It all began with a summer job selling Beaver Tails at a Montreal amusement park in 1987. Now, more than 35 years later, Pino Di Ioia (BCom’92, MBA’93) stands as the company’s CEO. He acquired the brand rights in Quebec in 1998, expanding its presence there before assuming leadership of the head office a few years later. Today, the company boasts over 200 locations across Canada, adding approximately ten new ones each year. Di Ioia attributes his success to perseverance.
We live in an age of information, and we’re able to obtain it through many different channels. During disasters, many people turn to social media, and there is an orthodoxy in the field of crisis communications that organizations should speak in a consistent voice across different accounts and platforms. But Changseung Yoo is challenging that notion.
Big businesses are deploying artificial intelligence to streamline their supply chains, cut labour costs, and better understand their customers. For small- and medium-sized enterprises, keeping pace can be a daunting task.
As an ever greater number of people stay in the workforce later into their lives, there are more generations working together than ever before. Older generations should be sure they listen to their younger colleagues, according to Associate Professor Karl Moore. “The workplace is less hierarchical than it used to be, and their truth is almost as good as my truth,” he says in an interview on BNN Bloomberg. Mentoring is important too – and it goes both ways.
On stage, singer, producer, and DJ Luka Hollinger reinvents himself as the persona Rondo Banks. The Montreal-based musician sees the shift as a way to express himself in a genuine way. Hollinger views creativity as a choice, and believes that conscious decisions to be more creative can lead to a transformative overflow into all aspects of life.
For its 7th edition, the 2023 McGill International Portfolio Challenge (MIPC), as part of McGill’s Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI), gathered over 80 teams from 27 countries to address retirement challenges amidst inflation. Participants tackled the task of developing decumulation strategies for the fictional Maple Leaf Pension Plan, simulating real-world data.
In a recent video interview with 24 heures, Benjamin Croitoru, Associate Professor of Finance and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs at McGill Desautels, shared valuable insights on navigating financial challenges amidst the economic uncertainties of 2024. Addressing the impact of high inflation and the looming possibility of a recession, Croitoru underscored the importance of avoiding common financial pitfalls.
The pandemic hit many businesses hard, and the artisanal bakery and café Mamie Clafoutis was one of them. Their seven locations in Montreal and Ottawa were forced to reduce their hours to one shift per day. As they’ve emerged from the storm, they have sought ways to keep their costs low, and one of them is by automating checkout. Working with the Bensadoun School of Retail Management (BSRM), Mamie Clafoutis is sensitizing its clientele to the idea of self-checkout by stationing a single employee to oversee the process. But they have ambitions to become even more automated.
Art occupies an important place in the life of the former international president of Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Joanne Liu (MDCM'91, IMHL'14, DSc'16). “Sometimes, when I see very difficult things on the ground, I need to see beauty to believe in mankind.” The pediatric emergency doctor and professor at McGill University’s School of Population and Global Health suggested a show that addresses the Covid-19 pandemic, so people don’t forget the lessons learned and are better equipped to respond to a crisis in the future.
A recent video sharing one woman’s New Year’s resolution to no longer tip has gone viral, proving that, for many consumers, tipping has become excessive. Just a few years ago, diners often ponied up 15% on a restaurant bill or bar tab. As restaurants were forced to close during the pandemic, tip prompts creeped up to 18%, 20%, or even 30%. Tip prompts were also added to many other services where tipping had never been customary – like drive-thru windows and even deli counters. Referred to as “tip-flation”, this phenomenon has sparked debate.
Two faculty members of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management (BSRM) have been named to Rethink Retail’s Top Retail Experts (TRE) list for 2024, one of the most prestigious global accolades in the Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry.
The ivory tower sits on a solid foundation, but it could use a little shaking up, writes Professor Henry Mintzberg in a University World News article co-authored with his daughter Susan Mintzberg, a doctoral candidate in social work at McGill University. They argue that an overemphasis on a few top journals is one of the issues of the current model. These publications are sometimes called ‘A-journals’, and, in some cases, universities are prioritizing quantity over quality.
In 2022, employees at a Trader Joe’s grocery store in Massachusetts successfully voted to unionize. However, almost two years later, the company has yet to present any contract proposals. Despite the company's initial dismissal of a $30-an-hour wage proposal, they failed to provide a counter-offer, contributing to a broader trend of extended negotiations for new unions' inaugural contracts.
Pension funds manage enormous amounts of capital, but they don’t create as much value as other players in the financial sector. Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and private equity funds all play a more direct role in launching projects and creating value. But some Canadian pension funds have taken control of the value-creation process with investments in real estate, natural resources, infrastructure, and private credit, writes Associate Professor Sebastien Betermier in Wealth Professional.
Bachir Sentissi (MBA’98) wants to make it easier to access the Internet of Things (IoT). After completing his MBA, Sentissi worked with Canadian National Railway, and became interested in how organizations collect and process information. His work with CN served as a springboard to return to Morocco to work with the Tanger Med Port Authority, and in 2011, he launched a startup called Oritech, which uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to trace shipments in supply chains. Then, in 2021, Sentissi co-founded another company called Teraflow.