March 2024

Dear colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well as we near the end of classes and inch towards warmer weather. I have so much appreciation and pride for every one of you who continues to do everything you can to ensure our students have a positive and enriching experience.

It's been a year since we officially launched our 2023-2026 strategic plan. You can find the full PDF file of the plan, the House graphic, the Circle graphic, a branded PowerPoint template and other materials on the JMSB SharePoint here.

Annual spring celebration

Over 100 of you attended our annual spring celebration. This was an opportunity to connect, laugh and acknowledge how far we’ve come. It was a joy to see so many smiling faces and I was very pleased that some of you got the dress code memo!

You can see photos from the event on the JMSB Flickr here. Thank you to Kelly Hall and Alexandra Karnezis for organizing another wonderful edition of this event.

Newton the therapy dog

You may have noticed a special guest at the spring celebration with his caretaker Darren Dumoulin, the director of campus safety and prevention.

This sweet pup’s name is Newton and he is Concordia’s therapy dog. Security agent Gabriel Gaumond brought our star canine for a visit with the Department of Marketing and he was warmly welcomed.

You can read more about him in this Concordia article and in this piece from La Presse.

March case competitions

Congrats also to three of our undergraduate students - Nicholas Thibodeau, Joseph Newfield and Achille Andijar - who represented JMSB at the University of Guelph's Undergraduate Real Estate Case Competition (URECC). This is the first time our school has participated in this competition and the students walked away with the Best Sustainability Analysis Award. The students applied for and received funding for this competition through Concordia's Sustainability Action Fund.

Congratulations to the JMSB team who earned third place overall at the John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition (JMUCC) in early March. Congratulations to Nora Baronian, the coaches and the students.

On the MBA side, the JMSB team earned first place at the MBA Diversity and Inclusion Case Challenge at the Telfer School of Management. Our team placed third at the Desautels Negotiation Competition.

In addition, the JMSB team placed 2nd at the A4S International Case Competition 2024: ‘Adapting Business Models to Support Human Rights for All’ at the Rotman School of Management.

Congratulations to the students and thank you to Tim Field and the coaches.

Celebrating success

Annual Graduate Research Exposition (AGRE)

Since 2009, this annual event has given students in our research-based graduate programs the unique opportunity to communicate their ideas and research findings, along with their real-world implications, to the academic and business communities.

The latest edition was held on March 21 at Concordia’s 4TH SPACE. I was impressed with the variety of research on display and loved hearing the many presentations from our students.

You can see photos from the event here and the winners here. Thank you to Linda Dyer, Caroline Roux, Joel Bothello and Ulrike de Brentani for another fantastic exposition.

Best Business and Management Scientists in Canada

Michel Laroche has been named among the Best Business and Management Scientists in Canada, according to Research.com. He placed 175th in the world and 10th in Canada. 

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Steven Appelbaum

Congratulations to Steven Appelbaum, who retired last year, on being named distinguished professor emeritus.

The Faculty Recognition and Awards Committee (FRAC) noted his outstanding research contributions and excellence in teaching and academic service.

As an educator, he received internal and external recognition, including the Leaders in Management Education Award, sponsored by the Financial Post and Bell Canada (1988).

In addition, he was a pioneer in experiential learning, incorporating real-world projects and clients before the practice had a name. In academic service, Steven’s Deanship (1983-1990) was marked by his pioneering of the EMBA and MSc programs. He served JMSB as Chair of the Department of Management and was elected to the university’s Board of Governors (1998-2004).

Thank you Steven for all you've done for JMSB and for management education.

Erkan Yönder, Canadian Real Estate Research Partnership

Congratulations to Erkan on a new research partnership with Equiton, a leading private real estate firm. Erkan will lead the project in collaboration with Equiton to support innovative research into Canada’s real estate investment landscape.

JMSB students shine in hockey

The Concordia Stingers Women's Hockey team has performed at a phenomenal level and continues to do so. We are proud to have JMSB students on the team, including Alexandra-Anne Boyer, Chloé Gendreau, Caroline Moquin-Joubert, Zoé Thibault, Jordyn Verbeek and Justine Yelle.

Congratulations to the team on winning the U SPORTS Golden Path trophy for the second time in three years.

Faculty and staff changes

Our dear colleague Amr Addas will be leaving John Molson as of May 31, 2024. While I’m sad to see such an engaged, collaborative and passionate colleague go, I’m happy for what opportunities lie ahead for him.

Amr has been active in our School for over a decade. He’s been a lecturer in our Department of Finance since 2006 and is the director of the Van Berkom Investment Management Program and Van Berkom Small Cap Case Competition.

He led Concordia’s Sustainable Investing Practicum in collaboration with Manulife and is a faculty member in the Sustainable Investment Professional Certificate (SIPC) program offered by JMEC. He oversaw the John Dobson Investment Room (formerly Formula Growth Investment Room) and was a Research Associate with the David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise. He has also taught at the Goodman Program’s MBA in Investment Management since 2007.

Needless to say, his absence will be deeply felt. Good luck to you Amr on all your future endeavors.

Welcome Farhad

The Graduate Programs Office welcomes Farhad Tahmasebi as the administrative assistant, MBA and graduate programs in business administration, replacing Nadia Vani. Farhad joins us from the Office of Student Accounts where he held the position of coordinator of statistics and collection. In addition, Farhad is a JMSB alumnus with an MSc in Finance. Welcome!

Closing remarks

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

I also want to share that if you encounter outdated information on your unit website, need assistance making changes or have any other support questions, please contact Taylor.

Good luck to all as we approach the end of classes.

#WeAreJMSB

Take care,
Anne-Marie Croteau, PhD, CDir
Dean