Viewpoints, Winter 2012 - Sauder School of Business

A magazine for alumni and friends of the Sauder School of Business at UBCWINTER 2012 • VOLUME 32 • NO 1

MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU

Connect Locally. Connect Globally.Imagine the power of a community of people united by a common bond and mutual commitment to helping one another succeed.That’s the potential of the Sauder Global Alumni Network; more than 30,000 alumni in over 70 countries. With the launch of the new Sauder Global Alumni Business Directory, you can put it to work for you.

Power up the network and support your alumni community by activating your profi le in the new Sauder Global Alumni Business Directory.

You’ll enjoy:

> secure access to the alumni business directory

> free access to the Dow Jones Factiva news and business information database

> exclusive alumni career services and more

JOIN THE NEW GLOBAL ALUMNI BUSINESS DIRECTORY TODAY AT:

www.sauderalumni.ca

http://www.sauderalumni.ca

1VIEWPOINTS WINTER 2012

UBC launches Canada’s largest fundraising and alumni engagement campaign. It’s an ambitious goal: raise $1.5 billion and double the number of alumni (that’s you) involved with,

or connected to the university. Then again, starting an evolution and changing the world is an

ambitious goal, though it’s one UBC feels is achievable if we harness the power of those connected

to the university. To see the range of opportunities to get involved in ways that matter to you, get

inspired by this issue of Viewpoints, and then visit startanevolution.ubc.ca.

start an evolutionJosh EspsteinBCom 2001

Roberto AquiliniBCom 1987

Heline LamBCom 1997

ALUMNI STORIES

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Sauder Index

Newsworthy

Actuals

Insider Information

Class Notes

Points of View

IN EVERY ISSUE

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[email protected]

UBC Commerce/Sauder School of Business Alumni

twitter.com/ubcsauderschool

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

Change the world12

McLean family inspiresBusiness Families Centre applauds family dynamic.

We are all connected Why you should be, too.

Lifelong learning How Executive Education helps organizations and individuals thrive.

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World Bank executive explores global pathInterview with Joachim von Amsberg MBA 1990; PhD 1993.

In Memoriam: Milton Wong (1939-2011)Visionary. Friend. Supporter.

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A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step, says the proverb. But these fi ve have taken big steps on the path to evolution.

Cover mosaic by Brandon Brind, and created from over 1,700 photographs of Sauder alumni and friends. Can you fi nd yourself?

NEWS

BMO supports UBC with generous gifts

UBC establishes new presence in India

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mailto:[email protected]

2 WINTER 2012 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, Leanne Romak 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 2012, 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, Carol Dougans,

Allan Jenkins, Spencer MacGillivray, Rob McMahon,

Erica Smishek, Jennifer Wah, Leanna Yip,

Kate Zimmerman

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TO ALUMNI RELATIONS, SAUDER SCHOOL OF

BUSINESS, UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA,

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This issue of Viewpoints was printed in Canada using

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

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Educate. Engage. Evolve.

MY AFFILIATIONS WITH HARVARD, WHARTON AND INSEAD—along with my proud connection to UBC’s Sauder School of Business—have shaped my attitudes and intellect. These institutional affi liations are a part of my calling card, and signal what I stand for, even before you’ve met me.

The ongoing investment in building a stronger school, being made by Sauder and the University of British Columbia, is something every one of you should care about. The strength of our brand infl uences the strength of your brand.

UBC’s ambitious new fundraising and alumni engagement campaign, start an evolution, aims to raise $1.5 billion in one of the largest efforts of its kind in Canada. The aim is two-pronged: to raise money and to get alumni like you involved. And the ultimate call to action in this campaign is soaring and aspirational: start an evolution, change the world. As the campaign statement says:

UBC generates ideas that start evolutions. Ideas that change the way people think and the way the world works. You can help start an evolution through involvement and investment. This can be as simple as reconnecting with UBC or as generous as making a donation.

“But higher education in Canada is the responsibility of government,” you might argue. “Why should I fi ll the gap?” The reality is that, in order to ensure our educational institutions are competitive and provide access and appropriate service, we need support beyond traditional resources such as government. The notion that the state is wholly responsible for education just isn’t true anymore. Pressures including health care, infrastructure and primary education have all affected governments’ ability to fully fund post-secondary education.

