
Semi-finalists will be considered for an interview with McKinsey & Company for a summer internship or full-time job
Semi-finalists will spend a half day participating in group exercises and one-on-one interviewing which will strengthen their presentation and interviewing skills
And ultimately, the winners will spend a full day shadowing a CEO (including one-on-one time), learning about his/her background, career path, and leadership approach
Big-data analytics investments don’t necessarily mean big impact. Two of our researchers from Telfer are exploring how to get more value from big data.
Telfer Professors Ajax Persaud and Sandra Schillo want to know if small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) are ready to take advantage of the deluge of data at their disposal, in new research funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Mastery of big-data insights was supposed to enable SMEs to punch above their weight. By acquiring the right deep data and analytical skills, SMEs will be well in their way to making better decisions in the new digital landscape. That at least, was the chant small-business leaders were hearing for years. But with more than half of big data projects failing to achieve their objectives, what are Canadian SMEs to do?
“A lot SMEs are proceeding with caution on big-data analytics (BDA), and you can hardly blame them,” professor Schillo contends. The path to achieving value from BDA initiatives is far from clear. “It’s a big concern right now because Canada needs these organizations to stay current on BDA in order to remain globally competitive.”
Professor Persaud observes that “BDA is fast becoming a major focus for corporate executives with the main concern being how to extract maximum value from big data. It will transform corporate governance and decision-making” The transformation is so rapid that Canada’s Big Data Consortium has predicted a massive shortage of employees with the right mix of big data skills. “In a few short years, the ability to store, capture, process, analyze this information became of strategic importance to firms,” explained Persaud. “Every firm today wonders, how can I use it to my advantage?”
But he adds that BDA is still a gamble for most small businesses, even for companies with an appetite to chase big-data insights and resources to put behind the effort. “Capturing and mining the data does not automatically lead to value or better decisions – the right people with the right skills are needed to generate valuable insights and management needs to act strategically to harness the value of the insights.”
With their research, the Telfer researchers will use quantitative and qualitative methods to gauge the readiness of SMEs to leverage big data. Where most of the research in this area focuses on the technologies of big data, professors Persaud and Schillo are interested in BDA management processes, strategies and resources. Along the way, they’ll also contribute towards the development of frameworks, scales and indicators which, again, would illuminate the managerial aspect of big data. They expect to generate practical insights for Canadian SMEs, the academic management field, and the entrepreneurship public-policy community.
The researchers say that, as with any initiative designed to prepare SMEs to exploit big data for competitive advantage, their study will venture into uncertain terrain. But this much appears certain: given SMEs role in the economy, and considering the promise of big data, now is the time to help them unlock the value of big data. “One side, there’s a lot of euphoria about how SMEs might benefit from BDA, and on the other, there are those who say that only a wait-and-see approach will avoid business losses,” says professor Schillo. “But neither extreme is probably very realistic,” professor Persaud adds. “Our hope with this research is to make it a lot more realistic.”
My internship through the Telfer MBA program allowed me to work in a completely different environment than my previous work experience and helped me grow as a professional while allowing me to directly apply the knowledge I was gaining in my MBA classes. I worked in a sales and marketing capacity with a tech company still in its first few years of operations, which really left the space wide open for me to make an impact. My initial objectives for the internship were to develop, implement and manage an email campaign to boost lead generation, develop and refine marketing material, and look at updating the website and search engine optimization.
While starting from scratch removes a lot of the limitations that can occur when trying to revamp a legacy firm’s marketing strategy, it also leads to many challenges as you need to find consensus on many items that seem trivial to a company focused on meeting its initial monthly recurring revenue targets. However, there are pre-requisites any new company needs to establish that are vital to the overarching strategy and alignment that will drive sales and marketing for years. For any of my projects to make a lasting impact, I first had to gain consensus on the mission, vision and values as well as the unique value proposition of the company. From this, existing sales and marketing collateral could be aligned, new material and templates created and the messaging in the email campaign could be refined.
As much of my work focused on marketing initiatives, the skills and knowledge I gained from my Strategic Marketing Management course were critical in helping me. Although I had previously worked in a marketing environment, my background is as an engineer and I had always focused more on the technical side of product development. To take on a pure marketing role, I needed to use the theory of marketing that I was taught at Telfer to be able to propose a marketing strategy to the company’s CEO. I was also able to use the skills I was learning in my Strategy course, which I was taking at the same time as the internship, to look at the strategic grouping of the company compared to its closest competitors. I was able to help position the company’s messaging to showcase it as being in a completely new market compared to existing products, which helped set the overall voice and tone of marketing material. As our product was an application of the industrial internet of things, having taken a course on Global Trends and the Business Intelligence & Big Data elective gave me the introduction to analytics and machine learning that helped me understand the data scientists to translate their work into a comprehensive marketing message.
This opportunity enabled me to grow as a professional in several areas. The first was the chance to work in a startup environment. Having previously only worked in large bureaucratic firms, it was a new experience to work in a company that had less than 20 employees. This enabled me to take on more responsibility and forced me to be flexible and change what I was working on to focus on the firm’s more pressing priorities. It was inspiring to work with the people who founded the company, whose passion was the driving force behind the company’s growth. I also learned a lot about a completely new industry, one that focused on software development and the application of prescriptive analytics in a manufacturing setting. While I had worked in several different engineering environments before, this was by far the most cutting edge, and focused on the applications of a still evolving technology.
For Shokoofeh Manesh, her BCom studies with option in Accounting at the Telfer School of Management have presented opportunities to get involved on campus, allowing her to grow her network and gain invaluable skills. “They say that your university experience will only be as good as what you make of it, and getting involved with clubs at Telfer has allowed me to make my experience truly great,” stated Shokoofeh. “My involvement with clubs and associations has allowed me to make the most of my time at Telfer: not only have I made amazing friendships by getting involved, but I have also grown as a leader in my community.”
Getting involved in the Telfer Accounting Club (TAC) is where Shokoofeh found her place to thrive. She’s been part of TAC since her first year of studies, slowly climbing up the executive ladder to now serve as Co-President for the 2017-2018 academic year. In addition to TAC, Shokoofeh has been involved with Enactus, the Telfer Internal Case Competition (TICC), Jeux du commerce (JDC), and 101 Week. As a recipient of the Peter and Ann Koppel Scholarship for Excellence, Shokoofeh was able to prioritize her involvement and academic success. The scholarship rewards students who exemplify academic achievement, social responsibility, and involvement in the Telfer community. In fact, Shokoofeh noted that the skills she gained by studying at Telfer and participating in these clubs have been integral in securing and excelling in her CO-OP work terms, and most notably, her placement as Analyst for Deloitte’s Risk Advisory department.
In addition to having the opportunity to get involved, Shokoofeh said one of her main reasons for choosing the Telfer School was its French Immersion stream, which allowed her to study what she loves, business and math, while also continuing to improve her French. For high school students who are going through the process of choosing a university themselves and are considering the Telfer School of Management, Shokoofeh says, “If you want to surround yourself with students who are resourceful, innovative, and passionate, the Telfer School of Management is the place for you.”
I’m an accountant, and my practice includes a specialization in fundraising. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that when you ask people to give money to a cause, you better be ready to give when they ask you for something in return. I approached fundraising for the Kevin Vollett Entrepreneurial Award with this insight in mind. The scholarship award is given each year to recognize a member of The Entrepreneurs’ Club for his or her participation and dedication to the club. The award is named for a friend, former fellow club executive and budding entrepreneur who died in an accident back in 1993, when we were both Telfer BCom students.
I was asked by the school to revive the award financially so it remains viable for years to come. Rather than simply putting the touch on a few club alumni with fat wallets, I asked the school and its students for something instead. I decided the school’s request would be a great opportunity for me to work with today’s executives of The Entrepreneurs’ Club and share my knowledge and experience with fundraising. What better way, I thought, to honour Kevin’s memory and further his legacy than not only to raise the necessary funds, but also mentor his successors at the club about this vital part of business life.
The fact that the Telfer School is honouring me is proof that my approach is a winning one. The Kevin Vollett Entrepreneurial Award is well on its way to becoming fully funded and sustainable for many years, and several students have gained important knowledge and valuable real-world experience in the process. Best of all, Kevin’s legacy at the school and the club is secure. That’s more than fulfilment enough for me.
If you don’t respect where you’ve come from, how are you going to respect where you are now? This rhetorical question has influenced me throughout my adult life and certainly does so as a loyal Telfer School donor. My time at the Telfer School, which started back in the 1970s, was made possible by money from scholarships and other generous support. As a woman from a hard-working farm family in southern Ontario, I care that young people from unremarkable backgrounds can get the financial support they need to reap the rewards that education and hard work bring. Opportunity is important to me.
So is inclusiveness. It matters that the Telfer School is bilingual and that it also welcomes students from across the country and around the world. When I was a Telfer BCom student, this spirit of inclusiveness enabled me to study with people who had much different backgrounds than mine. And this exposure helped make me a better student, person and, eventually, accountant and public servant. That inclusive institutions such as the Telfer School and the University of Ottawa exist in Canada’s capital city is of great significance—both as a symbol to everyone throughout the country and as a source of broad-minded professionals, especially for our public service.
These connected values—opportunity and inclusiveness—are why I’ve been a loyal Telfer School donor. I’ve given regularly to scholarship funds and to support the Dean’s strategic priorities. Opportunity and inclusiveness are also why I’ll continue to give. This place and its characteristics helped shape who I am. And if you don’t respect where you’ve come from, how are you going to respect where you are now?
Lack of money is a talent waster. I believe students should focus their time and energy on improving their skills, deepening their knowledge and expanding their experiences, not on trying to earn the money they need to pay their tuition and academic expenses. It’s the reason I give financially to the Telfer School every year. It matters to me that students—Telfer BCom students especially—get the financial support they need to take full advantage of the special student experience at the Telfer School.
As an accountant, I give mainly to Professor Sylvain Durocher’s accounting students. I act as a judge in their annual case competition and supply a portion of the prize money that goes to the winning team and finalist. That money is important to these students. It’s a tangible reward for their sharp thinking and hard work, and it helps ease their financial burden in a small way, enabling them to focus more fully on their student experience. Even a modest amount of money means a lot to these students. My financial contribution also gives something to me—mostly satisfaction in seeing the joy on the faces of the winners and in knowing that I’m helping them hone their professional talents.
I urge all recent Telfer BCom grads to think of their own creative ways to give financially to the program and the school. Opportunities to advance your profession or fulfill your academic passion while helping students are there to be found. And if you can’t give at the level of Ian Telfer, don’t let that stop you. Even a small financial contribution has a way of building momentum and attracting even more dollars. Trust me: you can turn a little into a lot—for Telfer School students and for you.
We have a strong connection to the Telfer School—Swee as a Telfer School professor for 30 years and now Emeritus Professor, and Lilian as an advisor to the Telfer CPA Accounting and Governance Research Centre for over 20 years since its inception. We also have experience as graduate students. We understand how important it is being taught by faculty in a business school that is focused on carrying out research that contributes to new knowledge in the field of management.
So we were excited when the Telfer School set up its PhD program. It sends an important message that the school is now spurring top-flight research. It sets a tone that a new mission of the school is to focus on fostering research that contributes to new knowledge in the field of management. We realized that we had to provide strong momentum for success in the launch of the new PhD program. Our donation is to support the first cohort of students, in all its five fields, to attract the best doctoral candidates to the school for this new program and to help them financially in the critical first two years of study. We know how crucial it is for this initial cohort to create strong momentum in the program from the very beginning.
It is our hope that this momentum will serve to propel the program by attracting more top students to attend. We also hope our donation encourages others to be a part of the growing excellence of the Telfer PhD and consider contributing as donors. This help will sustain the positive momentum for the future growth and success of the school as evidenced by the launch of this new, important and exciting program.
To view the official grand opening reception click here!
You can find photos from the evening on our Flickr page. Feel free to download and share with your friends!
After 25 years at the World Exchange Plaza, our dynamic and expanding Centre for Executive Leadership (CEL) has now moved to a brand new, world-class executive learning facility at 99 Bank Street.
The new CEL facilities overlook the renovated atrium and feature bright and spacious classrooms. In addition, participants and instructors will also be able to utilize several boardrooms as well as networking areas.
The CEL is home to Telfer’s growing executive leadership programs:
The Executive MBA, which was recently ranked #1 in the Tier One Global Executive MBA Ranking by CEO Magazine, accelerates value in three distinct ways: business leadership, organizational impact and value to community. A Global, Practical and Relevant program, anchored by the Signature Series of Six Business Consulting Projects, is for professionals focusing on international market and leadership experience to excel in today’s global economy.
Our Master of Business in Complex Project Leadership, which was launched in 2016, is a specialized program designed to equip participants with advanced skills and confidence to be an effective leader and deliver successful program outcomes. Broad areas of learning can be applied to fields such as complex capital procurement projects, program development, business transformation, information technology initiatives and R&D commercialization.
Our vast array of Executive Leadership Programs—developed with our accomplished faculty members, Telfer executives-in-residence, expert industry practitioners and global thought leaders from partner institutions—enable emerging leaders to gain advanced knowledge and skills they can apply immediately and directly to their own practice of leadership.
A first-of-its-kind Canada-wide survey of seniors’ health technology-related behavior.
Project Information
Project title
IT Innovation and the Elderly: Technology Acceptance and Use in the Community Researcher
Mirou Jaana, Telfer School Grant supporting this research
SSHRC Insight Period
2017-2020
Professor Mirou Jaana has launched a new study, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), which will provide national data on seniors’ attitudes and behaviors towards health information technology solutions.
Telemonitoring (aka telehomecare) technologies have been around for decades, but little is known empirically about the factors that lead to the acceptance and use of these solutions by seniors. Professor Mirou Jaana says having a better understanding of these factors would assist healthcare providers and policy-makers to develop guidelines that support the integration and optimal use of these solutions for the greatest benefit of patients.
