viewpoints, spring 2013 - sauder school of business

A magazine for alumni and friends of the Sauder School of Business at UBCSPRING 2013 • VOLUME 33 • NO 1

Our new dean

THE TUUM EST ISSUE

Prof. Robert Helsley returns to lead the Sauder School of Business

Inside:

to life

10 alumniand how they’ve brought

UBC’s motto

It’s time for business tobecome more emotionally

intelligent and focus on trustand respect.

James C

Hong Kong SAR of China

It’s time for business togo global and change

the world.

Dominykas M

Minsk, Belarus

It’s time for business tofocus on social and

political issues that are central to business.

Punit L

Dehra Dun Area, India

Success is measured byfailing fast & designing

ventures to solve problemspeople care about.

Paul C

Vancouver. Canada Area

Tomorrow’s leaders mustcreate change proactively,

not try to manage itretrospectively.

Shaun C

Tomorrow’s leaders mustbe aware of their personal

values to better serve their community.

Minerva F

Success is measured bythe future generations you

are able to shape and inspire.

Enzo W

Vancouver, Canada Area

Success is measured byone’s willingness to learn

and their ambition.

Davy V

Manchester. United Kingdom

Tomorrow’s leaders mustbe flexible enough to

connect the dots to solve problems.

Catherine M

Toronto, Canada Area

It’s time for business toreward employees for good

ideas and not justgood service.

Fang Fang L

China

Success is measured byhow much employees raveabout their company when

they’re not at work.

Wade C

Saint Albert, Alberta

Tomorrow’s leaders mustlearn to care for the people

they work with.

Felicia L

Selangor, Malaysia

Together, we’re rewriting the rules of business.

Get inspired at rewritetherules.ca

1VIEWPOINTS SPRING 2013

Tuum Est, UBC’s motto, is often translated as “It is yours” (A gift? A possession?), but also “It is up to

you” (An admonition? An invitation?). This paradox is not just one of Latin translation; it is the paradox

of knowledge and endeavour, indeed of life. We explore the paradox in this issue of Viewpoints.

The Tuum Est IssueViewpoints

Sauder Index

Newsworthy

Actuals

Insider Information

Earning Interest

Class Notes

Points of View

Alumni in Focus

IN EVERY ISSUE

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3

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[email protected]

UBC Commerce/Sauder School of Business Alumni

Twitter.com/ViewpointsMagtwitter.com/ubcsauderschool

linkedin.com/company/sauder-school-of-business-at-ubc

Tuum Est: what does it mean? 17

Big 4 Conference Centre opensDeloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers support penthouse conference centre at Sauder.

Being the change they wish to see in lifeSeven fl edgling ventures have been taken under the wing of Sauder’s ISIS Research Centre, thanks to a $1 million gift from Coast Capital Savings. See how these enthusiastic, progressive social entrepreneurs are trying to change their lives and yours.

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Volunteer program unites alumniNew volunteer initiative, launched in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Hong Kong, gives alumni more than 40 ways to get involved with Sauder after graduation.

Sauder Business Clubs: New leaders step up Newly minted Sauder Business Club presidents in Toronto, Vancouver and Hong Kong give alumni more than 40 ways to get involved with Sauder after graduation.

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Meet the skateboarder, the philanthropist, the software dreamer, the bike polo entrepreneur, the world changer, the Olympic skier, the wish granter, the bookish fashion designer, the Monet-collecting lawyer and the healthcare-and-bagel vendor: ten Sauder graduates talk about what Tuum Est has meant to them, in good times and bad, success and mishaps, business and personal life.

The cairn on our cover was built at the conclusion of The Great Trek, a parade from downtown Vancouver to Point Grey that took place on October 28, 1922 and marked the culmination of a campaign organized and led by UBC students to persuade the provincial government to complete the University’s Point Grey campus. It would be the fi rst completed structure at the University’s new home. At the dedication ceremony after The Great Trek, Campaign chairman A.E. Richards noted: “The building of the Cairn to me is full of meaning. It stands for the combined efforts of 1,178 students. Each rock represents a personal contribution in a worthy and just cause. As the mason with his trowel shapes and cements the rocks together into a complete and unifi ed whole so the Campaign has bound the student body together by a bond as strong as the very granite itself.” The base and sides of the cairn, built of stones gathered from around the construction site, were completed before the ceremony. Into its hollow centre the students threw stones they had collected themselves before and during The Great Trek. A written account of the publicity campaign was placed inside, the top was completed, and the monument sealed. The inscription on the north side of the cairn reads: “TO THE GLORY OF OUR ALMA MATER STUDENT CAMPAIGN 1922-23.”

MA

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mailto:[email protected]

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2 SPRING 2013 VIEWPOINTS

OUR MISSION FOR VIEWPOINTSViewpoints Magazine is designed to nurture dialogue

and relationships with our alumni and friends by

ensuring that you continue to enjoy the practical

benefi ts of the school’s leading-edge business thinking.

Viewpoints presents news, research and commentary

that demonstrate the ability of our faculty and our

graduates to defi ne the future of business and to open

doors for those who are connected to the Sauder

School of Business. Your thoughts about this mission

are always welcome.

EDITORIALDale Griffi n EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Cristina Calboreanu EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Jennifer Wah MANAGING EDITOR

DESIGNBrandon Brind CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Deana De Ciccio, Karen Cowl GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

PRODUCTIONSpencer MacGillivray PRODUCTION MANAGER

Viewpoints Magazine is produced by Forwords

Communication Inc. and published by the Sauder

School of Business, University of British Columbia

2053 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2

Tel: 604-822-8555, Fax: 604-822-0592. Viewpoints

is published regularly for alumni and friends of the

Sauder School of Business.

We welcome the submission of ideas and articles

for possible publication in Viewpoints Magazine.

Email: [email protected]

For an online version of Viewpoints, visit

www.sauder.ubc.ca.

CHANGE OF ADDRESSSend change of address to Alumni Relations Offi ce,

fax: 604-822-0592 or email to [email protected]

©Copyright 2013, Sauder School of Business.

Editorial material contained in Viewpoints Magazine

may be freely reproduced provided credit is given.

ISSN 089-2388. Canada Post. Printed in Canada.

EDITORIAL BOARDDale Griffi n (Chair), Sheila Biggers, Bruce Wiesner

CONTRIBUTORSCristina Calboreanu, Lorraine Chan, Allan Jenkins,

Claudia Kwan, Spencer MacGillivray, Erica Smishek,

Jennifer Wah, Leanna Yip, Kate Zimmerman

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40063721

RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES

TO ALUMNI RELATIONS, SAUDER SCHOOL OF

BUSINESS, UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA,

800 ROBSON STREET, VANCOUVER, BC V6Z 3B7

This issue of Viewpoints was printed in Canada using

vegetable-based inks. The paper is also certifi ed by the

Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®). The use of their

logo assures the end user that the forest-to-consumer

process is responsible, and that the product comes

from a forest-friendly source.

Sincerely,

Robert Helsley, Dean

During my fi rst year as dean of the

Sauder School, it has been my pleasure

to travel extensively to connect with

members of the School’s vibrant global

community.

IN MY TRAVELS, I HAVE MADE IT A PRIORITY TO

meet as many of Sauder’s alumni as I can. As

our largest and most connected stakeholder

group, our alumni are truly the extended family

of the School. I’ve set out to explore and

appreciate the lives of our graduates, whether

they are in Vancouver or Hong Kong, Toronto

or London, or in any one of the 77 countries

around the globe our alumni call home.

The fi rst thing that struck me about

the scores of graduates that I’ve met is the

extraordinary level of professional excellence

they strive for and achieve. They are leaders

in their fi elds across almost every industry.

Career success seems to be a defi ning factor

of a Sauder graduate.

However, I have also learned that there is

a second important quality that defi nes our

graduates—the desire to give back to the

greater community.

Among the stories in this edition of

Viewpoints, which is guided by the theme Tuum

Est (“It is up to You” or “It is Yours”), are some

outstanding examples of alumni who are

making a meaningful contribution to improving

civil society with the tools of business and

management. One such profi le is of BCom

graduate Nolan Watson, whom I met only a

few weeks ago.

A remarkably successful young entrepreneur

whose venture is making a tremendous impact

in the mining industry, Watson sees himself as

a humanitarian fi rst. He walked me through

how he started his thriving Sierra Leone-based

charity, Nations Cry, and it became immediately

apparent that the strategic planning skills he

used to drive his humanitarian achievements

fi nd their roots in the perspectives gained from

solving business problems.

He is joined in this issue by nine other

alumni, including Jon Stettner, President and

CEO of Make-A-Wish International, a charity

striving to bring joy to sick children; Julia Fan

Li, who is helping to create a new social venture

fund to tackle infectious diseases in Africa; and

Ken Sim, whose in-home health care service

focuses on compassion as the key to success.

It is extremely gratifying for me to know

that Sauder is training people who understand

and embrace their roles as agents of positive

change, both in their professional and civic

lives. They are following their hearts, doing

what they love, and thriving personally and

professionally.

As Steve Jobs said, “Your work is going to fi ll

a large part of your life, and the only way to be

truly satisfi ed is to do what you believe is great

work. And the only way to do great work is to

love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet,

keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of

the heart, you’ll know when you do.” ■

MA

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VIEWPOINTS FROM THE DEAN

Find success, do what you love


http://www.sauder.ubc.ca



The Sauder IndexBY JENNIFER WAH

First (and only) year bike polo appeared as an Olympic exhibition sport: 1908, London

First rule of bike polo: “Don’t be a [jerk]”

Number of other schools in the world with Tuum Est as a motto: 3 (Quebec, Ontario and Papua New Guinea)

Most common Latin words used in English: Alibi, alumni, ego

Most common fi rst job title for business school graduates: Analyst

Rank of business major in starting salaries: #2, at $57,132

Major in #1 place, at $59,471: Marketing

Total UBC alumni: 280,000

Total new Sauder BCom graduates in 2012: 655

MBAs: 157

Year of largest class of BCom graduates: 678, in 2011

Size of 1985 Sauder BCom class: 373

Largest graduate business school in the world, by number of graduates: Hult

Rank of Canada from the 2012 World Giving Index (based on donating, volunteering and helping a stranger): 3

China rank: 141

Most giving country in the world: Australia

Dollar amount returned to charitable projects focused on child vaccination and poverty,

by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2012: US$1.5 billion

Five wealthiest non-profi t charitable foundations by endowment: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (US$37.4 bn),

Stichting INGKA Foundation (US$36 bn), Wellcome Trust (US$22.1 bn),

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US$16.1 bn), Ford Foundation (US$10.3 bn).

Number of cairns on the UBC campus: 3

Last time one was destroyed: 1988, when Forestry students demolished the Engineers’ Cairn with a backhoe.

Number of stones in The Great Trek Cairn (see cover): 1,178, one for each student who trekked from

downtown to Point Gray in 1922 to urge the provincial government to fi nish the UBC campus.


NEWSWORTHY SAUDER IN THE NEWS

Professor comments on new carbon cap-and-trade regulations

Associate Professor James Tansey participated in a Globe and Mail Q&A

about carbon offsets after California and Quebec became the fi rst

jurisdictions in North America to adopt carbon cap-and-trade regulations

under the Western Climate Initiative.

Tansey responds to the assumption that carbon offsets let industry and

governments take a “business as usual” approach to reducing greenhouse

gas emissions. He further explains that there is a globally recognized

standard for carbon offsets. ■

UBC MBA the focus of numerous featuresThe UBC MBA program was highlighted in several feature articles in

the national media. The Financial Post focused on how Sauder’s Robert

H. Lee Graduate School is supporting diversity. Canadian Business’s 2012

MBA-focused issue included a feature Q&A with Associate Dean Murali

Chandrashekaran on the relevance of MBAs.

The Globe and Mail showcased the UBC MBA in numerous stories,

including an interview with Associate Dean Chandrashekaran on the

importance of creativity in the revamped UBC MBA. Other Globe articles

included Assistant Professor Tim Silk discussing the use of case studies and

Associate Dean Chandrashekaran explaining the global immersion component of the UBC MBA. ■

Professor argues Canada should take US lead on marijuana

In an op-ed written

for the National Post

on Canada’s current

marijuana policy,

Associate Professor

Werner Antweiler,

of the Strategy and

Business Economics

Division, looks across

the border.

Antweiler argues, with co-author Professor

Evan Wood of the Faculty of Medicine, that some

US states are leading the way on progressive

drug policy, in particular with the move to

legalize, control and tax marijuana use in

Colorado and Washington.

He also notes that Canada has fallen behind

the US in terms of enforcing existing laws

governing marijuana prohibition. ■

Deadline has big impact on rebate behaviour, marketing professor findsIn “A Roundtable on Rebates,” which aired on National Public Radio on

August 28, Assistant Marketing Professor Tim Silk discussed his research

on rebate behaviour.

Silk’s research investigates if people are infl uenced by rebates offered

with a purchase and whether they follow through and redeem them.

After a study involving rebates for movie passes, he found that the more

time people are given to redeem a rebate, the more attractive the offer

looks. However, the more time people had, the less likely they were to

actually follow through with collecting a rebate. ■

New research shows it’s better when bosses pick favourites

A new study on

offi ce politics lead by

Professor Karl Aquino

made headlines in

The Wall Street Journal,

The Globe and Mail and

The Times of India. The

research suggests that

bosses should pick

favourites if they want top performing teams.

“Conventional wisdom tells us that we

should treat everyone the same to create a

collegial and productive work atmosphere,”

says Aquino, who co-authored the study for the

Journal of Business Ethics.

“But our research shows this can be a

disincentive for workers who would otherwise

go above and beyond on behalf of the team with

a little bit of extra attention.” ■

Inviting customer complaints can kill businessThe Financial Post covered a new Sauder study which shows that giving

customers a chance to complain can be a bad idea if customers believe

they’re to blame for a product’s failure.

“It’s commonly assumed that giving customers a chance to voice

grievances allows companies to maintain relationships,” says Marketing

Professor Darren Dahl, who co-authored the Journal of Marketing study with

PhD student Lea Dunn.

“But our research shows that when a person feels implicated in a product’s

failure—think building Ikea furniture—they’re more likely to shift blame to

the product when complaining and increase ill will towards it.” ■


Professor Darren Dahl can refl ect on an

impressive appearance in the fi nal round of the

Economist Intelligence Unit’s Business Professor

of the Year Award.

The March 14 event involved a live contest

that pitted the fi nal four contenders for the

global award in a face-to-face teach-off in front

of both an in-person and online audience.

Online viewers of the teach-off voted Dahl

as their favourite professor and the four contest

judges also gave him top marks for his lecture

on creativity in business.

Chair of the judging panel William

Ridgers, Business Education Editor, The Economist,

commented, “He [Dahl] particularly impressed

the judges with his vibrancy and his enthusiasm

and also the personal connections that he

built up with all of his students, one of whom

remarked that he brought an energy and life to

the classroom that he’d never seen before.”

In addition to Ridgers, the judging panel

included John Beck, Professor, Hult International

Business School, and Managing Director,

Hult Labs; Peter M. Felix, CBE, President,

Association of Executive Search Consultants;

Astrid S. Tuminez, Regional Director (Legal

and Corporate Affairs), Microsoft, and Adjunct

Professor and former Vice-Dean, Lee Kuan Yew

School of Public Policy; and Adrian Wooldridge,

Management Editor, The Economist.

The online vote results and the judges’

comments were presented to the in-room

audience, who had the option of taking these

into account when deciding which professor

came out top. Their decision awarded the title

to Vijay Sethi, Professor in the Department

of Information Technology and Operations

Management at Nanyang Business School,

NTU, Singapore, who delivered a lecture on

the subject of Digital Networks, Dynamics of

Network-Based Industries.

The other two fi nalists were Johanne Brunet,

Associate Professor, Director of the Marketing

Department and Associate Member of the

Carmelle and Rémi-Marcoux Chair in Arts

Management at HEC Montréal; and Kevin Kaiser,

Professor of Management Practice and Director

of the Transition to General Management at

INSEAD.

The global search for world’s best began

in October 2012, with a student-driven

nomination process. In a second round of

online voting, Dahl shot to the top 10 of 222

nominated professors from 31 universities

around the world.

Dahl’s appearance in the fi nal four comes

quickly after his recent naming as one of 10

Canadian professors to receive the 2013 3M

National Teaching Fellows Award—the country’s

most prestigious prize for teaching excellence. ■

To learn more about Sauder in the news, visit www.sauder.ubc.ca

Prof. Darren Dahl impresses judges in The Economist’s Professor of the Year teach-off

To see the entire video, visit http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/News/2013/One_last_push_Dahl_up_for_The_Economists_Prof_of_the_Year.

Screen shots from the video One Last Push.

http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/News/2013/One_last_push_Dahl_up_for_The_Economists_

http://www.sauder.ubc.ca


ACTUALS SEEN AND HEARD IN THE SAUDER WORLD

The International Business Conference turns 20Sauder’s International Business Conference celebrated its 20th

anniversary on November 23 at its annual event at the Fairmont

Hotel Vancouver.

Over its 20-year history, the International Business Conference

has established itself as a must-attend event for both students and

business professionals due to its phenomenal speakers who highlight

new international business trends and issues. It exposes young student

minds to the insights and experiences of world-class business leaders

while at the same time equipping members of the Vancouver business

community with up-to-date knowledge about trends in the global

economy. Every year, the conference brings speakers and panelists

from a multitude of different industries and fi elds ranging from

government operations and international relations to global strategists

as CEOs of international corporations.

For its 20th anniversary, the conference, themed “G20: World

Economies,” explored the future of three of the most dynamic regions

of the G20—European Union, the “Tiger Economies” of Southeast

Asia, and the US, looking at changes in each area and current events

that will have pivotal impacts on the future.

Conference speakers included Glen Hodgson, Senior Vice-President

and Chief Economist, Conference Board of Canada; Yuwa Hedrick-

Wong, Global Economic Advisor, Mastercard; Jeremy Kinsman,

former Ambassador to EU and High Commissioner to UK; and Fiona

Macfarlane, Managing Partner and Chief Inclusiveness Offi cer, Ernst &

Young LLP. ■

BCom students soar at international business case competitionsBCom teams, both coached by Associate Professor Kin Lo, have nabbed fi rst

and a second place wins in recent international business case competitions.

BCom students Conor Clarance, Jayden Jiang, Monique Wong and

Paulina Aksenova took fi rst at the Marshall International Case Competition,

which was held from February 12 to 16. Hosted by the Marshall School

of Business, University of Southern California, it is the world’s largest and

longest running undergraduate case competition.

“It’s probably the most competitive event of its kind with 30 business

schools participating by invitation only,” says Lo.

BCom students Dan Barak, Daria Panteleeva, Enrique Cacho and Winda

Fung placed second at the Champions Trophy Case Competition, hosted by

the University of Auckland Business School from January 27 to February 2.

