September 2025

Dear colleagues,

Before diving into the news of the season, I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have reached out with kind words and support following the passing of my father, Jean-Paul Croteau. Your compassion has meant a great deal to me and my family, and I’m deeply grateful.

As we move into the fall term, I hope your semester is off to a smooth and energizing start.

Foster a sense of belonging and engagement

Back-to-School BBQ

I had the pleasure of hosting our 7th annual Back-to-School BBQ last month. It was a beautiful day to reconnect, celebrate our community and kick off the academic year together. Thank you to everyone who joined us. You can see photos from the event here.

Enhance the John Molson School experience

Shuffle

I am thrilled to share that we exceeded our goal! Thank you to the JMSB Rock Stars team and to everyone who donated to support student success and well-being. Thanks to our team captain Alexandra Karnezis and a big thank you to Barbara Henchey for her additional support.

CMS Career Fair

Louise Anne Côté and the Career Management Services (CMS) team hosted their annual Career Fair for John Molson students on September 22, sponsored by Desjardins. The event was a great success with 70 employers and more than 650 students. Bravo!

Celebrating our success

Rankings

Our MBA ranked number one in Canada in Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2025-2026 rankings. This recognition highlights our strengths in areas such as compensation, networking, and entrepreneurship, and above all, it reflects the remarkable success of our graduates.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the staff and faculty members involved in the MBA program, as well as to the entire CMS team. Your dedication and hard work over the years have made this incredible achievement possible.

Another record-breaking Golf Classic

On September 2, Concordia’s Golf Classic raised $625,000 for student scholarships.

It was a great pleasure to be part of one of Concordia's most successful fundraisers where business leaders, alumni, donors and friends of Concordia enjoyed each other’s company.

I want to thank Joe Capano, Daniel Cere, Carla Tittley-René and Jennifer Stapenhorst on our John Molson University Advancement team for their work on this. I also want to thank members of the Dean’s Advisory Board who participated and contributed to this important event to raise funds in support of our students.

John Molson Business Ownership Case Writing Competition

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 John Molson Business Ownership Case Writing Competition, sponsored by the Bob and Raye Briscoe Centre in Business Ownership Studies.

A big round of applause to our colleagues:

First place: From Fandom to Fulfillment: LightUpK's Digital Pivot in Canadian Retail; Sumin Song, Tenzin-Lhudup Guilbault, Justin Hua

Second place: Haqdarshak (HQ) Digital Platform: Catalyzing Welfare Inclusion with Technology in India; Suchit Ahuja and Jyoti Gaur

Third place: Scaling with Care: Digital Transformation at Parsis Immigration Services; Sumin Song, Dan Kazakov, Aëlle Olier

Honourable mention: Curated Second-Hand Shoes: Reinventing Canadian Fashion; Solène Thubert and Michèle Paulin

Be a catalyst for positive societal impact

Lise Watier graduation

We celebrated our Lise Watier Foundation graduates on September 11. We are always so proud to host the graduation ceremony for participants in the Lise Watier Foundation Let’s Start Up program and we wish these women the best in the future. The goal of this initiative is to offer courses on entrepreneurship so the participants can develop their business acumen and achieve financial freedom.

Promote collaborative and impactful research

Climate Business Institute launched

Congratulations to Cédric Lesage, Denis Schweizer, Virginie Chane-Teng, Stephen Kibsey and the Impact Lab directors on the launch of the Climate Business Institute. Our Concordia community, industry, alumni and friends came out to mark the occasion on October 1. I look forward to the work that is to come from this important new initiative. Follow the Institute on LinkedIn and read the op-ed penned by the Impact Lab directors in Le Devoir.

Upcoming events

Open House

We’re gearing up for another edition of our Fall Open House on Saturday, October 25. Thank you to our faculty, staff and students who will showcase all that our School has to offer. You are our best ambassadors and we appreciate you!

Convocation

It’s almost that time again! We’ll celebrate our students on Tuesday, October 28 at 10 a.m. at Place-des-arts. To register to be in the platform party, please register for October 14 here.

Enrich teaching and learning

External appointments

Congratulations to Alexandra Dawson, professor in the Department of Management, on being named associate editor of the Journal of Business Research.

Departures

Mike Currivan has left his role as department assistant in the Department of Finance. In addition, Abigail Koff has left her position as officer, graduate student recruitment. We wish them both all the best!

Booking rooms in MB

Now that Kelly Hall is on maternity leave, you can book rooms marked “Restricted” by contacting Guy Barbeau. Please take a moment to read through the MB Boardroom Booking Guidelines on the JMSB SharePoint so that you are aware of the most recent policies prior to booking a room.

Closing remarks

Please keep in touch about successes happening in your unit by contacting our Communications Manager Taylor Tower at taylor.tower@concordia.ca.

I wish everyone a pleasant fall and a happy Thanksgiving.

Warmest regards,
Anne-Marie Croteau, PhD, CDir
Dean