Deniz Eralp (MBA ’18) is a Senior Systems Engineer at MDA and a Schulich Krembil Scholar. He is currently working on technologies for moon exploration that will be used by Canadian Space Agency and NASA as part of the Artemis program that is scheduled to take the first Canadian to the moon surface and back.
Eralp sees his MBA much like Lunar Module Pilot William Anders saw Earth back in 1968 when Anders was part of the first mission to circle the moon. Anders said, “We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.”
“When I decided to pursue my MBA and explore business, I discovered what engineering stands for,” said Eralp, who obtained a MSc. in Engineering Management, System Design and Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before studying at Schulich.
The Space industry is becoming more commercialized than ever before, with more private companies funding exploration versus governments only. Interested industries include agriculture, gas, communications and even retail.
Deniz Eralp (MBA ’18)
Eralp credits his Schulich MBA for allowing him to anticipate what his colleagues in other departments may need from him on projects. “Being able to see things from other perspectives makes you more beneficial,” he says.
The technologies Eralp is currently working on will be part of Canada’s contribution to Gateway, a key element of Artemis, the NASA-led program to establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon. Once completed, the Gateway will serve as a Moon-orbiting outpost that will sustain human presence on the Moon and as a staging point for the next generation of deep space exploration. A Canadian astronaut will be part of the pretest flight in 2024.
Over the last 20 years, the Krembil Foundation has been an invaluable benefactor and pioneering partner of Schulich. At the heart of this special relationship is the mutual commitment to championing next generation business leaders through generous scholarships and real-world internship opportunities.
Schulich recently announced the launch of the new Supply Chain Alumni Association (SSCAA) at an alumni networking event. The event included a morning of industry panel sessions which featured perspectives from Schulich alumni in senior supply chain management roles.
Panelists for the event included: Raman Boparai (IMBA ’05), Director, Multimodal Optimization & Innovation, CN; Refah Sheikh G. Ghari (MSCM ’21), Supply Chain Specialist, Boston Scientific; Rafael Franco (MBA ’05/ MSCM ’20), Director, Supply Chain, Thermo Fisher Scientific; David Markwell (MBA ’07), Chief Technology and Analytics Officer, Loblaw; and Carolina Pimentel (BBA ’18, MBA Candidate), Growth Marketing Manager, Walmart Canada. The sessions were moderated by Parthiban Dhakshnamurthy (MSCM ’21), Strategic Sourcing Manager, OECM and David A. Johnston, Research Chair and Director, George Weston Ltd. Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains.
Schulich Dean Detlev Zwick
“One of our key strategic priorities at Schulich is enhancing alumni engagement by creating industry-focused alumni chapters like this and by providing more activities and events,” said Schulich Dean Detlev Zwick. “We hope these events will deepen industry connections for current students and alumni and help to expand their networks.”
The new association is an initiative of alumni volunteers working with the George Weston Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains and the Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement. The association aims to build a community of Schulich alumni interested in supply chain management to provide networking, experiential learning, and career development activities.
“To meet the challenges and opportunities of today’s supply chains, working professionals will need strong communities of practice to provide industry knowledge, career prospects and personal support,” said George Weston Ltd. Centre Director David Johnston. “The George Weston Ltd. Centre is pleased to support that need with research and education.”
The SSCAA invites members of the Schulich community to get involved. There is no cost to become a member and benefits include expanding your professional network, participating in social and networking events, and staying engaged with Schulich’s research, education, and outreach efforts related to supply chain management. To sign up for a free SSCAA membership, visit this page.
On November 17th, members of the Schulich community of alumni, faculty, and staff came together for the third annual Schulich Giving Day in support of Schulich students and the school. The response was overwhelming, raising a total of $189,007 from 217 donors. This is 126% of our campaign goal of $150,000 and our most successful one-day fundraising initiative to date.
The success of this year’s event speaks to the power of community, collaboration, and caring – hallmarks of the Schulich DNA. Every dollar donated will have direct and immediate impact, providing financial aid to students in need and delivering world-class learning experiences that will prepare students for their chosen careers after graduation.
“A notable aspect of Schulich Giving Day’s success since its launch in 2019 is the show of support from alumni across the globe that sends a clear message of pride in their alma mater. The willingness to help and invest in the next generation of business leaders through philanthropy and community engagement speaks to the strength and success of Schulich’s global alumni network,” said Schulich Dean Detlev Zwick.