So if you or your business has an interest in investing in the next generation of business “revolutionaries,”—those whose ideas will

change the world—please take a moment to “think different.” You might be surprised at how much inspiration there is in it, for you.

Great business schools in great universities are that way because of alumni who feel connected to their school. In this issue of Viewpoints, you’ll see some examples of people who are, in their own right, starting evolutions, in their communities, their industries, or their thinking. Dan Eishenhardt (page 16) invented ski goggles with GPS tracking, and Marianne Mathias (page 18) is working with Ghanaian women to use their textiles in her high-fashion clothing sold here. On page 14, read about Ray Kanani, whose aim is to capture the moment, digitally; and there’s Nolan Watson (page 20), who developed a framework to help fi nance and develop small mining operations. Finally, based on his own real-life experience with his wife’s cancer, Sauder’s own Prof. Martin Puterman (page 22) has brought to the world a treatment scheduler, which most certainly changes the worlds of families at a time of stress.

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to fi nd it,” said the novelist George Moore. Perhaps investing in your Sauder “home” as the place from which you travel is an evolution worth considering. ■

We are defi ned by the people and organizations to whom we are connected.

In business terms, the strength of our personal brand is defi ned by the strength

of their brand.

Daniel F. Muzyka, DeanRBC FINANCIAL GROUP PROFESSOR OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

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VIEWPOINTS FROM THE DEAN

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and

returns home to fi nd it.”— George Moore


http://www.sauder.ubc.ca



The Sauder IndexBY JENNIFER WAH

Fundraising goal of UBC’s start an evolution campaign: $1.5 billion

Targeted increase in alumni involvement: 100 per cent increase, to 260,000, by 2015

Number of projects available to support as part of the campaign, through gifts of

involvement or investment: More than 100

Percentage of university operating revenue from government sources, 1979: 88

Percentage of university operating revenue from government sources, 2009: 57

Percentage increase in tuition fees at UBC, since 2001: 87

How to keep UBC accessible and competitive: Raise $1.5 billion in donor gifts

Rank of Canada, among OECD nations, in proportion of population with post-secondary education: 1

Estimated percentage of new jobs in Canada requiring a postsecondary education: 75

Number of alumni connecting with each other on the UBC Facebook page: 6,860

Followers on the @ubcalumni Twitter account: 2,404

Sauder graduates who are members of LinkedIn MBA or BCom groups: 2,894

Top three cities in Canada that are home to UBC alumni, outside Vancouver: Victoria, Toronto, Calgary

Top three countries outside Canada that are home to UBC alumni: Hong Kong, Australia, the United Kingdom

Sauder Business Clubs around the world: Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Greater China, London

Upcoming Sauder reunions in 2012: Class of 1957, Class of 1962, Class of 1983

Number of benefi ts and discounts available to those who sign up for a free Alumni ACard via alumni.ubc.ca: 16


Good looks can kill the impulse to shop In a new study, Sauder marketing professor Darren Dahl and his

colleagues fi nd that the good looks of a shopper can infl uence the

buying habits of other customers. The researchers conducted several

experiments and found that when female consumers with low self-

esteem saw a pretty customer wearing the same item of clothing that

they were trying on, it decreased their likelihood of purchasing the

item. Based on their fi ndings, the researchers make recommendations

to retailers such as using dressing rooms which maximize privacy

and avoiding opportunities for comparison.

Appearing in the February 2012 edition of the Journal of Consumer

Research, the study has attracted coverage in TIME, London’s Daily Mail,

the Ottawa Citizen, the Financial Post and the Globe and Mail. ■

Workplace sabotage fueled by envy, unleashed by disengagement Research coauthored by Professor Karl Aquino shows that managers

should keep team members connected and engaged to avoid

workplace sabotage. The study shows that envy is only the fuel for

sabotage. The match is not struck unless employees experience “moral

disengagement”—a way of thinking that allows people to rationalize

or justify harming others.