Twelve business schools, including University of California, Berkeley

and the National University of Singapore, were invited based on winning

or placing in a top-tier international competition in the past year. ■

Sauder takes top seeds at Enterprize 2013Students from the Sauder BCom course New Venture Design swept the

top three spots in the recent Enterprize Canada National Business Plan

Competition, held February 8 to 10 in downtown Vancouver.

Agile Monitoring Equipment took fi rst with their technology aimed

at solving the problem of leaks in oil pipelines. Developed in New Venture

Design, which partners business and engineering students, the device uses

micro sensors inside a pipeline to map the size of holes and alert operators.

The team consists of Sauder BCom students Shaan Narang, Michal Luptak

and Diana Hu and UBC Engineering students Daryl Pritchard, Brad Bycraft

and Nathan Chan. Last month, the team also won fi rst place at the BMO

APEX Business Plan Competition.

Team Aasith, founded by BCom students Beverley Cheng, Monica

McMahen and Sean Fleming, and engineering students Davis Wuolle, Colin

Daw and André Herath, came in second. Their product Quick Dry Bag,

a product that safely dries a suit within two hours, enables competitive

swimmers to race in several heats during the course of a day using their

fastest suit possible.

SoundIt, a mobile app using a ranking system to create a playlist for

customers’ favorite bars, pubs and venues, grabbed third place. The product

was created by BCom students Sonal Haria, Douglas Cheung and Eric Seto,

and engineering students Anuj Mehta, Nick Adams and Samuel Chan.

Thirty schools from across Canada competed at the Enterprize Canada

Business Plan Competition, a part of Enterprize Canada’s Entrepreneurship

Conference, which connects young Canadian entrepreneurs with industry

professionals. ■


Family Legacy Series Dinner features the Running Room family“Create an environment in which your staff doesn’t know whether

they’re working or playing and stick to your core competencies,” says John

Stanton, describing how his retail chain the Running Room continues to

surpass its competitors.

This philosophy helped make his family-owned Calgary-based business

North America’s largest specialty running and walking retailer. It has

also earned him the spotlight at the 2012

Family Legacy Series Gala Dinner hosted

by the Sauder School of Business’s Business

Families Centre on October 25, 2012 at the

Westin Bayshore. A major fundraiser for the

Business Families Centre, the annual dinner

drew more than 400 guests.

The event gives Canada’s top performing

business families the opportunity to

share their experiences of how they work

together and transfer knowledge across

generations, providing a model for other

family enterprises to emulate.

Stanton and his two sons, John and

Jason, his partners for the last seven years,

took the stage at the event to provide

insights into the inner workings of the

Running Room and their family dynamic

which has allowed it to thrive.

For Stanton, it all began with a three-kilometre fun run with his young

sons. Inspired to change his lifestyle, he went from a 238-pound chain

smoker to an accomplished runner, completing several marathons and

triathlons, including the Hawaiian World Championship Ironman.

When struggling to fi nd a shoe retailer with deep knowledge of

running, Stanton got the idea to open a store that made expertise in the

sport its hallmark. In 1984, the Running Room was born in Edmonton in

a one-room store in an old house shared with a hairdressing shop.

The company now stands as one of Canada’s most successful family-

owned businesses, with 114 stores across Canada and the US. In 2007, the

Running Room’s success was recognized

with a “Canada’s 50 Best Managed

Companies” award, and it was inducted into

both the Canadian Retail Hall of Fame and

the Alberta Business Hall of Fame.

Since 2001, the Business Families Centre’s

Family Legacy Series Dinner has featured

numerous leading Canadian business

families, including the McLean family,

owners of one of BC’s leading family-owned

and operated conglomerates; the Beedie

Family, the largest landlord of industrial

space in BC; the Foord family, owners of

Kal-Tire, Canada’s largest independent tire

dealer; and the Molson family, owners of the

Molson family of beverages.

Sauder’s Business Families Centre was

created in 2001 with the support of more

than 30 founding business families. A

leader in the fi eld, the Centre is known for its comprehensive research and

academic programs, addressing issues such as succession planning, wealth

management, family dynamics and governance. ■

In 1984, the Running Room was born in Edmonton in a one-room

store in an old house shared with a hairdressing shop.

CCBC awards Sauder for education excellenceThe Sauder School of Business won silver in the “Education

Excellence” category at the Canada China Business Council’s (CCBC)

Business Excellence Awards held in Montreal on November 27.

Sauder received the award for demonstrating achievement

in delivering success in areas including research partnerships,

recruitment, student/faculty exchanges, alumni relations,

institutional linkages and executive training.

Established in 1978, CCBC acts as a facilitator and catalyst for

Canada-China bilateral trade and investment. ■

Sauder receives $1M from Coast Capital Savings to propel social ventures

Social entrepreneurs will benefi t from a $1 million contribution from

Coast Capital Savings to the Sauder School of Business. The funding,

announced on September 26, will establish the Coast Capital Savings

Innovation Hub, an accelerator program supporting early stage ventures

devoted to solving social and environmental problems using for-profi t

business models.

Led by the ISIS Research Centre, the initiative will provide working

space, mentoring from faculty, alumni and industry experts, and support

from Sauder students paired with ventures as interns. ■

Read more about the Coast Capital Savings Innovation Hub on page 36 >>



Arlene Dickinson talks about persuasionOn February 21, 2013,

Scotiabank, in partnership

with UBC Alumni Affairs and

the Sauder School of Business,

presented “In Conversation

with Arlene Dickinson” at the

Scotiabank Theatre in downtown

Vancouver. Over 400 UBC

alumni and members of the

Vancouver business community

came together for the sold-out

event featuring Arlene Dickinson,

Scotiabank Business Champion and CEO of Venture Communications.

In a conversation hosted by Darren Dahl, Senior Associate Dean

of Faculty & Research at the Sauder School, Dickinson discussed the

power of persuasion, the role it has played in getting her to where she

is today, and where she hopes it will take her in the future. She argued

that the most compelling persuasion is grounded in integrity and

results in mutual benefi t. She noted that effective persuasion is based

on infl uence rather than manipulation, uses motivation instead of

harassment, and relies on information instead of deception.

One of Canada’s most renowned independent marketing

communications entrepreneurs, Dickinson became a partner in Venture

Communications in 1988 and sole owner in 1998, and has grown the

company into a strategic and creative powerhouse for a blue-chip client

list, which includes Toyota (Prairie Region), Cenovus Energy, Travel Alberta,

Mayo Clinic, Brookfi eld Residential and Husky Energy. Since 2007, she has

been featured on CBC Television’s award-winning show Dragons’ Den.

Dickinson’s accomplishments have earned her numerous honours

and awards, including PROFIT and Chatelaine magazine’s TOP 100

Women Business Owners; the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial

Excellence; Global Television Woman of Vision; and Canada’s Most

Powerful Women Top 100. Venture was also recognized as one of the 50

Best Managed Companies in Canada for three consecutive years. ■

UBC MBA team wins 2013 National Investment Banking CompetitionA team of second-year UBC MBA candidates have won the prestigious

2013 National Investment Banking Competition (NIBC) at Sauder, beating

a field of more than 150 others from across North America.

The team, competing under the name The Misers, a moniker borrowed

from their former ice hockey team, was comprised of MBA students David

Tiedje, Greg Macdonald, Graeme Millen and Lewis Peattie.

The preliminary round consisted of a written case submission, with

25 teams (10 MBA and 15 undergraduate) making it through to the fi nals

in Vancouver. Next, they received a fully functional fi nancial model along

with summary fi nancial data, and were given just six hours to evaluate

different fi nancing assumptions and prepare a pitch book. They presented

to associates and vice presidents in the boardrooms of major Canadian

investment banks.

In the fi nal round The Misers competed against an MBA team from

the Rotman School of Management and presented their pitch to senior

management directors during a gala dinner.

“You get a ton of information and you only have six hours to get

everything ready, which is pretty tight,” says Tiedje. “We had to pick and

choose what were the most important aspects to focus on. I think that the

critical ability to prioritize our work and then to present it with confi dence

are skills we learned at Sauder’s Robert H. Lee Graduate School.”

Tiedje says that his team got the advantage with a convincing pitch.

“Rather than trying to beat them with the best quantitative analysis, we

differentiated ourselves by making sure we had a very polished presentation

and by telling an engaging story. For the final round it was all about

presenting your ideas effectively and that’s where I think we stood out.”

Even before officially graduating from the UBC MBA program, Tiedje

secured a job at PH&N Investment Services, but he says the competition is

a great career-builder for those who do well.

“This was an excellent opportunity to get exposure in terms of our

own personal brands,” he says. “Here you have a group of the most senior

people in the investment banking industry and a chance to really show

them what you’re made of.” ■

Sauder professors emeriti and former deans gather for the annual Emeritus LunchOn October 9, 2012, the annual Emeritus Lunch took place in the

Big 4 Conference Centre in the Sauder School of Business, following

a tour of Sauder’s revitalized facilities. ■

Top row, left to right: Dean Robert Helsley, Roger Davis, Larry Moore, Stan Hamilton, Peter Lusztig, Merle Ace, Larry Jones, Darren Dahl, Ken MacCrimmon, Brian Bemmels. Bottom row, left to right: Trevor Heaver, Noel Hall, Ricco Mattessich, Al Dexter, Mike Goldberg.


UBC MBA students win international case competitionMBA students from Sauder’s Robert H. Lee Graduate School have won

the 2012 Schulich School of Business’ International Case Competition,

focused on community engagement in the mining industry.

Preceding the two-day competition in Toronto, the UBC MBA

team, of Kalpana Bisht, Lucie Cornish, Kurt McFee and Phil Wallace

were assigned their case and tasked with building communication

channels and generating support from local communities for new

mining projects.

Each competition round required teams to hold a 15-minute

presentation followed by questions from the judges, many of whom

were representatives from the mining industry.

“What we delivered was essentially a community engagement

plan,” says McFee. “Then we had to come up with a strategy to

implement it, which included metrics for monitoring performance and

determining the level of community consent for any given project.”

“It was important to have a global approach to the solutions we

provided,” says Cornish. “They wanted something that could be

applied in many different areas of the world.”

In preparation for the competition, which was held in early

December, the team conducted extensive research into the mining

industry and sought the advice of a corporate social responsibility

specialist from a local mining company. They also worked to hone their

presentations in front of Blake Hanna, a Sauder professor and former

partner at Accenture, and Mark McCoy, who leads case competition

workshops for a not-for-profi t group called Vancouver Acumen.

“The most important thing about giving effective presentations is

that you need to tell a well-constructed story,” says Bisht. “The theme

we created for our presentation was called ‘bridging the gap’ and we

used graphics and a powerful story ark to illustrate that.”

The team intend to split the $9,000 prize between them and use the

money to cover their fl ights to Bangalore, Copenhagen and Singapore

for the Global Immersion period of their UBC MBA program. ■

Business Now! Student-Alumni Speaker SeriesOn October 30th, 2012, over 100 Sauder alumni—ranging from 1972

BComs to 2011 MBAs—and current MBA students from the Robert H.

Lee Graduate School gathered at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver to hear

about the inspiring career of Ken Sim, BCom 1993, cofounder of Nurse

Next Door Home Healthcare Services.

This event was part of the ongoing Business Now! Student-Alumni

Speaker Series, hosted by the Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre,

which highlights the careers of distinguished Sauder alumni.

Sim spoke about how, like many Commerce graduates, he was drawn

into the lucrative, high-profile world of corporate finance. After holding

various positions with KPMG, CIBC World Markets, and CIBC Capital

Partners, he decided to leave a career in investment banking in order to

pursue a more personally fulfilling career as an entrepreneur. In doing

so, Sim found a career that he is truly passionate about, and he has made

a lasting contribution to communities across North America through the

establishment of Nurse Next Door, a private in-home senior care franchise

system with over 60 locations in Canada and the United States.

Sim encouraged students and alumni to take emotional and financial

risks as he did, in order to lead more fulfilling lives and to find a career

that makes them happy while also making a difference in the world.

To thank Sim for his time, the Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre

made a donation to the Dream On Seniors Wish Foundation, a non-profit

organization dedicated to helping fulfill the dreams of seniors. ■



In October, the Association for Consumer

Research (ACR) annual conference, co-sponsored

by the Sauder School of Business, convened more

than 1,000 top researchers from universities

around the world along with industry insiders—

from advertisers to manufacturers.

“The ACR conference is a tremendous

opportunity for Sauder to share its leading

consumer behaviour research on the world

stage, while learning about the latest

developments from international colleagues,”

said Sauder Associate Professor Juliet Zhu,

conference co-chair.

The conference ran between October 4 and

October 7, 2012. Topics included how consumers

react to advertising and relate to brands; how

social groups shape consumer desires; how

food presentation and preparation shapes eating

habits; and how living in a consumption-oriented

culture infl uences emotional and fi nancial

health. Many talks also refl ected how consumers

embrace marketing practices aimed at improving

individual and ecological well-being.

“This year’s conference theme is Appreciating

Diversity, which allows us to share some truly

diverse areas of research. It’s a wonderful

opportunity to showcase a variety of studies

stemming from experiments carried out by some

of the best consumer researchers in the world,”

said Zhu.

Sauder consumer behaviour researchers

played a prominent role at the conference,

presenting on diverse fi ndings from how people

view the morality of others based on their food

choices to how room temperature can affect the

purchases people make.

Zhu spoke on how the messiness of physical

space affects consumer choices, and how

temperature infl uences how consumers process

information and make decisions.

Professor Darren Dahl detailed how

consumers ascribe morality to others based on

the food they eat; how people with high self-

esteem may be overtly kinder to those they envy,

but are more likely to covertly sabotage them;

how the act of selecting one’s own ingredients in

a consumer food product decreases its perceived

healthiness; and how, when someone feels

rejected by a brand they desire, they are more

likely to want to consume it.

Assistant Professor Joey Hoegg explained

that giving customers preferential treatment in

a public setting is not always positive and may

cause discomfort, and that creating a sales team

with increased commonality in appearance can

enhance customer satisfaction.

Associate Professor Katherine White noted

that, when charities want to encourage people

to give money, it is more effective to give them

specifi c details of the cause; but when the aim

is to attract contributions of time, then charities

need to engage consumers with abstract ideas

about the cause. ■

Sauder co-sponsors world’s largest consumer behaviour conference in Vancouver

Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of

the United Nations, spoke about his time in the

midst of global turmoil, in a conversation hosted

by Sauder’s Canaccord Learning Commons on

September 18.

Annan became the first sub-Saharan African

to hold the position as Secretary-General. His

two terms saw the world faced with the terrorist

attacks of September 11, the American invasions

of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the fighting

between Israel, Hezbollah and Lebanon.

In December 2001, he received the Nobel

Peace Prize for his work toward creating a

“better organized and more peaceful world.”

Annan noted that, “we have entered the third

millennium through a gate of fire.”

In his biography, Interventions: A Life in War &

Peace, Annan discusses his time at the United

Nations and the geopolitical transformations that

followed the end of the Cold War.

He shows the successes of the United

Nations but also points to the organization’s

current challenges—the ongoing conflicts in the

Middle East and the endurance of global poverty.

Annan spent forty years working for the

United Nations. He joined in 1962, working

for the World Health Organization and later

the Office of the High Commissioner for

Refugees. He was the Under-Secretary-General

for Peacekeeping at a time when nearly 70,000

military and civilian personnel were deployed in

UN operations around the world.

He recently served as the United Nations/

League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy

for Syria. ■

Four decades of global politics: Kofi Annan talks at Sauder


Economist Larry Summers credits Canada in Sauder talkWith the US facing a much-publicized fi scal cliff, and the EU budget

talks breaking down, former US Secretary of the Treasury, Larry

Summers praised Canadian monetary policy in a talk at the Sauder

School of Business.

“You’ve done a bit better, which is a credit to your fi nancial

regulation,” said Summers during “An insider’s view on economic

policy in the US,” hosted by Sauder’s Canaccord Learning Commons

last November.

Summers, president emeritus of Harvard University, has served

as fi nancial adviser to two US administrations. He became Secretary

of the Treasury, from 1999 to 2001, under President Clinton and led

President Obama’s National Economic Council, as the director from

2009 to 2011.

Speaking about his time with the Obama administration, Summers

said that the most important accomplishment was getting the US

economy growing again—especially as economic statistics were worse

than during the stock market crash in 1929.

Despite the doom and gloom of current global markets, Summers

marvelled at the economic development seen pre-fi nancial crisis,

particularly in China. “It has only taken China six years to replicate the

economic progress made between ancient Greece and the industrial

revolution,” he said.

In order to build on that success, Summers stressed the importance

of the relationship between economy and information technology. “A

smartphone has more computing power than the Apollo program that

sent a man to the moon,” he said. Summers added that, if he was asked

to choose between access to his smartphone or to the library at Harvard

University, it would be an easy choice—he would pick his phone. ■

BCom students take home 2013 MIMCIn January, a team of Sauder BCom students placed fi rst in the Manitoba

International Marketing Competition (MIMC)—the largest undergraduate

marketing competition in Canada.

Held at the Asper School of Business, MIMC tests multiple skill sets,

from completing a marketing simulation to creating a strategy statement.

In its 31st year, the competition attracts business students from around

the world and this year included teams from Canada, Ghana, China,

Mexico and Belarus.

The Sauder team consisting of BCom students Joshua Tiong, Alice Guo

and Laura Wong, met University of Alberta and Mexico’s Universidad

Panamericana Campus Bonaterra—last year’s winner—in the finals. Each

team was given a case and placed in isolation for three hours before

presenting their marketing plan to the entire delegation of the conference.

“It was an extremely competitive and high-pressure situation,” says

Associate Professor Katherine White, the team’s faculty adviser.

The team, coached by Sauder alumni Chad Embree and David Li, took

home a $4,000 prize for the win. ■

A conversation with Fareed ZakariaOn February 25, Sauder’s Canaccord Learning Commons hosted

renowned journalist and author Fareed Zakaria in a conversation about

the forces and events shaping today’s world. Zakaria is the author of

The Post-American World, the host of the Emmy nominated CNN show GPS

(Global Public Square), and an editor-at-large for The Times. He’s been

named by Foreign Policy one of the top 100 global thinkers. ■


WHEN THE SAUDER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS UNVEILED ITS NEW FACILITIES ON

UBC campus, the literal crowning achievement was represented by the Big 4

Conference Centre, a glass-encased penthouse topping the School’s faculty

offi ce tower. Providing 360-degree views of mountains and ocean, the

Centre offers a vital new space for faculty, staff and students to interact with

alumni and members of the business community.

Supported by the “Big 4” international professional service fi rms—

Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers—the new

conference centre has already become the hub of substantial activity at the

School, as well as the greater UBC community.