In the first part of her study, she and her colleagues are conducting a Canada-wide survey of seniors that assesses their technology-related attitudes and behaviors. The survey will consider a variety of general e-health applications, as well as specific home-based technologies, that have gained increased attention in recent years, such as smart watches. In the second part of the study, professor Jaana and her team will investigate the factors that affect the acceptance and use of telemonitoring technologies by seniors.
While the features and convenience of these technologies continue to evolve, their basic telemonitoring functions actually haven’t changed all that much, says professor Jaana. “Their essential purpose is to connect a healthcare provider or case manager to a patient who lives in the community (e.g., at home or in a retirement home), and requires close attention and monitoring.” As an example, a patient being monitored for a heart failure condition may use telemonitoring to transmit information such as a change in her or his weight. The nurse could potentially consult with the patient’s physician, and adjust his/her medications accordingly. This early detection of deterioration in a patient’s condition presents important benefits by preventing risky complications and avoiding unnecessary time-consuming hospital visits. This is especially relevant in the case of elderly patients.
Professor Jaana’s new study, focusing on technology acceptance factors, will build on the findings of her previous research which revealed that telemonitoring had significant positive impacts on senior patients’ self-care skills and it benefited them in relation to their chronic disease management. “By focusing on acceptance factors related to these technologies, our research is uncovering potential barriers/facilitators that may enable more effective use of telemonitoring among senior patients with unstable conditions.’’ Identifying in their health status, which they often would not notice on their own, supports timely intervention before complications arise requiring a hospital visit.
“The field of telemonitoring is maturing, but what’s still missing is the empirical insight into how these technologies should be incorporated as part of care guidelines,” professor Jaana contends. “With the continuously growing population of elderly living in the community, it is our responsibility to understand their needs, and leverage existing tools and technologies, like telehomecare applications, to support them in the community.”
From left to right: Phillipe Lamothe, Matthew Chesser, Emma Azzi and Jean-Claude Mukanya Cibumba
The Telfer School of Management is delighted to announce the recipients of this year’s MBA Student Leadership Awards: Emma Azzi, Matthew Chesser, Philippe Lamothe and Jean-Claude Mukanya Cibumba. These made exceptional contributions to the MBASA as well as the MBA program in general.
The award recipients elicited many positive comments, and the MBA class were effusive in their support for them.
Emma Azzi
Emma was recognized for her role in organizing the Telfer School’s team at the 2017 MBA Games, as well as her hard work bringing the MBA Games to Ottawa in 2018. Her peers said that her contagious enthusiasm and drive inspire all those who work with her.
Matthew Chesser
MBA students expressed their admiration for Matthew’s organization of alumni panels and many extra-curricular MBA activities. He was described as having a “quiet but cheerful leadership style in everything he did.”
Phillipe Lamothe
Philippe was recognized for his leadership as the MBASA President, including his support for and promotion of various activities, as well as his participation in a number of events representing the Telfer School.
Jean-Claude Mukanya Cibumba
Jean-Claude was lauded as a talented, inspiring classmate who always strives to give his best. He was recognized for making outstanding contributions as a leader, and for always giving constructive comments in discussions and presentations.
We extend our warmest congratulations to each of these outstanding students and thank the MBA class for their participation.
Every year, we recognize outstanding Telfer School of Management donors in order to demonstrate our appreciation and create meaningful relationships with those in our community who choose us amongst a sea of giving opportunities. This year, the Telfer Donor of the Year awards will be presented at our annual Gala of Excellence on October 21, 2017, along with the celebration of our anniversary classes and the presentation of our Alumni Awards.
If you would like to learn more about giving to what matters to you at Telfer, please click here.
Congratulations to our 2017 Donor of the Year awards recipients:
Thanks to his leadership, commitment and dedication towards the Telfer Entrepreneur’s Club, the Kevin Vollett Entrepreneurial Award will be sustainable for future years.
The Lilian and Swee Chua Goh Doctoral Scholarships provided tremendous momentum to the fall 2016 launch of the PhD program by helping us recruit four of the eight top-notch candidates in 2016 and one in 2017. The couple has a long history at Telfer: Swee is an Emeritus Professor and Lilian is a founding advisor of the CPA Accounting and Governance Research Centre.
Apply today to participate in a 10-minute Thesis Competition organized by the Sprott School of Business, the Telfer School of Management, and the Université de Québec en Outaouais’s Département des sciences administratives! On September 29 at Sprott, you’ll have the opportunity to square off against your business-school peers for $6,000 in cash prizes.
To apply, write a one-page submission with your supervisor. Three submissions will be chosen by each institution to advance to the 10-minute Thesis Competition on September 29.
If your proposal does not make the shortlist, you are invited to use it to contribute to a poster session to be held just prior to the thesis competition.
Why a 10-minute Thesis Competition?
By this point in your academic career, you’re probably well acquainted with the traditional academic presentation structure: research problem, theoretical framework, methodology, results, and conclusions – in that order. That you would want to adhere to that structure for most presentations doesn’t surprise us. We get it. It’s a big part of your academic training.
But there’s another important skill for young researchers to have: communicating the impact and significance of their work right up front, and in plain language. So with the Telfer-Sprott-UQO 10-minute Thesis Competition, we’re asking presenters to abandon the traditional academic presentation structure. Instead, find an alternative way to present your project in a way that a lay person would understand. Explain what’s innovative about your project and the potential impact of the research. Tell a story. Look for creative ways to explain how and why your research matters.
Rules
Eligible students/programs
PhD in Management - Sprott School
Doctorat en administration, D.B.A. - gestion de projet, UQO
Information Systems (IS) / Information Technology Management (ITM) students active in the Doctorat en sciences et technologies de l'information, UQO
PhD in Management - Telfer School of Management
PhD in Electronic Business Technologies, or EBT - Telfer School
M.Sc. in Management, M.Sc. in Health Systems, M.Sc. in EBT - Telfer School
Students who presented at the May 2016 Telfer-Sprott-UQO forum are also eligible, provided they apply with a new submission/proposal.
How to apply
Prepare a one-page submission with your supervisor. Include the content that would typically be included in an academic-type presentation, but in a different format – one that highlights what’s innovative about your project and its potential impact. We’re looking for creative ways of explaining how and why the research matters.
Thesis competition - highlights
Each institution will select 3 students for the presentation competition.
Each presentation should be no more than 10 minutes in length.
Presenters will be evaluated on their ability to convey the significance of their research with clarity and impact
$6,000 in cash prizes will be awarded. 1st prize – $3,000; 2nd prize – $2,000$; 3rd prize – $1,000
Key dates
July 31 - Student submit their notice of intent to participate
August 18 - Due date for one-page submissions, jointly prepared by the student and his/her supervisor
Early September – Telfer School, Sprott School and UQO have each chosen their three presenters
September 29 – 10-minute Thesis Competition and poster session at the Sprott School of Business
Teams from the Class of 2018 are writing about their experiences on their Innovation and Entrepreneurship Consulting Project in Silicon Valley in a series of blogs.
CASCO, a student-run charity organization, hosted its 2nd Annual Golf Tournament on Sunday, May 28th 2017. With a strong team effort made by CASCO executives, they managed to raise $5,414 towards their cheque to present to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) at their Annual Gala on November 29, 2017 at the Infinity Convention Centre.
CASCO President Conor O’Doherty discussed his fellow classmates’ involvement in this initiative: “I am extremely proud of all the work the CASCO executive team has put into organizing our Golf Tournament. Their dedication to our cause and willingness to get more involved never ceases to amaze me. Our mission to raise funds for CHEO would never be accomplished without their commitment and I cannot wait to see how they will keep impressing me throughout the year."
About CASCO
CASCO is a student-run charity organization at the University of Ottawa. Comprised mostly of students from the Telfer School of Management, the club allows students to apply business knowledge to raise both awareness and funds for charity causes and promote corporate social responsibility. Now entering its 18th year, CASCO has raised over $500,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), helping to purchase new equipment and to provide assistance to families in need.
(clockwise from left): Carolyn Montague of Perfocus Management Inc.; professors Jonathan Calof and Stephane Tywoniak; Jake Jacobson of Babcock Canada Inc.; James Maloney, MP; Joe Armstrong of CAE; and Yasmin Ratansi, MP.
The Telfer School of Management continues to shape the future management of mega projects with forward-looking research and thought leadership. The latest example: an eye-opening panel discussion on complex project leadership, organized by the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy and featuring professor Stephane Tywoniak as the keynote presenter.
With a cross-section of attendees from government, companies and industry associations present, Tywoniak said there is a global consensus about the need to reset traditional approaches to contracting for mega-projects and major procurements, as they have become ever-more-complex challenges for governments at home and abroad. He went on to present a report on a series of roundtables on complex project management with some 300 government and business leaders in Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.
Tywoniak’s talk set the table for a wide-ranging panel discussion involving MPs as well as executives from CAE, Babcock Canada Inc. and Perfocus Management Inc.
Held in the parliamentary precinct on May 18, this event was part of the Pearson Centre's Economy for Tomorrow Series, which is chaired by another professor at the Telfer School, Jonathan Calof, and by Yasmin Ratansi, M.P., the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.
On May 9, in commemoration of the 10th year anniversary of the naming of the Telfer School of Management, over 50 Telfer alumni, staff and friends will be teaming up with Junior Achievement Ottawa (JA) for JA Delivery Day, to promote financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness skills to Ottawa Grade 8 students.
“Youth who participate in our program go on to save more and borrow less than the average Canadian adult,” says Albert Wong, JA Ottawa director. “The real world skills they acquire through the program can be applied to their lives immediately. Budgeting, investing and aligning their financial choices with their goals are a few of the things our JA volunteers are able to teach youth through the program.”
JA graduates are also more likely to launch businesses and create jobs. According to recent research, JA graduates are 50% more likely to open a business. What’s more, 65% of graduates said that JA has had a significant impact on their decision to stay in school and enrol in postsecondary education. Simply put, students who participate in JA programs gain the skills and confidence they need to succeed in life. JA programs prepare them to innovate, take on leadership roles and pursue their dreams.
“We are proud that Telfer comprises 20% of the yearly volunteers that participate in the JA workshops,” says Alain Doucet, Assistant Dean (External Relations) at Telfer. “The May 9 Delivery Day will increase that amount to over 30% for this year. It is evident that our community understands the importance of teaching real-world skills to our youth.”
For more information on Junior Achievement Ottawa, email Albert Wong at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Professor Samir Saadi will represent the Telfer School on a team of top researchers examining merger-and-acquisition (M&A) practices at a Joint Israeli-Canadian Research Workshop. Interdisciplinary and inter-university, this workshop will focus on the necessary elements for the success of M&As in Canada and Israel at a moment when both nations are looking to derive more value from these and other forms of corporate reorganization. It will be funded by the Halbert Centre for Canadian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Professor Saadi, an Associate Professor of Finance, brings a background in research on M&A activities in the high-tech industry and on the role of CEO power on M&As. With this project, his expertise will contribute to a better understanding of the potential barriers to successful transactions within the Canadian and Israeli contexts. This initiative comes at a time when firms from both countries frequently find themselves as targets, and therefore, improving the outcomes associated with these deals has consequences for business productivity, for employees, and for the potential adoption of new technologies or expertise
On May 3, 2017, the Telfer Community joined Enactus uOttawa at the Annual National Showcase to highlight their key accomplishments and explain the high-level impact the team has had on the community.
The event also served to “send-off” the team, who will be attending the Enactus Canada National Exposition, happening in Vancouver on May 9-11. During this event, teams will present their projects, and demonstrate to panels of senior executives how they are making a real impact in their communities. Teams attending the National Exposition will be competing for the title of National Champion and a chance to represent Canada in English on the world stage in the fall of 2017.
This chance to represent the University at a national level comes after the Enactus uOttawa team competed in the Regional Exposition, and placed second in the Financial Literacy and Eco Living challenges as well as first place in the remaining two; Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship. The projects presented were judged based off specific impact criteria, unique to each particular category.
The projects presented by the team were all a result of the students’ hard work applying the skills they learn in and outside the classroom. Here is an example of the projects that will be presented at the National Exposition:
Sanajit is a social enterprise in Iqaluit, Nunavut that up-cycles discarded wood into quality furniture, also acts as a recycling program for the community and a mentorship program for high school students to learn about the trades. The project will be presented by Parker Selman and McKinley Richards.
The Iqaluit Innovation Hub is a co-working space and community initiative to encourage entrepreneurship as a viable career path and provide otherwise non-existent resources to individuals looking to start their own ventures in the north. The project will be presented by Brianna Fraser and Steven Bui.
Sprout is a local social enterprise looking to address Ottawa’s food deserts by using a consignment approach that enables convenience store owners to provide affordable fresh produce to families in need. Sprout will be one of the projects featured in the team’s National presentation by Corey Ellis, Alida Burke, Faraz Malik and Vivian Liu.
Join us in wishing them good luck for the National Exposition, and stay tuned for the results!
In an effort to help streamline the drive of entrepreneurial students, the Telfer School of Management in conjunction with the Faculty of Engineering and Arts, has recently meshed entrepreneurship projects with course credits. The Entrepreneurship Foundry Course is a cross-campus initiative that leverages University and community start-up resources to help students grow their business venture in a “for-credit” 13-week long course.
“The course, essentially an incubator with a course credit attached to it, offers immense opportunities to students who are looking to move their businesses along and benefit from both external and University resources,” stated Stephen Daze, Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence. “Twice throughout the semester, participants even pitch their business to external judges for prize money.”
Students apply to be accepted into the program and their ventures are interviewed to evaluate where start-ups are at with their ventures and what they can accomplish over the course of the semester. At the end of the course, they make a final pitch and report on their progress to highlight their accomplishments throughout the semester. Mandatory check-ins on a bi-weekly basis allow students to develop their pitch skills, as well as gain valuable feedback from professors, external mentors and peers.