Entitled “A Social Context Model of Envy and Social Undermining,”

the research will appear in the Academy of Management Journal and was

featured in the Mumbai Mirror, United Press International, the Vancouver Sun,

the Province and the Calgary Herald. ■

NEWSWORTHY SAUDER IN THE NEWS

Professor devises better method for evaluating stocksSauder accounting professor Russell Lundholm was recently featured in

Forbes Magazine for a formula he has devised for more accurately calculating

accruals to fi nd cheap and overvalued stocks. Lundholm’s accrual

formula takes net income minus cash from operations and divides the

result by net income.

The formula was the basis for the paper “Percent Accruals”

coauthored by Lundholm, Matt Van Winkle and Nader Hafzalla,

published in the Accounting Review. In the paper, the authors show how

fi rms in the top 10 per cent in terms of negative accruals turned in

annual returns 5.5 percentage points in excess of the market from 1998

to 2008. Those with high accruals trailed the market by 6.1 percentage points a year. Buying the fi rst

group and shorting the second would have resulted in an 11.6 per cent annual gain. ■

California approves cap and trade, will BC follow suit?

In an opinion piece

written for the Tyee,

Associate Professor

James Tansey

applauds California’s

recent decision to

implement a cap

and trade system.

Tansey outlines

how the new policy

will work, and questions why this story was

not picked up by Canadian media, considering

California’s status as the world’s seventh largest

economy.

Tansey suggests that Ontario and Quebec

are now the front-running provinces in the

Western Climate Initiative, wonders whether

British Columbia will move ahead with its

participation in the group, and questions if it

can afford not to. ■

In a Globe and Mail

op-ed coauthored

by Dean Daniel

Muzyka, the authors

argue that credit

rater Standard and

Poor’s overreacted

when downgrading

the credit rating of

the United States.

Muzyka and Tufts University Professor Lawrence

Weiss believe S&P’s decision was misguided.

Examining the economic history of the

United States, as well as its current fi nancial

situation, the two suggest there is no reasonable

scenario in which the U.S. would default on its

debt. They outline options the country has to

avoid default and point out that the overall

economic standing of the U.S. is better than

that of the U.K. and France, to which S&P was

continuing to give an AAA rating. ■

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

Dean argues credit-rater overreacted in Globe and Mail



Sauder professor

Martin Puterman’s

innovative new

chemotherapy

scheduling system,

Chemo SmartBook,

was the topic of

a variety of news

stories, including a

front-page feature in the Vancouver Sun (see page 22

for in-depth feature). The system was created after

Puterman proposed in 2009 that BC Cancer

Agency work with Masters of Management in

Operations Research students doing industry

projects arranged through Sauder’s Centre for

Operations Excellence.

The students, along with faculty, graduates

and post-doctoral fellows, worked closely with

BC Cancer Agency staff to create the computer-

based system, which automatically assigns

patients to nurses, balances workloads, alerts

pharmacists of daily schedules, and meets

patient appointment preferences.

The Chemo SmartBook was also featured in

the Winnipeg Free Press, Edmonton Journal and numer-

ous other newspapers across Canada. ■

Sauder profs make their caseIn a monthly series of case studies written for

the Globe and Mail’s Your Business section, Sauder

professors highlighted challenges and successes

in today’s business environment.

Drawing on the experience of company

Recon Instruments, Assistant Professor Tim Silk

writes that it is important to be as specifi c as

possible about product options when surveying

people about product development. He shows

how Recon used this method when surveying

skiers to get the most accurate and discriminating

feedback possible to create their GPS-enabled

goggles.

Assistant Professor Chloe Tergiman uses the

innovative company Park Assist to demonstrate

that it takes more than a really good idea to be a

successful entrepreneur. Tergiman describes how

the company fi rst sold their lot-monitoring sen-

sor network as a pilot before spending money to

develop it, thus ensuring their product’s success.

In a second case study, Tergiman illustrates how

taking business classes and creating connections in

the business community helped engineer Bradley

Pierik turn his innovative idea for a handheld

water fi lter into the social enterprise Twothirds

Water Inc. Tergiman writes that by collaborating

with Vancouver business incubator Institute B, he

was able to receive the expert help and advice he

needed to get his business off the ground. ■

Grads profiled in the Financial Times A group of MBA grads from the Robert H. Lee Graduate School at Sauder were the focus of a

profi le in the Financial Times for a company they developed in the class Technology Entrepreneur-

ship—a course that teams up business and engineering students to create new high-tech

products.