“The support of Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers

PHOTOS BY MARTIN DEE

The Big Conference CentreSauder’s new intersection for outreach

4

1 Olin Anton, Offi ce Managing Partner, Deloitte2 Fred Withers, Chief Development Offi cer, Ernst & Young3 John Bunting, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers 4 Jonathan Kallner, Managing Partner Vancouver, KPMG

1 2

3 4


to create the Big 4 Conference Centre builds on a foundation of generosity

constructed over many years,” says Sheila Biggers, Associate Dean,

Development and Alumni Engagement. “In addition to their key gifts to the

Opening Worlds Campaign that made Sauder’s new facilities a reality, the

fi rms have played an important role in the life of the School, supporting

research, professorships, scholarships and student activity.”

Sauder and UBC alumni fi ll the ranks of the Big 4 professional service

fi rms and can be found in leadership positions all over the world. Over 100

students and graduates of Sauder are hired by the Big 4 each year. These

and other employees at the fi rms devote signifi cant time volunteering in

Sauder mentorship programs, and as guest speakers in classes.

“On behalf of the CA profession, I would like to congratulate the

Sauder School of Business on opening their new state-of-the-art facility

that includes the Big 4 Conference Centre,” said Richard Rees, FCA, CEO of

the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC.

“The accounting profession recognizes the excellence of Sauder’s

students and values the relationships that have been built over the years

with staff, academics, students and alumni—many of whom go on to

successful careers at our accounting fi rms. As global business leaders, we

are pleased to be associated with this world-class facility—education is the

cornerstone of our profession, and we are proud to give something back to

Sauder, an innovative global leader in business knowledge.” ■


Professors win research grant to look at pensionsProfessor Kai Li of the Finance

Division and Professor Dale

Griffi n of the Marketing Division

won the UBC-Sauder Research

Award in the Economics of

Pension Plans on November 19.

Li and Griffi n were awarded

the grant of $40,000 for their

research proposal “National

Culture, Corporate Governance

Practices and Firm Performance:

Implications for Canadian

Pension Plans.”

The two professors have

previously worked together,

looking at how a multinational

company’s home culture tends to

shape how it operates in China—

something that can ultimately

affect its level of profi tability in

the country. ■

SAUDER FACULTY INSIDER INFORMATION

UBC MBA up 25 places in Financial Times Global MBA Ranking

Up 25 places over its 2012 ranking,

the UBC MBA ranked 57th among

the world’s top MBA programs in

the 2013 Financial Times Global MBA

Ranking, published on January 28.

Now ranked third among Canadian

schools, the UBC MBA, offered by

Sauder’s Robert H. Lee Graduate

School, experienced the second largest

increase in the ranking overall.

“While only one measure of a

school’s success, the ranking refl ects

our alumni’s strong career growth, the

global reach and diversity of our MBA program, and the strength of our

faculty members as leaders in business research,” says Robert Helsley, Dean

of the Sauder School of Business. ■

Robert Helsley

Bruce Wiesner

Dale Griffi n

Sauder research on the influence of birth date on chances of becoming a CEO makes global headlines

A large number of international

media, such as The Wall Street Journal,

TIME, China Daily and National Geographic,

highlighted a new study by Professor

Maurice Levi which fi nds that babies

born in June and July are less likely

to climb to the top of the corporate

ladder.

For the study, Levi and his

co-authors collected birth-date

information for the CEOs of S&P 500

companies between 1992 and 2009,

and found that only 6.13 per cent of

the sample was born in June and only 5.87 per cent of the sample was

born in July.

By comparison, people born in March and April represented 12.53 per

cent and 10.67 per cent of the sample of CEOs. ■

Sauder Executive Education hosts global conference

From November 28 to 30,

2012, the Sauder School of

Business hosted the UNICON

Team Development Conference

in Vancouver. Comprised

of 105 member schools

worldwide, UNICON is the

world’s leading organization

working to encourage best

practices among business

school executive education

providers.

The Sauder-hosted

conference brought together more than 200 participants from

every continent to learn and share ideas in the areas of customer

service and client relations.

Bruce Wiesner, Associate Dean, Executive Education hosted the

conference together with Conference Chair Professor Darren Dahl

and Co-chair Professor Moura Quayle. Speakers included Christine

Day, CEO of lululemon athletica; Mark Raham, Creative Director,

Vancouver Canucks; Associate Professor James Tansey; Assistant

Professor Tim Silk; and Associate Professor Mahesh Nagarajan. ■

Maurice Levi

Kai Li


Association consists of fi nance

academics from Canada and around

the world.

In his paper, “Do Cash Flows of

Growth Stocks Really Grow Faster?,”

Chen questions a commonly held

belief that growth stocks have

substantially higher cash-fl ow growth

rate compared to value stocks.

Chen’s research shows this assumption

is not actually supported by data, and

that often the opposite case is true. ■

INFORMS inducts Professor Daniel Granot On October 11, the Institute

for Operations Research and the

Management Services (INFORMS)

announced that Professor Daniel

Granot will receive the annual

INFORMS Fellows Award.

Granot was being recognized

for his “groundbreaking research

that has opened signifi cant pathways

for inquiry within the fi elds of

cooperative games and supply

chain management.”

INFORMS is the leading

international association for professionals in advanced analytics, with

10,000 members, including a number of Nobel Prize laureates. ■

Associate Professor receives Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee MedalOn February 26, Sauder Associate

Professor James Tansey was awarded

the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond

Jubilee Medal by Premier Christy

Clark at a ceremony at the Fairmont

Empress Hotel in Victoria.

As an internationally

recognized expert on sustainability

and carbon offsets, Tansey

received the medal for promoting

sustainable practices in business.

The Diamond Jubilee Medal

was created to mark Queen

Elizabeth’s 60th anniversary of her accession to the Throne as Queen. ■

Prof. Dahl takes Canada’s top honour for teachingSenior Associate Dean and Professor

Darren Dahl was announced on

February 8 as one of the 10 Canadian

professors to receive the 2013 3M

National Teaching Fellows Award—the

country’s most prestigious prize for

teaching excellence.

The Fellowship, established by 3M

Canada and the Society for Teaching

and Learning in Higher Education,

recognizes exceptional achievements

and contributions by teachers and

scholars across Canada.

Dahl’s selection for the award was motivated by his ability to “awaken

students’ imaginations” through engaging and often unconventional

teaching strategies that allow for the exploration of different approaches

to business.

This newest accolade comes quickly on the heels of an announcement

on February 5 that Dahl had been named to the short list for the Economist

Intelligence Unit’s Business Professor of the Year Award, making the fi nal four of

a pool of 222 nominated professors from 31 universities around the world. ■

COE research featured at major conferenceResearch from the Centre for

Operations Excellence (COE) and the

Operations and Logistics Division

(OPLOG) was featured at the Industrial

Engineering Students National

Conference in Peru, a prominent

international conference, in August.

One of the plenary speakers was

Assistant Professor and COE Faculty

Advisor, Steven Shechter, who

discussed several healthcare-related

projects conducted by students of the

Master of Management in Operations

Research program (MMOR) and OPLOG PhD students.

MMOR alumna Valerie Quevedo was among the organizers of the

conference, which attracted more than 2,000 participants from Peru,

Ecuador and Chile. ■

Assistant Professor receives best paper awardOn September 29, the Northern Finance Association awarded Sauder

Assistant Professor Jason Chen their Chartered Business Valuators

Award for the Best Paper on Business Valuation. The Northern Finance

Steven Shechter

Jason Chen

Daniel Granot

Darren Dahl

James Tansey


member of the CIBC World Markets Board

of Directors. He graduated from the

Sauder School of Business and is a Portfolio

Management Foundation (PMF) alumnus

and Leslie Wong Fellow. ■

Richard Harris is President and CEO of Golden

Boy Foods Ltd., in Burnaby, BC. An accomplished

CEO with a strong background in consumer

marketing, he has lived and worked in North

America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe.

Harris’ career includes four years as CEO at

Golden Boy Foods, a North American private

label food manufacturer; three years as CEO of

a Coca-Cola bottling company in Western

Europe; three years as Division Marketing and

Public Affairs Director for Central Europe and

Russia at The Coca-Cola Company; and six years

in various brand marketing and marketing

services roles at The Coca-Cola Company in

UK and Ireland. He earned his MA from the

University of Oxford and an MBA from the

University of London. ■

The Sauder School of Business is delighted to announce new Faculty Advisory Board members

Sacha McLean is Vice Chair of Blackcomb

Aviation, a privately owned helicopter and jet

charter company operating 26 aircraft out of

permanent bases in Canada and the United

States. Prior to his appointment, McLean was

Chief Executive Offi cer of Blackcomb Aviation

and Co-President of the McLean Group, a

second-generation family business active in fi lm

production services, real estate, construction and

aviation. An accomplished business entrepreneur,

he played a key role in the transformative

growth of the McLean Group’s fl agship

production facility, Vancouver Film Studios, from

a group of locally managed warehouses into one

of the largest modern sound stage facilities in

Western Canada. He then served as family lead

on the expansion of the McLean Group’s aviation

interests, which led to Blackcomb Aviation, a

company co-owned with John Morris.

McLean is a Director of the McLean Group

and a Director with the Vancouver Board of Trade

where he serves as Vice Chair of the Company

of Young Professionals. He is also Chair of the

Board of Advisors to the Business Families Centre

at the Sauder School of Business. A commercial

SAUDER FACULTY INSIDER INFORMATION

helicopter pilot and fi xed wing pilot, he has a

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Economics

and Geography from Queen’s University and

in 2008, he completed the Families in Business

program at Harvard University. ■

Harry Culham, BCom 1990, is Managing

Director and Group Co-Head, Wholesale

Banking, with CIBC World Markets Inc., in

Toronto, Ontario. He is responsible for all

Wholesale Banking Capital Markets businesses

globally. Prior to joining CIBC in May 2008,

Culham was with a global US bank in London

as the Managing Director of Fixed Income,

Currencies and Commodities. Previous to that,

he was Managing Director and Head of Fixed

Income, Currencies and Commodities in London

for a large German bank. He has also held senior

roles in capital markets with other global banks

in Europe and Asia.

Culham started his career with CIBC in the

graduate training program, working in the

foreign exchange business in Toronto from 1990

to 1994. He is a member of the Wholesale

Banking Management Committee and a


TUUM EST

A motto for life

Tuum Est: UBC’s motto has defi ned the spirit of the school since 1915, and—after almost a century—the Latin phrase

holds a greater call to action than ever before. While semanticists might debate the nuances in meaning between the

two common translations of the phrase—“It is yours,” or “It is up to you,” the ten alumni profi led on the following

pages all embody the intent of the University’s historical motto. Each one of them has owned their choices in unique

and inspiring ways. Some have found wild success; others are still looking. A few have followed more traditional routes;

while others are putting the principles of business to unexpected challenges. As well as their Sauder roots, there is one

other thing they all have in common: a very strong sense of themselves in the world, and a drive to make both a

difference, and things different. Our hope is that these stories remind you of this: It is Yours—Your school, Your

education, Your opportunities, Your choices, Your career, Your adventure, Your life.

IT IS YOURS / IT IS UP TO YOU

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TUUM EST

Scrap metal to skate boardsSpeaking with Les Robertson, you can hear his enthusiasm for meeting new people, and sense his boundless passion for entrepreneurship. The last is perhaps unsurprising. Entrepreneurship runs in his veins. His grandfather started a scrap metal business, and his father followed. His grandmother and mother were both entrepreneurs.

Les Robertson, MBA 2010, Marketing and Sponsorship Manager at Rayne Longboards

ROBERTSON WENT INTO SCRAP METAL

himself, and—in doing so—ended

up in the Sauder MBA program.

In 2003, he joined a scrap

metal company—a competitor

of the family business—with the

understanding he would take over

after a few years. At fi rst, it was

easy sailing. From evening classes

in basic business, Robertson found

himself well equipped to run the

day-to-day side of the business.

“Most of what I was doing

in the company was simple

margins and things like that. It

wasn’t a diffi cult business,” recalls

Robertson.

But on the strategic side,

Robertson needed more tools. The

scrap metal business is fraught with

regulatory and political pressures

that require excellent PR and people

skills. Robertson also wanted to

make his operation the best scrap

metal recycler in Vancouver—and

that meant he needed advanced

skills in operations effi ciency,

inventory fl ow and supply chain

management.

“I went to the owner and said

‘I need to go back to school, part

time, to get my MBA to get

what I need to make this

successful,’” says Robertson.

“And he said ‘You know, you will

probably do a better job if you go

back full time. We can talk about

what to do when you get out.’”

Once at Sauder, Robertson

immediately threw himself into

activities other than just studies—

and it is here he says much of his

real learning took place.

He joined the Sauder Africa

Initiative in Nairobi in 2009.

Staffed by Sauder MBA students

and instructors, the one-year

program teaches critical business

skills to young Kenyan would-be

entrepreneurs.

“The Sauder Africa Initiative

just immediately spoke to me,”

says Robertson. “Volunteering

“I really learned more with my book closed

and out talking to people than with my book open in front of me.”

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TUUM EST

has always felt better to me

than working. So I was able to

go to Kenya, learn more about

entrepreneurship by teaching it.

And in doing so, help people. It

was ridiculously rewarding.”

Nairobi was not the only

“away from books” program

Robertson took advantage of.

“Beyond the basic

academics, the Sauder MBA

pretty much gave me the

chance to explore any avenue

that I wanted to: the Sauder

African Initiative, MBA Games,

MBA Hockey Tournament, Net

Impact, Toastmasters, hanging out

with international students, and

traveling at every opportunity. I

made sure there was nary a day

when something was happening

that I wasn’t at it.”

Playing for Sauder in the

MBA Hockey League, made up

of business school students from

across North America, was an

invaluable source of informal

networking, says Robertson

“It was great because you go to

the Harvard MBA tournament in

Boston, with all these Ivy League

schools and students. It’s really a

great leveler… a great experience

to network with all those guys just

playing hockey rather than it being

about the schools.”

Sauder to Rayne

The intertwined strands of the

scrap yard, entrepreneurship and

Sauder is what brought Robertson

to his position at Rayne Longboards.

“Graham Buksa (Founder of

Rayne) would come by the scrap

yard, always looking for certain

items, really looking for eco-

friendly stuff. And he always had

a skateboard under his arm, and I

was into skateboards, too, so we

started talking.”

At the time, Buksa was

forming the Rayne concept: high-

performance boards made from

durable, natural, eco-friendly

materials. Their shared interest in

skateboarding and environmentally-

responsible recycling led to a

friendship—and business—between

Buksa and Robertson. Robertson

even arranged for Rayne to become

the focus of his group work

at Sauder, helping Rayne with

marketing and business strategy.

Finally, Buksa asked him to

come on board. Robertson was

doubtful, he recalls.

“I wondered if the company

was too small. I was doing a lot of

consulting work, and I wondered

if it was too risky. But Graham

convinced me that I wanted to take

that risk.”

Today, with Robertson as

marketing and sponsorship

manager, Rayne sells its unique

boards around the world, which

suits Robertson perfectly.

“I mean, I thought I was going

into Big-Five consulting, but I

ended up with skateboards. Which

I love, because it makes my ‘work-

life thing’ simply a ‘life thing.’” ■

twitter.com/LesRobertsonMBA

ca.linkedin.com/in/lesrobertson

raynelongboards.com

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https://twitter.com/LesRobertsonMBA

ca.linkedin.com/in/lesrobertson

http://www.raynelongboards.com


TUUM EST

Jonathan Bowers, MBA 2011, tech entrepreneur

“I WAS PRETTY WELL-BEHAVED, A

little boring to be honest! I did

have a group of friends, but I was

shy—I was petrifi ed of doing

any performance-related thing,

and meeting any new person was

always scary.”

He remembers playing hockey

and soccer, wakeboarding and

swimming, but there was also a lot

of video game playing. That’s what

got him into computers.

Bowers ended up taking a num-

ber of computer-related classes in

high school, and learned whatever

he could on his own.

He might have be-

come the stereotype

of a socially awkward

computer geek, if

not for a part-time

job that changed his

approach to life.

“I got a job at a

marina pumping gas,

helping people load

boats, that kind of

thing. My boss instilled the value of

customer service and talking with

people. I was completely out of my

comfort zone, but he was right—I

did have to talk to the people I was

helping. Gradually it helped me

open up, and become less shy. It’s

a big reason why I’m at ease with

people now.”

Bowers also began working on

websites in his free time, starting

with one for a theatre that put the

movie listings online. That’s when

he decided to make computers a

career. He studied at a college in

Salmon Arm for a year, and then

enrolled in the computer science

program at SFU. The freelance

website work helped pay for his

education.

After graduation in 2005,

he moved to Kamloops,

to be with his then-

girlfriend. He got a job as a

computer technician with the

local school district. Within a few

months he was in a management

position. Bowers liked the people

he worked with, and had great

benefi ts and employment security;

he could have easily made a career

out of it.

“It just didn’t seem like I was

doing what I was supposed to be

doing. I saw other people pursuing

their ideas—and becoming quite

successful—and wanted to do that

too. The school district had a policy

to support further education, so

going for a graduate degree was

an opportunity I couldn’t really

turn down.”

His MBA studies at Sauder

opened up the world of

entrepreneurship and leadership.

It was a good thing he had

made progress on tackling his

youthful shyness, as the program

required him to take part in lots of

presentations and public speaking.

Bowers realized he wanted to

create something from the ground

up, and took a leap of faith that he

was on the right path—he quit his

job while still pursuing his studies.

“It was kind of dumb, really,

but it was such a grind doing both,

driving back and forth between

Kamloops and the Lower Mainland.

I calculated that over the course of

the MBA I spent $3,000 to $4,000

on gas!”

He drew upon his family’s

history with funeral homes—he

grew up in one, his father had one,

his father’s father had one—to

begin work on MemoryLeaf.

The idea was for funeral

Always turning over a new leafIf you ask Jonathan Bowers, there really is no such thing as luck. Well, not

exactly. The tech entrepreneur, 32, grew up in Salmon Arm, BC, and claims

he never got into trouble as a child.

“A lot of it’s luck, but you can maximize your luck if you increase your exposure

to it! You can’t be lucky if you’re just sitting in a

room all day...”


TUUM EST

homes to offer an online memorial

service, where people could share

photos, memories and messages

about someone who had died.

“Traditional obituaries, even

those that are online, seem focused

around the provider of the obit. For

instance, the ones in newspapers

are surrounded by ads. It just didn’t

seem appropriate.”

Bowers hoped that funeral

homes could provide a neutral

space for people from different

circles of someone’s life—work,

school, family—to mingle and

create an understanding of the

person as a whole. The concept is

still in development.

He entered the idea in the

BCIC—New Ventures competition

and did well, enjoying the process

so much that he created another

startup just to compete again.

That’s when he met a Kelowna-

based entrepreneur working on a

new company called FreshGrade. It

creates educational software to help

elementary school teachers assess

their students.

How lucky that he already had

a background in the education

system and was based in Kamloops,

rather than the more distant

Vancouver, a casual observer

might remark.

