Sir Richard Branson talks to our students and alumni during the Faculty’s Peter Brojde Leadership LectureWe strive to integrate practical applications of management theory throughout the learning experience. Through industry consulting and applied research, our professors are constantly involved with the business community.
We draw on the expertise of world leaders in each field to provide our students with proprietary live cases, industry briefs and project mandates. We have also developed strong and long-standing relationships with the world's top executives and employers who provide our students mentorship, practicum, internship and job opportunities.
If you are interested in getting your company involved in enriching the student learning experience or hiring one of our students, please ron [dot] duerksen [at] mcgill [dot] ca (contact us). Here are just a few examples of how we integrate the business community:
Global Expert Panels
Through our network of over 20,000 highly successful alumni around the world, Desautels has developed a totally unique global expert panel program. Each panel of 30-50 experts helps our students gain valuable industry exposure by bringing their experience into the classroom through lectures, live cases and project mandates. Panel members also mentor students, provide internships and jobs. Expert panels are comprised of leaders in the fields of: Global Strategy & Leadership (Organizational Behavior & Strategy) Investment Management (Accounting & Finance), Marketing and Technology and Innovation Management.
Executives in Residence
CEOs and former CEOs of Fortune 500 companies share their vast industry and leadership experience with students.
Our current Executives in Residence are:
| Mr. Paul Desmarais Jr. | Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation |
| Mr. Richard Evans | Chairman of AbitibiBowater, Past President and Chief Executive Officer of Alcan inc. |
| Mr. Stephen Jarislowsky | CEO of Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd. |
| Mr. Raymond Royer | Corporate Director, Great-West Lifeco, Past President and CEO of Domtar inc. |
| Mr. Paul Tellier | Corporate Director, BCE inc, Past President and CEO of Bombardier Inc. and Canadian National Railway Co. |
CEO Speakers
Monthly Q&A and luncheon events are held with the world's leading CEOs on a range of topics.
Here are some examples of past guests our students interacted with:
| Sir Richard Branson | CEO Virgin Group |
| Tom Albanese | CEO Rio Tinto (UK) |
| Stephen Bronfman | Chair, Stephen R. Bronfman Foundation |
| Rupert Duchesne | CEO Aeroplan |
| David Patterson | CEO AbitibiBowater |
| Guy Hachey | CEO, President & COO Bombardier Aerospace |
| Ken Sawyer | (BSc’71) CEO, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Bob Seelert | Chairman, Saatchi & Saatchi |
| Kathleen Weil | BA78, BCL82, LLB82 Quebec Minister of Justice |
| Louis Vachon | CEO, National Bank Financial |
Guest Lecturers and Speakers
Students are constantly being exposed to the latest business practices and challenges through professors of practice, guest lecturers and speakers.
Here are some examples of past speakers:
| The Role of the CEO: Strategy, People and Stakeholders. | Karl Moore and Dick Evans bring a variety of guest lecturers across different areas to provide an additional learning component to the classroom. |
| Ron Ashkenas | Managing Partner of RHS&A |
| Alain M. Bellemare | CEO Bombardier |
| Sylvie Bernier | Olympic Gold Medalist, Chef de Mission for Canadian Olympic Team Beijing |
| Len Bloom | Hollywood Script Writer and Yoga Teacher |
| Chahram Bolouri | President & CEO, AVEOS |
| Sir Richard Branson | Virgin Group - Watch the Lecture. |
| Robert Brown | Former CEO Bombardier, CEO and Board Member BCE and Chairman of Aeroplan Group |
| Jacynthe Cote | CEO Rio Tinto Alcan |
| Phillip Crawley | CEO and Publisher, The Globe and Mail |
| David Creighton | CEO Cordiant Capital |
| Rick Heinick | Senior partner at RHS&A |
| Joseph Iannicelli | CEO of Standard Life Canada |
| Leonard Lighter | Co-owner Moishes Streakhouse and M:brgr |
| Andrew Molson | Vice Chairman of Molson Coors, Co-owner of the Canadiens |
| David Martin | Corporate Director, Canadian Steam Ship Lines, etc. |
| Robert Rabinovicth | Former CEO of the CBC, and Chairperson McGill Board of Governors |
| Mike Roach | CEO of CGI |
| Calin Rovinescu | CEO Air Canada |
| Bob Seelert | Chairman, Saatchi & Saatchi |
| Phillipe Trudeau | CEO of Trudeau Corporation |
Entrepreneurial Leadership (The Peter Brojde Endowment)
Through exposure to the personal histories of extraordinary leaders in more than a dozen fields, and through the interaction with professors and administrators from other McGill Faculties, students learn first-hand how different styles of management adapt to and contribute to evolving careers.
Here are some examples of past contributors:
| Sandra Ainsley | Establisher of Hazelton Lanes Gallery in Toronto; leading expert in the glass community |
| Dr. William Barakett, CM | Director of the Dep. Of General Medicine at the Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins Hospital |
| Tim Brodhead | CEO; J.W. McConnell Family Foundation; Officer of the Order of Canada |
| Ronald Corey, CM | 1982-1999 President of the Montreal Canadiens; President and CEO of Carling O'Keefe |
| Roméo Dallaire, OC, OQ | Member of the UN Secretary General Board on Genocide; Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy in Harvard Fellow at the Montreal Institute of Genocide Studies Concordia; recipient of the Pearson Peace Medal; Grand Officer of the Order of Québec; Governor General; former Officer in the Order of Canada |
| Chief Billy Diamond, OQ | Former Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees; former President of Air Creebec; President of the Cree Niskamoon, Diamond Sylvico and Waska Resources; Member of the Order of Québec |
| Jake Eberts, OC | 1976 Managing Director of Oppenheimer & Co (London, England); Founder of Goldcrest Films in 1977; Chairman of the National Geographic Films; Officer of the Order of Canada since 1992 |
| Yves Fortier, CC, OQ | 1989-90 Canada's Representative to the UN Security Council; 1984-89 a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA); 1988-92 Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN; in October 1989 President of the Security Council; 1998-2001 President of the London Court of International Arbitration. |
| Marc Garneau, CC | Canada's 1st astronaut in space in 1984President of the Canadian Space Agency; MP for Westmount-Ville-Marie in 2008 |
| Hon. John Gomery | Member of the Bar since 1957; 1999-2004 Chairman of the Copyright Board President of the Comité Général des Juges de la Cour supérieure du Québec, President of the Family Law Committee from 1983 to 1993 and has been a member of the Rules of Practice Committee |
| John Hobday, CM | 2003-06 Director of The Canada Council for the Arts; |
| Monte Hummel, OC | Co-founder of Pollution Probe, builder and President of World Wildlife Fund (Canada) |
| Patrick Kenniff | Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs 1979-84; Rector & Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University in 1984; President of Kenniff & Racine |
| Dr. Daniel Levitin | Former President of 415 Records/Columbia Records (Sony Music) |
| Dr. Maurice McGregor | Prof. Emeritus in Medicine; a Chair of the Technology Assessment Unit of the McGill University Health Center |
| Richard Pound, OC, OQ | 5 years as Chair of the Board of Governors of McGill, 1999-2009 McGill's Chancellor; member of the Olympic Committee; Chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 1999-2007. |
| Hon. Pierrette Rayle | Former Judge of the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal of Québec |
| The Rev. Bruce Stavert | Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada since 2004; active in both Provincial Synod and General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada |
Desautels International Faculty Advisory Board
Our International Faculty Advisory Board is comprised of about 40 industry leaders from around the globe. These highly successful individuals provide regular support and recommendations to our Dean and the Faculty.