Thanks to the generosity of Schulich alumni matching donors this year – Martha Morfitt (MBA ’86), Peter Mackenzie (MBA ’86) and Kate Zeidler, and Michael Bigger (MBA ’92) and the entire Schulich community – Schulich students and next generation business leaders like Mona Karimi (MBA/JD ’23) and Jade Safos (BBA ’23) and successful Schulich alumni like Andrew Wilson (IMBA ’10), will continue to feel empowered to aim higher and achieve greater success in their lives.
“Everyone who participated in this year’s Schulich Giving Day has been instrumental in making this initiative a success. Having witnessed how our community came together, stepped up to the plate, and rallied behind our students to help them succeed during these challenging times is inspiring. I can’t wait to see what we achieve together next year,” said Christina Niederwanger, Executive Director, Advancement and Alumni Engagement.
Visit Schulich’s Digital Donor Roll to join in celebrating this year’s Giving Day champions.
Sustainability issues are at the forefront of challenges reshaping contemporary business. Each year, Corporate Knights awards young sustainability leaders who challenge the status quo towards a more sustainable future.
Schulich is honoured to announce that two alumnae, Leah Perry (MBA ’22) and Sabreen Salman (BBA ’14), were selected as Corporate Knights’ 2022 Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders.
Raised by two environmentalists, Leah Perry is dedicated to ensuring women have equal opportunity to succeed in our net-zero future. With less than 20% of Canadian cleantech companies having a female founder, Leah Perry wants to create not only a more sustainable world, but one that is also led by a diverse mix of leaders.
“There are more jobs in sustainability and impact than there ever have been,” says Perry, who leads the Women in Cleantech Accelerator at MaRS Discovery District. “A better world doesn’t just have to be a side hustle. Find a job that embodies your beliefs, and you can spend every day chasing your mission.”
Over the next five years, Sabreen Salman hopes to see Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) embedded in all areas of business, and she wants to play a part in helping companies reach that goal. She risen in the ranks as a sustainability professional and is now director of ESG reporting and disclosures at Export Development Canada (EDC).
“I want to play my role in this transition to help educate and empower teams sitting outside of ESG to really understand their ESG impacts and embed it in their work,” says Salman. “ESG disclosures and reporting have come a long way from voluntary ‘CSR reporting’ to now being a business imperative expected by investors, shareholders and stakeholders.”
On November 8th, close to 300 guests attended the Perspectives Lecture hosted by the Schulich Real Property Alumni Association and the Brookfield Centre in Real Estate & Infrastructure at the Park Hyatt Toronto. Titled “Patire per Capire: Foundation Building Thoughts from an Immigrant’s Daughter”, this year’s keynote was delivered by Toni Rossi, President, Real Estate of Infrastructure Ontario.
Following the networking reception, Rossi delivered a moving presentation on her 35-year career in real estate. In her keynote address, Rossi explained how her childhood experiences gave rise to her unwavering values and optimistic opinion of Canada. Rossi’s remarks and advice were greeted with a standing ovation.
“Just like in the real estate industry, we are trying to create a community and business where people want to gather,” said Rossi. “So, make sure your house and your kitchen are a place that welcome and host people.”
Other speakers included Schulich Dean Detlev Zwick, Habitat for Humanity GTA CEO Ene Underwood, Brookfield Centre Director Jim Clayton, Perspectives Lecture Chair Ume Kanga (MREI ’19), and SRPAA President Christian Petersen (MBA ‘13). Kanga and Petersen leveraged their time on the podium to launch a new SRPAA video and to champion the SRPAA Leadership Fund for Black and Indigenous Communities, an initiative which creates opportunities for promising young individuals from underrepresented communities to obtain their undergraduate business degree. Beulah Odoom was announced as the inaugural SRPAA Leadership Award recipient that evening.
From left to right: Detlev Zwick, Ume Kanga, Toni Rossi, Ene Underwood, Jim Clayton, Christian Petersen
“Year after year, it is heart warming to see the SRPAA community gather to meet, celebrate, and give back to the community like they do,” said Kanga. “Toni’s address was thoughtful and engaging and really highlighted the importance of family and community. The night wouldn’t have been possible without our all-star female committee and sponsors. Thank you to all involved!”
The Committee was comprised of Co-Chairs Kanga and Petersen and Schulich alumnae Jinny Tran (MBA ’20), Diana Arsenyan (MBA ’14), Tracey Hui (MREI ’20), and Preyaa Soni (MBA ’20).
A special thank you to Penthouse Sponsors Altus Group and Cadillac Fairview, and Mezzanine Sponsors Belmont Equity, Crestpoint, Enform Architects, RioCan, and Fieldgate, for their support.