“A lot of it’s luck, but you

can maximize your luck if you

increase your exposure to it! You

can’t be lucky if you’re just sitting

in a room all day. These things

wouldn’t have happened without

some deliberate action. Go off and

do something interesting, and the

chances someone will approach

you about it go up. If you’re

persistent the dice will eventually

come up all sixes for you.”

Bowers says being based

in a smaller region has many

advantages, including a lifestyle

involving lots of great recreation,

and being the “go-to” guy for

projects that come up. He says all of

his choices to date have led to him

being incredibly happy with where

he currently is in life. ■

Bowers realized he wanted to create something from the ground up, and

took a leap of faith that he was on the right path—he quit his job while

still pursuing his studies.

“It was kind of dumb, really... I

calculated that over the course of the MBA

I spent $3,000 to $4,000 on gas!”

twitter.com/thejonotronmemoryleaf.net

ca.linkedin.com/in/jbowers

memoryleaf.net | freshgrade.com

https://twitter.com/thejonotron

ca.linkedin.com/in/jbowers

http://www.memoryleaf.net

http://www.freshgrade.com


TUUM EST

“EVEN IF YOU ARE RECOGNIZED IN the industry, it is one step forward, two steps back. I thought we’d do a lot of cool stuff really fast. But no, it takes two to three times longer to get the money we need and the product we want. And two to three times less reward in the end.

“Even though we create cool stuff, it’s really hard to do.”

Fresh out of Ryerson in 2000, Feldman worked as a graphic designer before joining Ginch Gonch Fashion in 2004.

“I started as a designer at Ginch Gonch, but became responsible for the style’s development and ensuring a consistent brand message. That is where I realized I was interested in the clothing industry.”

Feldman’s next stop was lululemon athletica, joining in 2007 as trims developer and portfolio manager, and later

Max Feldman likes to think ahead—“fi ve to ten years,” he says—and he had a career in sports apparel mapped out. Then he discovered the obscure sport of bike polo, and was lured, like so many, by the dream of being his own boss. Tuum Est, right? Maybe not.

Max Feldman, MBA 2011, President, Northern Standard Bike Polo

A little road rash on the way

becoming a sourcing manager.His experience at lululemon

helped Feldman focus. “I decided I wanted to

be a consultant in technical performance apparel: cycling, outdoor sports, extreme sports. And I realized an MBA was the way to get there.”

Feldman entered Sauder as a part-time MBA student, while taking on greater responsibilities and achieving greater success at lululemon.

“It was a really exciting time. Looking ahead a few years, I could see moving into a senior position with lululemon or another company.”

But Feldman was seduced by bike polo, a grassroots sport few people have heard of, and even fewer play.

“A good friend got me into bike polo,” he recalls. “I liked it. I saw a really connected group of individuals, who used social and online channels to connect and share the sport and their enthusiasm. I saw a really cool sport that was growing immensely.

“For my practicum project at Sauder, I thought ‘why not write a business plan for a bike polo products company?’ My profs thought it was quite good. And I realized that maybe I could take a risk in this unknown sport.”

“Honestly, I thought entrepreneurship would be way more rewarding.

I had a concept, I created it, I sold it. And we have done well. We are helping to grow the sport. We created the bike polo glove. But you also go through the fi nancial issues, the rejections.

It wears on you.”

continued on page 33 >>

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IN PERSON, SHE IS QUIETLY WARM, all too willing to make a joke at her own expense when a coffee shop owner pokes fun at her bright yellow shirt. You may notice her height fi rst (5’10” in fl ats), but it’s the liveliness and enthusiasm in her eyes that you’ll remember.

Li has had a bit of a nomadic existence. She was born in Shanghai, moved to northern England when she was six, and then came to Canada when she was 12. Her chemistry professor mother and metallurgist father brought her to their labs often, but never pushed her to specifi cally obtain a lot of higher education. That just happened along the way after she decided she wanted to fi nd a cure for cancer.

The goal fi rst began to take shape after her grandmother’s death from leukemia when Li was six. Two other grandparents died from cancer when Li was in high school.

“Sometimes my grandparents would wait for me to get back to China; they were literally hanging on for my visit. You notice absences, how it affects your family to try and deal with death. That’s when

I thought ‘I should really fi nd out what is going on with this (cancer).’”

She considered becoming an oncologist, but discovered something about herself while doing a dissection in biology class—she didn’t like blood. At all.

At summer camp, she was exposed to other aspects of science and research, and realized that she didn’t have to be a doctor to play a role in curing cancer. She could instead fi nd a way to commercialize scientifi c discoveries and then fund research. She also volunteered with organizations ranging from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC, the Burnaby Policing Council, and Habitat for Humanity.

Li entered what was then known as the Faculty of Commerce at UBC, but was determined to keep studying science. At the time, it was not possible to get a double major in such disparate disciplines.

“I went to see the Dean of Science and said, ‘I really think you should let people get a double major if they can make their schedules work.’ I took as many science classes as I could. I always

Change the world Make it a better placeOn paper, Julia Fan Li is almost astoundingly intimidating. She’s a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, she cofounded an NGO supporting entrepreneurship and small business in Africa, she’s volunteered at three different Olympic Games, and she has her Canadian Chartered Accountant designation. Oh yeah, and she wants to change the world.

Julia Fan Li, BCom 2006, social entrepreneur

“The private sector responds to value creation and

capture. Profi t motivation tends to focus on high-income countries, but

the aggregate purchasing powers of 15 Sub-Saharan countries, for example,

could be equally or more signifi cant.”


TUUM EST

had the goal of combining science and business, I just didn’t know how to get there.”

The rules changed in Li’s fourth year at UBC, which allowed her to major in both Finance and Immunology. She received the Dorothy Anne Dilworth Memorial Prize as the outstanding female graduate of her year.

During her studies, Li took part in a business case competition, which helped put UBC onto the world stage. Sauder Professor Daniel Gardiner became a mentor in the process, and they maintain frequent contact.

“I read a book once where people talked about ‘Level 5 leaders.’ The only other one I’ve seen is Bill Sauder,” says Gardiner. “I think Julia either is there or will be there. She has an unbelievable sense of drive, and an unbelievable sense of humility.”

He believes that people tend to focus more on philanthropy and sensitivity as they get older, rather than purely competing for personal benefi t—he jokingly calls Li a “young bloomer” because she’s already reached that level.

“One of my favourite questions to ask is what do you want to do when you grow up. She put her mind to it, saw this very altruistic thing that she wanted to do and is

doing it. She walks the talk.”After graduation, Li worked as a

CA in Vancouver for KPMG LLP. Her clients in the biotechnology sector reinforced her conviction that business and science could work together. In 2008, she decided to pursue her master’s degree in bioscience entrepreneurship.

The parameters of the Gates scholarship—which fully cover the cost of a postgraduate degree at Cambridge—could have been written specifi cally for Li. They are awarded to people with outstanding intellectual ability, leadership potential, and a commitment to improving the lives of others.

Li was about to graduate from Cambridge when she attended a lecture delivered by Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda. He extended an open invitation for people to visit the country, and she actually took him up on it.

Li remembered how much fun she had had competing in business case competitions, and set up the African Innovation Prize. It provides mentorship and seed grants for small businesses. Now in its third year, it operates in both Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Last year more than 75 teams competed.

Li also believes she has now found her life’s work. In the Silicon Valley model, venture capitalists

give money even when they didn’t know exactly what a product might be or how it would work. Li believes that mindset needs to be applied to healthcare.

“The private sector responds to value creation and capture. Profi t motivation tends to focus on high-income countries, but the aggregate purchasing powers of 15 Sub-Saharan countries, for example, could be equally or more signifi cant. That would create a pull incentive. A push incentive would be for governments to understand it’s important to deal with certain diseases—that could manifest as a certain percentage of budget being set aside annually for research and development.”

Last year, Li did an oncology course in the Netherlands. The country has a population of approximately 11 million people, and more than 10,000 medical professionals dealing with cancer alone. In Rwanda, a country of similar size, there is just one medical professional specializing in cancer treatment.

In 2012, Li chaired a roundtable at Cambridge bringing together academics, investors and innovators to talk about addressing such a huge imbalance in global health.

She is hoping a new social venture fund will tackle infectious

diseases fi rst, and that it can then be leveraged to deal with cancer, diabetes, and chronic diseases like hypertension.

Li says she is encouraged every day by encountering individual people who are taking small steps forward within huge global issues. She believes it’s possible for everyone to fi nd a way to change the world.

“It’s really important to ask and fi nd supporters for crazy ideas in your life! I like to surround myself with positive people, because I’m pretty positive. Constructive criticism is totally okay. It’s also okay if you don’t always know how it’s going to happen, but it’s up to you to make it happen. If you see opportunities along the way, you have to go for it.”

In and amongst all of her lofty ideas, Li does have one more relatively mundane goal—she would like to at some point become a grandmother. It’s an homage to some of the amazing women she’s had in her life, and—perhaps—a potential tribute to the woman who sparked this journey to fi nd a cure for cancer. ■

twitter.com/juliafanli

www.juliafanli.com

http://www.juliafanli.com

https://twitter.com/juliafanli


TUUM EST

“I DECIDED TO BE A HUMANITARIAN,”

Watson remembers, “but my father

and others convinced me to stay in

school and do humanitarian work

after. That I would be much smarter

at it after becoming a business

person.”

Immediately after graduation,

Watson joined Arthur Andersen

(later merged with Deloitte) and

its CPA program. After four years

and earning his Chartered Public

Accountant designation, Watson was

lured to Silver Wheaton, where

he was employee number one.

Two years later he was CFO, and

the youngest CFO of any multi-

billion dollar corporation traded

on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 2008, he left Silver Wheaton

and, with David Awram, another

Silver Wheaton alumni, founded

Sandstorm Gold Ltd., a gold

streaming company (see sidebar).

“We took control of a shell

company,” remembers Watson.

“We started going out to raise

money in the capital markets

during the fi nancial crisis when the

whole world was starting to fall

apart. Everyone was consolidating

and shutting their businesses

down, while we went out and

started one and started raising

money. At the beginning of 2009,

we launched Sandstorm with $50

million.”

Philanthropist at

heart

While Sandstorm has been

enormously successful, Watson’s

heart lies in philanthropy. In 2006,

he, along with his wife, friends

and business associates founded

Nations Cry, a small charitable

organization aimed at doing two

things many mainstream charities

do not: ensure every dollar

donated goes to actual

humanitarian work, not

administration, and

to ensure its efforts

help benefi ciaries

become self-

suffi cient (see

sidebar).

Nations

Cry’s fi rst project

is in Waterloo,

Sierra Leone, where

the organization runs a

small orphanage and is building

a secondary school. They have

also provided full university

scholarships to eight students, the

fi rst of whom graduated in January,

2013. For Watson, the desire to set

up Nations Cry was born partly

of a belief that many charities are

ineffi cient and may even promote a

cycle of dependency.

Breaking the cycle of

dependency

“Outside of the great waste

of money spent in administering

charities, one of my great

frustrations is that, although these

charities are well-meaning and

start with good intentions, they

end up not solving the underlying

problem and may end up actually

perpetuating the problem.

“For example, many

orphanages take kids in at a young

age, so they won’t starve and die—

which is great, there is nothing

wrong with that. But they won’t

focus on their education, they

won’t focus on their development,

and then one day they say ‘Ok, you

are seventeen years old, we are

kicking you out.’”

Startup to $1 billion market cap in four yearsWhen he was a BCom student at Sauder, Nolan Watson considered dropping out to become a “humanitarian.” Twelve years later he is the founder and CEO of two companies with a combined market cap of over $1.1 billion—and founder and president of one of Canada’s most innovative charitable organizations.

Nolan Watson, BCom 2001, Founder & CEO, Sandstorm and Nations Cry

“I do not believe it makes sense for a charity to try to make a difference in someone’s

life if you do it in a way that does not lead them to eventually

become independent of that charity.”


TUUM EST

According to Watson, children’s

aid charities fail to support the

orphan in becoming an educated,

employable, self-suffi cient

individual who can go out and

raise educated, employable and

self-suffi cient children. The result,

according to Watson, is a vicious

cycle of temporarily relieving pain

and suffering without solving

the underlying problem, and

that is why Nations Cry strongly

emphasizes education in its work.

“I do not believe it makes

sense for a charity to try to make a

difference in someone’s life if you do

it in a way that does not lead them

to eventually become independent

of that charity,” says Watson. “So

we focus on trying to get them

independent and we believe

education is the way to do it.”

Though he fi nds his spiritual

reward in his philanthropy, Watson is

perfectly content to let business and

charity go hand in hand in his life.

“Fundamentally, what has always

driven me is wanting to make a

difference in the world. And to that

extent, I would say the philanthropy

side is key to who I am as a person.

I could live without the business

side if I had to. But business helps

me make money that can be used to

help others, it helps me make contact

with people who are willing to step

up alongside of me in philanthropy,

and it gives me the fi nancial and

organizational skills to make a

difference in philanthropy.” But

business is also a passion for Watson.

“I will admit somewhere along

the line, and I don’t know exactly

when, I developed a deep passion

for business, too. And now I don’t

just do business as a means to an

end. I really have fun and I really

enjoy what I do.”

“For the rest of my life I will

be in both philanthropy and in

business. I want to get better and

better at it and do more and more

of it. And have more and more

infl uence over it.”

Don’t wait: start today

Watson urges young people

not to wait to start making a

difference.

“You only live life once. Don’t

make the mistake of saying ‘Well

I am going to go establish myself

in my career, make some money

and then one day I will be in a

position to give back.’ Life doesn’t

work that way. If you want to

make a difference with your life,

start today. Not later. Start at day

one. With whatever you’ve got.

With extra time, with whatever

small amount of money you have,

just go do it.” ■

“Fundamentally, what has always driven me is wanting to make a difference in the world. And to that extent, I would say the philanthropy side is key to who I am as a person.”

Sandstorm Gold and Sandstorm Metals & EnergySandstorm Gold fi nances gold mining projects through an arrangement

called gold streaming. Sandstorm makes upfront payments to mining

partners that need capital to build a mine, refi nance obligations,

or make an acquisition, for example. In return, Sandstorm receives

contracts that stipulate the purchase of a certain percentage of the

gold produced from the mine, for the life of the mine, at a fi xed price

per ounce.

Sandstorm Metals & Energy uses a similar model to fi nance and

receive future streams from commodity and energy development

projects.

Sandstorm Gold was founded in 2008 by Nolan Watson and David

Awram. It is traded on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges and

has a market capitalization of over $1 billion.

www.sandstormgold.com ■

Nations CryIn 2005, Nolan Watson founded Nations Cry, a charitable organization

focused on providing education to underprivileged children in Africa.

Unlike many charities, and in keeping with Watson’s beliefs, Nations Cry

is structured so that 100 per cent of donations go directly to projects in

the fi eld.

Nations Cry is most active in Sierra Leone, where it offers university

scholarships, operates an orphanage, and is building a secondary school.

It also has activities in Central America.

Nations Cry oversees assets of over $800,000.

www.nationscry.com ■twitter.com/sandstormSSL

http://www.sandstormgold.com

http://www.nationscry.com

https://twitter.com/sandstormSSL


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Be Smart: Keep your options openJohn Smart, BCom 1990, CEO, Momentum Camps

“NOBODY IS OUT THERE WORKING for you,” says Smart. “Everything you get in life comes from you and your drive. And if you think otherwise, you will be disappointed. You learn that as an athlete for sure.”

Smart speaks from experience. The Sauder graduate competed for Canada twice in the Winter Olympics in freestyle skiing, and today combines his Sauder degree and his love of skiing by running a successful summer ski camp business on the Horstman Glacier in Whistler.

Skiing was and is Smart’s fi rst love, but he says good advice led him to Sauder and a degree.

“I knew I would go to university but didn’t know for what,” says Smart. “Then someone advised me to take a business degree because it gives you the most options in life. You can go wherever you want, once you fi gure out what you want.”

But Smart could not turn away from skiing for long.

“While I was at UBC, I ran into friends who were traveling the world for the Canadian national team,” says Smart.“I couldn’t help but make a little comparison to my life.”

“So I did another stage left,” recalls Smart. “I continued my studies, but I juggled them with skiing. By competing and training, I worked my way onto the Canadian team. I took summer classes and was able to fi nish the fi ve-year program at UBC in six years. I was committed to the degree; I wasn’t going to lose that. But I was also committed

to my passion.”Passion paid off for Smart.

Competing in men’s mogul freestyle, he represented Canada in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and again in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Along the way, he picked up three Canadian championships and 13 World Cup medals. He is also a member of Canada’s Ski Hall of Fame.

In 1992, he founded Momentum Camps, a freestyle

ski camp on Blackcomb. From the start, Smart wanted the best instructors on the planet, so he insisted that all instructors be

World Cup medalists. Twenty one years later, the camp

fl ourishes, offering seven and nine-day camps in slopestyle, halfpipe and moguls.

“The camp business is a passionate extension of what I do naturally,”

says Smart. “It stays fun and it keeps my

energy high. I am 48 now and

I am

talking to the same age group as when I started out at 26.”

Some might call it an untraditional career, but Smart never yearned for a traditional path.

“I never saw myself working for another company,” he says. “When we graduate we always have visions of grandeur about where we want to be. But nowhere on that path could I see working for someone else.”

Smart urges young people—and all of us—to keep an open mind.

“Look at it as an adventure, because it is. When you

come out of school, it shouldn’t feel like work. You should think ‘wow, where am I going to go, what route am I going to take?’ And don’t avoid challenges, because those

are the most rewarding obstacles to get over. And

anyone who runs a business or competes in sports knows the challenges are constant.” ■

John Smart knows Tuum Est…. that it is “up to you.”

“When we graduate we always have visions of

grandeur about where we want to be. But nowhere on that path could I see

working for someone else.”

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twitter.com/JWSmarty

ca.linkedin.com/pub/john-smart/4b/39a/49

momentumskicamps.com

http://www.twitter.com/JWSmarty

ca.linkedin.com/pub/john-smart/4b/39a/49

http://www.momentumskicamps.com


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IT’S NOT THAT THERE’S SOMETHING

wrong with his Phoenix, AZ-based

job. It’s because Stettner (MBA

2003) is the president and CEO of

Make-A-Wish International, which

helps grant the wishes of children

with life-threatening medical

conditions. For him, sharing deeply

touching and inspiring stories—

like that of the Indian boy whose

greatest desire was a refrigerator so

his mother wouldn’t have to walk

miles daily to get his chemotherapy

drugs—is a daily occurrence.

“It’s such a simple mission,”

says Stettner of his organization,

pointing out that the name of the

charity says it all. “And you know

what? Anyone can make a difference

to help a child renew their interest

in life, help them transcend their

illness—that’s what a wish does.

