Several McGill Desautels alumni honoured at 2023 McGill Alumni Association Awards and Honours
On May 4, members of the McGill community gathered at Maison Manuvie for the 2023 McGill Alumni Association Awards and Honours, which recognize alumni, friends, students, faculty, and staff who stand out for their impressive contributions and achievements in service to McGill, the MAA and in their respective communities. This year, six awards were given to members of the McGill Desautels community. A huge congratulations to all of this year’s honourees!
Fighting food insecurity with...bugs?
A few weeks after starting his MBA at McGill University, Mohammed Ashour, MSc’11, MBA’19 received an email announcing the Hult Prize — an annual, year-long competition that challenges university-level students to solve a pressing social issue.
Ram Panda to receive honorary doctorate from School of Continuing Studies
Ram Panda (MEng’71, MBA’77), McGill's Lead Planned Giving Ambassador and former Chair of the Board of Governors, will receive a Doctor of Laws honoris causa from the School of Continuing Studies at their convocation ceremony on June 7 at 6:30 PM. Since graduating from McGill more than 50 years ago, Ram Panda has been one of the University’s most loyal champions. A generous benefactor of the University, Mr.
MBA Toronto Trip 2023
After a three-year hiatus, the McGill Desautels Career Management team successfully organized an in-person MBA Toronto tour on March 2 and 3, 2023, bringing together 57 MBA students, alumni, and employers for professional development and networking opportunities. Activities included an employer networking event, an MBA refresher session, an alumni reunion reception, and a reinvented speed mock interviewing event.
Ace Squad wins 2023 Desautels Case Cup Competition
On February 3, first-year McGill Desautels MBAs participated in the annual Desautels Case Cup competition. Judged by alumni, this year’s case focused on MassChallenge, a program created by John Harthorne and Akhil Nigam that provides support and funding for startup companies.
Eco-fashion brand Ecova tells the stories behind its green initiatives
Positive storytelling can encourage consumers to make better, more eco-conscious choices. That’s the vision the Stephanie Beaulieu (MBA’22) shared with Karl Moore in an article for Forbes.com. Beaulieu founded the eco-fashion company Ecova to make change in the fashion industry.
Desautels ranked among world’s top 40 most sustainable MBAs by Corporate Knights
The Desautels Faculty of Management ranked among the 40 most sustainable MBAs in the world in 2022. The Better World ranking is conducted by Corporate Knights and considers criteria like sustainability research output and classroom teaching. Desautels made the cut in part because of its strengths in sustainability-related research intensity and the diversity of its faculty.
McGill Desautels MBA ranked 73rd in 2023 Global QS Rankings
The McGill Master of Business Administration (MBA) has been named the number three program in Canada and secured a top-75 spot in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2023, performing amongst the top 24% globally out of 300 programs.
The Photons take 2022 Desautels Cup case competition
Congratulations to McGill MBA students Shivansh Srivastava, Bingquan (Roger) Wu, Nimesh Mittal, Sundeep Ahuja, and Horacio Aguilera Salinas for winning the 2022 Desautels Cup Case Competition, the first in-person Desautels Cup since the pandemic!
Aspire Food Group is making pet food more sustainable with insect protein
Insects have always been part of the diet of cats and dogs – but they haven’t always been a part of the pet foods that we feed them. That’s changing, and a company with McGill roots is helping drive a transformation in the industry. Aspire Food Group cultivates crickets to produce high-quality protein with a low environmental footprint.
Desautels MBAs make Poets&Quants list
Our fantastic students are receiving some well-deserved recognition yet again! Congratulations to Scott Brereton and Yehya Siddiqui for being named to the Poets&Quants 2022 MBAs to Watch list, which highlights outstanding individuals from across 75 top full-time MBA programs.
Betty Zoller launches Aviva, a maker of plant-based, nut-free cheese alternatives
Animal welfare and a desire to reduce carbon emissions inspired Betty Zoller (MBA’15) to adopt a vegetarian diet. But when Zoller was looking for a nut-free cheese alternative, there weren’t any options. Many plant-based cheese alternatives are made using a base of cashew nuts or coconut oil, and seeing a gap in the available options, Zoller founded Aviva.
McGill team wins honourable mention at EDI case writing competition
Congratulations to 2023 BCom Jaslie Denault and MBAs Alfonso Rodriguez Gomez, David Iacono and Kriti Pradhan, in collaboration with Faculty Lecturer Tatiana Gauvin, for their honourable me
The workplace has changed, and will continue to: Samer Saab
Leaders should spend less time worrying about people who leave, and more time celebrating those that stay, according to Samer Saab (BEng’93, MBA’96), the CEO of Explorance, a leading experience management solutions company.
In an era of talent scarcity, the balance of power between employer and employee has shifted, Saab told Medium.com in an interview for Authority Magazine.
Chafik Hamad establishes RAFAH bursary to honour his mother’s memory by helping students who face systemic barriers
McGill celebrated its bicentennial in 2021, and as the university community began looking toward the next hundred years, it launched the Third Century Challenge Fund. Created by Chancellor Emeritus Michael Meighen, it encourages others to give by matching funds. Forty-eight new scholarships and bursaries have been created since the launch of the fund in 2019, and Chafik Hamad (MBA’15) is one of the donors who took up the call.
