Congratulations to Ian Picard (EMBA’21) for being named to Poets & Quants’ 2021 “Best and Brightest EMBAs” list. A prominent member of the Huron-Wendat First Nation, Picard serves as Deputy Manager of Development and Asset Management for RBA Financial Group, an organization dedicated to providing financial planning assistance and pension funds to First Nations communities across Canada.
This fall, Kamal Munir (Ph.D.’00) will step into a new role as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (UK). Munir taught at Â鶹AV for four years before moving to Cambridge, where he has served as an instructor of policy and strategy at the Judge Business School for the past 20 years.
Kamran Shojaei (MBA’13) spends his weekends volunteering with Transit Secours, a Montreal-based organization that provides moving and storage services for women and children fleeing domestic violence. In addition to providing logistical support in high-risk, time-sensitive contexts, Shojaei and his fellow volunteers work to build trust with clients by providing a safe space for them to share their stories.
After a career-ending injury left Gabriel Gervais, MBA’09, unable to continue playing professional soccer, his Â鶹AV MBA landed him a permanent role at Deloitte. Since 2009, he has leveraged his expertise to help companies improve their supply chain management and manufacturing operations. The former defender, who had his sights set on playing in the World Cup, still makes time to follow the sport and maintain friendships with former teammates.
Ugo Umeano (MBA’21) is one of Poets&Quants’ “2021 MBAs to Watch” as he graduates from Desautels and launches his career as an associate in CIBC’s Technology Leadership Advancement Program.
With a vast array of experiences in business, music, athletics, technology, and community outreach, Umeano has amassed skills that he can transfer to any industry.
Elizabeth Roy (BCom'20, GCPA'21), student of the Graduate Certificate in the Professional Accounting (GCPA) program, has been selected among her graduating class as this year’s recipient of the C. Douglas Mellor Prize for academic excellence.
The prize, which is valued at $3000, is named after Douglas Mellor, the first Executive Director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Quebec, now the Ordre des comptables agrĂ©es du QuĂ©bec, and is awarded each year to honor Mellor’s enduring contributions to both Â鶹AV and his profession.
Dan Park, BCom’03, is redefining the used car sales industry with his start-up, Clutch Canada, an e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars without the hassle and uncertainty usually associated with the process. Clutch Canada gives customers the option to shop for a car from the comfort of home and have it delivered directly to their driveway.
°ä´Ç˛Ô˛µ°ů˛ąłŮłÜ±ô˛ąłŮľ±´Ç˛Ô˛őĚýłŮ´Ç Sean McNally (BCom’21), this year’s valedictorian at the Desautels Faculty of Management, for his academic achievements and contributions to the Desautels community. As McNally moves on to a management consulting role at Oliver Wyman in Montreal, he reflects on his time at Desautels and his intention to continue cultivating personal and communal growth in every stage of his career.
Claude GĂ©nĂ©reux (BEng’85) and his wife, Myriam Legault (BEd’85), announced a donation of $1 million to the Â鶹AV Athletics and Recreation. Their gift will support student athletes, both in and out of the stadium, by providing scholarships, funding community service opportunities.
The investment will extend to the men’s lacrosse team, on which their son Louis-Charles Généreux (BCom’18) played when it won the national championship in 2015.
Seven years ago, Olivier Babin (BCom’18) won the Bourstadt Stock Market Simulation. Now, at age 25, he has his sights set on launching his own startup in the financial technology sector while continuing to build Mkono, a non-profit he co-founded to provide microcredit without interest to entrepreneurs in Kenya.
Right out of university, Dick Irvin (BCom’53) enjoyed a stable career in Montreal’s finance sector.
On the cusp of transitioning to a new role as a history teacher, he was interviewed by a CFCF television reporter for a segment about Irvin’s father, a former head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. The reporter spotted Irvin’s untapped potential and offered him a job. So began Irvin’s 30-year career in sports broadcasting, which took him across the country to interview icons like Wayne Gretzky and Jackie Robinson.Â
Samer Saab (BEng'93, MBA'96) fled a civil war in Lebanon to pursue a degree in engineering at Â鶹AV in 1990. He realized early in his career that he was best suited to launching his own company. Since returning to his alma mater for an MBA, he has leveraged his business school experience to launch what has become one of Canada’s most desirable employers.Â
After graduating from Â鶹AV, Michael Pesner (BCom’63) took over his father’s accounting and insolvency practice before joining a KPMG predecessor firm as a chairman and managing partner. Over the next 26 years, he navigated challenges in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and insolvency so adeptly that he was invited to serve on the KPMG board of directors. Looking back, he points to the influence of Â鶹AV professors and classmates in building a foundation for success.
±ő˛Ô±đłúĚý´ł˛ą˛ú˛ą±ô±čłÜ°ů·É˛ą±ô˛ąÂ (BA’89, MA’91, MBA’01) credits her years at Â鶹AV with inspiring her to take a stand for the causes she supports. As a member of the Â鶹AV Debating Union, she learned to express herself clearly and persuasively, a skill that served her well as the Global Director of VineX and former CEO of Brain Canada. Now, as a member of the Â鶹AV Board of Governors, Jabalpurwala works to ensure that those who come after her receive the same high-impact education.
Under the directorship of Fady Dagher (EMBA’12), the police department for the urban agglomeration of Longueil (SPAL), along with the City of Longueuil, recently received a top municipal prize from the Union Des Municipalités Du Québec (UMQ).
The Joseph-Beaubien Prize, awarded during a virtual gala held on May 13, recognizes Dagher and his colleagues for developing a successful five-week immersion project that trains police officers to respond more effectively to evolving citizen needs. Â