“More and more doctors,

especially in developing countries,

are using the wish experience as

part of the medical regimen, in

a sense. When there’s a wish, the

child’s mind isn’t on being sick

anymore—the child’s mind is on

‘What’s going to happen with my

wish? What can I do?’”

Some people might fi nd it de-

pressing doing a job that routinely

confronts them with the heartbreak-

ing reality of desperately ill children.

Not Stettner, who is uplifted.

“You get the intellectual and

you get the emotional—you get

the entire spectrum,” he says.

“Every day when I go home, I feel

better, because I know I’ve made a

difference in a child’s life.”

Stettner, 58, could hardly have

imagined as a boy that he’d wind

up travelling the world, working

with volunteers, affi liates and

sponsors to give hope to families

in 48 countries. A career in the

arts was a much surer bet. As kids

in Saskatchewan, Stettner and his

four brothers often lent a hand at

the University of Regina Darke Hall

theatre, where their dad was the

stage manager. They learned to be

stagehands and ran the lights for

local and visiting companies.

All those volunteer hours meant

that by the time Jon Stettner was

18, he was touring the country

working the lights for the Stratford

Festival. He went on to the Royal

Winnipeg Ballet, where he became

technical director, production

director and then assistant general

manager over the course of 10

years. When the general manager

fell ill, Stettner fi lled in, organizing

tours for the company all over

the world.

It was then that he realized he

had plenty of not-for-profi t man-

agement experience along with his

undergraduate degree in religious

studies, but he lacked business

acumen. He was admitted to UBC

with a scholarship that covered his

tuition, moved his young family

west, and got his MBA. “I came

here, and it changed my life.”

“What the MBA program did

for me was give me an advanced

education, an education focused on

business,” says Stettner, a father of

four and grandfather of two, and

whose wife, Connie, was born and

raised in Arizona. “Some people

would argue that the not-for-profi t

industry is not a business. I would

argue the opposite: It is a business.

It needs to be run like a business,

and it needs to be professionally

managed.”

Any great not-for-profi t usually

has an excellent administrator

involved, he explains—someone

who understands all the applicable

regulations. They also have to

understand that whatever their

focus or mission may be, they must

manage two bottom lines: fi nancial

solvency and social benefi t.

“You still have to be

entrepreneurial. There’s still the

same sort of life cycles in a not-for-

profi t as there is in a for-profi t.”

Stettner went on to work

for a hospital foundation in

Manitoba and then for several arts

organizations, one gig as the fi rst

general manager of Vancouver’s

Arts Club Theatre. That organization

was branching out from its

funky Granville Island space to a

larger, more sophisticated venue

called The Stanley, which quickly

attracted plays that were new and

in-demand.

Stettner’s success as general

manager there brought him to the

attention of Variety, the Children’s

Charity, which was in the process

of revamping its staged telethon

Jon Stettner, MBA 2003, President & CEO, Make-A-Wish International

Opening hearts and purse strings Ask Jon Stettner what he does for a living

and chances are, you’ll wind up in tears.

“Some people would argue that the not-for-profi t industry is not a

business. I would argue the opposite: It is a business. It needs to be run like a business, and it needs to be

professionally managed.”


TUUM EST

into a televised version, allowing it

to attract bigger names and, with

them, a much larger market share

of potential donors. He left Variety

after six years and soon afterward

found his current job. Over the

course of his six years at Make-A-

Wish International, Stettner says,

its revenues have more than tripled,

despite global economic troubles.

Stettner describes the role

of President & CEO as “a lot of

legalities, a lot of process, a lot

of putting the infrastructure in

place to allow the organization to

grow in a sustainable way. Every

individual who is the head of a

charity has to spend part of the

time fundraising, liaising with

high-end or large donors.”

A Zen Yoga master in his spare

time, Stettner also chooses to

volunteer locally as one of Make-A-

Wish Arizona’s wish-granters, and

has watched his organization make

children’s wishes come true in

countries around the world.

One crucial change Stettner

made to the organization was

replacing a “weak” board. “We

put in a governance model that

was really looking for individuals

who wanted to make a difference

and were leveraged,” he explains.

“When I fi rst started, none of my

board members were making a

donation. This past year, the 13

board members, personally and

through their companies, donated

$700,000. That’s a great board. It

took me six years to get it there.

So that’s changing the governance

structure and looking for people

who are what we’d call ‘best in

class’ board members, individuals

who really want to make a

difference for children around the

world, who have a global focus.

That’s what I try to do—build

quality relationships.”

Stettner adds, “UBC’s motto

Tuum Est is about how individual

action can have great consequences,

a philosophy that’s integral to

Make-A-Wish. For me, it means

that if you take the power of one

and you put many ones together,

you can make an incredible

difference.” ■

For Stettner, UBC’s motto Tuum Est is about how individual action can have

great consequences, a philosophy that’s integral to Make-A-Wish.

twitter.com/MakeAWishIntl

linkedin.com/pub/jon-stettner/19/366/74b

worldwish.org

http://www.twitter.com/MakeAWishIntl

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jon-stettner/19/366/74b

http://www.worldwish.org


TUUM EST

A BOOKISH CHILD WHOSE PARENTS

read widely when they weren’t

working in Macau’s garment

manufacturing trade, Tai moved to

Vancouver at the age of 10. He says

his key high school pursuits were

watching cartoons and playing

video games with an eclectic group

of fellow outsiders. “I wouldn’t

necessarily say I was creative,” the

28-year-old mused recently from

his north London base in Finsbury

Park. “I think I just see things in a

different way.”

Tai thought an artistic outlet

might allow him to share his

unconventional perspectives.

After getting his BCom (2007) in

Marketing at Sauder, he got into

London’s Central Saint Martins

College of Arts and Design, where

one of the requirements of his

BA program was designing a

graduation show.

Afterward, Tai extended his

2011 collection into two more

shows featuring wan, bespectacled

models—one of whom even wore

braces on her teeth—who looked

like they spent most weekends

translating works of literature from

the Greek.

The outfi ts from this fi rst

collection were inspired, in part,

by the idea of bookbinding.

“If you look at a lot of the

Fashion designer turns out to be a cut aboveDesigner Steven Tai has Europe’s fashionistas talking with a highly original collection, inspired by the nerdiness of his youth.

Steven Tai, BCom 2007, fashion designer

“I think when you go to Sauder you can take charge of whatever you want to do. And even in something as

unconventional as the fashion industry, you can fi nd a way to use what you’ve learned there and it will give you the edge.”


TUUM EST

garments, they have a lot of layers

that lie horizontally, like a book

would,” Tai explains. The layers

are thin, but when they’re stacked

together they create volume around

the body like a book’s pages

emerging from its spine.

Dazed Digital Video dubbed Tai’s

collection “intellect chic.” The

designer says the customer must

understand the craftsmanship

behind each garment in order

to fully appreciate it. These

clothes, he explains, celebrate

awkwardness and “give the

woman another sense of

confi dence that isn’t usually

offered, as opposed to just a very

one-dimensional ‘You look skinny’

or ‘You look hot.’”

In fact, one model wore a dress

with a bodice fl ashing 795 golden

pen nibs mounted on minuscule

motors that, wrote creative

technologist John Nussey, were

“animated to create a hypnotic

shimmer of movement which

changes over time, varying the

temp, pattern and the overall mood

of the piece.”

Such experimentation is at the

heart of his brand, says Tai. “If I

didn’t get to experiment, I think I

would lose interest quite quickly.

For me at that point, it was time to

do something electronic.”

Tai’s debut post-graduate

collection won the fi rst 15,000-Euro

Chloe design prize at 2012’s Hyères

International Festival of Fashion

and Photography. He went on to

bowl over style mavens at Mercedes

Benz Fashion Week Berlin.

The Canadian’s London shop

is still a small one. He works

with a small team and revolving

interns to manage the production,

pricing, orders, fabrics, press,

and upcoming shows at the same

time as he conceives, designs and

fabricates each collection. The

clothes are currently available in

boutiques in London, Paris, Hong

Kong and Antwerp.

Tai’s vision has clearly set

him apart from his peers, but

he believes he has another

advantage—his Sauder education.

He notes that the School is well-

organized, thorough, and teaches

many business skills that he’s found

to be crucial internationally.

As for UBC’s motto, Tuum

Est, Tai says, “I think when

you go to Sauder you can take

charge of whatever you want to

do. And even in something as

unconventional as the fashion

industry, you can fi nd a way to use

what you’ve learned there and it

will give you the edge.” ■

twitter.com/steventaistudio

steventai.co.uk

http://www.twitter.com/steventaistudio

http://www.steventai.co.uk


TUUM EST

“IT’S A FABULOUS PLACE TO RAISE a family,” says Mitchell, a personal injury lawyer with Pushor Mitchell LLP and the father of three adult children. “You’ve got all of the attributes of a resort community. You’ve got a great lake, a great ski hill, orchards and wineries. There’s something about the Okanagan that’s just magical. I’m a lifer.”

Mitchell eventually realized that there was one thing missing from his hometown—a university. Okanagan University College offered a limited number of degrees, but few North American municipalities of Kelowna’s size had no full-fl edged university within a two-hour drive. This glaring absence made a post-secondary education prohibitively expensive for some, so the percentage of Kelowna high school graduates who did not further their education was extremely high.

“The next logical step was to get a full university,” says Mitchell, who cofounded the University 2000 Society to help do that. The administration of Okanagan University College, however,

preferred the status quo. “It was a bit of a battle.”

Eventually UBC president Martha Piper proposed that the new university become a part of the institution she headed. Mitchell thought that a grand idea, and worked to help achieve that goal by 2004.

“It’s been awesome,” he says. “They fi gure the economic impact of the university is about $500 million a year for the community. That’s huge.”

Evidently Mitchell, 59, isn’t the sort who likes to slam doors shut behind him; he seems to prefer swinging them open. Though he got experience early in his career in real estate, criminal, family and banking law, he wound up focusing his law practice on acting for plaintiffs in personal injury cases and trying to get them the best insurance settlements possible,

Collector of milestones and MonetsPaul Mitchell’s idyllic childhood in the Kelowna of the 1960s set him on a course as a champion of his community. Though he left the Okanagan to get his undergraduate degree (BCom 1978) at UBC and attend law school (LLB 1979), he and his high school sweetheart, Tracy, always intended to return. So Mitchell got an articling position with a Kelowna fi rm, and in 1979 they moved back to what was still a small town. The choice suited them perfectly.

Paul Mitchell, BCom 1978, lawyer and art dealer

RO

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TUUM EST

improving their post-injury opportunities.

“I found quite quickly that the personal injury practice is really a hybrid of many different factors that you have to deal with,” Mitchell explains. “You’re part psychologist, you’re part coach, you’re risk manager. You’ve got families who are in absolute crisis and they’re just about to fall apart at the seams, so you’ve got this result that may happen three or four years from now and you’ve got to get the legal side done and,

in the meantime, you’re trying to keep this family together.

“It’s very rewarding at the end when you can get a good result and the family’s still intact and they can pick themselves up and carry on. I really enjoy that part of it.”

It was the problem-solving aspect of law that drew him to his profession in the fi rst place, says Mitchell. It may also have lured him into the volunteer arena when he started giving free legal advice in the evenings to low-income clients through UBC’s Law Students Legal Advice Program (LSLAP). “That kind of got the bug going in me for helping people out.”

As a volunteer who has led dozens of organizations over the years and has been honoured many times for his efforts, Mitchell currently sits on UBC’s Capital Campaign Cabinet, which is trying to raise $100 million for UBCO, and $1.5 billion for UBC Point Grey. In 2012, he was presented with a UBC Alumni Association

award for alumni achievement—the Blythe Eagles Volunteer Leadership Award.

Mitchell’s other obsession is art. He and his wife, Tracy, began collecting investment-quality art early in their relationship. His enthusiasms run the gamut from historical paintings by Cornelius Krieghoff and canvases by members of Canada’s famous Group of Seven to the comic strip-style works of pop artist Ray Lichtenstein.

He now spends a couple of hours a day working as an art dealer, using connections he has made around the art world to help clients track down exactly the sort of art they like. “Someone says ‘I want to buy a Picasso—

or Monet, Rothko or other high-end work of art—of a certain type, quality, genre, date,’ and I try and fi nd someone who owns one, or knows somebody who does, and you get them together.”

Mitchell interprets Tuum Est as encouraging personal responsibility. “Once you graduate, it’s really up to you to forge your own path and help out the community,” he says. “You have to be the change agent. You can’t rely on other people to do the heavy lifting. You’ve got a degree, you’ve got an attitude about life from UBC—it’s up to you to apply those tools and make your life a better life and to make the world a better place. Go ahead and do what you have to do—but it’s up to you to do it.” ■

“Once you graduate, it’s really up to you to forge your own

path and help out the community. You have to be the change agent. You can’t rely on other people

to do the heavy lifting.”

Feldman established Northern Standard Bike Polo after receiving his MBA in 2011. His aim was to develop and market gear for the sport.

Feldman bootstrapped the business with very little cash, traveling to bike polo tournaments and hawking his mallets and polo gloves from the back of a van.

“I learned from Jake Burton. [founder and CEO of Burton, a maker of snowboards and apparel]. He started out doing the same thing. And I thought ‘Bike polo could be snowboarding in 10 years. If I move quickly, I could be at the cutting edge.’”

It is a risky business, according to Feldman. No one really knows how many people play bike polo. There is no trade show and only a fl edgling organizing body. Feldman’s fi rst attempt at a polo mallet failed. He then created the fi rst bike polo glove on the market, which became a success.

“We’ve become one of the most known companies in bike polo,” says Feldman, before chuckling “Of course, there aren’t a lot of us in bike polo.”

Like many entrepreneurs, Feldman says he was motivated by the chance of reaping the rewards of risk taking.

“As an entrepreneur, you get to be your own boss. You get to create all the value for yourself. Everything you put into the business comes back to you, not someone else.”

Still, Feldman has found that being your own boss means stepping out of the corporate comfort zone.

“At lululemon, it was easy to get people to return calls,” Feldman says. “But in this, you have to go out there and fi ght for everything. I have to sell my own product,

>> Max Feldman continued from page 22

ask for money, and make a lot of guesses. And then I have to promise I will deliver when I don’t know if I can.”

While bike polo has not yet given Feldman the fi nancial rewards he hoped for, he is glad he tried going on his own.

“What I’ve gained from this business, I just couldn’t have gotten any other way. If I were to go back to a company now, the value I would bring would be much greater than had I not become an entrepreneur.

“And I know that if Northern Standard fails, I know I can go back, and start up something again. I know that if I keep at something, I could be really successful. You really gain a lot by doing a start-up.”

In March 2013, Feldman joined Arc’teryx, a maker of outdoor clothing, as a cost and sourcing analyst. He still runs Northern Standard part time. ■

twitter.com/nsbikepolo

ca.linkedin.com/in/maxfeldman

http://nsbikepolo.myshopify.com

ca.linkedin.com/pub/paul-mitchell-q-c/12/8a3/9a8

pushormitchell.com

http://nsbikepolo.myshopify.com

http://www.twitter.com/nsbikepolo

http://www.linkedin.com/in/maxfeldman

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/paul-mitchell-q-c/12/8a3/9a8

http://www.pushormitchell.com


TUUM EST

“I GOT AWAY WITH EVERYTHING

under the sun,” the 42-year-old co-

owner of Nurse Next Door Home

Healthcare Services confesses. “Not

that I was a bad kid or anything—I

just had a lot of freedom.”

Luckily, Sim had a decent

work ethic and natural abilities

at math, social studies and PE. He

squeaked into UBC with heady

dreams of waltzing into a job as an

investment banker right out of his

undergraduate program.

“It’s almost embarrassing. As

you get older, your views change,”

says Sim. “But when I went to

UBC, I truly believed that I’d be a

billionaire by the time I was 30.”

The relationships Sim

established at UBC serve him

well to this day. One of the most

important was with his mentor,

the late Milton Wong, a prominent

Vancouver businessman and

philanthropist. With Wong’s

encouragement, Sim became an

accountant with KPMG while at

UBC and spent the next few years

there, simultaneously earning his

chartered accountancy. When he

got offered an investment banking

job at CIBC World Markets, he

bit, and he spent the next fi ve

years there, working in London,

Vancouver and Toronto.

“I thought it was absolutely

amazing. I mean, you go from

being an accountant to torts law

and M & A transactions and equity

deals and the numbers are a lot

bigger. You’re working on multi-

billion dollar acquisitions,”

Sim recalls.

After Sim married Teena

Gupta in 1998, he found the time

demands as a mining investment

banker too great and he transferred

to the Toronto offi ce of CIBC

Capital Partners. The fi t was bad. “I

literally went from a hero to a zero

in a matter of four months.”

Over Christmas in Mexico, he

and his wife discovered that she

was pregnant, and in 2001 they

decided to move back to Vancouver.

During that period, Sim read the

book Boom, Bust and Echo, which

touched on the burgeoning market

for home healthcare.

When Milton Wong introduced

him to fellow Vancouverite John

DeHart, who was looking for new

business opportunities, they liked

each other and started looking at

companies to buy or build. Then

Sim’s pregnant wife had to be put

on emergency bed rest and needed

home-care assistance.

The couple interviewed

applicants and discovered that

some hadn’t even been screened.

“My business partner and I

thought, ‘Wow. That’s kind of

crazy.’ So we did a bunch of

research, wrote a business plan,

raised money and we launched in

October of 2001.”

The demand continues. Nurse

Next Door now has 60 locations

across Canada, and a dozen in the

US. It has 4,000 active employees

at its corporate and franchise

locations, and was named one of

BC’s Best Companies in 2012 by

BC Business magazine.

Sim says his and DeHart’s goal

is to improve one million lives a

year. “We’re actually not really in

the business of healthcare—we’re

in the business of caring. And that’s

a big distinction.”

Ken Sim, BCom 1993, Founder and Co-owner, Nurse Next Door and Rosemary Rocksalt

From salt of the earth to Rosemary Rocksalt Growing up in Vancouver, Ken Sim (BCom 1993) was the youngest of fi ve kids

in a family whose Hong Kong-born parents struggled to make ends meet.

They had plenty to do without worrying much about him. As a result, Sim

says, he spent a lot of time “goofi ng around.”

“We’re actually not really in the business of healthcare—we’re

in the business of caring. And that’s a

big distinction.”


TUUM EST

Anybody can give clients

baths or dole out medication, he

explains. “What makes us really

relevant and interesting is that we

try and fi gure out what the dreams

of all of our clients are, and then

make them happen.”

Sim cites the example of an

elderly woman who had swum in

the Okanagan all the time as a child

but, to her sorrow, was no longer

strong enough to do that. Nurse

Next Door took her to the local

pool every week until she was able,

once again, to swim in the lake

she loved.

Of course, Sim—a snow-

boarding, guitar-playing father

of four kids, ranging in age from

four to 11, has his own personal

dreams. With one major business

success under his belt, he’s moving

into another, quite different, arena,

working with friend Parise Siegel,

the owner of Siegel’s Bagels, to

massively expand her market.