Schulich and CI Financial, a leading global wealth and asset management firm in Canada, have started a new partnership to provide experiential learning opportunities and educational events to Schulich students.
The new partnership will bring real-world learning experiences to Schulich students, bolstering Schulich’s emphasis on experiential learning in its curriculum. The partnership will see CI Financial offer a number of full-time internships to Schulich students and engage students in consulting projects in different areas. Two team projects in business analytics are already underway. The partnership also includes two educational panel discussions each year, one during the Fall semester and one during the Winter semester.
CI Financial and Schulich will co-host their event, “Leading Change in the Financial Services Industry”, at Schulich on Thursday, November 17th. The in-person forum will take place at Schulich’s McEwen Auditorium beginning at 5:00pm, followed by a networking reception. Members of CI Financial’s senior management and HR team will be attending, including its President, Darie Urbanky.
Register for Leading Change in the Financial Services Industry
The 2022 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners was released by Women’s Executive Network (WXN). The Awards span the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, with the winners selected by WXN’s Diversity Council of Canada.
Schulich is honoured to announce that six alumnae were recognized as Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women:
Shaheen Yazdani (BBA ’08), Co-Founder and Managing Partner,Intercept
The award recipients advocate fiercely for diversity and inclusion in business, on corporate boards, and within senior leadership. They are recognized for their meaningful impactful in their companies and communities such as championing the development, advancement, and recognition of Women across Canada through learning, networking, events, research and more.
“On behalf of the entire Schulich community, congratulations to the Schulich alumni who were selected as one of the 2022 Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women,” said Detlev Zwick, Dean of the Schulich School of Business. “These highly accomplished alumni are not only role models for our students but dynamic ambassadors for our School.”
WXN will celebrate each 2022 winner in person at its 20th annual Top 100 Awards Gala, hosted at the Fairmont Royal York Toronto on November 17.
Congratulations to our Schulich alumnae!
(From left to right) Simone Harrington, Racheal Awe, Lisa Taylor, Nurin Thawer, Shaheen Yazdani, and Penny Wise.Rachael Awe: “I believe to be powerful means having the responsibility to make an impact for the good of others; and there is something extremely powerful in representation – seeing people who look like you in positions you aspire to be in – it gives you hope. With this award, I am most proud of the impact and representation I provide for my young daughter, and for other women who look like me.”Simone Harrington: “I am honoured to be recognized as one of the 2022 WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award winner. To be recognized alongside so many other Schulich Alumni is a privilege and a testament to our incredible alumni network.”Lisa Taylor: “The impact of my work is built on the foundational education I received in Schulich’s MBA/MPA program. Challenge Factory is a research agency and consultancy focused on the Future of Work. As a certified B Corporation, we use business as a force for good while addressing today’s toughest workforce and policy challenges. I am proud to be recognized as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: WXN Top 100 Award Winner. The award recognizes the often invisible yet powerful impact the field of career development, hidden talent pools, and labour market dynamics have on how we shape the future.”Nurin Thawer: “I am honoured to be named as one of the WXN’s Most Powerful Women in Canada for 2022 & a Mercedes Benz Emerging Leader. I look forward to continuing my work in Strategy & Planning and to continuing my efforts related to amplifying voices of women and minorities. Thank you to Schulich for the knowledge, connections, and credibility I gained through the MBA Program.”
Penny Wise: “As a passionate advocate for women in the workplace and in STEM education, I’m inspired by the important work that has been done by the accomplished women named in the 2022 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners list and am honoured to be included in their ranks. These extraordinary women are change-makers, leading their communities and the country through the post-pandemic economic recovery, and I look forward to continuing the work on advancing equitable access to STEM education for women and underrepresented groups across Canada.” – Penny Wise, President and Managing Director, 3M Canada.”
Shaheen Yazdani: “I am truly honoured to be named alongside such an inspiring group of women. To be in the company of fellow Schulich alumni is testament to the foundations this school provides its students in setting up for future success. It is a full circle experience for me, as my entrepreneurship story in fact began at school, during my time at Schulich. Being in an environment that provided exposure to multi-faceted business concepts helped develop my business-mindset, and was the launchpad for future entrepreneurial growth.”
On October 22, over 140 alumni gathered at Schulich to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA. The day-long event, organized by a team of professors, staff and alumni led by Associate Dean, EMBA Matthias Kipping, featured some of the program’s favourite professors as well as powerhouse alumni speakers and offered plenty of networking opportunities. Leading up to the Anniversary, alumni were offered pre-celebration programs at Comedy Bar, Susur Lee, Deloitte and FirePower Capital.