Microbright, for instance, is a start-up that uses microbes naturally found in the environment to remove toxic metals from water that comes from mining activities. “The entrepreneurship foundry helped me understand how to succeed with a start up from a business perspective. It provided me with tools and mentorship I would not have had access to otherwise,” indicated Daniel Grégoire, a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Science and one of the founders of Microbright.”
Eephorea, on the other hand, aims to cater to the entertainment industry by producing and promoting live entertainment experiences. “If people are going to be at an event for several hours, there might as well be some engaging activities for them to enjoy in addition to the headliner attractions. Simple activities like food sampling, acrobatic dancers, photo props and intriguing visual displays can really enhance a guest’s experience and make the event more memorable,” said Zachary Princi, a student at the Telfer School of Management. “The entrepreneurship foundry course allowed me to put more time into my business without taking me away from completing my studies.”
For more information on the program and to find out how to participate in the winter of 2018, please contact Stephen Daze.
As is done at the end of every term, the Telfer School of Management was pleased to organize the Intopia Simulation for 4th year students as part of their Strategic Management class. The competition starts on the Friday afternoon and ends late on Sunday. Students spend the three days at Desmarais Pavilion and often stay late into the night on Friday and Saturday night.
One of the winning teams shared their impressions with us. Team 38 includes Sogui Sylla, Mohamadou Barry, Philippe Langlois, Philippe Émond and Yazid Agougou, who are all 3rd and 4th year students. The majority of them are planning to finish their studies this term or in December 2017. Yazid explained that this weekend was extraordinary and memorable for all team members. They worked hard day and night, throughout the weekend. They were so committed that they even stayed overnight to negotiate sales contracts for their products with other teams. Surely, very few students slept during their Intopia weekend!
Intopia participants are required to make quick decisions before a predetermined time elapses. Students must negotiate with each other in order to grow their business over the weekend. Intopia participants get immediate feedback on their decisions and are given the opportunity to apply what they learned during their 4 years at the Telfer School.
For participating students, the simulation is very realistic. Some of the members of Team 38 even dressed up in suits to negotiate with the other teams found throughout Desmarais. In the early decisions, Team 38 did not rank among the top teams, but thanks to their hard work, perseverance and team spirit, they won first place in the category of Best Strategy – Finished Goods Producer.
Team 57, a small team comprised of three members, won first place in the category of Best Strategy – Component Producer, despite their small size. Members Alexandre Ranger, Benoit Guilbault and Francis Grenier, also said that they found the weekend beneficial. Alexandre, a student who hopes to get his CPA, shared that the Intopia simulation was not only a very rewarding and fun experience, but it helped him put into practice a lot of the knowledge he gained throughout his studies. In addition, participants apply skills learned outside of class, such as negotiation skills.
The three team members learned a lot from this simulation, but they said that the primary benefit of this experience was the networking aspect. For them, being able to network with students from the English classes was representative of the real job market and this experience will play a positive role in their professional lives.
Congratulations to Team 19 (Anita Mahava, Cody Miller, Mike Bowen, Miroslav Gacic and Mussie Hailu) on winning first place in the category of Best Strategy – Service Provider. Congratulations also to Team 53 (Matthew Monteith, Miranda Chan, Stefanie El-Beyourti and Isra Sabunju) on earning first place in the category of Best Strategy – Integrated Firm.
We are proud to announce the creation of the BDO Canada Telfer MBA Aboriginal Scholarship.
"BDO believes in cultivating the talent of tomorrow. We also understand that for many deserving students, a post-secondary education is simply beyond reach. To ensure more students get the opportunity to excel, we’ve established a scholarship in conjunction with the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management. Designed to inspire and support outstanding Aboriginal students in the Telfer MBA program, the scholarship includes monetary assistance in addition to a 4-month paid internship at select BDO offices. The goal of the scholarship is to provide an opportunity to an exceptional Aboriginal student interested in improving the economic well-being of Aboriginal communities." states BDO Partner, Harry Lake.
Since 2009, BDO has partnered with Telfer School to establish a public sector research fellowship, a public sector performance management research cluster and an MSc scholarship. BDO’s partnership with Telfer also includes scholarships and CO-OP placements for students in the undergraduate BCom accounting program.
When asked why this scholarship is so meaningful to the Telfer School, MBA Program Director Gregory Richards says, “We expect that our MBAs will have an impact once they graduate, and it’s great to be able to offer a scholarship that will provide assistance to students focused on working in our Aboriginal communities. We are so thankful to BDO for their leadership on this initiative”.
In order to be eligible for this $30,000 admission scholarship, students who apply to the MBA program at the Telfer School of Management must submit a 500-word letter explaining why they believe they are the ideal candidate for the scholarship. This letter is to be submitted with the program application. For more information, please contact the Graduate Studies Office by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 613-562-5884.
BDO Canada LLP is one of many organizations who continue to stay connected with and give back to the Telfer School to support the programs and projects that matter most to them, while helping the School achieve its goals.
Across a diverse range of projects and programs, the top priorities for the Telfer School’s fundraising campaign are to transform how we learn; invest in globalization; generate new knowledge; foster experiential learning; support scholarships and fund emerging strategic priorities.
Congratulations to Brenda Lam, winner of the CO-OP Student of the Year Award from the Telfer School of Management as well as the University of Ottawa!
Brenda is completing a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), specializing in marketing in the French Immersion stream at the University of Ottawa. Brenda is passionate about learning and never shies away from a challenge. Over the past few years, she has participated in an international exchange to France and in the French Explore program in Moncton to hone her French-language skills. Her latest employer, Sun Life Financial, hired Brenda to be the company’s Campus Ambassador following her exceptional work as a marketing CO-OP student. Brenda is very involved in her community and has volunteered with a variety of organizations including CASCO, a university-based charity of which she is vice-president of sponsorship. She also volunteers at CHEO, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, where she has organized multiple fundraising events.
On March 13th, Professor Greg Richards spoke at the conference, “Smart cities: Imagining the future National Capital Region,” held at Library and Archives Canada (LAC). Key figures from the academic, public and private sectors exchanged their views on the future of the National Capital Region at this unique event organized by LAC in collaboration with the University of Ottawa and Ottawa 2017, and in partnership with Invest Ottawa and the City of Gatineau.
Professor Richards took part in the opening panel discussion on the smart economy (“Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship, and Citizens’ Participation”). He commented that the National Capital Region, with its strong concentration of knowledge workers, high level of urbanization, and robust technology sector, was well-positioned to develop as a smart city and seize new opportunities to make life better for its citizens. Richards was joined on this panel by John Smit, Manager, Policy Development and Urban Design at the City of Ottawa; Martin Lajeunesse, City Councillor with the City of Gatineau; and Eme Onohua, Vice-President of Global Government Affairs, Xerox Canada.
The University of Toronto’s Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC), brings together some of the world's top business schools for a 3 day intensive simulation. Out of the 52 attending schools, The University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management performed exceptionally and emerged 13th. Telfer surpassed competition from schools such as McGill, Pennsylvania State University, Columbia, University of Chicago, Western, Queens, The Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance and University of Hong Kong.
This year’s team consisted of six of our highest-performing finance students: Evan Friend, Danika Fu, Jack Lau, Dmitry Shorikov, William Tu, and Patrick Winogron, and was coached by Pouya Safi, the Manager of the Financial Research and Learning Lab. The team was formed following their exceptional performance at the Telfer Trading Competition in October. Since then, the team had been meeting regularly to devise their strategies and practice on the RIT software. Anyone passing by the Financial Research and Learning Lab was likely to have seen these students preparing for the competition. The preparation only became more intense as the competition approached. By the time reading week had started, RITC team members could be found practicing round the clock, often spending more than 12 straight hours in the lab. Even on the train ride to Toronto, the team continued to fine-tune their strategies.
The events opened with a welcome ceremony and introduction to the event. There was also a social outcry round for competitors to practice outcry strategy, and Jack Lau placed 2nd in this event!
This year, the competition was broken down into six official events focusing on options, sales & trading, commodities, fixed income, algorithmic trading and quantitative outcry. The competition was largely made up of graduate students in programs such as finance, mathematics, financial engineering and quantitative financial modeling.
First among the events was the BP Commodities case. Here, team members were assigned roles as traders, producers or refiners. The team had to work together to interpret market signals and trade various petroleum commodities and futures contracts. This was an extremely strong case for the Telfer team, placing 6th in this event.
In the options case, teams had to analyze market data to trade different call options on a fictitious exchange-traded fund. Competitors devised a model that collected, interpreted and modeled this data and devised a strategy to successfully trade on this model’s data. The final strategy combined volatility measures, delta hedging and pricing arbitrage to result in a 6th place finish.
With two sixth place finishes on the first day, the Telfer team occupied 6th place going into day two. Day two included cases such as credit risk, algorithmic trading, sales & trading and quantitative outcry.
The S&P Global Credit Risk case involved pricing corporate fixed income products, and calculating their risks. Tools such as implied price difference, and Altman Z-scores were used to help predict the price path and if the company would default on their debt. After extremely high hopes for the case, Telfer was ranked in the top 20.
The sales and trading case, sponsored by Flow Traders, was another great event for the Telfer team, finising in 14th place. The case required participants to take on the role of a trader and make rapid evaluations of liquidity risk. Throughout the case, the traders had to assess the value and risk level of dozens of tender offers and execute trades on the positions gained through these tender offers. Success was determined by the team’s ability to manage its market exposure while exploiting market-making opportunities.
The Algorithmic Trading case, in which the Telfer team finished in the top 25, focused on the development of a trading algorithm that would analyze market data and trade on that data, all while avoiding market penalties. Requiring a tremendous amount of preparation, this case was carried out by a single team member, Dmitry Shorikov, sequestered in a closed room.
The most exciting competition was the Quantitative Outcry Case. This involved two team members acting as market analysts and incorporating market data into a model of numerous countries’ GDP in order to price a market index. This estimate was then transmitted via silent hand signals to two other team members working in an open-outcry trading pit. These players, dressed in bright costumes to make themselves more visible to the analysts, bought and sold based on the analysts’ instructions.
In the past four years of attending, it was clear that this was one of the most determined and prepared teams the Telfer School has ever sent. The team improved on the previous year's result, and considering all of the preparation and practice prior to the competition, it is easy to understand why. The RITC team had been meeting every Saturday since November practicing and creating strategies. The students returning to school next semester are already eager to improve on their excellent performance this year, and those graduating are wishing for one more chance. A special thanks goes to Mr. Pouya Safi, the Telfer Marketing Department, CETSC, and the Telfer Career Centre for their help in funding the expenses of attending the competition.
Every year, the team is looking to acquire new talent, and will be prospecting at the Telfer Trading Competition in October 2017. If you are interested in investing, trading, financial modeling or would just like to get more involved, do not hesitate to try out. The team encourages any interested students to try out or contact them for any information.
On March 3-4, 2017, the Telfer School of Management, in partnership with Export Development Canada and Deloitte, hosted the second annual Diversity and Inclusion MBA Case Competition.
During this case competition, teams examined emerging challenges and proposed solutions pertaining to the frequently overlooked issues of diversity and inclusion in organizations. This innovative competition gives future leaders a better appreciation of the opportunities for businesses to change and grow because of the Canadian workforce’s diverse nature.
“Diversity and Inclusion is a survival issue for organizations that needs to be owned by the CEO and no longer a check box exercise for HR,” stated Kate Morican, Partner Human Capital, Deloitte Canada. “At Deloitte, we focus on developing leaders who practice inclusive behaviors each and every day to help our clients and our people excel. We are delighted to support this important initiative, in partnership with Export Development Canada and the University of Ottawa.”
The Telfer School of Management’s delegation proved their skills in leadership by winning the case competition. The winning team included Matt Chesser, Vikas Kumar, Abhijit Doiphode, and Taro Abarbanel-Ueumura. Here are the overall results from the competition:
1st Place - Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa
2nd Place - Schulich School of Business, York University
3rd Place - John Molson School of Business, Concordia University
Honourable Mention 1 - HEC Montreal, Universite de Montreal
Honourable Mention 2 - Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta
“To harness the benefits of a diverse workforce, we are working to create a culture that is inclusive and welcoming to all employees”, says Robert Fosco, Vice President, Talent, Learning and Culture, EDC. “Sponsoring this competition for the second time provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate to future business leaders that diversity as well as inclusion are critical for the competitiveness of Canadian companies.”
“Beyond being the right thing to do, the business case for having a diverse and inclusive workforce is extremely compelling and backed by a growing body of research,” stated Matt Chesser, who was part of the winning delegation at the competition. “Reading recent research on inclusivity and sitting in on workshops by EDC and Deloitte - two leaders in diversity and inclusion - was fascinating. The fact that we won was just a pleasant surprise to end a great two days. We were fortunate to have a team with a diverse set of experiences that we could draw on for the case."
We thank all the schools for sending excellent representatives for this competition.
Written by Alexis Cawadias-McGeadie, assistant, Student Experience and Events
For the last decade, Welch LLP has been a loyal partner of the Telfer School, with representation on the Dean’s Advisory Board, hiring coop students, interns and alumni, and supporting a number of initiatives on and off campus.
Welch has extended their financial support with a commitment worth $57,500 over the next five years. They will continue supporting the Welch LLP Accounting Scholarship, which recognizes an accounting student who is actively involved in the campus community. In addition they will sponsor five events, including the annual Top of the Tower Alumni reception in Toronto that is so instrumental to us in helping us connect alumni to each other in our largest market outside Ottawa and the Telfer Donor and Scholarship Reception that celebrates achievement and introduces scholarship recipients to those who fund their awards.