Sim says there’s a “cult-like

following” for Siegel’s Montreal-

style product, and he’ll work with

her and minority shareholders to

take her brand, repackage it under

the name Rosemary Rocksalt, and

sell it at 200 outlets across the

continent within 10 years.

Think the mix of home

healthcare and bagel vending is

odd? You’re not alone. But Sim no

longer cares about others’ opinions

of his choices. He’s independent

minded, and to him, the slogan

Tuum Est encourages each individual

to consciously consider his or her

approach to life.

“I know that some day I’m

going to die and everything’s

going to reset to zero,” he says.

“So really, my choice is to have a

safe and reasonable ride, or to have

an incredibly unreasonable, big,

nation-changing, crazy life. And

that’s what I choose.” ■

Sim no longer cares about others’ opinions of his choices. He’s independent minded, and to him, the slogan Tuum Est encourages each individual to consciously consider his or her approach to life.

“So really, my choice is to have a safe and reasonable ride, or

to have an incredibly unreasonable, big, nation-changing,

crazy life. And that’s what I choose.”

ca.linkedin.com/in/kensim

nursenextdoor.ca

rosemaryrocksalt.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/kensim

http://www.nursenextdoor.ca

http://www.rosemaryrocksalt.com


Being the change theyIn September, the Sauder School of Business announced a $1 million contribution from Coast Capital Savings to establish the Coast Capital Savings Innovation Hub, a program accelerating early stage ventures devoted to solving social and environmental problems using for-profi t business models. Led by Sauder’s ISIS Research Centre, the initiative provides collaborative working space, mentorship from faculty, alumni and industry experts, student intern support, and access to networks of potential collaborators.


wish to see in the worldP

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“BUSINESS CAN AND SHOULD BE A FORCE FOR

positive social and environmental change,” said

Robert Helsley, dean of the Sauder School of

Business. “The Coast Capital Savings Innovation

Hub provides an ideal venue for Sauder students

to learn from and contribute to this progressive

new form of entrepreneurship.”

Fully funded to operate for fi ve years, the

Coast Capital Savings Innovation Hub provides

social ventures with a one-year program to

accelerate their growth. The social venture space

represents an emerging sector in North America.

Using revenue-generating business models,

these organizations are committed to bringing

positive social or environmental impacts to

the community. In 2009, the BC-Alberta Social

Economy Research Alliance reported that social

ventures provided paid employment to 4,500

workers. The sector generated annual revenues

of $46 million, provided training to 10,450,

and services to 678,000 British Columbians.

The program is “a great fi t for our

organization, aligning with our commitment

to help build a richer future for youth in our

communities,” says Tracy Redies, Coast Capital

Savings President and CEO. “The Coast Capital

Savings Innovation Hub is a one-of-a-kind

initiative that will propel the success of social

entrepreneurs, and provide them with direction,

mentoring, encouragement and resources that

they would otherwise fi nd diffi cult to access.

“It’s our hope that the Coast Capital Savings

Innovation Hub will help put BC on the map as

an international centre for social innovation. Over

the next fi ve years, we anticipate seeing a number

of brilliant, young creative out-of-the-box

thinkers launch successful and viable businesses

that will yield tangible social benefi ts, strengthen

our community and boost the BC economy.”

The call for social ventures, which was

put out last fall, attracted numerous applicants

looking for a unique and collaborative

community to thrive in. Seven social ventures

were selected in December for the 2013 Coast

Capital Savings Innovation Hub program,

through a competitive process assessing the

viability of their business models, and their

potential to have a positive social impact.

The ventures work in sectors ranging from

healthcare to urban agriculture.

The Coast Capital Savings Innovation

Hub entrepreneurs are brought together in a

shared supportive and collaborative working

environment to attend regular thematic

workshops on topics from pricing strategies to

design thinking to personal health management

while developing a start-up. Entrepreneurs

have access to expert advisors from the Sauder

community and industry leaders, and fellow

ventures engaged in the program. The ventures

receive support and expertise to fi ne-tune

their business strategies, to fully defi ne their

investment needs, and access networks to

help them grow their businesses. Working

closely with student interns for three to four

months of the program, the ventures also gain

a dedicated employee with extensive business

training, while in turn providing students

with an immersive work experience in an

entrepreneurial environment. The Coast Capital

Savings Innovation Hub entrepreneurs also have

frequent opportunities to interact with seasoned

entrepreneurs and learn from their experiences

in venture development, such as how to steer a

KE

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RG

About ISISThe ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of Business is focused on leveraging business tools to advance social innovation and sustainability, through research, incubation and application. The core research themes at ISIS are building the low carbon economy, social economy and economic development with First Nations. The Centre’s goal is to build intellectual and human capacity by linking knowledge with action to further the fi eld of sustainability and social innovation. www.isis.sauder.ubc.ca

Tracy Redies

Dr. James Tansey

About Coast Capital SavingsCoast Capital Savings Credit Union is Canada’s largest credit union by membership with 504,000 members, total assets under administration of $14.6 billion, and 50 branches in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island regions of British Columbia. Product innovations include Canada’s fi rst free chequing account from a full-service fi nancial institution and the country’s most fl exible mortgage product, the You’re the Boss™ Mortgage, which was named 2010 Mortgage of the Year by canadianmortgagetrends.com. Coast Capital offers one of Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™. It is a member of Canada’s Best Managed Companies Platinum Club and an Imagine Canada Caring Company. To learn more, visit www.coastcapitalsavings.com.

http://www.isis.sauder.ubc.ca

http://www.coastcapitalsavings.com


new venture through its critical pivot points and

how to approach investors.

“Ultimately this program is designed to get

social ventures investment-ready so that they

are able to pitch for and accept investment, and

move onto the next stage of growth,” says Dr.

James Tansey, Executive Director of ISIS. “The

fi ve-year vision for the Coast Capital Savings

Innovation Hub is to establish British Columbia

as a world-class centre for social venture

development.”

Tansey adds, “We just think there’s a great

niche in Vancouver. This has been the home of

so many really interesting social ventures. What

we see in the community is lots of start-ups

that are bouncing along in the early stages of

development.

“We think if we can wrap our support

around the best of them, and at the end of that

process introduce them to potential funders

and investors, that’s a high-value role for the

university and the business school to play.”

Redies says Coast Capital’s decision to

invest in the Innovation Hub stems from the

company’s recognition of the important role

young social entrepreneurs play in challenging

the traditional business model.

“We want to support innovative businesses

that combine fi nancial sustainability with a

commitment to improving our world.

“We are a strong champion of innovation

in our own organization because it allows

us to rethink new solutions to old problems,

provide meaningful help to our customers, and

to make a tangible, lasting contribution to the

communities we serve.

“Ours is indeed a lofty goal for a fi nancial

institution—it’s not just about cashing a

cheque, or opening an account, or funding

a mortgage. Our business is to change lives.

And we believe by fl ipping the orthodoxies

of banking and supporting social innovation

we have a great opportunity to help make a

tangible difference.” ■

CHANGE HEROES

Change Heroes is an online fundraising

platform that helps people engage

their friends to fundraise for schools

and libraries to support education in

developing countries. With customized

and personalized videos, engagement

through social media and a cause young

people can relate to, Change Heroes aims

to increase the philanthropic activity

in this demographic. www.

thechangeheroes.com

SEAMARKET

SeaMarket works

to promote and

increase the supply

of sustainable seafood

through branding,

marketing, sales and

education. By focusing on

the supply side of the seafood market,

SeaMarket helps producers and catchers get

their eco-friendly choices on the market.

www.seamarket.ca

CONNECT HEALTH

Connect Health is pioneering a model of

integrative medicine, providing effective

whole-person care by combining the best

conventional medicine and complementary

approaches. This approach is proactive,

offering the best preventative strategies to

maintain good health.

www.connecthealthcare.ca

SHAILAH INTERACTIVE

Shailah Interactive is developing

affordable gesture-controlled tablet and

mobile educational games designed for

children with physical disabilities who

cannot use a touch screen. The games

are designed to help children with severe

communication diffi culties develop their

communication and expression skills.

www.shailahinteractive.com

SHIFT URBAN CARGO DELIVERY

Shift is transforming the urban goods

movement by using pedal-powered

trike vehicles for last-mile deliveries in

the downtown core, eliminating

congestion and pollution.

Shift is a worker co-op

providing empowering

employment for young

people within the

green economy.

www.shift.coop

GREEN CHALLENGE WASTE

MANAGEMENT

Green Challenge Waste

Management is a waste and recycling

management not-for-profi t society that

provides employment opportunities to

people with barriers to employment.

Green Challenge creates greener and more

sustainable waste management solutions for

SROs and multi-dwelling home units, and

provides solutions for sensitive hoarding

management issues.

www.takethegreenchallenge.ca

VICTORY GARDENS

Victory Gardens is a one-stop-shop that

helps people grow food in their urban

spaces. The team offers a variety of services

to their clients including building and

providing food-growing infrastructure;

full-service farming; and educational tools

such as coaching, workshops and custom

planting guides.

www.victorygardensvancouver.ca

Seven ventures

working to change the

world

http://www.thechangeheroes.com

http://www.thechangeheroes.com

http://www.seamarket.ca

http://www.connecthealthcare.ca

http://www.shailahinteractive.com

http://www.shift.coop

http://www.takethegreenchallenge.ca

http://www.victorygardensvancouver.ca


EARNING INTEREST TRENDS, TIPS, AND TIDBITS

BY CLAUDIA KWAN

It’s yours to give

FOOD IS MEDICINE.

1. Eat a cup of blueberries

every day.

Promising new research

indicates that eating blueberries

can not only prevent age-related

memory loss, it can actually

reverse it.

2. Folic acid isn’t just for

expectant mothers.

Vitamin B9, as it’s also known,

promotes nerve cell regeneration

in the brain and spine.

3. Pop a teaspoonful of cinnamon

into your next latte.

Cinnamon has powerful anti-

oxidant properties, and may also

help regulate insulin levels.

4. Fish is brain food.

Fatty fi sh like halibut, mackerel,

and salmon contain Omega 3

acids, which are needed to build

cell membranes in the brain.

Eating these fi sh three times a

week could also help protect

against heart disease and stroke.

5. Have a glass of sour cherry

juice before bed.

It’s been shown to release

melatonin, which can help

you get a good night’s rest. ■

It’s your health

MANY PEOPLE DONATE GENEROUSLY

to causes without knowing exactly how their

funds are used, or without knowing what the

ultimate goals are. That’s changed in recent years,

with the advent of “venture philanthropy.” It

takes principles of venture capital fi nancing

and applies them to charitable pursuits.

That includes a focus on

measurable results, and building

capacity for growth. In venture

philanthropy, human and intellectual

capital have just as much value as

fi nancial contributions, with many donors

choosing to become highly involved with the

organizations they fund. There is also an emphasis on multi-year

commitments, to create a stable basis of funding. High-profi le venture

philanthropists include fi gures like Warren Buffett and Bill and

Melinda Gates.

Here are some of their thoughts on when, how, and why to give.

“Concentrate your resources on needs that would not be met without your efforts. Conversely,

avoid making small contributions to the multitude of worthwhile activities that have many

possible funders and that would likely proceed without your help. Consider working with your

siblings on important projects. Pay attention to your home community but favor a broader view.

Judge programs by how they fi t with your goals and their chances for success, not by who makes

the request. Expect to make some mistakes; nothing important will be accomplished if you

make only ‘safe’ decisions.”

~ Warren Buffett’s advice to his three children

“Some of the projects we fund will fail. We not only accept that, we expect it—because we

think an essential role of philanthropy is to make bets on promising solutions that governments

and businesses can’t afford to make.”

~ Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft

“Is it really needed? Does the thing work like it’s supposed to? Will it get to those who

need it, and a lot of them? And will they use it right when they get it?”

~ Kevin Starr, Managing Director, The Mulago Foundation ■


Author Timothy Ferriss

broke the mold with the

bestseller The 4-Hour

Workweek. It included tips on

eliminating pointless busy

work, encouraging bosses

to value performance over

presence, streamlining

information intake, and considering bursts of

activity with mini-retirements, instead of a

long-haul career.

The Power of Doing Less:

How to Spend Your Valuable Time

on Things That Really Matter

by Fergus O’Connell

(Coming July 2013.)

This book discusses the

social implications of

overwork, as well as the

value in learning when to say no.

It’s your balancing act: books hot off the shelfHere are some books aiming to have a big impact on the topic of work-life balance.

KEYSHAWN JOHNSON

Johnson was selected fi rst overall in the

1996 NFL draft, and went on to play

wide receiver for 11 seasons. He does

commentary for ESPN, but his talents

aren’t limited to football. He hosted an

A&E series showing off his knowledge of

interior design, and has served as a judge

on Iron Chef America. His companies

invest in real estate and restaurants across

North America, encompassing both

franchise outlets and fi ne dining.

VIGGO MORTENSEN

He may be best known for his work in

movies like A History of Violence and the Lord

of the Rings trilogy, but the actor is also a

talented photographer, poet and painter.

His artwork has been exhibited in galleries

around the world. He composes music and

speaks seven different languages.

BRIAN MAY

The lead guitarist of rock band Queen

was working on degrees in math and

physics when the band began to really

take off. In 2007, he decided to complete

his PhD in astrophysics, and is currently

serving as the chancellor of a university

in England. He’s also been selected as one

of the top ten guitarists of all time in a

number of different polls. ■

It’s your life, your talent

Live your Dreams, Change the World:

The Psychology of Personal

Fulfi llment for Women

by Joanna Gavin, James

Quick, David Gavin.

(May 2013.) This book

teaches strategies around

playing to traditional female

strengths, such as communication skills and

emotional competence, while accurately deploy-

ing assertive behaviour.

The Balance Myth:

Rethinking Work-Life success

by Teresa A. Taylor.

(April 2013)

In this book, the author

shares her anecdotal

experience of being a COO

of a Fortune 200 company

while raising two boys with her husband, with

lessons learned about integrating personal and

professional life, and remembering to celebrate

accomplishments.

HOCKEY RULES IN CANADA, RIGHT?

Not quite—the Sport Participation 2010

Research Paper, published by Heritage

Canada, cites golf as the number one sport by

participation (and yes, hockey is number two).

What about soccer, you say? Demographics

play a decisive role in participation—golf is

ageless; soccer, not so much. Although sports

participation in Canada has been decreasing

over the past 20 years (because of the aging

population, costs, and lack of time), soccer

can be called the hot athletic pastime—it is

the only sport in the Canadian top 10 to have

experienced growth during this period.


GLOBAL ALUMNI NETWORK

Teresa Faulkner, Associate Director, Alumni Relations, listens to the night’s keynote speaker Fred Withers (BCom 1977).

Alumni mingle at the Volunteer Program launch in Toronto.

Alumni mingle at the volunteer program launch reception in Vancouver.

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THE SCHOOL RECENTLY LAUNCHED ITS VOLUNTEER

program to engage the Sauder community

through a variety of activities and initiatives that

help connect alumni and students.

“There are a great number of initiatives that

alumni can get involved in and volunteer their

talent and time. We are hoping to double the

number of alumni engaged by 2015,” said

Martina Valkovicova, Manager, Volunteer Program.

Offi cially launched on November 15, 2012

at receptions attended by a total of more

than 150 alumni in Vancouver, Toronto,

Calgary and Hong Kong, the volunteer

program is the result of a year of planning

and development. It gives alumni more than

40 ways to get involved, including mentoring

or coaching students, speaking in classes,

organizing reunions, participating in Sauder

Business Clubs and regional networks, and

Launch of volunteer program brings alumni togetherAlumni volunteers make a significant and lasting contribution to the Sauder School of Business and the educational experience of its students.

“We plan events, bring ideas to the table and connect

fellow alumni and students. By helping each other succeed, we prove to employers and the global communities that we

work in the quality of a Sauder education.”

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“Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Sauder brand, keeping our networks strong and connected.”

Alumni mingle at the volunteer program launch reception in Vancouver. Centre: Martina Valkovicova, Manager, Volunteer Program.

partnering in community and international

development initiatives. “Volunteers are the

lifeblood of the Sauder brand, keeping our

networks strong and connected,” said

Alice Chacon, MBA 2010, President of the

Sauder Business Club of Toronto. “We plan

events, bring ideas to the table and connect

fellow alumni and students. By helping each

other succeed, we prove to employers, and

the global communities that we work in, the

quality of a Sauder education.” ■

Anu Khanna (BCom 1987), receives his prize, a 256 GB MacBook Air computer, from Teresa Faulkner, Associate Director of Alumni Engagement. Khanna completed his profi le on the Sauder Global Alumni Directory and entered the login to win contest.

The Sauder Global Alumni Directory is open for business. EXCLUSIVELY FOR SAUDER GRADUATES, THE SECURE AND SEARCHABLE

online directory makes it easier for alumni to connect and support one an-

other around the globe. The directory lists every Sauder graduate with a UBC

Senate-recognized degree or diploma, and is the fi rst of its kind for UBC.

“We are excited to watch the directory develop into a valuable resource

for the entire alumni community,” says Teresa Faulkner, Associate Director of

Alumni Engagement, who encourages alumni to login, update and publish

their profi les to start connecting with fellow Sauder alumni worldwide.

So far, more than 4,000 alumni are participating in the directory. The tool

is part of a larger package of benefi ts offered to Sauder alumni, which includes

the Sauder Business Club network (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, London and

Greater China—Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing), career services and access

to the Factiva news and information database, among others.

Alumni can access the directory on the Sauder Global Alumni Network

website at www.sauderalumni.ca and from all Sauder Business Club

websites. The Sauder School has more than 34,000 alumni in 77

countries around the world. ■

You are now connected!

To learn more and get involved, please visit:www.sauder.ubc.ca/Alumni/Get_Involved

Alice Chacon (MBA 2010) talks to fellow alumni at the Volunteer Program launch in Toronto.

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http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Alumni/Get_Involved

http://www.sauderalumni.ca


GLOBAL ALUMNI NETWORK

Sauder Business Clubs announce new leadershipSauder Business Clubs serve the business, social and professional development interests of the School’s alumni communities. Three dynamic and energetic alumni have recently assumed leadership roles with Sauder Business Clubs of Toronto, Vancouver, and Greater China—Hong Kong.

Peter Lee, BCom 1989 (Finance), Leslie Wong

Fellow, President, Sauder Business Club of

Greater China—Hong Kong

Born in Hong Kong, Lee moved to Vancouver

with his family at the age of 8. He was educated

in Vancouver and entered UBC in 1984. During

his third year of Commerce, he was accepted

into the Portfolio Management Society (now

known as PMF), and he majored in Finance,

Portfolio Management. During those two years at

Sauder, he held internship positions with Merrill

Lynch in Toronto and Citigroup in Hong Kong.

