Desautels MBA student, Moises Meza, originates from Venezuela, but has lived all over the world. After working for five years in consulting, Meza always envisaged pursuing his MBA studies in a vast metropole like New York.
Montreal, however, has far exceeded his expectations thanks to its unique multiculturalism and multilingualism, as well as its work-life balance and reputation as a hub for innovation.
Jason Wood’s (MBA’94) construction company, Diamond Head Development, has been a going concern in Squamish, BC for over 10 years now. He sat down with Canadian Business Journal to talk about his development as an entrepreneur, his work history, his company’s dual role as a builder and a developer, and building sustainability into new construction projects.
Craig Buntin (MBA’13) is a Desautels alumnus, a former figure skating champion, and the CEO of hockey analysis company Sportlogiq. The company’s software uses video and machine learning to track what players are doing on the ice, and help them up their game.
The software is being used by 22 NHL franchises; Mr Buntin’s team has just raised $5 million towards improving the system and expanding into soccer, with five teams in North America and Europe already signed on.
Sumanto Chattopdhyay (MBA’90) recently sat down with Impact to discuss his new job as Chairman and CEO of Indian marketing powerhouse Soho Square. The former Ogilvy & Mather Creative Director has only been at the job for a month, but he has already taken steps to set the tone in terms of the corporate culture and the corporate vision.
Ram Panda (MEng’71, MBA’77) is the new chair of the McGill University Board of Governors. He came to Canada from his native India in 1968 to study electrical engineering at McGill, and never left. In 1978, he co-founded metal-industry software maker Invera Inc., which rapidly became a major player in its market.
According to a piece at BarrieToday.com, Dr. Mark Kotowycz (MBA’01, MDCM’04) is moving from the Windsor Regional Hospital to the new Advanced Cardiac Centre at the Royal Victoria Health Centre as Director of Advanced Cardiac Care / Catheterization Labs. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role, having worked at Toronto’s University Health Network and Northumberland Hills Hospital.
Jonathan Ross Goodman (BA’89, MBA/LLB’93) is the CEO of Montreal-based pharmaceutical company Knight Therapeutics and a Desautels Global Expert. He is also a textbook case of how to overcome adversity: A 2011 biking accident left him in a coma for weeks and caused massive brain damage. Even today, his short-term memory is poor and he has trouble eating. But Mr. Goodman is also still a CEO and a leader in the pharma trade.
Desautels alumnus John Snisarenko (BSc’86 and MBA’91) has been appointed Group VP of the Ophthalmology Business Unit for Shire US. He comes to Shire from Genentech, where he was VP Sales and Marketing. Before that, he worked on long-term strategy for Novaris Pharma Canada and started an ophthalmology division for CIBA Vision. He has also worked for Alcon Canada and Allergan Canada.
Mr. Snisarenko is filling the spot left vacant by Robert Dempsey, who has moved up to VP of Global Ophthalmics.
Lester Fernandes (MBA’82) has been appointed to lead the audit committee of Montreal-based human-capital manager Rideau Recognition Solutions. The company is in full-on expansion mode; according to CEO Peter Hart, Mr. Fernandes’ experience will help the company hit its goals. And that experience is extensive: he’s been senior VP and CFO at Pivotal Payments since 2001. Before that, he spent a decade at BMO. He was also on the board of Castle Resources until 2016.
According to BNN.ca, changes are afoot at CIBC: a shakeup of the management team has two department heads leaving the company, as well as a couple of promotions. One of those promotions sees Desautels alumnus Jon Hountalas (BCom’84, MBA’91), bumped up to Group Head, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, Canada from his previous role of running the company’s commercial banking arm. This comes as CEO Victor Dodig announces that some 40 junior executives are being moved around as well.
Desautels alumna Kelly Megyery (MBA’92) was one of the Health Sciences judges at the McGill Dobson Cup 2017. She is a partner at Pivot Strategic Transformation, where she works on healthcare policy and life sciences. Previously, she was at Sanofi, where she led efforts around wellness and prevention.
Salesfloor CEO and Desautels alumnus Oscar Sachs (BA’96, MBA’99) knows his stuff when it comes to showrooming and the retail overhaul. His company specializes in helping retailers transition into a new paradigm that merges e-commerce with a personalized on-site shopping experience.
As students looking to start their careers realize the value of getting sound advice, the number of student-mentor pairings in Canada is growing at a rapid rate. The growth and evolution of the Desautels mentorship program echoes that of many other schools’ programs. When the Desautels MBA mentorship started a decade ago, it was aimed at female students, but has since expanded to include all students and an online component.
Quentin O’Mahony is a long way from his Abbottsford, BC home. He lives, works and plays in Japan as the General Manager of CAE’s joint flight-simulator and flight training venture with Japan Airlines, a job that includes overseeing cost efficiencies, preparing the ground to expand operations, and overseeing a training centre in South Korea. He has been at it since 2015, when he helped launch the program at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
Desautels Associate Professor Karl Moore was recently interviewed on The Grilled Podcast to discuss his development as a businessman and academic, collaboration and bringing CEOs in to speak to his classes. He then interviews those CEOs on his podcast, The CEO Series.