The other activities they sponsor help Telfer offer the best possible student experience: the Entrepreneurs Club’s annual Toast to Success Business Dinner; the Telfer Academic Excellence Breakfast and the Telfer Internal Case Competition, a new interdisciplinary case competition which is open to all students but is aimed at engaging first- and second-year students.
From February 22nd to 26th, seven Telfer School of Management students took on the challenge of representing the University of Ottawa at the 2017 National Model African Union Conference at Howard University in Washington, DC.
The 2017 National Model African Union Conference involved Canadian, American and Korean Universities representing various African nations. The conference provided participants with the chance to learn about roles, structures and activities of the African Union including economic, social, security and political issues facing African countries. The negotiation simulation is completed in accordance with real-time information provided by African Union Diplomats at the embass of the respective countries.
The University of Ottawa represented the Kingdom of Swaziland, a small African nation bordered by Mozambique and South Africa. As diplomats of Swaziland, the students had to have a very thorough understanding of the country by studying a variety of current conflicts affecting Swaziland.
The six committees were represented by the students below, and each student was responsible for negotiating resolutions on behalf of Swaziland:
Executive Council: Gaëlle Faye
Committee on Peace & Security: Audrey Marie Traoré
Committee on Economic Matters: Marilyne Vidjanagni and Rainatou Ouedraogo
Committee on Democracy, Human Rights & Governance: Alexandrine Silga
Committee on Social Matters: Marie-Emmanuelle Kouadio
The simulation gave students an opportunity to practice skills that will be greatly beneficial in their careers going forward. In addition to the simulation, there were many networking opportunities with African Diplomats.
After months of preparation and fundraising events to finance the conference’s expenses, two Telfer students went the extra mile and brought home two Outstanding Performance Awards: Gaëlle Faye and Marie-Emmanuelle Kouadio.
“The delegation would like to thank everyone who supported and believed in us from the beginning,” says Gaëlle Faye on behalf of the delegation. “We are all proud to have represented our University as well as the colours of Swaziland. As international students, we have been waiting to take part in an activity that allows us to learn and contribute to our African communities. Through this program, our goal was to demonstrate how students can leverage various Telfer resources in coordination with cultural insight to better connect students to what matters. We were the first to participate in this simulation and we hope that this won’t be the last time.”
In preparation for the 2018 National Model African Union, any students interested in participating or learning more about this amazing opportunity are invited to contact this year's delegation.
Written by the 2017 National Model African Union delegation
Telfer Executive Programs is pleased to have sponsored the inaugural International Coaching Federation Ottawa Prism Awards hosted at the school’s downtown Centre for Executive Leadership on February 1, 2017.
Congratulations to MD Financial Management, Export Development Canada, Canadian Blood Services, Kongsberg Geospatial, Office of the Comptroller General - Treasury Board and Bruyère Continuing Care on their awards recognizing outstanding organizational coaching initiatives!
Organized by the Ottawa Chapter of the International Coach Federation (ICF), the Ottawa Prism Award honours organizations that have implemented coaching programs that fulfill rigorous professional standards, and exemplify how professional coaching can maximize individual potential, shape the culture of an organization and address key strategic goals leading directly to bottom line benefits.
Telfer Executive Programs offers coaching services to individuals seeking to maximize their professional potential or to organizations wishing to create a coaching culture amongst their employees. For more information on our coaching services, or to explore our leadership development programs, contact us at 613-562-5921 or visit our website at https://telfer.uottawa.ca/en/executiveprograms/
Photo caption: Prism Awards organizing committee - Jennifer MacLeod, Judy Mouland, and Denis Lévesque
The uOttawa Top 5 Start-ups initiative recognizes and celebrates the culmination of each annual cycle of teaching, competitions, workshops and hard work that lead to exciting start-ups.
Already in its 3rd year, this annual search for the top 5 start-ups on campus is a collaborative effort between the Telfer School of Management, the Faculty of Engineering, Startup Garage and the uOttawa e-hub.
“Each year the quality of start-ups on campus is improving” says Stephen Daze, the Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence at the Telfer School. “Student interest, faculty programming and an increasing culture of entrepreneurship is contributing to this rise in quality and it’s encouraging to see our next generation of leaders creating their own opportunities”.
The Top 5 uOttawa start-ups, in alphabetical order, are:
Kegshoe
Cofounders: Torin Regier, CFO (Telfer BCom 2017), Mike Eagar, CMO (former student, uOttawa), and Adrian Pawliszko, CTO (Civil Engineering student, uOttawa).
Kegshoe Inc. is a software company for the beer industry that provides user-friendly, cloud-based solutions to manage the
complex business of running a brewery. With features like keg tracking and a brewery-specific
CRM, Kegshoe Inc. is helping breweries solve their biggest and most expensive problems.
Spiderwort
Cofounders: Dr. Charles M. Cuerrier, CEO (Postdoctoral fellow, uOttawa), Dr. Andrew E. Pelling, CTO (Associate Professor, Department of Physics, uOttawa) and Daniel J. Modulevsky, CBO (PhD candidate, Biology, uOttawa).
Spiderwort has developed innovative biomaterials for medical research, reconstructive surgery and regenerative medicine. Spiderwort’s strategy relies on the use of cellulose scaffolds for the regeneration and repair of damaged or diseased tissues.
Spivo Inc.
Cofounders: Andre Bellerive, CEO (BASc 2014 and currently completing a Master’s program in Engineering at uOttawa) and
Marc Bjerring, COO (BASc in Mechanical Engineering, 2014, uOttawa).
Spivo Inc. designs, manufactures and sells creative camera
accessories which capture life’s memories like never before. Their flagship product, the Spivo Stick is a patent pending rotating camera mount, which allows adventure seekers and travellers to instantly switch the view of their cameras. Videos created using the Spivo Stick are fun, creative, and feature built in scene transitions which create incredible, engaging footage.
Welbi
Cofounders: Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau, CEO (Telfer BCom 2016), Felipe Izquierdo, COO (Telfer BCom 2016) and Nicholas Petryna, CTO, (former uOttawa Software Engineering student).
Welbi is an application that helps families take care of an older loved one. It uses Fitbit smartwatches to analyze sleep, activity, and heart rate patterns and then notifies you about changes in their habits. Our main objective is to provide families the visibility and information they need to support their loved one’s health and happiness at home.
YouCollab
Founder: Shaun Maclellan, CEO (former student, uOttawa).
YouCollab is a unique platform that provides frictionless communication and collaborations between YouTube creators. YouCollab connects users based on location, audience size and keywords.
How were the Top 5 start-ups on campus selected?
A public web-based call for nominations allowed start-ups to show their interest. The nominees were then evaluated by a campus entrepreneurship committee and an initial long list of top start-ups was selected.
Feedback from various alumni and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley was obtained before a final list of five “Top Start-ups” is selected. These Top 5 start-ups will be invited to visit Silicon Valley for a learning and business development experience in May 2017, a trip which coincides with the annual Telfer Executive MBA trip to the Valley.
“Travelling to the Valley opens up a world of connections and possibilities that you can only find there” said Lee Silverstone, cofounder GymTrack and Top 5 Recipient 2016. “The opportunity to be there with the University of Ottawa and their network was incredible experience and one that I highly recommend start-up founders take advantage of.”
Ottawa stands poised to develop into an important player in healthcare innovation. And it can get closer to the goal by connecting the region’s clinical innovators to business acumen, and thereby drive better patient care.
That message was a key theme highlighted by Wojtek Michalowski, Vice-Dean of Research and professor of health informatics at the Telfer School of Management, in his presentation at the “I3” – Industry, Issues and Insights – lunchtime event at the Château Laurier on February 7.
Organized by the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and the Ottawa Business Journal with support from the Telfer School, the event featured a keynote presentation by Ontario chief health innovation strategist William Charnetski, who spoke about efforts by his office to champion the province as a leading centre for new and innovative health technology.
Professor Michalowski took the podium first, and commented that with its large talent pool in healthcare, abundant resources and strong high-tech ecosystem, Ottawa has strong potential to become a national leader in healthcare innovation, provided that other elements are also in place.
One of those elements, he said, is the need for an intrapraneurial mindset. “Innovation in healthcare is like a start-up that is being developed inside the organization or the system. Thus, people who lead it must have knowledge about intrapreneurship, or how to be an entrepreneur on the inside. This means knowing what are the forces that will drive innovation, what are the forces that will kill it, what kind of skills does it require, what are the best practices and processes to follow.”
Another important element, Michalowski said, is greater coordination among healthcare practitioners and health systems researchers. He gave as an example the Telfer Health Transformation Exchange (THTEX), a meeting point for dialogue and learning for healthcare innovators and management and engineering faculties.
“I really believe that Ottawa is in a unique position, with the right size in terms of human capital and scope and a really innovative and talented workforce. There is a lot of enthusiasm on the part of multiple players to innovate, but there is not always coordination, and our hope with the THTEX is to contribute to that coordination.”
In 1990, the three biggest companies in the US employed 1.2 million employees to generate a combined revenue of $250 million. In 2014, the 3 biggest companies in the US generated revenues of $247 billion with 137,000 employees[1]. These 3 companies, all from Silicon Valley in San Francisco, generate approximately the same amount of revenue as the 1990 companies with 1,163,000fewer employees. In case you hadn’t already guessed, the three biggest companies in 1990 were all in automotive manufacturing. While manufacturing will always be a significant part of the economy for both Canada and the US, with more technology being used to enhance human production, the types of skills needed by organizations will shift significantly in the future. Which jobs will grow and which will shrink? More importantly, what are educational institutions doing to prepare managers for the workplace of the future?
The World Economic Forum 2015 global survey of 371 Chief Human Resource Officers concluded that jobs in the following categories are likely to grow:
management
finance
computers
mathematics
engineering
architecture
sales
education and training.
By contrast, jobs in manufacturing, construction, extraction, administration, entertainment, and legal services are likely to shrink. Many of the jobs that are likely to grow, however, will still need to be rethought. This rethinking must consider the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Artificial intelligence algorithms for example, can process financial analysis faster and more accurately than most humans. Software advances for computer-aided design allow for virtual experimentation and simulation, thus reducing the time and effort needed for the design.
The good news is that this theme of technology substituting human labour is not new; therefore we should be able to anticipate the managerial skills needed in the future. For example, throughout history, new technologies have driven changes in the supply of labour. As Carl Frey and Michael Osborne[2] point out, deskilling was in fact the outcome of early inventions such as the assembly line and interchangeable parts. In other words, a production task that used be done by one craftsman could be done faster and more effectively by many workers each doing a small part of the job of the craftsman. Job specialization therefore required more workers with lower levels of skills.
The introduction of electricity, however, reversed the deskilling trend. Electricity permitted automation of some operations. Instead of many lower-skilled workers, fewer more highly-skilled workers were needed to ensure that the new machines did what they were supposed to do. This trend has continued with the growth of the digital economy. In fact, many see digitization as the “new electricity” because it is a general purpose asset that can be applied to many different types of tasks in an organization.
What happens to displaced workers? Well, in the past they would re-skill to fit into the new world of work. The same is happening now. But in addition, new jobs were created as technological shifts led to the creation of completely new businesses. Consider that companies such as Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft, were not possible before the computer age and the introduction of the Internet. With ongoing digitization, a similar process will occur: reskilling of labour and the growth of previously impossible new businesses.
The challenge for educational institutions is to anticipate and start to build skills now that will be needed in the future. MBA programs in particular, need to continually adjust courses to prepare managers for the digitized workplace of the future. What do these new managerial skills look like?
Consider leading the digital organization. What should a manager know about the use of data, machine learning and artificial intelligence? How should planning processes change to embrace a rapidly changing economy? How should a manager interact with employees who have “grown up digital”? What does the level of connectivity brought about by smartphones and social media channels mean for communication in organizations? What new opportunities for entrepreneurship exist given the mass connectivity of people and machines? While the basic functions of management (planning, leading, organizing) won’t change much in a digital world, the questions mentioned above suggest that the way in which many of the functions are carried out could change dramatically. The Telfer MBA program is aware of these changes and is continually adjusted to reflect this new world of work.
Telfer MBA Program
The Telfer MBA program is designed to connect you to course content that matters to employers in today’s competitive work environments. You can also personalize your learning to explore topics that matter uniquely to you. In addition, we share with you the close connections we’ve forged with the business community to help you build the networks you need to grow your career. Our out-of-class experiences hone the skills you’ve learned in class while creating lasting relationships with colleagues on whom you can count.
[1] Klaus Schwab, The Fourth Industrial Revolution. (New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2016)
[2] Carl Benedikt Frey† and Michael A. Osborne. The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerisation?, 2013.
"I chose to continue my doctoral studies with the Telfer School of Management based on the expertise at my disposal within the faculty and the school’s proven commitment to providing its graduate students with a comprehensive educational experience tailored to their research objectives. Telfer’s research programs are designed for flexibility, allowing candidates to align their coursework and assignments with their own field of research, and enabling them to explore their thesis topic from day one. The interdisciplinary nature of these programs and the diversity of topics that are being addressed by candidates and faculty members also encourage rich exchanges, and allow candidates to be sensitized to a variety of fields and methods that enrich their own projects.”
Caroline is a PhD student in Management, in the Health Systems specialization. She holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in International Development and Globalization, and a Master of Science in Health Systems from the University of Ottawa.
While completing her MSc in Health Systems at the Telfer School of Management, Caroline focused her attention on human resources for maternal health in the context of development. Accordingly, her thesis research involved a case study of the obstacles and enablers to the professional development of skilled birth attendants providing perinatal care to migrants and refugees within a self-contained health system at the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Under the continued supervision of Professor Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, Caroline will utilize the PhD in Management to further develop her research skills and enrich her understanding of the complexities of maternal health workforce sustainability in the context of protracted displacement and fragility. Caroline has presented at the Canadian Association of Health Services and Policy Research Conference, the World Congress on Public Health, the Canadian Health Workforce Conference, and the Global Symposium for Health Systems Research, and will be presenting at the upcoming Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives.