Lee graduated from UBC in 1989, and in

1990 he became a principal of a Vancouver based

investment fi rm (recently founded by a group

of investment industry executives and local

prominent investors) specializing in trading and

venture capital investments. He worked in the

corporate fi nance department until 2001, when

he sold his interest back to the fi rm to pursue

outside investment interests. During his years at

the fi rm, he assisted numerous entrepreneurs in

small to medium-sized businesses raising capital,

restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions.

Since 2001, Lee has been an investor in

various companies in technology, oil and gas,

mineral extraction, and real estate developments.

His roles in these companies range from

passive investment to advisory as a principal to

controlling shareholder. He has continued his

investment activities in Hong Kong and currently

has investments in several companies based in

Hong Kong and China.

Yassaman Nouri, BCom 2010 (Finance),

President, Sauder Business Club of

Vancouver

Nouri is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth

Diamond Jubilee Medal for contributions to

communities in Canada and internationally. She

has worked in Iran, UK, China, Malawi, Tajikistan

and Canada in diverse sectors including

manufacturing, post-secondary education,

international trade, international development,

social fi nance, credit unions, non-profi ts and

government organizations. In 2010, while

on a seven-month Canadian International

Development Agency internship, Nouri was

placed by Canadian Co-operative Association

in Malawi, where she served as credit union

development offi cer for Malawi’s central credit

union and three community-based credit unions.

In 2011-2012, Nouri did an eight-month

micro-fi nance, micro-enterprise fellowship

with the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada,

where she was placed with the Aga Khan

Development Network’s First MicroFinance Bank

in Tajikistan. Integrating the SMART Campaign’s

client protection principles into the culture

and practices of the bank, she piloted the fi rst

business-lending program for Afghan refugees

in Tajikistan.

In 2012, Nouri joined Ernst & Young’s

Advisory team in Vancouver in the Performance

Improvement work stream, working on a variety

of projects from governance, strategic planning,

and transformation management to fi nancial

institution advising.

As the new President of the Sauder Business

Club of Vancouver, Nouri leads a team of

about 30 members dedicated to fostering a

lifelong community among current and future

Sauder alumni by promoting connections and

professional development and enhancing pride

in Sauder.

Alice Chacon, MBA 2010 (Marketing),

President, Sauder Business Club of Toronto

Chacon completed her Sauder MBA in 2010,

specializing in Marketing. Her keen interest in

mobile technology and marketing led her to

become one of the few MBA students from top

US and Canadian business schools to be selected

as interns for Research in Motion’s Product and

Management Development Program in 2009.

After graduating, she used her strong

marketing and communications skills in roles

in the Cards Marketing teams at American

Express and most recently at CIBC, where she is

a Marketing Manager heading Loyalty Rewards

programs.

Before her MBA, Chacon worked in the media

industry and at PepsiCo South America Foods

in her native city of Caracas, Venezuela. She is

passionate about mobile innovation, blogging and

community involvement, currently mentoring

Sauder alumni and new immigrants to Canada.

As President of the Sauder Business Club of

Toronto, Chacon aims to give back to the alumni

community by increasing alumni engagement

and contributing to their career success with

events and tools offered through the club. ■


FORMALLY LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER 2011, THE

program bolsters the Career Centre’s effectiveness

by providing employers with meaningful

opportunities to connect with highly qualifi ed

candidates who offer a wide range of experience.

Alumni Career ServicesAs part of the reimagined Sauder Global Alumni Network, the Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre launched Alumni Career Services—an enhanced resource offering Sauder alumni a lifetime of access to career management services including personal coaching services, an online site and community rich with resources, live events, webinars, and a job posting board.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT

www.sauderalumnicareers.ca.

G 2013

“At the Hari B. Varshney Business Career

Centre, we care passionately about our students’

and alumni’s careers—their goals, satisfaction

and successes,” says Assistant Dean Denise Baker,

adding, “Whether our alumni fi nd themselves

looking for a new challenge, for an opportunity

in another city, or want to change industries, we

are here to help.”

Sauder alumna Merryl Edington-Hryb, BCom

2009 (Finance), welcomed the opportunity to

work with the Centre’s alumni career coaches,

who helped her manage her new-found career

and the relocation from Vancouver to Calgary.

“They helped me realize what works best

for me in terms of management styles and

work environment,” she says. “They helped me

understand what makes me tick.”

Edington-Hryb notes that many graduates

need help navigating challenging job markets, or

fi nding their calling. “If only they had someone

who could help them realize what they’re looking

for and what’s out there,” she says. “I highly

recommend Sauder Alumni Career Services.”

The Career Centre relies heavily on participa-

tion from alumni, who volunteer as mentors,

panellists and speakers, and offer support through

student employment opportunities.

“As alumni advance in their career, they

also have a unique opportunity to make a

difference,” says Sauder School of Business Dean

Robert Helsley. “By advocating for their alma

mater in the community and looking out for

students and fellow alumni who share the Sauder

experience as a common bond, they can both

support the mission of the School and add value

to their degree.”

Since the program’s launch, there have been

more than 1,000 interactions between alumni

and the Career Centre’s career coaches, in person

or over the phone or e-mail. A record number of

alumni have registered for career-related webinars

hosted by Alumni Career Services. ■

http://www.sauderalumnicareers.ca


CLASS NOTES

Dear alumni, From Vancouver to Hong Kong and from London to Karachi, the Sauder community includes more than 34,000 alumni in 77

countries. Each of our alumni holds a piece of the School’s history as well as its future. The connections that hold our

community together are our School’s most meaningful strength.

We want to hear from you! So tell us your story, share your news, and send us your photos. Whether you just got the job

of your dreams or are still fi nding your way, took a trip around the world or have been enjoying the comforts of home, got

married or became a parent—fi ll us in on your family and career, accomplishments and interests.

We’ll print your news in the Class Notes section of Viewpoints Magazine, which is consistently ranked as one of the most

popular segments of our publication. Through the Class Notes, you will share your story with fellow alumni and current

students, reconnect with old classmates, and stay connected as a vital part of the Sauder community.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

Viewpoints Magazine

Don Chutter BCom 1944

Was honoured with the awarding of the Queen

Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for services to

the Canadian construction community and to

the Ottawa community throughout the 60 years

of her reign. The presentation was made by

Hon. Mauril Belanger on Parliament Hill in

November 2012.

Ernest Anastasiou BCom 1949

Following WW2 service as a Navigator in the

RCAF I took my fi rst year at Victoria College in

1946-47. 1947 UBC Faculty of Commerce

Graduated BCom fall 1949 Convocation.

Joined the Hudson’s Bay Company Sept. 1949

as a Management Trainee. 1955 married and

promoted to Department Manager transferred to

The Bay store in Saskatoon. 1961 transferred to

The Bay store as a Department Manager at The

Bay Calgary. Retired Dec. 1988.

John Williams BCom 1958

Retire? That word is not in my vocabulary.

Going to the offi ce or travelling to clients is way

too much fun—like having a different puzzle

to solve each day. My company, J.C. Williams

Group, continues to grow its retail and shopping

centre consulting-related work from our offi ces

in Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, and Ann Arbor,

Michigan. And we have joint ventures in Russia,

Iran, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, which take us

to interesting places like Tehran, Dubai, Doha,

Riyadh, Saint Petersburg and Tunisia. Part of the

enjoyment is trying (but not succeeding) to

keep up with the technological advances that

our young professionals treat as just normal.

On the academic side, I’ve just completed my

third book. It’s an e-book entitled “The Strategic

Compass Model—Your Guide to Creating a

Legendary Business” and is available on

www.jcwg.com.

But life is not all with clients. Maureen (York

University, 1975) and I enjoy a lot of major

travel as well as visiting the two sons/daughters-

in-law and family (three grandkids) in New York

and Brookland, a daughter/son-in-law (two

granddaughters) in Rome and daughter/son-

in-law (three granddaughters) just three blocks

from us in Toronto. And daily life is terrifi c,

enjoying the local cultural and culinary sites,

getting to the “Y” daily, and staying in touch

with friends—especially the Class of 1958!

1940S 1950S

SHARE YOUR NEWSClass Notes are easier than ever

to submit. Simply fi ll out the online form at www.sauder.ubc.

ca/alumni/classnotes.

J h Willi BC 1958

http://www.jcwg.com

http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/alumni/classnotes


Brian Coldwells BCom 1972

As a mature student, I towed three children

through my years of learning and even had

my preschooler sit in with me in one law class

when other arrangements did not work out. The

downside of my last year was getting hit with

viral pneumonia during that winter. Bouncing

back, while not easy, was accomplished with the

much-appreciated understanding that I found

with my professors. My trip through Commerce

was probably as different from the average student

as could be, not just because of age difference,

but because of being a family man with well-

entrenched responsibilities that most would

not come to know for some years afterward.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed campus life as well as the

involvement with our children in the various

things they joined such as cubs, Kindercare,

hockey, soccer and other sports. I went on to

become a Chartered Accountant in 1974 and

maintained a varied career path through until my

retirement in 1999. Those three children, by the

way, are all married and produced grandchildren

for Anna and I... seven in total.

Lloyd Aasen MBA 1974

After 38 years of legal practice in the areas of

corporation law and real estate development, I

have decided to start a new life and have retired.

Priority will be given to obtaining a part-time

teaching position, travel and adult education in

areas not previously explored such as history and

cosmology, and spending more time with my

wife Virginia and daughter Laurel, as she pursues

her master’s degree in counseling psychology.

Alan Clarke BCom 1978

After being laid off in July 2004 from a

controllership position, I have been living the

life of an amateur athlete—training for and

entering running races (5kms – marathons)

and triathlons (sprint/Olympic/half-iron/and

ironman distances), based in Penticton, BC. I have

also become an amateur missionary, taking God’s

gospel and end-time message to the Philippines

with offi cials of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

once per year. In 2008, I married a nice woman

from the Philippines, and was able to bring her to

Canada in 2009.

John Clark BCom 1979

John S. Clark was named a “Five Star Wealth

Manager” for the second consecutive year. To

earn this award, wealth managers had to meet

ten objective eligibility and evaluation criteria

associated with outstanding client service. The

evaluation process included a survey of 1 in 12

households who would use wealth management

services. This is only the second time that this

award has been given in Vancouver.

Derek Wiens BCom 1981

After earning my BCom and then my LLB

at UBC, I entered the publishing business at

Commerce Clearing House (CCH) in Vancouver

and Toronto and eventually at Real Estate Weekly

in Vancouver. I practiced law for about 10 years,

and thanks to a few good real estate investments,

I recently retired. I enjoy the freedom of early

retirement, thanks to my education at UBC and

various business pursuits.

Don Nataros MBA 1981

Always an adventure. And this may be the year

where I combine the life sciences with business!

Douglas Querns MBA 1982

Have just started a new job as CFO of Family

Services of Greater Vancouver.

Dan Bednar BCom 1987

In May I was appointed Executive Vice President

and Chief Financial Offi cer of the Eurofi ns

Scientifi c Group, and moved to Brussels to take

up my new job. With revenues of over one

billion dollars and 12,000 staff in more than 170

laboratories across 32 countries, Eurofi ns is the

world leader in food and pharmaceutical products

testing and environmental laboratory services.

Eurofi ns is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris

stock exchange, and is part of the SBF 120 index.

Amyn Khimji Bcom 1988

Amyn Khimji, CMA, has been appointed to the

position of Assistant Director, Financial Accounting

at JTB International (Canada) Ltd. Amyn has been

with JTB since 1994 and previously held the

position of Manager, Financial Accounting.

1970S 1980S






CLASS NOTES

Teddy Lai DULE 1990

This year marks over 20 years that our fi rm,

GHL Consultants Ltd., has been providing

specialist advisory services in building codes

and fi re sciences in the construction industry. We

develop alternative solutions to code compliance

and facilitate regulatory coordination in fi re and

life safety aspects for construction projects. We

look forward to another 20 years of success.

Anjili Bahadoorsingh BCom 1990

The District of West Vancouver has appointed Anjili

I. Bahadoorsingh as a Board Trustee of the West

Vancouver Memorial Library for a two-year term.

Morgan Tam BCom 1991

Photo stop on Mount John Laurie in Alberta,

December 2012 shows Morgan enjoying her

new hobby of winter scrambling. Professionally

she continues to build on her experience as

a Certifi ed General Accountant (CGA) and

Certifi ed Internal Auditor (CIA), working with

publicly listed entities on internal controls

compliance and internal audit projects in

Western Canada.

Steven Chan MBA 1994

Was bemused to receive a Lifetime Service

Award from the Oracle Applications User

Group recently. This seems awfully premature

but humbling, nonetheless. I’m still living in

a mountain resort town in Central Oregon

but will be spending March–July 2013 in

Manhattan. Would love to catch up with any

fellow alums in the city. Saw 22 Broadway shows

during a three-week NYC trip last year, and

would be interested in connecting with fellow

arts lovers, too.

Jan Masek BCom 1995

In late 2011 we moved from Frankfurt,

Germany, to Zurich, in Switzerland, where I

head J.P. Morgan’s corporate fi nance and M&A

business. After 20 years abroad, including

four in Canada at UBC in the early 90s, it was

a homecoming at last. In April last year, our

third child, Julius, was born, so life is hectic all

around: at work, and equally at home. Although

I miss Vancouver, being close to the Alps and the

lakes again feels good. Cheers!

Richard Stackman PhD 1995

Became Associate Dean of Undergraduate

Programs in the School of Management at the

University of San Francisco in September 2012.

Eugen Klein BCom 1997

In 2012, Eugen Klein became President of the

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the

professional association of 11,500 REALTORS®.

Recently, the National Quality Institute

awarded REBGV (rebgv.org) the Canada Award

of Excellence, their highest award of continued

excellence. Eugen is privileged to be the

youngest President of the Board in its

93-year history.

As principal of Klein Group, Royal LePage

City Centre (kleingroup.com), a real estate

brokerage fi rm specializing in commercial,

project marketing and residential real estate,

his fi rm achieved Royal LePage’s National

Chairman’s Club (Top 100) in Canada and Top

Ten Provincial.

Eugen became a member of the Institute

of Corporate Directors (icd.ca) in 2012 and

completed the ICD.D designation through

the Directors Education Program (DEP). This

program is jointly developed by the Institute

of Corporate Directors and the Rotman School

of Management, University of Toronto and is

the only professional designation for Canadian

directors.

The personal highlight of this past year

was spending time traveling through India

and the UAE. Morgan Tam BCom 1991

1990S


Sophia Fu BCom 1997

Worked as an Internal Project Manager at

Sogeti US LLC in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Became familiar with the MIA, Walker Museum,

music culture, and history of Saint Paul and

Minneapolis. Went to the Frank Lloyd Wright

Visitors Center in Wisconsin and a Wisconsin

winery. Worked on some exciting application

upgrade migration projects with some computer

hardware clients. Spent a few years in Silicon

Valley, California as a Project Manager and worked

with telecommunications, internet service

provider, network service provider, retail, and

ecommerce clients. Obtained a second degree

(BSc) and worked in clinical roles and as a

consultant in healthcare software projects. In my

spare time, I enjoy skiing, cooking, reading, wine,

and travelling. I enjoy my carefree lifestyle and

exposure to different cultures, food and people.

David Moulton DMSM 1999

My spouse Marian Toft and I have successfully

transitioned to empty nesters. After selling our

house in Lynn Valley, we found a condo in New

Westminster. After a complete renovation, we

moved in June of 2012. I continue to teach at

Douglas College in the Marketing Department

and I have a ten minute walk to work. I sit on

the New Westminster Economic Development

Advisory Committee with fellow DMSM grad

Gregus, who has opened his own local winery—

Pacifi c Breeze. Our daughter Sophia (also a UBC

grad) is living with her husband Noah Phillips

(UBC grad) in Fredericton, NB as he pursues a

MA in geology. Our youngest will graduate in

the spring from Thompson Rivers University

in Kamloops. Marian is pursuing her Interior

Design degree at BCIT.

B.J. Turner BCom 2000

In 2012 my wife Laurel, son Watson and I,

welcomed another boy to the family: Bowen

Penn Turner, born October 19, 2012. I work

with a real estate private equity fi rm in Los

Angeles where we had a successful 2012 by

closing on six hotel and offi ce transactions in a

market that is gaining solid momentum. While

we love the California weather, we certainly miss

Vancouver and look forward to our regular trips

back throughout the year.

James Chang MBA 2005

The two biggest highlights are that I am engaged

to be married to the love of my life, Jennifer,

and that we have relocated back to Vancouver!

Jennifer will be practicing optometry in the

Lower Mainland and I will be opening an offi ce

for my software company, Mapagogo. We are

both looking forward to reconnecting with all

of our friends and classmates!

Jeremy Cook BCom 2006

2012 was a busy year for us... my oldest started

kindergarten, my youngest started ballet and

couldn’t be cuter at it, and my wife is running

her own business (luvinthemommyhood.com)...

all I did was pass the UFE... not a bad year.

Looking forward to 2013.

2000S






CLASS NOTES

Abby Ong-Villeneuve BCom 2006

2012 was an eventful year with a major life

change. I celebrated six years with TELUS as a

Senior Marketing Manager, using the 4P’s from

Marketing Strategy to look after the Atlantic

region and the very small business customer

segment. In November, we welcomed Xavier

into our lives and have been enjoying my new

career as a mom! Any parenting tips welcome!

Peter Rasquinha MBA 2006

With much delight, my wife and I welcomed

our new baby girl Ruth Komal Rasquinha.

Lena Ding BCom 2007

After receiving a BCom in Accounting from

UBC, Lena started to work towards her CGA

designation in a public accounting practice in

Vancouver. In 2009, she moved to Toronto and

pursued her MBA at the University of Toronto.

Lena has received her MBA from the Rotman

School of Management and obtained her CGA

designation in 2011. Lena is working as a Senior

Finance Analyst in CIBC in Toronto now.

Bernard Lau BCom 2007

Bernard Lau recently celebrated the fi rst

anniversary of the law fi rm that he cofounded,

Chak Lau and Co. LLP. After graduating from

Sauder, Bernard completed a law degree and

earned his Juris Doctor at UBC in 2010. He

is pleased to welcome the addition of Sophia

Xu, UBC Law alumna from 2010, to the fi rm.

Bernard practises in civil litigation with an

emphasis on real estate and construction law.

Amar Kulkarni MBA 2008

Our Honeymoon in Africa

My wife and I, newly married, set out on an

adventure of a lifetime to celebrate our journey

together. As if a destination wedding in gorgeous

Punta Cana for seven days was not enough, we

decided to explore Africa for fi ve weeks—it

turned out to be the most amazing time of

our lives as we started in Cairo and ended in

Johannesburg.

