Nine exceptional alumni recognized at annual Lazaridis School Alumni Awards Gala

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On Saturday, Sept. 30, Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics celebrated nine graduates for their outstanding achievements at its fifth annual Lazaridis School Alumni Awards Gala over Homecoming weekend. The awards ceremony took place in the newly opened Lazaridis Hall on the Waterloo campus.

“The annual Lazaridis School Alumni Awards is an opportunity to honour a group of remarkable, high-achieving alumni who epitomize the institution’s proposition to inspire lives of leadership and purpose,” said Micheál Kelly, dean of the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. “A common thread in this year’s recipients was their interest in giving their time to help to build our student experience across all our programs. The spirit of volunteerism among our graduates is incredible and we are proud to welcome them back year over year.”

2017 Alumni Award Winners

The Lazaridis School Alumni Award winners for 2017 are:

J. Alex Murray Alumni Award

Presented by Lynn and Tom Oldfield.

• Dan Einwechter (BBA '77), Chairman and CEO, Challenger Motor Freight Inc.
• Pat Krajewski (DIPL '89, MBA ‘90), Retired Senior Vice-President, Scotiabank

MBA Alumnus of the Year

• Michael Devlin (MBA '03), President, ECHO Payment Systems

Young Alumna of the Year

Presented by POI Business Interiors and Steelcase

• Sarah Au (BBA '09), Senior Brand Manager and Shopper Marketing Lead, The Clorox Company

Steve Farlow Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award

Presented by TD Canada Trust.

• Jennifer Smith (EMTM '12), most recently Executive Vice-President, Global Market Solutions and Engineering, Christie Digital Systems
• Aaron Bast (BBA '06), Associate Director, The Investment Accelerator, MaRS Discovery District

Community Leadership Award

Presented by KPMG.

• Don Kaluzny (MBA '15) Creator, Make Your Robot Move
• Srin Sridharan (BBA '14) Partner, Alcielo Capital Management

Dean’s Award for Community Service

• Matt Schnarr (DIPL '98), Founder and Managing Partner, AWAKE Chocolate

The annual Lazaridis School Alumni Awards program celebrates alumni who have consistently demonstrated outstanding achievements in community service, career accomplishments and giving back to the Laurier community. Over 200 alumni, faculty, staff and industry leaders attended this year’s gala to honour the Lazaridis School Alumni Award recipients.