Telfer PhD in Management
Today’s changing world demands creative, resourceful, and dedicated thinkers. The Telfer PhD program prepares a new generation of forward-looking scholars to confront complex management issues through research. Our PhD program is designed to shape visionary, influential thinkers who have a positive impact on the lives of people, organizations, and communities through their research. Above all, we have high expectations for our students. Whatever our students’ goals, we are always close by to help them reach them.
Download our brochure or learn more about our PhD Program and our five fields of study by visiting our website at telfer.uOttawa.ca/phd.
Do you ever wonder what a day in the life of a CEO looks like? The other day, I got to spend my 9 to 5 with Goldy Hyder, CEO of Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada, a prominent public relations consulting company. Thanks to the CEOx1 Day program, organized by Odgers Berndtson, and after a rigorous multi-stage selection process, I had the opportunity to accompany Mr. Hyder throughout his whole work-day on February 1st.
My day began at the Hill+Knowlton Ottawa office. Mr. Hyder immediately made an impression on me. His intelligence, wit, and unparalleled political and economic knowledge could have made him quite intimidating but instead, I felt welcomed and engaged from the moment I stepped into the office. I was encouraged to speak up and ask questions during the internal meetings I attended. I also had the pleasure of meeting some of the key members of the Ottawa team, including Don Boudria, former federal cabinet minister and current senior counsellor at Hill+Knowlton.
Highlights of the day included lunch at Parliament, where I had the chance to speak with Jennifer Ditchburn, editor-in-chief of Policy Options at the Institute for Research on Public Policy. Another highlight included finishing off the day at a taping of On the Money at CBC, where I got to listen to Mr. Hyder speak on the impact of socioeconomic standing on one’s lifespan.
Overall, my CEOx1 Day experience was incredible. I was privy to the big picture view of a large organization from the CEO’s perspective. I learned about the company’s successes and the obstacles it is currently facing, as well as its impact in various industries. But perhaps most importantly, I had one-on-one time with its CEO, who readily answered my never-ending questions about his career path and offered valuable advice for me as a student just starting my professional journey.
To all 3rd and 4th year Telfer students: I highly encourage everyone to apply to the CEOx1 Day program next year – it is a learning opportunity unlike any other!
The 26th annual Business Dinner ‘Toast to Success’, organized by the Entrepreneur’s Club (TECDE), is one of the most awaited events of the year. Bringing together Telfer faculty, professionals and sponsors with students at the Museum of Canadian History, this year’s dinner welcomed a total of 242 attendees, making it the best attended event to date.
During the event, a silent auction took place with various items donated by the local community in which the proceeds went to the Cam’s Kids Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing young people that suffer from anxiety, along with the Rwanda Craft Brewery Project, which helps the Rwanda community become better established.
As dinner rolled around, attendees had the pleasure of listening to a very special keynote speaker for this year, Steve Beauchesne, CEO of the very successful craft brewery Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company. During a very competitive time in the beer industry, Beau’s continues to be the top player in the market. Steve shared his story on the philosophy of starting a business but also, the secret to making great beer. To celebrate International Gruit Day coinciding with the Business Dinner, Beau’s provided attendees with 4 different samples of beer.
New for this year, TECDE incorporated the winners from the Elevator Pitch competition back in November, showing the Telfer community the incredible talent that comes out of uOttawa’s Telfer School of Management. A portion of the evening was also dedicated to award two hard working executive members on the TECDE team with the Carpe Diem Award and the Kevin Vollett Entrepreneurial Award.
This year marked a new milestone for both TECDE and Telfer, as a joint collaboration was announced to kick start a fundraising campaign for the Kevin Vollett award, created to honour Kevin, a Telfer student and TECDE executive member who passed away from a tragic accident. With the 25th anniversary of the award coming up in 2018, TECDE and Harry Mortimer, a Telfer alumni and dear friend to Kevin, have come together to raise $9,000 before the 27th annual Business Dinner in order to sustain the financing of the award. Help them reach their goal by donating now. For more information on this fundraising campaign, click here.
The 11th edition of the Financial Open took place on Friday, January 27 and Saturday, January 28, 2017. Hosted by the Telfer School of Management, the competition is the biggest of its kind in Canada and welcomes over 350 students and volunteers from eleven Canadian universities.
The Telfer School of Management sent a delegation of 28 students to compete in eight different cases in finance and accounting.
This year our students took home second place in the Stock Simulation. Congratulations to Anne Armstrong, Juan Franlin Karamoy, Alex Milosevic and Jack Lau (Coach: George Khalife).
The Telfer delegation would like to extend a special thank you to the organizing committee of this event. Their effort and commitment to planning and hosting the event was demonstrated by the incredible success of the weekend.
Written by Drew Morash, President, Telfer Management Competitions de Gestion Telfer (TMCGT)
Case competitions, as I’m sure you’ve heard, are highly recommended and beneficial. I have never met a university graduate who has regretted their decision to get involved. Aside from making you stand out from your peers once you enter the job market, being involved in case competitions (whether as a delegate or as a member of your school’s executive committee) has many more benefits:
Networking and friendships Not only will you become closer to those in your delegation, but you have an amazing chance to meet other like-minded students from other schools. Case competitions also provide many opportunities to meet employers and professionals.
Critical thinking under pressure This is the essence of a case competition – to solve a problem under a time limit and to present it to judges. Being able to think critically and clearly can help you become a respected decision maker in your career.
Presentation skills
What better way to practice your public speaking skills? Truth is, you will always have to sell your ideas, and the skills you acquire in your presentation class can be expanded in case competitions. Watch your confidence soar!
Application of class knowledge
We tend to remember things we’ve put into practice, right? Apply what you learn in your other classes to help you solve these cases. Using this knowledge reinforces what you learned and can make you a better student.
Teamwork
You are not only working closely in your category teams, but also as with an entire delegation. Having strong support from your peers in a common goal is encouraging and confidence-boosting. Teamwork skills are a soft skill sought-after by employers. What a great way to practice!
Fun and vacation
Usually, case competitions hosted at other universities require some travel. In the evening, case competition organizers will have planned fun activities, so you can even take the time to explore a new city.
School pride
Being a delegate means you represent your school in external case competitions. This is a great opportunity to show your school pride and increase your sense of belonging to uOttawa and the Telfer School.
WINNING YES WINNING! It’s a bit cheesy, but there are no losers at case competitions! Whether you win 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or nothing, you are still gaining valuable experience and all the benefits of case competitions listed above.
If you happen to walk by the Desmarais building during the weekend of January 28-29, you’ll be surprised to find 400 motivated students from all over Eastern Canada. These students, hailing from 11 different universities, will be meeting at the Telfer School of Management for a case competition called Financial Open (OF).
This type of competition gives students the opportunity to work together to solve case competitions in a three-hour timeframe, and then present recommendations to a panel of expert judges. For the Financial Open, students will present finance and accounting cases. This year, the theme of #OF2017 is “From Coast to Coast” – participants will explore the history and values of Canada and celebrate its 150th anniversary of confederation!
Top row, from left to right: Samuel Soucy (VP Logistics), Joshua Ayer (VP Communications), Philippe Moore (Director of Logistics), Kevin Saumure (VP Sponsorship) and Ryan Rahman (VP Finance). Middle row: Katarina Mrkela (VP Academic - Finance) and Kassandra Tannouri (Director of Logistics). Front row: Miranda Taing (VP Marketing), Kim Angèle Vallières (President), Andrée-Anne Martel (VP Academic - Accounting) and Sarah Morin (Director of Translations).
The Telfer School of Management and the University of Ottawa would like to extend a warm welcome to all Financial Open participants. We look forward to welcoming you on campus on January 28 for what will surely be an unforgettable weekend. Hosting the Financial Open is a great addition to the many events we are holding in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Telfer naming gift!
From January 6 to 8, 2017, nearly 130 students represented the Telfer School of Management at two of Canada's biggest inter-university competitions. The teams participated in academic, sporting and social events.
The first competition, Jeux du commerce (JDC), gathered 13 universities at the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick, as the bilingual competition celebrated its 29th year.
The second competition took place back home in Ottawa, where more Telfer students competed at Carleton University for Jeux du commerce Central (JDCC), an annual event hosted by the Canadian Association of Business Students that brings together 14 universities across Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes.
Congratulations to students for winning the following in academic, sporting and social events:
Team Awards
JDC 3rd Place overall, Academic Cup
JDC Recognition Award : Liane Brière
1st Place Trophies
JDC Marketing Case: Amy Lam, Brenda Lam and Roma Stepanchenko
(Coach: Professor David Large)
JDC Surprise Case: Caroline Robertson, Sarai Castrejon and Kassandra Tannouri
JDC Sport - Volleyball: Mira Azzi, Michele Ancrum, Mathieu Brunet, Curtis Lu, Adam Wang, Marisha Sesto, Dylan Kostka, Jordan Earls and Yvan Ntivumbara
(Coaches: Fadi Azzi and Emily Ryan)
JDCC International Business: Paxton Mayer, Mussie Hailu and Mila Giray
(Coaches: Professor Tyler Chamberlin, Jesse Dunn and Richard Laberge)
JDCC Delegation MVP: Mila Giray
3rd Place Trophies
JDC Entrepreneurial Innovation Case: Emily Potvin, Chelsea Parker and Tarek Mansour
(Coach: Professor Stephen Daze)
JDC Project Management Case: Paul Eom, Eric Thomson and Sharanya Tharmarajan
(Coach: Aghilas Chebini)
JDC Finance Case: Rabbi Kazi, Scott Beiersdorfer, Margaret Omodu
(Coach: Professor Michael Reynolds)
JDCC Accounting Case: Nikita Gupta, Julie-Anne Given and Meaghan McMahon (Coaches: Professor Sylvain Durocher and Professor Sheldon Weatherstone)
Written by Amy Lam, VP Academic of the JDC Delegation
From right to left: Erickque Plante, Shayan Obaidullah, Yvette Nakouzi Aoun (Assistant Coach) James Wilson, Derek Ovadia, Taro Abarbanel-Uemura, Germain Aoun (Coach), Philippe Lamothe, James Robert, Camelia Dubic, Anali Christina Stewart, Greg Richards (MBA Program Director), Emma Azzi, Keith Asare, Matthew Chesser, Goldwin John Guiang, Jayakumar Jayamanian. Two 2017 MBA Games delegates were not present for this photo: Curtis Haché and Jeremy Pluym.
On January 2, 2017, 16 of Telfer’s finest MBA students kicked off the New Year by travelling to Vancouver Island University to compete in the MBA Games against 18 other Canadian universities. Despite being one of the smaller teams present, they managed to vigorously compete in both the academic and sports components and exceeded expectations by winning multiple titles.
Thanks to the combined efforts of all its teams, the Telfer School of Management has gained second place in the academic rankings.
The Finance Team landed second place in the competition. Members of the team are: Phil Lamothe, Shayan Obaidullah, Curtis Hache, and Jamie Wilson.
The HR Team landed third place. Members of the team are: Matt Chesser, Keith Asare, and Camelia Dubic.
Additionally, the Telfer MBA team would not have won second place if it wasn’t for the notable efforts of the Strategy Team (Jamie Wilson, Eric Plant, Camelia Dubic, and James Myers) and the Marketing Team (Taro Abarbanel-Uemura, Jayakumar Jayamanian, Goldwin Guiang, and Derek Ovadia).
The Dodgeball Team earned a well-deserved third place win. Members of the team are: Emma Azzi, Anali Stewart, Taro Abarbanel-Uemura, Jeremy Pluym, Jayakumar Jayamanian, Goldwin Guiang, Eric Plant, James Myers, and Derek Ovadia.
The Volleyball Team landed sixth place. Members of the team are: Emma Azzi, Shayan Obaidullah, Anali Stewart, Phil Lamothe, Matt Chesser, Curtis Hache, Jeremy Pluym, and Keith Asare.
Congratulations to the whole team for their outstanding effort and determination throughout the MBA Games!
Each semester, students in the final-year Equity Valuation classes (ADM 4350 and ADM4750) take part in a real-world, real-time project, competing with each other to advise a business that is facing a difficult situation. Led by Professors Nitani and Racicot, students during the fall semester tackled a challenge being faced by the management team of Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc. (IRG). Imvescor is a Quebec-based franchisor of four leading Canadian restaurant chains: Bâton Rouge, Trattoria Di Mikes, Scores, and Pizza Delight, as well as a manufacturer of packaged food sold by grocers.
Over the past few years, the market and financial performance of Imvescor improved substantially from previous periods. Led by its CEO, Frank Hennessey and CFO, Tania Clark and their team, the price of Imvescor’s shares had more than doubled, reflecting a clear improvement in its underlying profitability and prospects. However, in late summer, some institutional investors had written to Imvescor’s Board of Directors to encourage the firm to put itself “up for sale”, arguing that its shares were thinly traded. Meanwhile, Imvescor’s management team was planning for continued growth. In this context, students were challenged with providing Mr. Hennessey and his team with recommendations on how to proceed.
Final presentations of the best submissions were held on December 8th, 2016 with the top three submissions presenting their recommendations to the management team of Imvescor and a panel of finance professionals. Several student teams not only valued Imvescor, but also recommended and valued potential strategic acquisition targets.
The Telfer School was honoured to welcome Imvescor CEO, Frank Hennessey, and CFO, Tania Clarke, as active participants in this assignment. Both met with the students during the fall, directing students to key public-domain resources, and Mr. Hennessey was present during students’ presentations. The Telfer Scool is grateful for their involvement. Likewise, we acknowledge Hugh Johnston, CPA, CA, a strategic and financial architect who specializes in the restaurant business. Mr. Johnson travelled from Toronto to hear the students’ presentations and to provide valuable feedback.