MBAs from the class of 2007, Dan Eisenhardt, Darcy Hughes and Fraser Hall, and UBC

engineering grad Hamid Abdollahi, continued working together after graduation to form Recon

Instruments, a company that produces technology to equip ski goggles with GPS and motion

sensors (see page 16 for in-depth feature).

The team’s technology took a major innovation award at the 2011 International Consumer

Electronics Show—the world’s biggest consumer electronics trade show held annually in Las

Vegas. They also raised millions in angel funding and partnered with major goggle companies to

produce “Recon Ready” goggles for the 2011–2012 ski season.

What’s their next big hurdle? They’re working with NASA to adapt their technology for

possible use in spacesuit helmets. ■

Professor shortens wait time for chemotherapy

ACTUALS SEEN AND HEARD IN THE SAUDER WORLD: ENTREPRENEURSHIP

6 FALL 2011 VIEWPOINTSFALL 2011 VIEWPOINTS

On November 7, 2011, HSBC Bank Canada announced a gift of $80,000 to support the advancement of women in business leadership through an award for female students at the Sauder School of Business.

This generous scholarship will provide four students with two installments of $10,000, one during their third year and one during their fourth year while they pursue a Bachelor of Commerce. One scholarship winner will be named each year, for the next four years. The recipient for 2011-12 is Jenny Chan.

Recipients of this award will also have the opportunity to be considered as candidates for summer internship positions and for the management trainee program at HSBC Bank Canada.

“This scholarship is a wonderful addition to the activities and services that Sauder offers for women striving to advance into leadership positions,” said Frieda Granot, a professor and Advisory Council Chair in Management Science at the Sauder School and former dean of UBC’s Faculty of Graduate Studies. “We are grateful to HSBC for recognizing the importance of supporting future female leaders through academic initiatives.”

Along with this new scholarship at Sauder, HSBC Bank Canada supports a range of initiatives that promote the leadership of women in business, including an internal Women’s Network that leads activities targeted at advancing the development of women within the company.

“HSBC is working hard to attract, develop and retain the very best talent by supporting women’s professional growth,” said Sandra Stuart, Chief Operating Offi cer for HSBC Bank Canada. “This award for young women at Sauder is another example of how HSBC is proactively supporting the development of emerging female leaders through skill development, mentorship and community outreach initiatives.” ■

Chief Operating Offi cer, HSBC Bank Canada Sandra Stuart (left), and Professor and Advisory Council Chair in Management Science at the Sauder School of Business Frieda Granot (right), with the 2011-12 HSBC Women in Business Leadership Awardrecipient Jenny Chan (middle)

HSBC Bank Canada supports the next generation of female business leaders with $80,000 student award

TELUS gives to Management Information Systems to establish TELUS Excellence in IT AwardOn November 17, 2011, the Sauder School of Business announced that TELUS has made a donation of $60,000 over three years to support the creation of the new TELUS Excellence in IT Award. This is the largest award ever created for Management Information Systems students and will signifi cantly offset tuition costs for up to fi ve students each year.

“The Sauder School of Business is deeply honoured by TELUS’ support,” said Dean Daniel Muzyka. “This gift is a tremendous investment in future generations of business technology professionals and managers, and will encourage our students to pursue and achieve their full potential.”

TELUS and the Sauder School share a valuable connection, with TELUS having been an active recruiter of Sauder students from graduate and undergraduate programs—particularly in the areas of Finance, Accounting, Marketing, and Management Information Systems. For many years, TELUS has also been a host to students from the co-op program. This reciprocal relationship has benefi tted students, business professionals and the business technology industry as a whole.

The Management Information Systems Division at the Sauder School offers two key undergraduate specializations open to Bachelor of Commerce students: the Business Technology Management (BTM) option; and the Business Computer Sciences (BUCS) option. Students graduating

from these options are in high demand by companies that need to recruit for business technology management positions, such as TELUS.