“Many of our alumni continue to be involved and support the next generation of students in the EMBA program,” said Schulich Dean Detlev Zwick. “They recommend the program to their colleagues and peers and they hire our graduates. That’s why the Kellogg-Schulich EMBA continues to thrive and stay at the top of the list of the world’s best programs.”
Representatives from the Kellogg School of Management shared in the celebration throughout the day. Kellogg Associate Dean Greg Hanifee delivered opening remarks alongside Dean Zwick. Kellogg Professors Sonia Marciano, who has been teaching in the program from its inception, and José Liberti led sessions on strategy and finance.
Alumni speakers included Mary Ann Yule (KS09), Susan Uthayakumar (KS10), Peyvand Melati (KS16), Fatema Pirone (KS14), Jack Fraser (KS11), Mellie Chow (KS15), Daniella Dimitrov (KS10), and Racheal Awe (KS15).
“It was truly inspiring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Kellogg-Schulich EMBA with fellow alumni and our beloved professors,” said Zara Lam (KS11), President of the Kellogg-Schulich Alumni Association (KSAA), who announced a fundraising campaign for a $250,000 endowed KSAA Diversity and Inclusion Award, intended to recognize a student who had made a significant contribution to the advancement of underrepresented groups. Hyundai Canada, whose National Manager of Marketing Communications Kristina Covello-Garcia graduated from the program this year, launched a $10,000 matching challenge from October 22-December 31, 2022. To make a contribution, click here.
The day concluded with a Cocktail Reception, which featured a Magnotta Experience, thanks to alumnus Tommaso Magnotta (KS10), President of the Magnotta Winery Corporation. Also, a big shout out to our generous sponsors for helping bring this year’s celebration to life: Middlefield, Axion-Archangel Capital Fund, STIM Canada, MID Group, NuBinary, and TD Insurance, and sincere thanks to our KSAA 20th Anniversary Celebration Committee Giuseppe Gaspari (KS17), Minh Tran (KS18), Racheal Awe (KS15), Saurabh Srivastava (KS18), Deb Voorheis (KS11) – KS Women, and Negah Tarzi (KS12) – KS Women. Thank you to TyalorMade and Schulich ExecEd for generously providing live auction items, with proceeds going towards the KSAA Award.
In the most recent of the Dean’s Leadership Dialogues series, Dean Zwick led a thoughtful discussion on “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” which featured insights from celebrated alumna, Kathleen Taylor (MBA/JD ’84, Hon LLD ’14), Chair of RBC, former President & CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and the newly appointed Chancellor of York University, effective January 1, 2023.
Kathleen Taylor is one of Canada’s most respected and dynamic business leaders who has “broken the glass ceiling” in not one but two male-dominated industries. During the session, Kathleen shared her experience about being the first woman to chair the board of a major Canadian bank along with the leadership lessons she’s learned over the course of a highly accomplished business career.
On the subject of being a woman in leadership, Kathleen Taylor said: “Accept your role model impact. If people see you do something, they know they can do it too”. When asked what makes an effective and valued leader, Kathleen added: “Never lead on the power of position, only on the power of example.”
The dialogue sessions provide an excellent opportunity to engage with one of Canada’s top business leaders on some of the key issues reshaping business today. All of the Dean’s Leadership Dialogues are recorded.
View the Livestream Recording >
Andrew Wilson (IMBA ’10) and his company GrowerIQ raised $3M from a pool of incredible investors which was co-led by Houston-based Golden Section and Toronto’s MaRS IAF, with participation from LAGO, Delbridge, GTM Fund, and Gaingels.
As a first-time fundraiser, everything about this process was new to Wilson. Chris Carder, Schulich Executive Director of the Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and his team were generous with their time, helping brainstorm everything from pitch deck through to how to meet with actual VC and investor contacts.
“One of the most valuable parts of the Schulich experience has been the incredible alumni network we have access to,” said Wilson. “Chris and the team were such huge supporters and we wouldn’t have been able to successfully raise this seed money without their help!”
GrowerIQ sells its software on a subscription basis to licensed cannabis producers. It offers digital tracking for every department in the cannabis growing process, from cultivation to manufacturing, warehouse, customer relationship management, orders, and quality management. Its mission is to be “the operational backbone” for producers by helping them manage their business and meet regulatory requirements through its Enterprise Resource Planning platform.
“We’re excited to see GrowerIQ take this next big step forward,” said Chris Carder. “Andrew managed the fundraising process with determination and a strategic eye that was impressive and paid off with tremendous results.”
