Director and Advisory Board

William Meder, Director

William Meder is director of the Centre. Appointed by the dean of the John Molson School of Business, he is responsible for coordinating the Centre’s activities and ensuring that there is fluid communication between researchers, the business school, the Briscoe family and the business community.

Formerly, Chairman of the board of TouchTunes Interactive, a digital media company, he has held several CEO positions at technology-based companies in Canada and the US.  He also is very active as a Mentor for several CEO’s in the Montreal Business Community. He is currently on the board of the World Presidents Organization in Quebec .

He holds a BComm from Concordia University and an MBA from McMaster University.

He also serves as the academic advisor to the John Molson MBA International Case Competition.

Alexandra Dawson

Alexandra is an associate professor at the John Molson School of Business and director of the Director of the National Bank Initiative in Entrepreneurship and Family Business. She is also the director of theConcordia Small Business Consulting Bureau, where she oversees a group of five MBA students offering business consulting services to entrepreneurs and organizations in the Greater Montreal area. Previosuly, she worked at a consulting firm in the UK where she provided strategy advice to corporate clients and investment advice to private equity firms, helping them evaluate the commercial viability of potential investments. Her research focuses on entrepreneurial and family businesses. She received a Dean's Award for Distinguished Scholarship in 2014.

Sandra Nichol

Sandra Nichol is the Executive Director of the John Molson Executive Centre which houses the Master Certificate in Business Acquisition.   Prior to joining Concordia University, she held leadership positions at HEC Paris, the Niagara Institute and the Conference Board of Canada. In these roles, Sandra successfully developed and delivered a variety of degree and non-credit programs.  Her current challenge is to lead the development of external relationships and oversee local, national and international expansion of the Executive Centre.

Lorraine Briscoe

Lorraine is a proud native Montrealer and holds a BComm from McGill University. She also holds a CPA, CA.   Growing up surrounded by a series of entrepreneurial family-owned businesses she developed an understanding of what makes a business successful and what entrepreneurial drive can achieve.  Lorraine knows many business owners in the Montreal area and will be responsible for managing the support of more than 60 business owners who have offered to work with the Centre.

Melanie Kau

Melanie Kau is an entrepreneur at heart with over 20 years experience growing companies. For 15 years she spearheaded the expansion of Mobilia, the largest independently held contemporary furniture retailer in Canada. In recent years Melanie has branched out to invest in companies with strong potential to grow. Recently she invested in Naturiste, a 67-store chain of natural health stores, located all across the Province of Quebec. Melanie holds a Masters of Journalism from Northwestern University and an Executive MBA from Concordia.

Raymond Paquin, DBA

Raymond Paquin is the director of John Molson Case Publications. He is working to establish a culture of case writing among the school’s faculty and helping faculty use cases in their teaching. He is also responsible for developing relationships with publishers. 

He is associate professor in Concordia's Department of Management, principal of the Loyola College of Diversity and Sustainability and interim director of the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre.

His research explores how firms create collaborative environmental, social, and economic value above and beyond what can be done through the actions of individual firms. In particular, he has an in expertise social networks, industrial symbiosis, and sustainability-oriented business model innovation.

Greg Rokos

Greg, a Concordia University business graduate with a minor in marketing, is an IT industry veteran with over 30 years of experience. Prior to co-founding ESI Information Technologies, Greg held various key positions with Econocom International and NCR Canada. He is a high-calibre administrator and a passionate man known for his leadership and proactive vision. He and his team are behind the company’s success, which over the years has known exceptional expansion thanks to an organic growth and a series of 12 strategic acquisitions. Greg is the past chair and a member of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation board of directors and  sits on the dean’s advisory board of the John Molson School of Business.

Jihane Makhtoum

Jihane has over five years of business experience working with major corporations including Disney, Groupon, BMCI and Accenture. She has held the roles of strategic planner, consultant, partner manager, and marketing specialist, thus providing her with a comprehensive outlook on how businesses are run. She has studied or worked in Morocco, USA, the UAE and Canada, and has a good grasp of the international dimension of business. The daughter of a diplomat, Jihane grew accustomed to constant movement and diverse cultures and enjoys discovering new places and facing new challenges. Jihane has a Bachelor of Finance from the first non-American-accredited university in Africa (Al Akhawayn University in Morocco) and is currently pursuing her MBA at the John Molson School of Business.