Bill Sayles, senior vice-president and chief information offi cer, Business Transformation, TELUS, has been Chair of the Sauder School’s MIS Advisory Board since 2010. During this time, he has infl uenced the redesign of the BTM and BUCS programs, helped develop student recruitment initiatives, been instrumental to the integration of a student mentorship program, and played a signifi cant role in the implementation of a new scholarship program for Management Information Systems students.

“It’s been extremely rewarding for me,” said Sayles. “We rely on the talent of new graduates and I believe that nurturing and mentoring students throughout their education is very important. The TELUS Excellence in IT Award refl ects our company’s ongoing commitment to developing future stars and I’m proud to be a part of that.”

Awards totaling $20,000 will be given out annually to students who have demonstrated academic excellence or leadership relating to the BTM and BUCS programs. ■


Sauder professors emeriti and former deans gather for the annual Emeritus Lunch

On November 25, 2011, the annual Emeritus Lunch took place in the new Big 4 Conference Centre in the Sauder School of Business, following a tour of Sauder’s revitalized facilities.

Recently inaugurated, the Big 4 Conference Centre occupies the 9th fl oor of the newly-renovated tower in the Henry Angus Building. It was named in recognition of a major gift from the four professional services fi rms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. ■

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Bottom row, left to right: Larry Moore, Bob Kelly, Peter Lusztig, Philip White, Larry Jones, Ricco Mattessich. Top row, left to right: Tom Ross, Bernhard Schwab, Skip Walter, Stan Hamilton, Dean Daniel Muzyka, Trevor Heaver, Gail Robertson, Merle Ace, Rick Pollay, Brian Bemmels, Jim Forbes

Ch’nook and VIU sign regional partnership MOUIn December, Vancouver Island University (VIU) and Ch’nook Indigenous Business Education, which is headquartered at Sauder, marked the beginning of a new partnership. Building on a previous affi liation, VIU will expand its role as a regional partner to enhance the Ch’nook Scholars program for Aboriginal students seeking post-secondary business education. The new partnership will also aim to boost awareness surrounding business and management career opportunities among First Nations high school students on Vancouver Island.

“We are excited to welcome VIU’s Faculty of Management as Ch’nook’s Regional Partner,” said Rick Colbourne, Assistant Dean, Indigenous Business Education at the Sauder School of Business.

“Ch’nook contributes to the sustainable economic development and self-determination of First Nation communities in British Columbia. This will enable us to have a stronger local focus that is closer to the First Nation communities that we serve,” noted Colbourne, who also serves as director of Ch’nook Indigenous Business Education.

The Ch’nook initiative—aimed at increasing First Nations participation in post-secondary business education—originated a decade ago at the Sauder School of Business. It has evolved with the support of the provincial government, post-secondary business education programs in BC, corporations and other sponsors. ■

Competitions see Sauder students soarMBAs and undergraduates excelled at academic competitions held

January 6–8, making it a weekend of success. The MBA team, from

Sauder’s Robert H. Lee Graduate School, placed third overall at the

MBA Games 2012 at the University of Alberta School of Business in

Edmonton—the best placement ever for the school. More than 600

students, from 20 universities, competed at the games, making it

Canada’s largest gathering of MBA students.

At Queen’s University in Kingston, Sauder came in second

overall in the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition, Canada’s oldest

business case competition. In the individual categories, Sauder took

second place in MIS, third place in accounting and fourth place in

business policy. ■

To learn more about Sauder Actuals, visit www.sauder.ubc.ca



Sauder professors funding application ranks high

Finance Assistant Professor Jason

Chen’s 2011 SSHRC application was

ranked the number one application

in the area of accounting, fi nance,

management science and operations

management. Chen was awarded a

total of $56,042 over three years for

his proposed research program, “The

Social Welfare Costs of Stock Market

Ineffi ciencies.”

