Concordia to award 8 honorary doctorates at its spring 2025 convocation

Princess Zahra Aga Khan

For her inspired leadership, shaping futures through education, health care and cultural stewardship

Princess Zahra Aga Khan is the eldest child of His Late Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV (d. 2025), who was the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims from 1957 to 2025. 

Princess Zahra was educated at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland and at Harvard University, where she graduated with a BA (Honours) in development studies. She has also completed an internship at Massachusetts General Hospital and an executive course at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne.

She has been actively involved in the work and governance of the Aga Khan Development Network for more than 30 years. In 2025, she was appointed pro-chancellor of the Aga Khan University after serving as a trustee since 2003. She is a trustee of the University of Central Asia and sits on the boards of the Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Global Centre for Pluralism, an institution established by her late father in partnership with the Government of Canada. 

She lives in Geneva, Switzerland and has two children, Sara Boyden (b. 2000) and Iliyan Boyden (b. 2002).

Princess Zahra Aga Khan will address the Faculty of Arts and Science on Monday, June 9 at  3 p.m.

Francesca Bria 

For her visionary leadership in promoting digital sovereignty and innovation

Francesca Bria is a leading innovation economist focused on the intersection of technology, geopolitics and society. Her work addresses one of the most pressing questions of our time: how can we give individuals ownership of their data and ensure that society retains democratic control over digital technologies?

She serves as an advisor to the European Commission, co-founded the United Nations Cities Coalition for Digital Rights and was the founding director of DECODE, the European Union’s flagship project on data commons and digital rights. She is chair of the New European Bauhaus Facility, established to accelerate the European Green Deal by bridging science, technology, architecture and the arts.

In a previous role as chief technology and digital innovation officer for the City of Barcelona, she led the internationally acclaimed Barcelona Smart City Agenda and launched pioneering initiatives on digital democracy and data sovereignty. She has also advised a wide range of public and private institutions on digital innovation strategies and their socio-economic, environmental and geopolitical impacts.

Bria has taught at leading universities in the United Kingdom and Italy. She is currently honorary professor at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London and a senior fellow at Stiftung Mercator in Berlin, where she leads the EuroStack initiative on Europe’s digital sovereignty. She has been listed in the World’s Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes magazine and among the World's 20 Most Influential People in Digital Government by Apolitical. Bria holds a PhD in innovation and entrepreneurship from Imperial College London and an MSc in digital economy from Birkbeck, University of London.

Francesca Bria will address the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science on Tuesday, June 10 at 10 a.m.

Cecilia Conrad  

For her visionary leadership promoting transformative philanthropy

Cecilia Conrad is the founder and chief executive officer of Lever for Change and a senior advisor at the MacArthur Foundation. Lever for Change connects donors with problem solvers to find and fund bold, effective solutions to accelerate social change in areas that include racial inequity, gender inequality, access to economic opportunity and climate change. Under Conrad’s leadership, Lever for Change has influenced over $2.5 billion in grants and provided support to more than 500 organizations worldwide.   

Before founding Lever for Change, Conrad led the MacArthur Fellows program. In 2023, The Nonprofit Times named her to its Power & Influence Top 50 list and Inside Philanthropy named her one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in US Philanthropy. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served as an economist at the Federal Trade Commission.

She is an emerita professor of economics with Pomona College, where she joined the faculty in 1995 and retired in 2013, including a period serving as acting president. In recognition of her academic research and advocacy around racial and gender equity, Conrad received the National Economic Association’s Samuel Z. Westerfield Award and the National Urban League’s Women of Power Award.     

Conrad earned a BA from Wellesley College, where she also received the 2023 Alumnae Achievement Award, and a PhD in economics from Stanford University.   

Cecilia Conrad will address the John Molson School of Business on Wednesday, June 11 at 3 p.m.

Serban Ghenea

For his outstanding achievements and impact in the recording music industry

Serban Ghenea is a renowned Grammy Award–winning audio engineer and mixer, widely recognized for his exceptional contributions to the music industry. Born in Bucharest, Romania, Ghenea moved to Montreal with his family in 1976. He studied jazz guitar in Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts, earning his BFA in 1992.

A chance encounter with American record producer Teddy Riley in 1993 led to a role as an in-house recording and mix engineer, working with artists such as Michael Jackson. This marked the beginning of a prolific career, mixing albums for some of the biggest names in pop music, including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones.

Ghenea’s discography spans over 800 albums across multiple genres, resulting in at least 235 number-one singles and albums. He has won 23 Grammy Awards, including two for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and five for Album of the Year on Taylor Swift’s 1989, Folklore and Midnights, Adele’s 25 and Bruno Mars’s 24K Magic. Ghenea has also won three Juno Awards for Recording Engineer of the Year in 2021, 2023 and 2025.

Based at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Ghenea now works alongside his son, Alex, also a mixer and producer. Father and son earned competing nominations at the 2024 and 2025 Grammy Awards for separate projects.

With a seamless blend of technical precision and creative intuition, Ghenea continues to refine the sound of modern music, solidifying his legacy as one of the most sought-after mix engineers of his generation.

Serban Ghenea will address the Faculty of Fine Arts on Wednesday, June 11 at 8 p.m.