Fourth year Finance student Nick Kazaka described his experience: “The live case represents a unique opportunity for students to present to the CEO and upper-management of a company worth hundreds of millions of dollars on the strengths of its business, its intrinsic value and even provide recommendations for management going forward. The class and this live case in particular, demands an incredible amount of work during a short time frame. However the transferrable skills and experience from the case gives students a great introduction to equity research and valuation, and a taste of investment banking”.
This year, two teams tied for first place. Congratulations to:
Eric Carmichael and Valerie Brault
Evan Kerr and Nick Kazaka
Third place was awarded to:
Tina Liusun and Andy Yu
Congratulations to the winning team for best poster:
Each year, students in the 4th year class Case Studies in Accounting (ADM 4340 and ADM 4740) participate in a case competition in which they analyze a real company and report on accounting issues being faced by the company.
Daniel, a student in the winning team, explained that this year, the case was on Toshiba’s accounting fraud and the factors that led to the accounting fraud between 2008 and 2015. The students spent many hours doing research and getting familiar with Toshiba’s finances. The best groups presented their cases in front of a panel of judges on December 8.
For many of the students, this was their last semester. For Daniel, “winning the case competition was a really great way to finish my undergrad at Telfer. The case competition was a great way to pull together everything we learnt in the past 4 and half years”. Anna, another student in the winning team, enjoyed the case studies in accounting class throughout the semester because it gave her the opportunity to begin preparing for the CPA exams in the future. Lastly, for Paul, “ADM 4340 was one of the classes I enjoyed the most in my undergrad since it focused on the application of concepts and provided me with an opportunity to apply these concepts to real situations”.
We would like to congratulate the winning team:
Paul Landry
Anna Chen
Daniel Aubry
Derek Dinardo
Thank you to CPA Ontario for sponsoring the event and to Professor Sheldon Weatherstone, as well as Matt Prime, Jennifer McLeod and Professor Brian Conheady who were all members of the judging panel.
On Thursday, November 24, a group of students participated in the finals of a case competition as part of their Case Studies in Accounting course. We asked two students of the winning team to share their experience with us. Melissa and Caroline explained that this class was very beneficial for all the students that participated. In Melissa’s words: “The case competition gave us the chance to test all of our acquired knowledge [and] really prepares us for our future CPA title”. For Caroline, another student in the winning team, a case competition is like a puzzle, the only difference is that when you’re completing a puzzle you know there’s a missing piece.
Caroline added that even if the class is a lot of work, it was one her favorite throughout her entire studies. The class gave her a chance to put in practice everything she learned during her time here at the Telfer School of Management.
The case competition tested the students’ knowledge, and they also had the chance to meet experts in the field. According to Melissa, these experts exposed the entire class to many aspects of the accounting world.
The judges of the competition were Denis Chainé, partner at Logan-Katz; Marie-Geneviève Bégin, Justice Canada and Jean-Philippe Aubé, SixaCapital, as well as Professor Sylvain Durocher.
The winning team and the team that ranked second were respectively awarded $2 000 and $1 000. These prizes are courtesy of CPA Canada and SixaCapital. In addition to that, each member of the two teams was awarded a 100 $ gift card at Best Buy, courtesy of Logan-Katz.
Congratulations to the winning teams, from left to right:
As part to the Telfer School of Management’s highly innovative new capstone course “ADM4317: Leadership, Strategy and Sustainability” for the Honours Bachelor of Commerce’s management option, students had the opportunity on November 10, 2016 to participate in an on-site visit of Windmill Developments’ Zibi project, Canada’s first and only One Planet Living planned community.
Professor Daina Mazutis, Endowed Professor of Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability, and her students were hosted by Jonathan Westeinde, CEO of Windmill Developments who graciously presented his vision for sustainable living. He provided students hands-on exposure to how businesses are tackling critical issues such as carbon neutrality, clean energy, waste reduction, the future of mobility and stakeholder engagement, amongst other inspirational examples.
In addition to this visit, students taking this course benefited from participating in a three-day immersion in running a Triple Bottom Line business through the Green Lab simulation and heard from two guest speakers from the community – John Purkis of The Natural Step and Mike Gerbis of Delphi Consulting, who both provided examples of leadership, strategy and sustainability in practice.
Within the course, students are also working on community service learning projects through the Michael Jean Centre for Global and Community Engagement with the both the Office of Campus Sustainability and CFUW (Canadian Federation of University Women).
About Zibi
Zibi is a world-class sustainable community and redevelopment project by Windmill Development Group and Dream Unlimited Corp. Through this multi-phase development, Windmill and Dream will transform derelict land into a blend of residential housing types of low and high rise condominium towers and townhomes, commercial and office space, unique waterfront plazas and outdoor squares, recreational facilities, and more. Truly one-of-a-kind, Zibi combines unparalleled views of the Ottawa River, Parliament Hill, Chaudière Falls, and downtown Ottawa and Gatineau skylines framed by a modern architectural design that still respects the heritage of the area. Zibi is where nature, culture, heritage and the joys of life culminate.
From November 11 to 13, 4th year students from the BCom participated in the Intopia Strategy Simulation, a competition created as a component of the 4th year Strategic Management class.
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world, known as Intopia, where students get immediate feedback on their decisions.
According to Victoria, a student who participated in the simulation over the weekend: "Intopia is a weekend long business simulation that lets the students who play it experience running a company in a competitive industry with all the stress of running said company over 9 years compiled into 3 days."
She also mentioned the hectic energy of the activity and how the Desmarais building was full of eager and motivated students that were running around. She adds that every team struggled to get their decisions in as the clock counted down.
Alexandre Maisonneuve, another student who participated in Intopia, says that his biggest takeaway is that Intopia allows students to practice the most basic skills of all in business: that art of negotiating.
Congratulations to members of the overall winning team: Team 20!
(Left to right) Andrew Lim, Zachary Page, Ioana Lazescu, Catherine Chu, Oluwatobiloba Afolabi, and Genevieve Walton (CPA)
Individual Award winners were:
Best Negotiator: Christopher Chan (Left), with Genevieve Walton (CPA), Noureddine Elkadri, & Abdenour Slaouti.
Most Congenial Player: Taylor Davidson (Centre) with Genevieve Walton (CPA), and Noureddine Elkadri.
Most Valuable Player: Zachary Page (Left) with Genevieve Walton (CPA), Noureddine Elkadri.
Honourable mention:
For a superb performance overall and top performance as an R&D specialist, Team 60:
Cheuk Sze Ng, Hoi Tung Lau, Ming Tak Liu, Zihan Gao
This capstone activity has recently been renamed to recognize CPA Ontario’s comprehensive contribution of $370,000 to the Telfer School to support students, teaching and research.
When alumna Diana Kolesarova graduated with a BCom a few short months ago, she made a promise to herself and to her alma mater to be an active alumna. Luckily for Diana, the perfect opportunity would present itself when she heard that the Telfer Alumni Association (TAA) was looking for a President. At their Annual General Meeting on November 8th, Diana was appointed the new President.
Three other new faces were added to the TAA’s Executive Board – Lucas Goshn as the Treasurer, Sushil Dahiya as the Director of Operations and Carl Lafleur as the Director of Marketing. Diana along with Lucas, Sushil and Carl join returning members Alexandra Batchelor, Vice-President, and Arianna Pontello, Director of Events.
Getting involved is something Diana has always done, whether it is in her community or her school. During her time at the Telfer School, she was a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Club for three years and participated in Happening Marketing and Jeux du Commerce.
“The TAA has the power to foster an amazing network and inspire future generations of Telfer students. I look forward to use this opportunity to give back to the institution that gave so much to me”, says Diana.
Thank you to all of those who attended the 2016 Gala of Excellence on October 15. With over 350 guests in attendance, we celebrated the achievements and outstanding contributions that our alumni make to the world of business, health-care, the community and their alma mater. It was also a chance for us to celebrate the milestone anniversaries of the graduates of 1966, 1976, 1991 and 2006.
Did you graduate in 1967, 1977, 1992 or 2007? We are looking for class champions for Gala 2017. Please contact Kim Duthie if you are interested in being a class champion and helping your classmates reconnect after all these years!
MISA, or the Management Information Systems Association, kicked off its year with MISA Connects, held on October 18, 2016, at The Albion Rooms. MISA Connects was the first of two semi-annual networking events that promote the study and growth of information systems in every business sector. In a more intimate setting, students were given the opportunity to connect with Telfer faculty who teach MISA-specific courses and business professionals who believe in the value of data and analytics.
MISA would like to thank everyone who made MISA Connects a successful event. We will continue to advocate for the importance of information systems and analytics in a business setting.
The 6th Telfer Trading Competition (TTC) was held on Saturday, October 1, 2016 and continued to build on its legacy as one of the most anticipated competitions and events of the year. The competition consists of about 100 students from 1st to 4th year who are looking to take part in friendly, faced-paced trading competition which helps enhance their student experience. It’s also an opportunity for like-minded individuals to meet each other and compete in a simulated environment designed to mimic real-life trading scenarios. For the second year, students from Telfer’s Financial Theory class (ADM2352) were encouraged to participate in order to apply the theory they learn in class and earn some additional bonus grades. The TTC is organized and hosted by the school’s Financial Research and Learning Lab, which is a state-of-the-art teaching and learning facility with leading industry standard software and databases such as Bloomberg, S&P Capital IQ and WRDS.
The competition consists of two parts, an ice-breaking Social Outcry competition and computer based case simulations which uses the order-driven Rotman Interactive Trader (RIT) platform. The Social Outcry tries to mimic olden day trading pits where individuals are required to buy and sell shares of the Telfer 500 Index (a simulated market) that is driven by news items appearing at various intervals. Just like actual markets, news is interpreted differently by the 100 traders who make the experience a fun, loud and fierce environment.
After students have had a chance to meet each other during the Social Outcry in the Camille Villeneuve Room, they move down to the Financial Research and Learning Lab in order to compete on 5 different cases exploring different financial theories: Liability Trading (2), Options, ETF Arbitrage, and Equity Valuation. Students competing at the TTC get access the cases 2 weeks in advance and have the opportunity to create their strategies for each case. Many students build complex financial models and macros which completely automates their decision making. During the competition, each case is run 3 rounds in order to reward consistency of strategy over speculation. The tension in the room can be cut with a knife as students focus on generating consistent profits and avoiding losses. Since all traders in the room affect liquidity in the rounds, at many times the room bursts in uproar from a potential manipulation by a competitor. This generally causes a sudden market spike, which only enhances the dynamic environment and feel of a trading floor.
After a full-day of competing (noon to 6:00 p.m.), students made their way back to the Camille Villeneuve Room for a well-deserved dinner while the results are tabulated. Cash prizes are awarded not only to the top 3 finishers, but also for each of the 5 cases and Social Outcry.
The TTC is also the method used to select the team for the prestigious Rotman International Trading Competition, which is an annual invite-only competition held in Toronto each February. The RITC is the world’s largest trading competition and includes 50 teams from the best schools around the world (Columbia, Princeton, Queens, Western etc.). The parameters of the RITC is similar to that of the TTC and as such those that perform well at the TTC make good candidates. Those that finish in the top 12th get invited to apply to the Telfer RITC team in hopes of representing Telfer on the international stage.
The 6th Telfer Trading Competition was again a huge success, and continued to build its reputation as one of the school’s best and toughest competitions. Events like these help give students of all years a chance to dive deeper into applying theory into practice, learning new skills, and understanding the financial industry a bit better. A big thank you to the Financial Research and Learning Lab, its lab assistants and volunteers for organizing and running this event, as well as the Telfer Marketing Department and Capital Markets Society (CMS) for sponsoring it. As we close out this iteration of the TTC, we look forward to a successful showing at the Rotman International Trading Competition as well as continuing to grow the TTC.
Overall Rankings:
Dmitry Shorikov
Roma Stepanchenko
Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
Danika Fu
William Tu
Evan Friend
Case Winner:
Social Outcry: Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
Liability Trading 3: Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
Liability Trading 4: William Tu & Beau Keppler
Options: William Tu, Dmitri Shorikov & Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
ETF Arbitrage: Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
Equity Valuation: Aleksa Milosevic
Stefan Sjöstrand, President of IKEA Canada, with 2016 CEO x 1 Day finalist, Maria Poonawala.
CEO x 1 Day is on the Hunt for Canada’s Top Students!
Stefan Sjöstrand, President of IKEA Canada, with 2016 CEO x 1 Day finalist, Maria Poonawala.
The CEO 1 x Day program, run by executive recruiting firm, Odgers Berndtson, matches Canada’s top students with CEOs from across the country. Today’s students are the leaders of tomorrow and the yearly program aims to uncover some of Canada’s most promising future talent by giving them an unforgettable real-world experience.
Launched in 2013, CEO X 1 Day has matched close to 50 third and fourth year undergraduate students from across Canada with leading Canadian CEOs from organizations like Purolator, IKEA, the CFL, Manulife Financial and Economic Development Canada. This year, we have another fantastic line-up of CEOs from organizations in the private, public and not-for profit sectors including Siemens, Campbell’s Soup, CBC/Radio-Canada, Germain Hotels, The Red Cross and the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Past CEO x 1 Day students who have taken part in the program say that they received valuable experience that equips them with the tools to start building their careers. Because the selection process has several stages, there is an opportunity for students to get feedback on their leadership and interview skills, even if they don’t make it to the final round. The different phases of the selection process include an online leadership assessment, as well as phone and in-person interviews and a half day with Odgers Berndtson recruiters.
The application process kicks off September 29th until October 28th and the actual day spent with the CEO occurs in February of 2017.
Why Should You Apply?
The program gives third and fourth-year students an opportunity to take in-class learning and apply it to a real-world situation while providing them with the tools and skills needed to start building their career.
What Are the Benefits?
