June 2022

Dear colleagues,

I hope the arrival of warmer weather brings some time for repose – it has been well merited by every member of our John Molson community. 

Convocation

Thank you to everyone who attended this spring’s convocation ceremonies. The return of the in-person celebration at Place-des-Arts was warmly welcomed by students, and their families and friends. We celebrated the conferring of honorary degrees to Ms. Julie Gichuru and Mr. Guy Cormier, and listened to valedictorian addresses given by two outstanding John Molson students, Dima Anbari and Andrea Kilibarda. On August 25 at 3 PM and 7:30 PM, we will host the next convocation ceremonies to honour the graduates of the previous two years. Please mark your calendars so you can join the platform party.

Appointments and renewals

I would like to congratulate the following faculty members who have been newly appointed or re-appointed to the following roles for a three-year mandate:

Graduate program directors:

Nilanjan Basu, MSc in Finance (reappointed)
Satyaveer Chauhan, Master of Supply Chain Management (reappointed)
Linda Dyer, MSc in Management (reappointed)
Cédric Lesage, PhD in Administration (reappointed)
Rahul Ravi, MBA in Investment Management (reappointed)

Department chairs:

Seth Spain, Chair, Department of Management
Darlene Walsh,  Chair, Department of Marketing (reappointed)
Erkan Yönder, Chair, Department of Finance

I would like to thank Linda Dyer, who successfully served a six-month interim mandate as chair of the Department of Management.

Research centre appointments:

Dennis Schweizer, Director of the Desjardins Centre for Innovation in Business Finance
Thomas Walker, Director, L. Jacques Ménard - BMO Centre for Capital Markets

There are many reappointments, and many faculty members who are continuing on in their current leadership roles. Such leadership stability is a strong sign of collaboration and collegiality. I want to thank everyone for their commitment to their mandates and to the school, which helps position us as one of the best business schools in the world! To that point, The Economist’s Which MBA? annual survey ranked our school among the top 100 in the world, competing against Harvard and the likes. Additionally, QS' annual Executive MBA survey continues to rank us in the top 100 programs internationally. Congratulations!

John Molson naming convention

Following the communication sent on May 17^th, I would like to remind you of the gradual shift away from using the JMSB acronym in public and formal instances of communication. Please refer to the attached presentation for guidelines on the acronym’s usage, and when the full faculty name should be used. Thank you in advance for your support as we make efforts to reconnect with our namesake and strengthen the John Molson brand and reputation outside of the greater Montreal area.

Summer vacation

With the Saint-Jean-Baptiste long weekend right around the corner, it signals the end of the school year for kids and teenagers, who are eager to take a break and be free of homework (as are their parents!). I hope that this summer you will be able to enjoy your well-deserved vacation and realize projects that are important to you. The last two years have been quite tumultuous, obliging us to constantly adapt at both personal and professional levels. And we did it - together! Let’s use the coming weeks to focus on health and rest, and rebuild connections with colleagues, families, and friends.

Be well,

Anne-Marie Croteau, PhD, CDir.
Dean