Théadora Sauvé’s classmates pushed her to become a better student, and Sauvé’s hard work was be recognized at the Spring 2022 Convocation, where she gave the valedictory address. The Bachelor of Commerce grad is preparing to study law at McGill, but when she came to university, this path was not yet clear. Sauvé initially studied psychology, but switched to Desautels after taking an Organizational Behaviour class taught by Chantal Westgate, a Senior Faculty Lecturer.

Thibault Trancart (BCom'15), Desautels Faculty of Management's first blind graduate, is helping make one of the world’s biggest consumer goods companies more accessible. Trancart is a Manager in Responsible Beauty for Europe Hair Care at Procter & Gamble, and has become one of its Accessibility Champions. “Originally, I didn’t want to be the blind guy working on accessibility,” he says. But Trancart, intrigued by the practicality of the work, now addresses the challenges he personally faces. “I’m 80-90% on accessibility and can’t see myself doing anything else.”

When customers don’t pay their bills, it can be a major drain on a business. To collect unpaid bills, creditors have long relied on credit control specialists who use techniques like outbound phone calls. But that’s 20th-century technology, and Dimitri Raziev (BCom’09) spotted an opportunity to modernize the approach.

Abigail Hunter (BCom’16) wants to usher in the clean energy revolution. She represents the Government of Quebec as an attachée in Washington, DC, where she works to help lawmakers understand the benefits of working with Québec – like how its hydroelectricity and energy storage can supplement less predictable solar and wind energy generation. While at Desautels, Hunter learned about impact investing, social enterprise and advancing ethical, social and governance standards. She credits this education with helping her choose a career path.

Delinquent payments are a major challenge for small businesses – but collecting each individual debt is a difficult and thankless task. To make it easier, Dimitri Raziev (BCom’10) co-founded Kolleno. This fintech start-up helps businesses manage their accounts receivable by sending customers email and text reminders to settle unpaid bills, and directing them toward a payment portal. Kolleno uses machine learning to determine which approaches will yield results - from the method of contact to the tone of voice.

The Desautels Global Experts program connects current students with alumni experts across industries, providing valuable learning and networking opportunities to help students thrive in their academic and professional careers.

Professor Karl Moore sits down with Dick Pound (BCom’62) to discuss the politics and athleticism behind the Olympic Games. A former Olympian and a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1978, Pound says audiences should focus on celebrating exceptional athletes rather than the drama of political boycotts.