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The Dean's Advisory Councils (DACs) play an integral role in identifying and driving priorities of strategic importance to the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. The DACs are non-governing boards comprised of prominent alumni and industry leaders, these councils work to raise the visibility and awareness of the Lazaridis School. Members are invited and appointed by the dean to three-year terms.
The DAC has three key roles and functions:
- Advice: Provide advice and counsel to the Lazaridis School senior leadership team with respect to school strategy, programs, business trends, changing needs of the community and the development of future Lazaridis School initiatives.
- Reputation and Advocacy: Serves as an advocate and brand ambassador for the Lazaridis School with businesses and other stakeholders, seeking to extend the influence, reputation, and resources of the school while raising its visibility and reputation within the business community.
- Support: Identify areas for the business community and Lazaridis School to make contributions to each other; facilitate employment and co-op opportunities for students, refer candidates to degree programs in addition to our graduate and executive education programs; and, when available, participate in student mentoring, classroom presentations, and other speaking engagements, career opportunities, research projects, guest lecturers and mentoring.
Members
The Waterloo council was founded in 2000 under the leadership of Scott Carson, who served as dean at the time, to provide advice and support to the school. The role and purpose of the Waterloo council has evolved over the years. Its focus is to help the dean with strategy and local outreach to the technology community and entrepreneurship, to bring mentors and speakers to campus.
- Farouk Ahamed (BBA '80), President, ADF Invescap Inc.
- Melinda Beswetherick (BBA '03), VP, Finance Planning and Analysis, Definity
- Jessica Chalk (BBA '11) Founder, Zayah Health
- Simon Chan (MBA '01) Founder and CEO, Adapt with Intent Inc.
- Margaret Clarke (MBA '13) Senior Director, People Parter – Cloud Security, Google
- Arnold Drung (BBA '87, MBA '92) President, Conestoga Meats
- Joan Fisk, CEO, United Way Region Communities
- Karen Higgins (BA '91), CFO, The Co-operators
- Jodi Meiering (BBA '96), COO, Ayr Farmers Mutual Insurance Company
- Olga Pawluczyk (MBA '07), CEO, P&P Optica
- Jen Psutka (BBA '01), Partner, Assurance, PwC
- Alan Quarry, Chair, Board Of Directors, Quarry Integrated Communications
- Andrea Schneider (BBA '12), Portfolio General Counsel - Vela Mining Group, Vela Software
- Mike Stork (BBA '97), President, Stork Holdings
- John Tennant, Managing Partner, W2n2 Partnership
- David Yach (MBA '88), Retired
Founded in 2018, the Toronto DAC was spun off from the Waterloo board. Toronto is home to the largest population of Lazaridis School alumni. In addition to supporting the dean with the school's strategy, the DAC members help grow corporate connections and relationships for the Lazaridis School in Toronto, aiding in the placement of new co-op placements and supporting Lazaridis School events.
- Fayeanne Beattie (BBA '96), CFO, Acera Insurance
- Michael Dell (MBA '05), President, Dell Corporation Realty Ltd.
- Ed Devlin (BBA ‘88), Founder, Devlin Capital
- Laura Douglas (BBA '15), Dove & Dove Men Masterbrand & Unilever Influencer Lead
- Lisa Durocher (BBA '89), Board Member, West Jet and Fortis Inc.
- David Fallon (MBA '89), Investigator, ADR Chambers
- Trevor Gardner (BBA '98), Managing Director and Head, Canadian Investment Banking, RBC Capital Markets
- Merv Hillier, Retired - President & CEO, CMA Ontario
- Hetal Kotecha (BBA '95), Toronto Transaction Tax Leader and International Tax Services, BDO Canada
- Pat Krajewski (DIPL '89, MBA '90), Advisor, Lazaridis School of Business & Economics
- Cathy LeBlanc (BBA '02), Manager, Customer Success - Learning Solutions, Government at LinkedIn
- Dawn Lutchman, Associate Group Lead, Scotiabank
- Bill Maginas (MBA '99), CEO, GNI Management Group
- John McArthur (BA Econ '02), Managing Director, BofA Securities
- Rebecca McCormick (BBA '11), Partner, PwC
- John Mckenzie (BBA '95), CEO, TMX Group Ltd.
