Kanuk jackets are made for Quebec winters—but Quebec winters aren’t as cold as they used to be. Bertrand Cesvet (BA’86, MBA’88) wants to make Kanuk jackets more versatile. Cesvet led a group of investors who recently bought the Montreal winter wear company from Champlain Financial, a private equity group. Cesvet shares with La Presse the company’s plans to sell jackets that are more suited to temperature fluctuation, making its products more appropriate for markets where it plans to expand, such as the United States.
Published on: 21 May 2024
After completing his studies at McGill, Jeremy Awori (MBA’90) worked briefly in the financial services sector in Canada before becoming head of retail banking for the Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya at just 28 years old. Today, he is director general of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, a pan-African banking conglomerate with operations in 33 countries. This year, Financial Afrik named Awori one of 100 people who are transforming Africa.
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Published on: 27 Feb 2024
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.
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Published on: 10 Jan 2024
Last year was one of economic uncertainty – and a challenging year for many small businesses. Despite this, small business owners demonstrated remarkable resilience, ingenuity and leadership, and looked for ways to turn obstacles into new opportunities, writes Don Ludlow (MBA’01) in CanadianSME Business Magazine.
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Published on: 10 Jan 2024
After working in investment banking in Amsterdam, New York and Tokyo, Sarab Hans (MBA’00) returned to Canada to take the reins of the family business. Mississauga-based Hans Dairy specializes in South Asian dairy products, but Hans didn’t have experience in dairy food and beverage production and needed to learn about the manufacturing process. “Sometimes, when we come into a position where we’re expected to be a leader, we feel like we need to show we know everything,” Hans says in interview with Food in Canada.
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Published on: 8 Dec 2023
Harriett Baldwin (MBA’85) is spearheading an extensive examination of the financial landscape for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom. Highlighting a stark gender disparity, she points out only 2% of venture capital funding in the UK goes to businesses run by women, while men fill 90% of all senior roles at hedge funds.
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Published on: 20 Nov 2023
SALATA claims to be the ultimate destination for health nuts, and food delivery service Deliveroo UAE concurs, naming the leading built-to-order salad kitchen the best healthy restaurant in the United Arab Emirates. When Founder and CEO Georges Bandar (MBA’14) launched the delivery-only restaurant, he wanted it to offer more than leafy greens. “It was more than just a salad concept. It was a revolution,” he says. “A movement towards better living, better choices, and obviously, better tastes."
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Published on: 27 Oct 2023
It is with sadness that we announce the passing of William “Bill” Webb (MBA’93), a valued member of the Desautels International Advisory and Advancement Board. His deep ties to McGill University and dedicated involvement in the Canadian rugby community have left an indelible mark.
Published on: 31 Aug 2023
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!
Published on: 24 May 2023
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. Teaming up with Gabe Mott (MBA’14), Ashour recruited three other colleagues from their MBA cohort: Shobhita Soor (BSc’10, BCL/LLB’15, MBA’15), Jesse Pearlstein (MBA’14), and Zev Thompson (MBA’14).
Published on: 18 May 2023
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.
Published on: 18 May 2023
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.
Published on: 21 Dec 2022
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. Their plant in London, Ontario, will be the world’s largest, fully automated cricket production and processing facility, and Aspire sees plenty of potential for growth.
Published on: 16 Sep 2022
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. The Montreal-based company uses chick peas, lentils, beans and seeds to make plant-based alternatives for common cheeses like cheddar, gouda and feta.
Published on: 11 Aug 2022
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.
Published on: 26 Jul 2022
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