William Shatner celebrates 90th birthday
Desautels alumnus William Shatner (BCom'52, DLitt'11) recently celebrated his 90th birthday. The actor jokingly wondered on Twitter: “What happens when I get to 120?” A native of Montreal, Shatner returned to his alma mater in 2011 to receive an honorary doctorate. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante reached out with warm wishes to Shatner on Twitter, and NASA also sent a birthday message to the Star Trek star.
BCom alumnus creates scholarship to honour father, support Iranian community
With strong familial ties to Iran, Kathy Fazel (BCom’91) knew she had to act when a plane was shot down in Iran, killing 176 people, including two McGill students. She and her husband donated $24,000 to establish the M.A. Fazel Scholarship in support of Iranian-born students at McGill.
Desautels alumni featured in McGill podcast
Four former Desautels students were recently featured in new episodes of Alma Matters, a podcast presented by McGill University Athletics and Recreation.
Mathieu Darche (BCom’00) won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020, while Richard Pound (BCom’62) is a former Olympic swimmer who currently serves as an International Olympic Committee Member.
E-commerce booms during pandemic
Since its launch in 2016, EMERGE Commerce has risen to become a leader in direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands. Professor Karl Moore recently spoke with EMERGE Commerce founder and CEO Ghassan Halazon (BCom’06) to unpack the evolving relationship between consumers and the internet during the pandemic.
BCom alumnus pays it forward
After receiving substantial financial support to complete his BCom degree at Desautels, Pierre LeBrun (BCom’72) has been paying it forward for over five decades. From the time he joined RBC as summer student in 1965 to his retirement from a Senior VP position in 2000, he has steadfastly worked to give students the same opportunity he received.
BCom students honour their role models at 41st DMAA
At this year's 41st Desautels Management Achievement Awards, McGill BCom students honoured four individuals who have made significant contributions to the Canadian economy and way of life throughout their professional careers. This was the first edition of the ceremony to be held virtually, with the organizers and honourees truly personifying the values of the DMAA - resilience, pushing ahead and innovation.
BCom team wins Canadian Finals of Accuracy Business Cup
Congratulations to BCom students Shelley Sorkin, Dixon Wong, and Angel Miao who won the National Finals of the Accuracy Business Cup case competition. The team will be representing Canada at the virtual international finals on March 12 to compete against seven other countries. Thanks to Melissa Sonberg, Desautels Professor of Practice, for coaching and mentoring the team.
BCom students win National Finals of KPMG Ideation Challenge
Congratulations to Desautels BCom students Reda Ouazzani Touhami and James Xu, and their teammates from Concordia University and Western University, for winning the National Finals of the KPMG Ideation Challenge. Over 750 applications were submitted for the Canadian finals of the competition. The team will compete for the global title in April when each country will present their solution/prototype to a panel of industry judges.
BCom alumnus releases financial guidebook
Doug Allan (BCom’08) is on a mission to teach people financial tips and tricks they probably didn’t learn in high school. The Desautels alumnus recently released “A Fighting Chance: The High School Finance Education Everyone Deserves,” a 10-chapter guidebook that encourages readers to study financial literacy early in life.
BCom alumnus joins Chief Outsiders executive team
Mike Rosenberg (BCom’89) recently joined Chief Outsiders’ team of digital marketing executives. A recognized customer acquisition leader with expertise in business development, Rosenberg brings a wealth of digital transformation experience to the table. Chief Outsiders operates as an “Executives-as-a-Service” firm as it facilitates operations for a group of 80 Chief Marketing Operators across the U.S.
Strong showing by Desautels BCom team at Financial Open
The Financial Open Case Competition, the second largest case competition across eastern Canada, reunited over 350 participants from 11 universities to compete on accounting and finance related academic cases. Congratulations to the Desautels delegation, led by Antoine Bertrand and Bruno Provencher, who captured four podiums:
Online education app raises $3M under leadership of BCom alumnus
Cyrus Moradian (BCom’12) co-founded educational platform Wize in 2017 with the goal of empowering students across North America to reach their full potential. Nearly four years later, Moradian has led his company to raise US $3 million in funding from investors. Wize will use the investment to develop new course-specific tutorials and tutoring resources for all grade levels, as well as MCAT and LSAT test preparation.
Stanley Cup Champion Mathieu Darche joins McGill Athletics podcast
In the first episode of “Alma Matters,” a new podcast from McGill’s Athletics and Recreation department, Mathieu Darche (BCom’00) shares the story of his journey from McGill to a Stanley Cup.
Darche dominated collegiate hockey before becoming the 10th Redbird to represent his alma mater in the NHL. After taking home a Stanley Cup ring, Darche looks back at the ways his McGill education set him up for success.
BCom alumnus voted Outstanding Individual at IJInvestor 2020 Awards
Congratulations to Desautels Global Expert Steven M. Sonnenstein (BCom’96, DPA’98) for receiving IJGlobal’s prestigious Outstanding Individual Award in honour of the role he has played in redefining digital infrastructure over the course of his career.
Desautels BCom students attain nine podiums at 2021 Jeux du Commerce
Congratulations to Desautels BCom students for their outstanding performance at this year’s Jeux du Commerce (JDC), the largest student case competition in Eastern Canada. For the first time, JDC took place fully online and brought together 700 participants from 11 universities.