- Hilary McLean (BBA '99), Head of Commercial Operations, Church & Dwight Co., Inc.
- Dennis Mitchell (BBA '98), CEO And CIO, Starlight Capital
- Colleen Moorehead (BBA '81), Board Member and Advisor
- Stacey Mowbray (BBA '84), Board Director, dentalcorp & Hydro One
- Neeral Morzaria (BBA '98), Director, Client Services, IQ Partners Inc.
- Tom Oldfield (BBA '84), CEO, The AOS Group
- Joshua Raxlen (BBA '13), Broker of Record, Homewise Real Estate Inc.
- Pamela Ruebusch (BA '86), President and CEO, TSI Group
- Stuart Rutledge (MBA '99), EVP Operations, Canadian, RBC
- Jennifer Smith (EMTM '12), Engineering Director, Labs at Google
- Janet Stone (BBA '99), Senior Director Business System Transformation, Tree Of Life Canada
- Beth Summers (BBA '93), Chief Financial Officer, Hydrostor
- Craig Wright (BA Econ '85), Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist, RBC Financial Group
Founded in 2013, the Ottawa Dean's Advisory Council (DAC) is focused on building relationships with the capitol technology community and the Bank of Canada. The council leverages a partnership with CATA to help build brand awareness while working closely with the Laurier Alumni chapter in Ottawa to host networking receptions.
- Krystell Bilodeau (MBA '05), Deputy Managing Director, Financial and Enterprise Risk, Bank of Canada
- Peter M. Boehm (BA '77), Senator, Senate of Canada
- Robyn Daigle (BA '99), Chief Human Resources Officer, Parliamentary Protective Service
- Julia Duffy (BA '08), VP, Employee Success, Cinchy
- Sabrina Fitzgerald (BBA '00), National PwC Private Leader and Managing Partner, National Capital Region, PwC
- George Haynal, Professor of Global Practice, Munk School of Global Affairs, UofT
- Paul Heinbecker (BA '65, HD '93), Distinguished Fellow, Laurier Centre for Global Relations, CIGI
- Scott Hendry (BA Econ '87), Research Director, Bank of Canada
- Paul LaBarge, Founding Partner, LaBarge Weinstein LLP
- Zahra Popatia (BA '96) International Public Health and Nutrition Consultant, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
- Thomas Reaume (BBA '84), Technology Lawyer, Thomas F Reaume Professional Corp.
- Henri Rothschild, President, Canada Israel Technology Solutions Inc.
- Carolyn Wilkins (BA Econ '87), Senior Research Scholar, Princeton University
The Calgary DAC was founded in 2013 as part of the Lazaridis School strategy to increase undergraduate recruitment efforts in western Canada. In addition to supporting recruitment efforts, DAC members help with introductions to co-op opportunities and work closely with the Laurier Alumni chapter in Calgary to host networking receptions.
- Allison Durie (BBA '06), Director, Talent and Culture, Accor
- Craig Flint (BBA '91), Board Member (Treasurer), Providence
- Bruce Graham (DIPL '90), President, BKCC Enterprises Inc
- Todd Greiner (MBA '90), VP, LPG's – Trading and Marketing (Retired), Elbow River Marketing LP
- Allison Hakomaki (BBA '96), Head, Agriculture, Public Sector and Emerging Industries, Corporate Finance, BMO Financial Group
- Robert Hamilton (BBA '71), VP, Business Development (Retired), RBC Wealth Management
- Yanna Inhaber (BBA '13), Lead Biofuels Coordinator, Imperial Oil
- Arthur H. Kwan (MBA '02), Co-Founder, President, and CEO, Newly Institute
- Chris Lomore (BBA '81), VP, Treasurer, Altalink Mangement Ltd
- Deanna Louth (BBA '07), Partner, National & Global Corporate Reporting Services, PwC
- Krista Pell (BA '95), Chief People, Culture, and Engagement Officer, Alberta Investment Management Corporation
- Jim Ross (DIPL '79), CEO & Co-Founder, Alberta Clean Energies (VCC) Ltd.