Charlie Kawwas

For his inspirational determination and business leadership 

Charlie Kawwas is a self-made success story in global technology. He immigrated to Montreal to study at Concordia, arriving without a high school diploma and not knowing a word of English. He says he found his footing in Canada at Concordia, earning several degrees: BEng 93, MASc 99 and PhD 07.

Through hard work and ambition, Kawwas persevered, and today he is president of the Semiconductor Solutions Group at California-based Broadcom Inc. The multibillion-dollar global technology leader designs, develops and supplies a broad range of semiconductor, enterprise software and security solutions.

Noted for his exceptional scientific training, Kawwas has overseen the strategic growth of Broadcom’s hardware businesses from $4 billion to $30 billion during his tenure. He joined the company through the LSI Corporation acquisition, where he was head of worldwide sales. Before joining LSI, Kawwas held several senior management and engineering positions at Nortel in Montreal.

As a leader, Kawwas has spoken of the importance of mentoring and of diversity in the workplace. He is a champion of Broadcom’s Mainframe Vitality Program, an innovative skills development initiative to cultivate next-generation mainframe talent at low or no cost.      

At Concordia, Kawwas earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering with great distinction where he had the highest marks among graduating engineering students. He also earned a master’s in electrical and computer engineering and a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering. He was recognized as Alumnus of the Year in 2020 by the Concordia University Alumni Association.

Charlie Kawwas will address the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science on Tuesday, June 10 at 3 p.m.

Leena Srivastava

For promoting sustainability and equity through scientific rigour and informed policy

Leena Srivastava, PhD, is a globally recognized authority in energy economics, climate policy and sustainable development. With over four decades at the intersection of science, policy and education, Srivastava has consistently championed data-informed policy choices and scientific advancement.  

Srivastava significantly contributed toward building one of the largest and best-known energy, climate and sustainability research institutions in India, The Energy and Resources Institute. She subsequently served as deputy director general (science) at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.

She co-chaired the UN Secretary-General’s Science Advisory Group for the 2019 Climate Action Summit, served on the Government of India’s expert committee to formulate energy policy and has been an advisor to the World Economic Forum and the Asian Development Bank.

Srivastava was a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Third Assessment Report and contributed to the fourth. She holds a PhD in energy economics from the Indian Institute of Science and an MA in economics from Osmania University. In 2008, she was named a Knight of the Order of Academic Palms by the French Republic.

Leena Srivastava will address the Faculty of Arts and Science on Monday, June 9 at 8 p.m.

James Temerty

For his entrepreneurial achievement and philanthropic leadership

James Temerty is a visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist whose life’s work reflects a deep commitment to innovation, community service, and global impact. He is a member of the Order of Canada (C.M.).

Born in Ukraine’s Donbas region and raised in Montreal after immigrating to Canada in 1950, Temerty began his entrepreneurial journey early. While studying at Sir George Williams University, he founded the University Student Business Association and brought Dick Clark’s American Bandstand to Montreal — his first successful venture.

Over four decades, he led transformative businesses in technology and renewable energy. He owned ComputerLand franchises, co-founded Softchoice Corporation as well as Northland Power Inc., now a global clean energy leader. He later founded MOLLI Surgical Inc., an award-winning medical technology firm advancing breast cancer treatment.

Alongside his wife, Louise, Temerty established the Temerty Foundation in 1997, channeling their success into causes close to their hearts — health care, education and cultural initiatives in Canada and abroad. Since its founding, the foundation has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to institutions making a meaningful impact. In 2020, their $250 million gift to the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine marked the largest one-time donation in Canadian history. In 2008, Temerty founded the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, a global initiative fostering understanding and reconciliation between Ukrainians of Christian and Jewish heritage. In 2024, they deepened their commitment to mental health with a $75 million gift to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to establish the Temerty Discovery Centre, a world-leading hub for brain science research. The Temertys have also been generous supporters of Concordia’s PERFORM Centre.

His legacy is one of vision, generosity and enduring impact.

James Temerty will address the John Molson School of Business on Wednesday, June 11 at 10 a.m.

Connie Walker

For her groundbreaking journalism and commitment to Indigenous communities  

Connie Walker is an award-winning Cree investigative journalist. Her body of work has exposed the crisis of violence in Indigenous communities and the devastating impacts of intergenerational trauma stemming from Indian residential schools in Canada and the United States.

Walker grew up on the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan. While studying journalism at what was then the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, she was awarded a scholarship to intern at the CBC.

During her two decades at the CBC, Walker co-created the public broadcaster’s Indigenous unit. As its lead reporter, she helped build a database of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. In 2016, CBC published Walker’s podcast Missing and Murdered, examining the 1989 murder of a Gitxsan woman. Season two of the podcast focused on the death of a girl who had been removed from her family as part of the Sixties Scoop. The series won several awards including a Canadian Screen Award.

Walker then joined Gimlet Media in 2019, producing the Stolen podcast series. Season two, Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s, focused on the Indian residential school where her father had been abused. Through the testimonies of survivors, Walker and her team uncovered more than 200 allegations of sexual abuse. The series is considered one of the most comprehensive investigations into a single residential school. It won both a Peabody Award and a Pulitzer Prize.

In 2024, TIME magazine included Connie Walker on its annual list of the 100 most influential people. 

Connie Walker will address the Faculty of Arts and Science on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m.

For more information, visit Concordia’s Graduation and Convocation website.