There are many benefits of going through the CEO x 1 Day application process – even if you don’t reach the finals:
2 out of 3 applicants will have the opportunity to receive a personalized leadership report from Hogan Assessments
Semi-finalists will be considered for an interview with McKinsey & Company for a summer internship or full-time job
Semi-finalists will spend a half day participating in group exercises and one-on-one interviewing which will strengthen their presentation and interviewing skills
And ultimately, the winners will spend a full day shadowing a CEO (including one-on-one time), learning about his/her background, career path, and leadership approach
When I started at the Telfer School, I didn’t know where I was going in my life—let alone my future career. I was in school because I was expected to be there. My grandfather’s death in July 2005 began to change that. To celebrate and honour his life, I helped found a non-profit organization that went on to raise more than $150,000 for cancer research. Creating, organizing and propelling Typically Canadian inspired me to become an entrepreneur. It led me to realize that what matters to me is building things that impact people’s lives for the better. It showed me my way.
I couldn’t have built that organization without the Telfer School. Not because of the school’s top-notch teaching or special student services or many networking opportunities. The school’s professors and staff gave me the personal and academic support I needed to bring Typically Canadian to life and then succeed. The backing I received from Professor Barbara Orser and Assistant Dean Alain Doucet stands out. They believed in the cause. They believed in how I wanted to further it. Most importantly, they believed in me.
Their guidance and encouragement changed my life. It instilled me with the confidence to make my own choices about the things I wanted to spend my career building. It made me realize that neither youth nor inexperience nor lack of tenure was a barrier or limitation to business success and personal fulfilment. It gave me the power to launch a career in which I’ve created several successful companies, changed how a key aspect of healthcare is delivered, and impacted people’s lives for the better. Starting with my own. Barb and Alain’s support helped connect me with what matters most and, in doing so, enabled me to find my way.
Barbara Orser was the keynote speaker at Startup Canada’s Canadian Entrepreneurship Institute, which took place on September 1, 2016. The event, titled “Unlocking Feminine Capital: Canada and the World”, explored how public policy can be better leveraged to support women entrepreneurs in Canada. Barbara Orser currently co-chairs a grassroots committee, comprising 18 leaders from women’s enterprise centres, networks and SME support organizations. The mandate of the Ontario Women’s Enterprise Committee is to improve business support infrastructure for Ontario women entrepreneurs.
Full Professor/Deloitte Professor at the Telfer School of Management, Dr. Orser is the Canadian representative on a team of 13 international scholars examining SME policy associated with women’s enterprise. Collaborative entrepreneurship studies in development focus on financial literacy, technology literacy and the efficacy of public procurement policies. Professor Orser is the author, with Professor Catherine Elliott, of Feminine Capital (Stanford University Press, 2015).
From July 8 to10, 4th-year students from the bachelor of commerce participated in the Intopia Strategy Simulation. This competition was created as a component of the 4th-year Strategic Management class.
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world, known as Intopia, where students get immediate feedback on their decisions. This simulation gives the students a chance to test the knowledge they have accumulated over their 4 years at university.
Congratulations to the members of the winning team:
The Telfer Executive MBA Class of 2017 has spoken and the candidates will be going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The votes were cast and decision was made during the week of June 6, 2016, after insightful presentations from 7 teams that form the cohort. The presentations focused on four key factors:
Strategic importance of respective international market to Ottawa and Ontario.
The number of Canadian organizations already invested in the market.
Market interest or focus by local associations such as Export Development Corp and the Canadian government.
The level of impact each respective international market would have on the cohort’s international market experience, careers and global resume going forward.
This was the final step of the International Market Evaluation & Selection course that started in March. In total 14 different international cities were evaluated and Kuala Lumpur was selected on June 8, 2016. The course mirrors the strategic approach that an organization would take when evaluating and making a decision on a specific international market on expanding its global footprint. The process forms the compelling nature of the Telfer Executive MBA program, a program that strictly focusing on a Global, Practical and Relevant curriculum by anchoring key learnings on the Signature Series of Six Business Consulting Projects. The program works with over 50 client organizations in addressing business challenges and market opportunities. The Class of 2017 will be working with Canadian companies on exploring the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market as it marches the client organizations to Kuala Lumpur in April 2017.
About Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia and is located in Southeast Asia bordering with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei. It is home to a diverse and multicultural population of 30 million, with over seven million located in its most populated urban centre. The country’s annual GDP growth for 2015 was down from their 2014 growth of 6% but exceeded economist expectations by closing at 5%, reported by Financial Times in February 2016. Malaysia’s growth and opportunity has caught the attention of several of Canadian international groups, including Global Affairs Canada that listed the region as a priority market for Canadian business. Export Development Canada recognized Malaysia as a key market and it is also listed on Ontario’s top ten Asian markets.
Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the economic and business centre of the country and is considered one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in South-East Asia. KL is one-hour flight time from the highly-developed and dynamic business environment of Singapore. The frequency of business is evident by the over 30 daily flights between KL to Singapore.
This is the second time a cohort of Telfer Executive MBA program has chosen Kuala Lumpur as a market destination for their International trip. The Class of 1997 departed to Kuala Lumpur to pursue opportunities of Malaysia’s emergence as a high-tech hub of the Far East exactly 20 years ago.
The Next Steps for the Class of 2017
Over the course of the next eight months the Telfer Executive MBA teams will be engaging with seven Canadian organizations that are looking to increase their business footprint in the Malaysian market. This global component of the Telfer Executive MBA curriculum focuses on leveraging both primary and secondary sources to conduct a market and business analysis, and to validate the market potential prior to the teams traveling to KL. The Class of 2017 will be in KL in April 2017, respective teams will leverage other data gathering methodologies including in-country with key stakeholders to validate the market potential.
The Telfer Executive MBA consistently provides compelling business value to respective client organizations as each candidate learns international business is not difficult with solid planning and precise implementation.
Interested in organizing the next edition of the largest academic competition among French high schools in Ontario? We are currently seeking candidates for the Executive Committee for the 13th edition of Place à la jeunesse in November 2016. The event will host more than 200 high-caliber students in the field of business among dozens of high schools across Ontario. It's your turn to offer a unique and unforgettable experience to the next Telfer cohort, all while developing your strategic planning, team management, and financial management skills, among others. If you wish to apply for the presidency or for the three other positions available on the Executive Committee, submit your online application by Friday, June 17, 2016.
In the spring of 2016, the Telfer School launched a video competition. With the intention of building a promotional video that would feature key aspects of our undergraduate program, we thought who better to unveil what we have to offer than our very own students?
Created by Sharanya Tharmarajan and Conor O’Doherty, both of whom are in their third year of Accounting in the BCom program, the winning video showcases our connection to our brand, to our student experience, and to our target audience. It also demonstrates the hard work and dedication of our students and is a prime example of what defines our student body at the Telfer School.
How does Telfer connect you to what matters? Let us show you.
Teams from the Telfer Executive MBA Class of 2017 wrote about their experiences in Silicon Valley as a part of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Business Consulting Trip which took place from May 14 - 20, 2016.
Surviving in an Innovative Playground
Written by: Team Canopus- Amanda Bernier, Scott Johnston, Matt Lundie, Kimberley Marr, Ryan Peatt and Sukri Sharbini
James Yersh (BCom 1996), Chief Financial Officer at Blackberry and 2016 Donor of the year, speaks at the Telfer Alumni Breakfast in November 2015.
Alumni week is upon us and we would like to take the time to recognise the recipients of this year’s Telfer Donor Awards. The recipients will be recognised at a private event on May 7, 2016. We invite you to read their personal accounts of the positive impact their contributions have made, not only on the Telfer School, but on their own lives too.
“Winning Giving” - James Yersh, BCom 1996
Donor of the Year
“A Culture of Giving” - Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips, BCom 2005
Young Donor of the Year
Patrice Marceau - Fundraising Volunteer of the Year
Giving can take many forms. Contributing money to an organization or cause is the most obvious, but giving time and talent can be just as valuable. When Alain Doucet—the Telfer School’s vice dean—asked me as a Telfer alumnus how I could help the school achieve a number of goals in Hong Kong, I was happy to volunteer my professional expertise to devise a structure for a presence for our school in Hong Kong.
Alain and I had many discussions leading to the idea of the Friends of uOttawa Hong Kong Foundation. The thinking was: a foundation would provide a platform for the university in Hong Kong, as well as give a way to thank donors through tax-deductible receipts. In our view, the tax advantage would encourage not only alumni but also others to contribute money to support the Telfer School and uOttawa.
For the last several months, my office and I have been in discussions with the tax authorities in Hong Kong to ensure the structure and governance of the proposed foundation complies with the legal requirements for charitable organizations in Hong Kong. Our efforts are bearing fruit: the Friends of uOttawa Hong Kong Foundation should receive its official designation as a charitable organization by the end of June.
I am grateful for the recognition the school is extending to me for my work in helping set up the foundation. Hopefully, my contribution can show others there are different ways of giving back to the Telfer School. Focused time and targeted effort can sometime do just as well as a monetary contribution. Think about it next time Alain or another member of the Telfer External Relations team comes calling.
We invite you to read other examples of the positive impact that our other Donor Award recipients have made:
“Winning Giving” - James Yersh, BCom 1996
Donor of the Year
“A Culture of Giving” - Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips, BCom 2005
Young Donor of the Year
I give to the Telfer School for two simple reasons. First, I consider myself privileged. I come from humble beginnings and I appreciate having had the opportunity to attend university. It’s made a real difference in my life and therefore it’s only right for me to give a little back and share with the less fortunate and others from humble beginnings. It’s become a habit and I’m glad I can do it.
My second reason for giving is equally straightforward. Imagine the difference we as alumni could make if every one of us gave just a little bit to our school? My giving to the Telfer School is modest compared to the big corporate gifts the school receives. For many years, I have made a financial contribution each month via regular deductions from my bank account. It’s easy, convenient and becomes a routine I hardly ever notice. Now just think of the great things our school and its students could achieve if every Telfer School alumnus did the same?
I started giving to the Telfer School many years ago while I worked at RBC. I’m retired now after working some 40 years with the bank. I held many positions there, including executive responsible for employment and training. That’s when I became acutely conscious of the needs of schools and started making my loyal contribution to the Telfer School and the University of Ottawa. Again, my giving is modest, but it’s also consistent. And just imagine the powerful difference we alumni could make together if each of us gave just a little bit each month?
We invite you to read other examples of the positive impact that our other Donor Award recipients have made:
“Winning Giving” - James Yersh, BCom 1996
Donor of the Year
“A Culture of Giving” - Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips, BCom 2005
Young Donor of the Year
“Find a Path to Giving” - Patrice Marceau, BSc 1981, MBA 1985, LLL 1985
Fundraising Volunteer of the Year
Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips - Young Donor of the Year
I believe in paying it forward. While a Telfer BCom student, I relied on several scholarships. This support not only helped ease the financial burden of a university education, but it also made me a better student by enabling me to focus on my studies and experience the fullness of life at the Telfer School—the classes, clubs, competitions, community and comradeship. Now that I’ve graduated and enjoyed some professional success, I want to ensure other Telfer students can benefit from those same experiences.
The scholarship I set up in my name goes to the incoming student who demonstrates financial need and has a track record of community involvement. I stress being involved in the community because it plays such a significant role not only in improving the lives of those around you, but also making superior students. I’m living proof. The scholarships I received made it possible for me to contribute to the Telfer community and Ottawa, and this contribution made me a better student and person.
My decision to set up the scholarship was also inspired by the example of Ian Telfer’s gift and major contributions from the Desmarais family and other prominent Telfer School alumni. These donations are helping build a culture of giving at our school. Giving should be a natural part of alumni life because each of us has something to give—whether it’s our time, our money or our skills, or all three. I want to be part of that culture, and do even more in the years to come to help it grow. I have an obligation to contribute to it—to pay it forward so today’s students can experience the full richness of life at the Telfer School just as I did.
We invite you to read other examples of the positive impact that our other Donor Award recipients have made:
“Winning Giving” - James Yersh, BCom 1996
Donor of the Year
Giving makes sense to me for many reasons. Most of all, I have the means to give; and when anyone does, they should give to help others. It doesn’t necessarily mean financially. You can also contribute your time, your expertise, or whatever else you have that people can benefit from. Giving to the Telfer School is especially sensible and important to me: the school gave me the tools I needed to get where I am now.
At the same time, when we at BlackBerry see new employees come in fresh from university, we recognize a knowledge void. Most graduating students have plenty of what I call book smarts. Yet they need more practical business smarts. The donation to the Telfer School that my family has made through the Yersh Family Pedagogical Innovation Fund is essential in helping narrow that gap between the theoretical and applied. By putting money toward developing new teaching techniques and programs, as well as revamping some existing ones, my family’s giving will equip Telfer School students with more practical business knowledge and make these students more workplace-ready.
I think of this giving as a win-win-win. Companies win by getting graduating Telfer students armed with book smarts and practical smarts. Students win because the programs and techniques will give them a leg up on others in getting the kinds of jobs and careers they want. And the Telfer School itself wins because these new teaching techniques and programs will differentiate the school from others when competing for top talent. This kind of winning giving is also a lesson for other Telfer School alumni: Find something worthwhile from your own real-life experience and translate it into a donation that moves everyone ahead—especially the Telfer School and its students.
We invite you to read other examples of the positive impact that our other Donor Award recipients have made:
“A Culture of Giving” - Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips, BCom 2005 Young Donor of the Year
Each year, students in the 4th-year class Case Studies in Accounting (ADM 4340) participate in a case competition in which they analyze a real company and report on accounting issues being faced by the company.
This year, a total of 72 students took part in the competition, and the best groups presented their cases in front of a panel of judges on April 13.