Chen’s project will assess the

consequences of an ineffi cient market by developing a series of macro-

economic models. The fi ndings will make a valuable contribution to the

existing body of theoretical literature and aid policy makers in designing

policies that mitigate ineffi ciencies. ■

SAUDER FACULTY INSIDER INFORMATION

Sauder professor receives health research awardSauder Operations and Logistics

assistant professor Steven Shechter

received the Michael Smith Founda-

tion for Health Research 2011 Career

Investigator Award. Shechter is explor-

ing new methods of optimizing the

timing of medical decisions. Through

his research, he aims to develop and

apply advanced analytical techniques

to aid in decision-making in response

to questions regarding clinical timing.

The Career Investigator Award

was established to foster the development of outstanding health research in

British Columbia by allowing researchers to conduct leading research and

expand their potential to make signifi cant contributions in their fi eld. ■

Professor Frieda Granot named one of Canada’s most powerful women

Dr. Frieda Granot, Advisory

Council Chair in Management

Science and Professor in

Sauder’s Operations and

Logistics Division, was

honoured at the 9th annual

Canada’s Most Powerful

Women: Top 100 Awards Gala

on December 1. Over 1,200

attendees came together at

the Gala organized by the

Women’s Executive Network

at the Allstream Centre in

Toronto to celebrate the 2011 Top 100 Winners in nine categories,

proven achievers in the private, public, and not-for-profi t sectors. The

event featured a keynote by celebrated author Margaret Atwood, on

“The Power of Connected Leadership.”

Granot was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women in

the Trailblazers and Trendsetters category, an acknowledgement of

her pioneering work championing post-secondary education and

interdisciplinary research in Canada. During her term as Dean of

the Faculty of Graduate Studies at UBC from 1996 to 2006, she

built a unique incubator of ideas and one of the most successful

graduate schools in North America, housing more than 30 think-

tanks covering the humanities, social sciences, natural and applied

sciences, and health.

In recognition of her work, she was appointed a Member of

the Order of Canada in 2007, and received the YWCA Woman of

Distinction Award in the Education, Training, and Development

category in 2006. In 2002, she was awarded the Queen’s Golden

Jubilee Medal.

Granot’s career at UBC began in 1975, when she became

the fi rst female tenure-track faculty member in the Faculty of

Commerce and Business Administration (later renamed the

Sauder School of Business). After her term as Dean, she returned

to the Sauder School to serve as Senior Associate Dean, Strategic

Development and External Relations between 2006 and 2011.

In this role, she has made substantial contributions to a wide

variety of initiatives dedicated to promoting women in business

and mentoring young women—including Co-Chair of the annual

Women in Leadership Forum, Chair of the Sauder Women’s

Leadership Council and a member of the Advisory Board of the

Young Women in Business network. ■

ATRS presents results of international airport ranking in Australia

Sauder Professor Tae Oum, president

of the Air Transport Research Society

(ATRS), presented the results of the

2011 Global Airport Benchmarking

Report at the ATRS World Conference

in Sydney, Australia in early July.

The annual report produced by

the Sauder-based aviation think-tank

measures and compares operating

and managerial effi ciency and cost

competitiveness of 156 airports

Assistant Professor Steven Shechter

Professor Tae Oum

Assistant Professor Jason Chen


Sauder professors co-chair international finance conference

Sauder Finance Professors Ron

Giammarino and Kai Li co-chaired

the 2011 Northern Finance

Association Conference in Vancouver

in September. This year’s conference

was attended by fi nance scholars,

professionals and PhD students

from throughout North America

and around the world. Participants

gathered to discuss current issues

in the fi eld of fi nance, including

volatility in asset pricing, lessons

from the fi nancial crisis, international

fi nance and behavioural corporate

fi nance.

Dr. Laura T. Starks, the Director

of the AIM Investment Center in the

McCombs School of Business at the

University of Texas at Austin, gave a

keynote address. ■

Professor’s medical scheduling system wins awardOperations and Logistics Professor

Martin Puterman’s innovative new

chemotherapy scheduling system,

Chemo SmartBook, was the recipient

of an Excellence in BC Health Care

Award from the Health Employers

Association of British Columbia in

the category of Top Innovation –

Health Authority (see page 22 for

in-depth feature).

