Norman Raschkowan
As former chief investment officer at Mackenzie Financial, Raschkowan sees a need for creativity in the business world.
Yet his monetary acumen is not limited to stock markets. Raschkowan invests in Concordians, too.
“I’m a great believer in education in terms of helping people develop and grow,” he says. “Our family has benefited a great deal from the relationship with Concordia over the years.”
Raschkowan’s namesake bursary for Faculty of Fine Arts students, an entrance award he established in 2011, goes a long way towards supporting creative individuals.
“In almost any occupation, you need an element of imagination and creativity in order to progress,” says the native Montrealer, who moved to Toronto in 2007.
Despite a career that suggests he’s all business, having served as head of North American Equity Investments at Standard Life in Montreal for 17 years, a creative spark runs in his family.
“My great uncle was a concert violinist and my brother did a bachelor’s in music,” explains Raschkowan.
Though an MBA graduate of McGill, he notes, “I’ve always been in Concordia’s orbit.”
All the members of Raschkowan’s family who attended university went to Concordia. He’s been involved with the John Molson MBA International Case Competition for more than 20 years.
The longest running of its kind, the contest features 36 teams from four continents.
“It’s a wonderful experience. I think the judges come back to it every year because they are so enriched,” says Raschkowan, who served as chairman from 2001 to 2004 and has been a recurring judge at the competition.
When not working or judging competitions, Raschkowan expresses his own creativity “by writing short stories as a hobby.”
Ever the investor, Raschkowan sees art as a source of creativity that pays dividends of pleasure to the community.
“I don’t think we do enough as a society to promote the arts and to provide support to the artists who make such important contributions.”