November/December 2023

Dear colleagues,

As classes come to an end and we near the holiday season, I’d like to share some highlights with you.

Dean's Awards

Thank you to those who joined us for the annual Dean’s Awards holiday lunch on December 5. I was so happy to see over 120 of you together to recognize this year’s honorees, and chat and connect before the holiday break. I would like to congratulate David Newton (teaching excellence), Sharlene He (emerging scholar), Joel Bothello (mid-career scholar), Kathleen Boies (established scholar), Suchit Ahuja (academic service) and Kelly Nolan (staff contribution). Thank you to the event organizers: Kelly Hall, Barbara Henchey and Alexandra Karnezis for putting on such a lovely get together. 

Innovate to Decarbonize

On November 29, the National Bank Initiative in Entrepreneurship and Family Business held this event exploring the role of the entrepreneur in sustainable transformation. We welcomed speakers Patrick Gagné, CEO, Cycle Momentum; Stéphane Chayer, Strategic advisor to the President, PLAN/NET ZERØ; Sass Peress, entrepreneur; and Sarah Houde, CEO, MileBox. Ehsan Derayati moderated this lively and insightful conversation. You can see photos from the event here.

Convocation

Thank you to everyone who attended this fall’s convocation ceremonies on November 28. Celebrating our students’ hard work is so important and one of my favorite moments of the year. Our honorary doctorate Anita Marangoly George encouraged graduates to seek transformations that are good for the planet, good for people and good for profits. She has proven this is possible over her 35-year career as a distinguished business executive who has been celebrated for her visionary investments in sustainable infrastructure worldwide as well as for her gender parity advocacy. See more photos from convocation here.

Pilot event for Future Women Leaders

On November 8, the Barry F. Lorenzetti Centre for Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership presented a brand-new, pilot event called “Future Women Leaders in Finance.” Panelists included Lisa Giannone and Barry F. Lorenzetti of BFL Canada, and Elyse Leger of Fiera Capital. The evening was moderated by our Associate Dean, Professional Graduate Programs Sandra Betton.

The event was intended as a space to share inspiring stories about women’s leadership careers in the finance industry, to offer concrete advice on how to find and work with a mentor, and to help increase the networks of participants. Feedback so far has been very positive. Congratulations to Lorenzetti Centre co-directors Ingrid Chadwick and Louise Champoux-Paillé for conceiving and organizing this event. You can see photos from the evening here.

Case Competition results

Congratulations to the undergraduate John Molson Case Competition team for placing 3rd overall at the prestigious Alberta International Business Competition last month.

The MBA Case Competition program triumphed at the McGill Retail Innovation Challenge on November 4 with two podium finishes. Congratulations and many thanks to Nora Baronian and Tim Field for leading their respective teams to the podiums. Stay on top of the results here.

Celebrating our community members’ success

University Advancement released its annual 50 under 50 Shaping Tomorrow on November 6. Among them are 15 John Molson School alumni! I invite you to visit the website and explore the inspiring profiles and videos of these impressive leaders. Bravo!

The Princeton Review rankings

I am pleased to share that we are ranked number 40 worldwide in The Princeton Review’s eighteenth annual Top 50 Entrepreneurship: Grad rankings. The School was ranked for its graduate entrepreneurship studies offerings. The ranking indicates a steady climb since we were first listed at number 50 on the 2021 list. The John Molson School of Business is the only Canadian institution — and one of only two schools from outside the US — to be included.

Centraide

Atosa Tangestanifar and Caroline Roux led the JMSB Centraide efforts this year with a wonderful raffle draw to win gift baskets filled with goodies. On November 20, Atosa and Christabell Moyo drew two winners: Mark-Anthony Sagaria and Michel Deslauriers.

Congratulations! Through the raffle, we were able to raise $1,245! A huge thank you to everyone for their support and to the organizers for their work.

Faculty and staff updates

Frederick Davis has kindly agreed to step in and take on the role of Graduate Program Director, MSc in Finance for the winter semester while Nilanjan Basu is on sabbatical.

Congrats as well to Salvatore Colavita who is in a new role, Manager, Advising Services, Undergraduate Programs. He earned his BComm and MBA from us.

We welcome two new staff members: Rachael Fensom joins us as Advisor, Student Academic Services, Undergraduate Programs, and Corey Hoare as Officer, Graduate Student Recruitment and Marketing.

Rachael has a BA (Hons) in Visual Design and Communication from Salford University, UK (2004) and a MSc International Business & Management from EuroMed, France (Accredited by Salford University, UK) (2009).

Corey will support the MBA and Graduate Diploma/Certificate in Business Administration programs. He is also a graduate of our MSc in Management program.

JMSB Social Committee

We now have a Social Committee! They have a 2-minute survey to gather more information about the kinds of activities people are most interested in. Let your voice be heard and complete it here.

Members Valentina Mennella, Matthaeus Tekathen, Ka Pong Law, Guy Barbeau, Ehsan Derayati, Daisy Chung and Taylor Tower are hoping to hold self-financed social activities with the goal of strengthening our sense of community. Thanks to committee founder Valentina and all the members for this great initiative.

Moodle 4.1 training

Moodle will be updated between December 26 and 29. You can sign up for training sessions that IITS will be offering here. You can learn more about new version of Moodle here.

Enjoy the break

As always, it’s been a very busy term. I’m proud of all that we’ve accomplished. Despite everything that’s thrown our way, I know our community can withstand the storm and triumph thanks to our commitment to JMSB and our passion and belief in what we’re doing.

Take care,

Anne-Marie Croteau, PhD, CDir
Dean