First stop: Egypt

Ever since I was a child, I have dreamed of seeing

the pyramids. Although I am well traveled (visited

over 20 countries), Egypt has always been at the

top of my list. Regardless of the political uprising

that was taking place, we decided to “take a

chance” to experience Egypt. After bringing in the

New Year (literally) under the pyramids, it was in

fact many of the other sights outside of Cairo that

impressed us the most. In many temples, tombs

and libraries there were inscriptions that mapped

out highly advanced science and engineering,

such as medicines, remedies and architectural

design. A tribute to the Ancient Library of

Alexandria that was destroyed, this information

is now accessible in the modern museum of

Alexandria, the largest and most advanced library

I have seen. Aside from taking my breath away,

sites such as Abu Simbel, Valley of the Kings,

Karnak and Luxor really brought attention to the

value of life. The ancient Egyptians lived preparing






for the afterlife. I purchased a painting of The Final

Judgment that emphasized this point, as the gods

weigh a human heart versus a feather to evaluate

the good and helpful deeds he/she has brought

to this world in order to determine his/her fate.

Second stop: Tanzania

One of my biggest passions is wildlife, and there

is no better place in the world to experience

it in its natural state than Tanzania. We had the

privilege of driving through the bush (Serengeti,

Ngorogoro crater and Manyara) and seeing the

big fi ve (lions, cheetahs, leopards, wildebeest and

black rhinos) and other species such as ostriches,

fl amingos, hawks, vultures, monkeys and baboons.

One of the most thrilling rides was viewing the

wildebeest migration—millions of wildebeest

dashing through Lake Ndutu. In order to get to

the other side of the reserve, we had to cross the

migration, and as we did, the wildebeest literally

stopped in their tracks and started to form a new

path around our vehicle, while the rest of the herd

waited patiently. The sheer determination and

cooperation to travel to their intended destination

was remarkable. In addition to the safari, we drove

past the earliest fi ndings of our human ancestors

near Arusha—human footprints nearly 3.6 million

years old. Next, we fl ew to Zanzibar, also referred

to as “spice town.” As a huge food enthusiast,

tasting fresh fruits and tropical spices was a treat,

along with the array of international fusion dishes.

In addition to the spice life, we were exhilarated

to swim in the crystal clear waters of the Indian

Ocean at Kizimkazi, with wild dolphins and giant

sea turtles.

Third stop: South Africa

The last country we visited was South Africa,

which was a much more relaxing segment. The

highlights included a wine tasting tour at a variety

of farms near Cape Town in Paarl, Stellenbosch

and Franschhoek, which really opened my eyes

about the South African wine industry. We traveled

to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was

held during the Apartheid and learned about the

hardship and racial barriers that the country has

recently overcome. Aside from visiting penguins,

seals and sharks, Table Mountain (new natural

wonder of the world) was a great spectacle and

the views from the top were outstanding! Near

Jo-burg, we had the opportunity to go to a private

wildlife farm where the trainer innovated a new

way of training animals—through love and

positive reinforcement (milk as a reward). I got to

run with a cheetah, hang out with lion cubs and

interact with snakes!

Attending the international exchange program

at Sauder really instilled the importance of traveling

as an educational tool and I regularly integrate

travel as a critical component of knowledge

development. Subjects of politics, culture, history,

commerce, geography, biology and anthropology

were constantly revealed. Aside from immersing

ourselves in this natural utopia of Africa, our

experience presented many opportunities to

apply cost-conscious thinking and technology

leapfrogging, such as agriculture, natural resource

trade and mobile payments that could enable Africa

as a highly emerging economy.

Brandon Jang BCom 2008

Every year after graduation has been rigorous,

yet rewarding. I graduated in 2008 when

everyone was entering the market crash and

I did not think I could secure a position at a

CA training offi ce with my sub-par academic

average. However, I was offered a position

immediately after convocation and I began to

thrive after starting my life as a CA student.

I managed to obtain my CA in April 2011

and shortly began facilitating and marking

Modules 5 and 6 for the CA School of Business.

This year in 2013, I have begun running my

own accounting practice and pursuing my

own business venture. I could not have done

it without learning these essential skills at the

Sauder School of Business—especially those

from accounting, tax and New Venture Design.

The sky is the limit—for all of us.

Daniel Eby BCom 2009

I completed my third yoga teacher training

course along with my group cycle course, and

began teaching yoga and group cycle on a full

time basis. In addition to this, I co-hosted my

fi rst yoga retreat with a group of 14 on Gambier

Island. This gave way to the creation of my fi rst

international yoga retreat I held at the beginning

of 2013 in Maui.

Mike Ford MBA 2009

This past year (2012) I started consulting

for one of BC’s largest, vertically integrated,

producer, processor and retailer of organic beef.

My last project for this fi rm was developing a

business case for a new restaurant/retail concept

in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region of BC.

Mike Ford MBA 2009


CLASS NOTES

Ryan Fetterly BCom 2009

In early 2012 I quit my job to travel around the

world and intern at social ventures in emerging

markets. To date I’ve spent nine months in Africa

and completed three projects traveling by land

down the continent on public transit. I left for

Asia in February 2013 and alums can follow my

adventures at 1yearentrepreneur.com.

Charles Voon BCom 2009

It has been a crazy few years after graduation.

I am very excited to join fellow Sauder alumni

as I relocate to Shanghai! I have the honour of

helping my advertising agency, Blast Radius,

open up their fi rst Asia Pacifi c offi ce. Please

come to Shanghai to visit—I cannot wait to

show you around!

Preeti Adhikary MBA 2010

After three years, we decided to settle here in

Singapore. I started my new job and love it! I also

fi nished my fi rst half-marathon in December.

Evelina Mannarino DULE 2010

In 2012, I fi nally published my fi rst book,

“Profi ts in Real Estate Rentals.” This was

challenging to do as I was running my company,

luxurycorporatesuites.com along with attending

the Oprah show in Toronto in April (front row)

and having a baby in June. In October, I started

my fi rst build with my husband, a two-story

residential home. It was a pretty busy 2012 for

me with things looking up in 2013!

Manoj Singh MBA 2010

I was a part of a business delegation from Canada

to India during a weeklong eventful time in India

in November 2012. Apart from several satisfying

business meetings and high-level corporate

interactions, the most satisfying was a one-

on-one meeting with Prime Minister Stephen

Harper to share my perspective as to how we can

enhance our business with Indian companies.

Jenny Zhu DAP 2012

After completing the DAP program, I started

working for the consulting fi rm Quantum Advisory

Partners LLP where I am currently pursuing

my CGA designation. The highlight for the year

was my trip to Europe. I discovered my love for

traveling when I fi rst visited Europe in 2011. Since

then I decided to make it an annual tradition to

discover a new place every year; this year I went to

Nuremberg for Christmas, spent a week in Paris,

and celebrated the New Year in Zurich. The picture

was taken at the capital of Switzerland, Bern.

CharlesVoon BCom 2009

J Zh DAP 2012




2010S



Justin Giroux BCom 2011

Upon graduating in 2012 and starting my career

as a Market Analyst in the beautiful Okanagan,

I have found my true passion: Top Shelf

Autographs. I work my “career” job during the

day, and when I come home, it’s all Top Shelf:

quotes, sales, updating the website, and ensuring

customers are happy. The most rewarding part

of the business is working with fundraiser

groups and providing items that will greatly

help benefi t society, especially children. Whether

it’s raising money for minor hockey associations

or children with illness, it feels great to give

back and help a worthy cause. The education I

received from UBC helps me on a daily basis,

both for Top Shelf Autographs and my day job.

Prof. George Gorelik MBA 1960

George Gorelik, Sauder alumnus and Emeritus

Associate Professor of Accounting, died on

December 22, 2012 at age 86.

George, a Byelorussian émigré born in

Poland, worked as CGA-BC’s fi rst full-time

employee and went on to become its president

in 1976. He earned his CGA certifi cation and

subsequently an MBA from the Faculty of

Commerce and Business Administration in

1960. George left CGA-BC in 1963 to follow

his love of teaching and accounting as a

lecturer in UBC’s Faculty of Commerce and

Business Administration. His academic ambition

then took him stateside to the University of

California, Berkeley for his doctorate, which

he received in 1970. He wrote many papers,

including research on management accounting,

fi nancial decision-making, international

comparative accounting and organizational

science, while studying and teaching as an

Associate in Berkeley. His connection to the

University of British Columbia would last

30 years.

George earned many awards and distinctions

over the years. He was a FCGA, and a Life

Member; in 2008, CGA-Canada named him

one of Canada’s top 100 CGAs of the past 100

years. George spent 28 years teaching at UBC.

Upon his retirement in 1991, the Faculty

of Commerce and Business Administration

honoured him with an annual prize in his

name. The George Gorelik Prize is awarded to

the student obtaining the highest standing in

fi nancial accounting.

His other great passion was his abiding love

of the classical guitar and singing.

George Gorelik was born in Sienno,

Nowogrodek, Poland on May 5, 1926. Besides

his loving wife Peggy, he is survived by his

children Katherine, Peter, Stephen and Elizabeth,

and six grandchildren, all of whom live in BC

Funeral services were held at Mountain

View Cemetery in Vancouver on Friday,

December 28.

David Woodman BCom 1959

David Woodman passed away in July 2012,

from Alzheimer’s disease. He leaves behind his

wife Roxanne of 53 years, three children and

11 grandchildren. ■

in memoriam

Contact usIs your information

missing or incorrect? Just let us know by emailing

[email protected]

Become a Sauder School of Business alumni contact

Be a contact for Sauder School of Business and fellow alumni in your city, country or region.

Help counsel prospective students, advise new graduates, welcome summer interns and

arrange alumni events.

To volunteer, contact us today!

We can be reached at:Tel: 604-822-6801Fax: 604-822-0592

e-mail: [email protected]

We always appreciate your feedback on events and programs in support of alumni activities.

Mark your calendars for May, when Sauder alumni

are invited to return to campus for UBC Alumni

Weekend 2013 and a number of BCom and MBA

class reunions.

UBC Alumni Weekend, set for May 25, is a magnet

for the fun-loving, the curious and those who

secretly wish they were still students. It’s a “boot

camp” for your brain, a place to fi nd your muse,

and an occasion to celebrate community and relive

some of the best years of your life. This is the

one weekend where faculties and departments

from across UBC come together to create a day

of exciting programming no matter what your

interests. This year’s event features Rick Mercer

performing his hilarious talk “A Nation Worth

Ranting About.”

For the fi rst time, many of this year’s Sauder class

reunions will coincide with Alumni Weekend to

give alumni even more opportunities to renew old

friendships, make new connections and have fun!

The Sauder School and its Robert H. Lee Graduate

School will host Beyond the Briefcase, an

entertaining, family-friendly festival for alumni

and friends. The two-hour event will showcase

the innovative ways in which the School and our

graduates are rewriting the rules of business.

Come meet and be inspired by some of our

dynamic alumni—innovators, entrepreneurs,

creative decision makers, problem solvers and

global citizens—who are challenging accepted

conventions and fi nding intriguing ways to combine

their passion and business.

Beyond the Briefcase, May 25, 2013, 1:15 pm - 3:15 pm,

CA Hall, Henry Angus Building, 2053 Main Mall

All alumni from this year’s reunion classes –

BCom 1948, BCom 1953, BCom 1958, BCom 1963,

BCom 2008, MBA/MSc 1998, MBA 2003, and MBA

2008 – are invited to kick off Alumni Weekend

with an exclusive pancake breakfast at 9 am at the

Big 4 Conference Centre, 9th Floor, Henry Angus

Building.

For more information and a complete schedule for

Alumni Weekend, please visit www.alumni.ubc.ca/

events/alumniweekend/

CLASS NOTES

Come back to Sauder!



http://www.alumni.ubc.ca/events/alumniweekend/


POINTS OF VIEW

Once upon a time (and some of you may remember these days), the last contact a business school had with its students was on graduation day. Many of you, I fear, took one last look at Henry Angus, and left to make your way, without any sense that your alma mater cared much where you landed.

THESE DAYS, UBC’S MOTTO, “IT IS YOURS,”

means something quite different. After all, a

school is no more than the sum of the people

who learn, and are inspired, there. The Sauder

School of Business is yours.

That’s why we recently set out to create an

alumni and development strategy that would

set us apart from other business schools.

Over a 12-month period, a task force comprised

of alumni, staff and faculty worked on a

strategic framework for the Sauder team that

supports you.

Our vision is simple: “Sauder for Life.”

To us, this means giving you the opportunity

to cultivate a life-long relationship with fellow

graduates and your alma mater, based on shared

interests and genuine engagement for the rest of

your life.

As a graduate of the Sauder School of

Business or the Robert H. Lee Graduate School,

you can expect you will be provided with:

• Access to your global alumni network,

• Access to relevant and unique knowledge,

and

• Opportunities to build your relationships

with the Sauder Community.

What does this mean to you if you are a

student?

Alumni network: As a student you will

have access to alumni and business leaders

as mentors, guest lecturers and role models

throughout your educational experience. Alumni

will be on campus to greet you on your fi rst day

of school, inspire you as you pass milestones

and see you cross the stage at graduation.

Knowledge: You will learn from leaders in their

fi elds and world-class researchers in an environ-

ment that accommodates and uses the newest

and best technologies and methods.

Sauder community: You will have unique

opportunities to develop deep connections with

fellow students, alumni, faculty and staff by

joining clubs, participating in case competitions,

participating in student exchanges, or volunteer-

ing in the Alumni Student Ambassador Program.

“After all, a school is no more than the sum of the people

who learn, and are inspired, there. The Sauder School of

Business is yours.”

Sauder—yours


Sheila BiggersASSOCIATE DEAN, DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

“If we do our job, your relationship with Sauder will continue to provide value to you at all stages of your life.”

What does this mean to you if you are a

recent graduate?

Alumni network: You will have all the rights

and privileges of being a Sauder alum. You will

have full membership privileges in the Sauder

Global Alumni Network with access to the

alumni directory (just launched in November, so

if you haven’t signed up, please do!) and alumni

career services, including helpful webinars.

Knowledge: You are eligible for discounts for

executive education courses, have access to our

alumni career program, and, as an MBA alum,

you have access to MBA courses for life.

Sauder community: You can participate in

activities organized by the Sauder Business Clubs

in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, London, Beijing,

Shanghai or Hong Kong. You can attend or

even help plan your fi ve-year reunion. You can

participate in student orientation or volunteer

in other ways.

What does this mean to you as an alum?

Alumni network: You can fi nd your fellow

alumni on the Sauder Business Directory and

search by location, industry, specialization, or

graduation year. You can hire co-op students or

interns from your alma mater. You can recruit

graduates to fi ll your organization’s human

resource needs.

Knowledge: You have all the benefi ts of

UBC and Sauder alumni, including a discount

for executive education programs, career

management support, and—if you are an MBA

graduate—access to MBA courses for life. You

have access to a constant source of new and

relevant knowledge that is generated by the best

research faculty in the world.

Sauder community: You can participate in one

of the Sauder Business Clubs. You can attend

or even plan your reunion. You can participate

in student orientation or graduation. You can

mentor or speak to students.

Tuum Est. This is your school. And if we do

our job, your relationship with Sauder will

continue to provide value to you at all stages of

your life. Our hope is you will wish to stay in

touch, become involved and help support those

who graduate behind you.

Over this past year, the school managed to

connect with more than 7,800 alumni around

the world—25 per cent of you. If you would

like to add yourself to the list of involved Sauder

graduates, please reach out to us via any of the

contacts listed on this page.

I look forward to crossing paths with you

soon, as well-served and engaged alumni of

the Sauder School of Business. ■

Other helpful contacts are:

Associate Director, Alumni Teresa Faulkner [email protected]

Clubs and Regions Bryan Ide [email protected]

Students and Young Alumni Program Sharlene Cheu [email protected]

Volunteer Program or Reunions Martina [email protected]

Alumni Career Services Kristine Thody [email protected]

DonationsSimone LeBlanc, Associate Director [email protected]

now; yours for life









Business motto or philosophy:

“Actions speak louder than words”–anyone can

say they will do something, but those who follow

through with actions will be the most successful

over time.

In business today, it’s important to…

listen to as many perspectives as possible. While

you won’t agree with everything you hear, there’s

something to gain from listening to each person’s

unique experiences.

Most valuable thing learned since graduation:

Learn on your feet and adapt quickly to changing

situations.

Eureka moment:

In COMM 486R, learning how to analyze business

challenges holistically and working with talented

peers from different disciplines.

Biggest risk you’ve ever taken:

Moving to the other side of the continent, and

learning to get out of my comfort zone in a city

where I didn’t know many people at fi rst.

Greatest achievement to date:

Being a part of the UBC Portfolio Management

Foundation, as a student and now a Leslie Wong

Fellow.

Greatest extravagance: Sony Google TV

Person you admire most and why (living or

historical fi gure):

Milton Wong. He was an extremely generous

person who made a signifi cant impact in the

Vancouver community. Our PMF class had the

opportunity to meet him a few years ago and

he reminded us of the importance of ethics to a

sustainable career in fi nance.

Trait you admire most in others:

Empathy–being able to understand the other

person’s perspective is essential in business.

Talent you would most like to have:

Better singing ability (working on this).

Last book you couldn’t put down:

The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver.

Most listened to:

Coldplay–saw them for the fi rst time in concert

this past New Year’s at the new Barclays Center

in Brooklyn.

Gadget of choice:

Nexus 7 tablet. It’s great for playing video and

surfi ng the Internet, and portable enough to

carry around comfortably.

Your best-kept secret (what most people don’t

know about you):

Recently started running in organized races—

especially around Central Park.

Favourite journey:

Travelling throughout Europe after graduation.

Went to London and Barcelona for the fi rst time.

Where will you be in 10 years?

Working in fi nance in a more senior role, probably

in New York.

Gain insight into fellow members of the alumni community

WANT TO BE PROFILED IN OUR

ALUMNI IN FOCUS FEATURE?

Please contact us at [email protected] and we’ll be in touch.

Jason NgDegree and Grad Year: BCom 2011

Current home city: New York, USA

Sauder volunteer role: Commerce Undergraduate Society Student Council,

International Business Club President

Professional ID: Morgan Stanley, High Yield Credit Strategist

ALUMNI IN FOCUS


WWW.SAUDER.UBC.CA/TALENT

Hire Smarter. Hire Sauder.

Recruit the brightest MBA minds from the Robert H. Lee Graduate School at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. Recruitment and selection start now for summer internships and permanent hires. Connect with our most exceptional MBA talent—quickly, effectively and without cost.

Contact the Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre today at 604.822.8545 or [email protected]. To learn more about our services, visit www.sauder.ubc.ca/talent.


http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/talent

WWW.SAUDERALUMNICAREERS.CA

TAKE YOUR CAREER TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Alumni Career ServicesHari B. Varshney Business Career Centre

The Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre offers lifelong career services to Sauder alumni. Whether you are a recent grad looking to kick-start your career or a senior alum wanting to change career paths, we can help. Visit www.sauderalumnicareers.ca to access a wide range of resources, tools and services designed to enhance your career.


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