Announcing the 2021 Lionel Pelham Kent Scholarship recipients
Congratulations to Laurent Brière-Dulude (BCom'20), Paige Doyle (BCom'20), François-Xavier Lord (BCom'20), David Masella (BCom'20), Étienne Poulin-Leblanc (BCom'20) and Sara Shin (BCom'20) who were awarded the Lionel Pelham Kent Scholarship by the Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting (GCPA)
Desautels alumna becomes President & CEO of Knight Therapeutics Inc.
Congratulations to Samira Sakhia (BCom’90, DPA’94, MBA’01), who will take on a new challenge as President and Chief Executive Officer of Knight Therapeutics Inc., a Montreal-based company focused on acquiring or in-licensing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products for Canada and Latin America.
BCom alumna makes Women in Fintech Powerlist 2020
Congratulations to Laviva Mazhar (BCom’15), who made the Innovate Finance’s 2020 global Women in Fintech Powerlist in the investor category. For the past six years, the Powerlist has highlighted female talent with the growing FinTech sector. As an investment associate at Luge Capital, a FinTech-focused venture capital firm, Mazhar sources and evaluates investment opportunities and supports portfolio companies.
MBA alumnus wins prestigious Prix Hommage
Congratulations to Claude Mongeau (MBA’88), who received this year’s Prix Hommage Les As de la finance at an annual ceremony hosted by the Quebec Chapter of Financial Executives International (FEI) Canada. Mongeau joins nearly 100 other notable leaders in Quebec finance who have received an award since the event began in 2011. He has served as a Chief Financial Officer for 100 years and President and CEO for six years with CN.
Former president of Doctors Without Borders joins School of Population and Global Health
Joanne Liu (MDCM’91, IMHL’14, DSc’16) brings decades of experience as a pediatric emergency room physician and former international president of Doctors Without Borders to McGill’s School of Population and Global Health. In her new role as a professor, she will focus on pandemic and health emergencies.
Welcoming a new cohort of GCPA students
The second week of May marks the start of the Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting program (GCPA) for an incoming cohort of 49 students. This year’s cohort consists of 43 of McGill University’s very own Bachelor of Commerce graduates, with the remaining students coming from other Canadian universities.
Playing the odds
From Olympic figure skater to CEO of a multi-million-dollar company, Craig Buntin (MBA’13) has never shied away from risk. As he and his team at Sportlogiq harness the power of AI to offer analytical insights to professional sports teams, Buntin points to the role of McGill and the surrounding community in providing a launching pad for success.
Global banking executive gives back to her alma mater
Alberta Cefis (BA’75, MBA’79) was one of only a dozen women in her MBA class at McGill, but she never felt discriminated against because of her gender. The male-dominated banking industry, on the other hand, was a different story. Fortunately, Cefis was able to land a managerial role at the Royal Bank of Canada through a recommendation from a professor.
Transforming air travel for people with disabilities
An idea that arose from a nightmarish flight experience for Sandra Gualtieri, founder of Gualtieri Inventions, has blossomed into an innovative new product for people living with disabilities. Informed by her own experience in living with cerebral palsy, Gualtieri designed a prototype for the Universal Seating Apparatus, a portable device that allows people with disabilities to sit comfortably upright on airplanes.
IMPM alumnus remakes Canada’s first gas-powered car
Ron Foss (IMPM’99) has rallied a team of tradespeople and vintage automobile experts to recreate the first gas-powered car in Canada, the ‘Fossmobile.’ In the late 1800s, Foss’s grandfather, George Foote Foss, was a bike mechanic and blacksmith in Sherbrooke, Quebec, who began constructing the Fossmobile to see if he could improve upon the electric car he encountered on a trip to Boston.
MBA alumna shapes agenda at CN
Climbing the ladder from an MBA recruitment program to a top 200 leadership role as director of economics and strategic planning, Janet Drysdale (MBA’96) forged her own path to success at CN. Over the course of 25 years, she successfully navigated heavily male-driven sales, marketing, and revenue planning teams to make an impression among her coworkers, ultimately being named a winner in the WXN CIBC Executive Leaders category.
BCom alumnus reflects on civic engagement at McGill
Daniel Tenenbaum (BCom’88) looks back fondly at his time at McGill. He credits his alma mater with instilling a passion for civic engagement and laying a foundation for success in business.
Now, as the founder of an investment company, he encourages students to find a healthy balance between work and other interests.
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.
EMBA student creates community to promote women of colour in business
Entrepreneur Fabienne Colas (EMBA’21) recently created Women of Colour Thrive/Ellev Femmes de Couleur with a vision for cultivating diverse female talent in the workplace.
The organization will work in tandem with companies across Canada to identify and address opportunities to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).
MBA alumna credits McGill connections for success
Aliénor Armand-Linot (MBA’17) was building her career in investment banking on Wall Street when she made the decision to join McGill’s MBA program in 2015.