We would like to congratulate the winning team:
Arya Farahani
Dylan Humphries
Vishwa Rachamalla
Martina Reabel
Thank you to CPA Ontario for sponsoring the event and to Professor Sheldon Weatherstone, as well as Matt Prime, Lee Tessmer, and David Albers, who were all members of the judging panel.
Each year, students in the 4th-year Equity Valuation class (ADM 4350) take part in a case competition in which they estimate the value of a real company and propose recommendations to improve performance.
This term, the ADM 4350 students did an excellent job analyzing Blackberry Limited.
We would like to congratulate this year’s winners:
First place:
Alexandre Richard
Sadaf Naziri
Second place:
Wenjun Tian
Zhuohang Yu
Third place:
Xu Zheng
Yaozong Zhou
“Best Poster” Award:
Patrick Joseph Murphy
Spencer Robert O'Brien
We would also like to thank the judges: James Yearsh, Cassy Aite, Jivan Maharaj, Bart M. Bagrowicz, Evan Johnson, Kailin Araujo Noivo, Pouya Safi, and Allan Riding.
From March 18 to 20, 4th-year students from the bachelor of commerce participated in the Intopia Strategy Simulation. This competition was created as a component of the 4th-year Strategic Management class.
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world, known as Intopia, where students get immediate feedback on their decisions. This simulation gives the students a chance to test the knowledge they have accumulated over their 4 years at university.
Congratulations to the members of the winning team:
We are now accepting registrations for the second offering of the "LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INTENSIVE - THE INNER WORK OF LEADERSHIP”.
In February 2016, the first offering of the Leadership Development Intensive (LDI) engaged a very diverse group of 12 senior leaders in a program that has been experienced by hundreds of participants around the world. The program is led by best-selling author and inspirational leader Dr. John Scherer and co-facilitated by Telfer Executive Programs associates Jean Ogilvie and Dr. Ingrid Richter. Based on the tremendous success of the launch of this program in Ottawa this past winter, the LDI is now a foundation in the our portfolio of leadership development programs that is offered to clients in this region.
The LDI is a highly experiential journey of self-discovery based on Scherer’s book Five Questions that Change Everything. The program is an intensive, short and focused leadership development experience designed to engage senior leaders and executives in making a leap in their ability to deliver extraordinary results in the face of obstacles and resistance. The participants in the program have likely already invested in their leadership development and who want to dive even deeper to refresh their energy for continuing the journey.
The program begins with pre-work and a one-on-one call, then includes a 3½-day “deep-dive” in-class session and two follow-up teleconferences with the facilitators. The program is designed with an individualized coaching approach to leadership development, but also features the special magic of a group dynamic that John and Telfer’s co-facilitators create with each cohort.
The next opportunity to be part of this leadership development experience will be from June 22-25, 2016 - the registration deadline is May 31, 2016. For further information about the Leadership Development Intensive and to register for the program you can visit the LDI webpage.
Given the recent surge in entrepreneurial activity on the University of Ottawa campus, it is appropriate to recognize and celebrate the culmination of each annual cycle of teaching, competitions, workshops and hard work that lead to exciting start-ups.
In the fall of 2015 and early 2016, we conducted the 2nd annual search for the Top 5 Start-ups on the uOttawa campus. This is a collaborative effort between the Telfer School of Management, the Faculty of Engineering, Startup Garage and the uOttawa e-hub.
“Each year the quality of start-ups on campus is improving” says Stephen Daze, the Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence at the Telfer School. “Student interest, faculty programming and an increasing culture of entrepreneurship is contributing to this rise in quality and it’s encouraging to see our next generation of leaders creating their own opportunities”.
The Top 5 uOttawa start-ups, in no particular order, are:
Helix (Powered by MicroMetrics)
Cofounders: Andre Richards, CTO (Honours Bachelor of Science 2011, uOttawa) and Artem Abramov, CEO.
MicroMetrics is a software company with a focus on customer experience innovation. Working together with TripAdvisor, they’ve developed Helix – a robust guest experience management platform that empowers hotel staff to conduct real-time service recovery. Since its introduction, Helix has helped brands like Starwood and IHG deliver memorable guest experiences, improve occupancy rates and outperform their competitive sets at premier properties across North America.
GymTrack
Cofounders: Lee Silverstone, CEO and Pablo Srugo, COO.
Gymtrack is a platform that brings personal training to all exercisers through their gym and impacts the $80BN gym industry. Gymtrack provides gyms with virtual coaching that automatically tracks everything in an exerciser’s workout, from weight lifting to cardio and helps gyms reduce churn.
Go Give-Back
Cofounders: Lemuel Barango, (Bachelor of Science 2015, uOttawa) and Liora Raitblat (Telfer BCom 2015, uOttawa).
Go Give-Back (GGB) is providing a solution for charitable causes by offering a mobile donation platform that accepts donations, catering to the “in-the-moment” factor. GGB will include detailed demographics for the organization with “on the go” analytics used to retain and engage donors.
TruReach:
Founder: Jeff Perron, MBA (Clinical Psychology PhD Candidate, uOttawa), Clinical Lead: Dr. Joti Samra, PhD, C. Psych.
TruReach provides instant access to scientifically proven cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It eliminates the stigma associated with mental illness and helps people get better, faster. TruReach cuts costs associated with the management of mental illness and their analytics give organizations data to prove it.
Spectrafy
Cofounders: Richard Beal, CEO and Viktar Tatsiankou (B.A.Sc., M.A.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, uOttawa).
Spectrafy has reinvented the way we measure sunlight and the atmosphere. Spectrafy’s solution, the SolarSIM, combines simple hardware and breakthrough software to slash the cost of measuring sunlight and the atmosphere by over an order of magnitude.
How were the Top 5 start-ups on campus selected?
A working committee of the 4 leaders on campus who run the various entrepreneurship activities select possible candidates from the start-ups they see in their programs. In addition, a public web-based call for nominations allowed start-ups to show their interest. The nominees were then evaluated by the committee and an initial long list of top start-ups was selected.
Feedback from various alumni and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley was obtained before a final list of five “Top Start-ups” is selected. From the Top 5, selected start-ups will be invited to visit Silicon Valley for a learning and business development experience. The exact number of start-ups who are invited to go to Silicon Valley will be a function of available funding.
Photo: Liora Raitblat, Go Give-Back cofounder, at Startup Weekend 2015 (Feb 27 - March 1)
On Saturday, March 5, 2016, the Telfer Finance Society held its annual case competition. For the second year in a row, the competition had TMX CDS as its title sponsor. It was a stock pitch competition incorporating the use of the Bloomberg terminals and a real world simulation. The competition concluded with a gala where the top 3 teams were awarded cash prizes and all participants were able to network with professionals.
Overall, there were 4 judges and 6 teams that participated, all representing various institutions and companies. The delegates came from John Molson School of Business, University of Waterloo, Nipissing University, University of Toronto and the Telfer School of Management.
The judges were Jean Desgagné (President and CEO, Global Enterprise Services, TMX), Ray Yuen (Director of Corporate Strategy, The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited), Vincent Robitaille (Executive Director, Treasury Board of Canada), and MJ Qurashi (Chair Tax Committee, CPA).
The University of Toronto was crowned as the winner of the competition, the John Molson School of Business came in second, and Telfer came in third.
The TMX CDS Financial Case Competition would not have been possible without the support of all of the sponsors, the judges, and volunteers who kindly gave their time.
The Redefine Conference took place from March 4th to March 6th, 2016 at the University of Waterloo. Delegates were required to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to present their solutions to real-world business cases to industry professionals. Competitive events included: Marketing Management, Fashion and Retail Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, and International Business.
DECA uOttawa sent a delegation of five students to this competition, three of which came home with first place medals. Congratulations to Zach Zhang (1st place in the Pitch Competition), Anna Halawa (1st place in Fashion and Retail Marketing), and Andy Yu (1st place in Finance).
DECA uOttawa would like to recognize all of the participants at the Redefine Conference: Jordan Monaghan, Eva Lin, Anna Halawa, Zach Zhang and Andy Yu. The DECA uOttawa executive team would also like to extend a huge thank you to Matt Archibald, Diane Mugeni and the Telfer School of Management for their involvment and support. Lastly, the chapter’s competitive success would not have been possible without the immense dedication, member empowerment, training and mentorship provided by this year’s President, Eva Lin.
What’s next for DECA uOttawa? The chapter is sending delegates to Montreal next week for the final competition of the school year, DECA McGill’s Spring Invitational. The executive team and the entire chapter wish all delegates the utmost success.
Written by Paulo Guedes Moreau, 2nd year Telfer BCom (International Management) student
I consider myself fortunate to have participated on Junior Team Canada (JTC) on behalf of the Telfer School of Management. In October, I was looking for a scholarship which reflected the growing importance of multiculturalism in business. At the time, I was applying for the Ontario Global Edge scholarship with the help of Kimberley Barclay, a professional Relationship Manager at the Telfer Career Centre. We had an interesting chat about the importance of understanding the interconnections among nations in today’s business world. She suggested I speak with Amy Giroux. Amy as it turned out was the head of an organization called Global Vision.
Global Vision is a national not-for-profit, registered charitable organization that provides youth with real world experience to make meaningful connections between business, government, and community. JTC is the flagship program of Global Vision. Each year a delegation of 20-30 Canadian youth leaders are selected through a nationwide competition to promote Canadian industry and culture abroad through a JTC trade and development mission. JTC Ambassadors are representatives for their communities, province and country.
After two hundred letters, one hundred cold calls and fifty meetings in January, I received my total sponsorship amount. Obtaining the funds was difficult, but worth it as it allowed me to experience an international business mission and to apply the concepts taught in my International Management program.
Being a dual citizen of Canada and Peru, Global Vision further appealed to me when I found out that its upcoming mission was to Peru, a country in South America and a trade partner to Canada in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Further, Peru will be hosting the APEC summit this year. These trade agreements require an understanding of the growing importance of multiculturalism in business. This mission allowed me to gain valuable insight about cross-cultural teamwork, a value I strongly believe in.
The courses at Telfer have a professional focus on “Unlocking the Value of Globalization” – the Telfer School’s fifth Learning Objective. My courses prepared me to grasp the intricacies of international trade and developing business relationships. For example, prior to leaving for Peru, the CEO in Residence speaker Nick Quain encouraged me to read Dale Carnegie’s novel for better business communication. As well, the concepts taught by Matthew Archibald about the works of Geert Hofstede provided excellent insights. The cultural dimensions theory by Hofstede gave me further understanding into communicating in Latin American culture. As we had many networking events to secure our mandates in Peru, I was prepared to adjust to the different schedule of Latin American culture.
The Telfer Career Centre’s training events enforced the notions of how much first impressions matter in business. We were able to meet many key officials in Peru’s public and private sectors through our networking events. I am grateful to have participated in the etiquette workshop by Julie Blais-Comeau and the professional attire workshop by Alyssa Beltempo was very useful in maximizing my networking abilities.
I look forward to thanking both the Telfer School of Management and the Career Centre team at their celebration reception in March 2016.
On Thursday, March 3, we hosted our annual leadership discussion with the Ottawa Business Journal CEO of the year, Bernie Ashe (BAdm 1978), Chief Executive Officer of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG).
Bernie Ashe was awarded the CEO of the Year award, a joint initiative of the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, on November 18, 2015.
“Bernie Ashe is most deserving of this honor as CEO of the Year – and, as a Telfer alumnus, a great example for our students,” said François Julien, Dean of the Telfer School of Management. “Thanks to his incredible leadership, OSEG has remarkable momentum following the successful development of Lansdowne Park and TD Place. The changes he initiated and implemented have and will continue to have a lasting impact on the socio-economic development of our city.”
Before joining OSEG, the organization that owns the Ottawa Redblacks, he was Chief Executive Officer at KOTT Group, a lumber supply company, and at AiT (now 3M-AiT). From 1991-1997, he was Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of the Ottawa Senators.
While the media are considered to play an influential role in business, very little research has been done on the relationship between firm-specific media coverage and corporate decision making. The Telfer School’s Shantanu Dutta is helping to change that with a new study on how business reporting shapes firms’ merger and acquisition decisions.
“Our preliminary evidence suggests that the media do influence deal outcomes, independently of the market’s response to a given M&A play,” notes Dutta, an associate professor of finance at the Telfer School. “In particular, the press has something of a ‘corporate governance’ role, one that has not been explored much empirically.”
Dutta and his team seek to understand better how reporting in reputable newspapers might affect the probability of making a deal – and the degree to which negative coverage has a restraining effect. But they are also looking into the impact of coverage on other strategic decisions in M&A, “such as the acquiring firm’s payment method, and the impact on future acquisitions.”
The 2008-2009 global financial crisis sparked interest among finance researchers in the role of the press. After the financial crisis, traditional measures of firm performance no longer appeared adequate. In response, some finance researchers began to examine how verbal information contained in media reports provides information over and above the traditional performance measures.
The findings from the study will encourage a better understanding about the linkages between media coverage and M&A decision making processes among investors and managers, says Dutta.
“We recognize that business reporting is not the only factor that influences major corporate decisions, but it certainly has the potential to play a significant role in shaping managers' and investors' perceptions.”
A total of 87 students divided in groups were responsible for analyzing a case involving a real-life local or Canadian company and report on accounting issues being faced by the subject company. The best teams had to present in a live case competition that took place on December 9th, 2015. The winners received the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA) Case Competition prize for Case Studies in Accounting.
We would like to congratulate the winners:
First Place:
Yassine Benidir
Caroline Carrière
Jesse Dunn
Brandon Graham
Brenda Lim
Alexandre Sauvé
Second Place:
Angela Clark
Jenna Curran
Nikola Karajovic
Alison Lantos
Taylor Anastasia Murray
Thank you to CPA Ontario for sponsoring the event and to our judges: Valerie Carey, Matthew Prime and Stefka Zaharieva.
The following article was written by a member of our student community. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Telfer School of Management. For more information or to flag inappropriate content, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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