- Sean Smyth (BBA '89), Litigation Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
The Silicon Valley Dean's Advisory Council (DAC) was founded in 2014 as part of the Lazaridis School's internationalization strategy. The DAC members in Silicon Valley help the Laurier co-op office with a primary focus on finding postings for undergraduate double degree students. This DAC also leads alumni activities in Silicon Valley.
- David Borecky (BBA '06), CFO, ApplyBoard
- Chantelle Breithaupt (BBA '96), CFO, Arista Networks
- Dennis Fantin (MBA '93), Global Platform Leader – Research Instruments, BD Life Sciences
- Stephen Graham (MBA '90), VP, Partner Demand Acceleration, Global Partner Marketing, SAP
- Greg Hartrell (BBA '00), Senior Director of Product Management, Roblox
- Patty-Kim (BBA '94), Associate Director, Global Market Intelligence, Kyndryl
- James Murdock (BA Econ '92)
- Lynda Ting (BBA '96)
- Michael J. Weir (BBA '88), Senior Account Manager, Grafana Labs
The New York Dean's Advisor Council (DAC) was founded in 2014 as part of the Lazaridis School's internationalization strategy. The DAC members in New York support the Lazaridis School in finding and creating co-op positions in finance. As part of this strategy, the council leads the annual Walk on Wall Street trek for upper-year students to meet with banks and alumni working in New York to learn more about opportunities on Wall Street. The DAC leads alumni activities in New York.
- Sinead Bovell (BBA '11), Founder, Weekly Advice for Young Entrepreneurs
- Daniel DeAlmeida (BBA '95), Managing Director, Investment Banking – Head of US CM&T Group, TD Securities
- Robert Dorr (BBA '91), CEO & Founder, Influenced by Me LLC
- Robert Giammarco (BBA '91), Chairman and CEO, The Amynta Group
- Stuart Goldfarb (BBA '92), Partner, Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP
- Joanna Harries (BBA '03, MBA '08), SVP, Global Expansion, Endeavor
- Carl Hillier (BBA '84), Senior Director, Corporate Financial Analysis (Retired), Johnson & Johnson
- Danielle Madrigal (BA '05, MBA '06), Executive Director, Chief Data & Analytics Office, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Anant Nambiar (MBA '94), Chief Strategy Officer and Division President (Retired), Argus Information and Advisory Services
- Linda Tharby (BBA '90), President and CEO, KORU Medical Systems
- Yolanda Wardowski (BBA '88), Managing Director & Senior Advisor, Avalon Group
The London Dean's Advisory Council (DAC) was founded in 2016 as part of the Lazaridis School's internationalization strategy. The DAC members in London help to find and create co-op positions in the city and in Europe. Working closely with the U.K.-Canada Chamber of Commerce, the DAC looks for opportunities to leverage the brand of the Lazardis School. The DAC leads alumni activities in London.
- Nabeel Aziz (BBA '07), Director, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, EY
- Jeff Boots, (BBA '01), Managing Director Head of UK Fixed Income Sales, TD
- Laura Catterick, (BBA '00), Chief Risk Officer, Vocalink
- Nondini Chakrabarti (BBA '05), EMEA Fund Distribution Relationship Manager, Polen Capital
- Richard Churchman (BBA '81), Director, Makinson Cowell
- Luke Dixon (MBA '00), Managing Director, Head of Investments, Dot Investing
- Jacqui Douglas (BA Econ '04), Global Editor, TD Securities
- Kevin Hipkins (BA Econ '88), President and Chairman, Molly Maid International
- Michael Hunter (BBA '90), Marketing Director, HSBC Innocation Banking
- Pavan Konanur (BBA '06), Co-Founder, Hoja AI
- Alexandra Kula (BBA '06), Business Development Consultant, Retailligent LLC
- Priscilla Li (BBA '03), VP, Frog
- Dariusz Lis (DIPL '98), Director and Owner, Tyche Partners Ltd
- Dean Mitchell (BBA '83), Group Head of Credit Risk, Novuna
- Lori Mochan (BBA '00), Head of Rare Disease Medicines, UK and Ireland, Biogen Idec
- Anke Richter, Indepdent Advisor, ReachX
- Anne Taylor (BBA '88), Executive and Life Success Coach, DIRECTions – Coaching 4 Results