Puterman’s Chemo SmartBook

streamlines the chemotherapy scheduling process using a computer-based

system which automatically assigns patients to nurses, balances workloads, alerts

pharmacists of daily schedules and meets patient appointment preferences.

The new system has been in use by the BC Cancer Agency at its Vancouver

Centre since June 2010 and decreased patient wait-lists by 84 per cent. ■

Professor Ron Giammarino

Professor Martin Puterman

Professor Kai Li

Associate Dean, Professional Graduate Programs, Murali Chandrashekaran

Full-time lecturerJonathan Berkowitz

New faculty at Sauder The Sauder School of Business

welcomes four members to its

faculty.

Murali Chandrashekaran has

joined the Robert H. Lee Graduate

School at Sauder as the Associate

Dean, Professional Graduate

Programs. Chandrashekaran

received his PhD in marketing

from Arizona State University.

Associate Professor Katherine

White joins Sauder’s Marketing

division from the Haskayne

School of Business at the Uni-

versity of Calgary. White received

her PhD in psychology from

UBC. Her research interests

include social infl uence, social

marketing, sustainability, prosocial

consumption and corporate social

responsibility.

Jonathan Berkowitz has been

teaching as a sessional lecturer

and adjunct professor at Sauder since 1991. This year, he joins Sauder

as a full-time lecturer in the Operations and Logistics division. He

received his PhD from the University of Toronto.

Finance assistant professor James Park will be at Sauder as a

visiting professor for the next two years. Park received his PhD in

fi nance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

His research areas include empirical corporate fi nance and asset

pricing, fi nancial distress and equity issuance. ■

around the world, and is used across the aviation industry to guide

business, policy and research.

The event was attended by international scholars, government offi cials,

and senior airport industry executives. During the conference, more than

260 papers were presented by industry experts from every continent. ■

2012 Celebrate Research Week: exploring the darkside of work

On March 6, as part of Celebrate Research Week at UBC, the

Sauder School of Business held a forum entitled “A Walk on the

Darkside of Work.” Moderated by Prof. Moura Quayle, the event

focused on some of the dark aspects of working life—examining

the experience and impact of ostracism, mistreatment by customers

and career shattering injuries. It included several presentations:

“Ostracism in the Workplace: When Silence Hurts,” by Prof.

Sandra Robinson; “Misbehaving Customers and their Infl uence on

Employees,” by Prof. Danielle van Jaarsveld; and “Out of Darkness:

Stories of Trauma and Growth at Work,” by Prof. Sally Maitlis. ■

On September 15, 2011, more than 750 guests from the Vancouver

business community came together at the Westin Bayshore for the

Business Families Centre’s Family Legacy Series Dinner. The annual

gala offers guests the opportunity to gain insight into the inner

workings of one of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurial families.

This year, the BFC honoured the McLean family.

McLean family honoured at2011 Family Legacy Series Dinner

cutline

Senator David Smith Dean Daniel Muzyka UBC President Stephen Toope

The McLeans on stage, left to right: Sacha, Melanie, AJ, Jason, Brenda, David, moderators Judi Cunningham (Executive Director of the BFC) and Darren Dahl (Professor and Chair, Marketing Division, Sauder School of Business)



ESTABLISHED IN 1972, THE MCLEAN GROUP HAS

grown over the years from real estate investment

and development into a second-generation

family business active in fi lm and television

production (Vancouver Film Studios),

communications (Signal Systems), construction

(Harbour Landing Construction), real estate

(Blanca Realty), aviation (Blackcomb Aviation)

and philanthropy (the McLean McCuaig

Foundation). The evening program included a

candid interview with David and Brenda McLean,

and their sons Jason and Sacha. Guests were

treated to the fi lm Family In Motion—an

inspiring historical look back at the founding,

growth, and evolution of the McLean Group.

Other honoured guests of the evening

included UBC President Stephen Toope, Sauder

School of Business Dean Daniel Muzyka,

and Senator David Smith, who served as the

evening’s Master of Ceremonies.

Following dinner, the McLeans returned

to the stage—this time with Jason’s wife AJ,

and Sacha’s wife Melanie—for an interactive

question-and-answer period.

The evening was generously sponsored

by BMO Harris Private Banking, CN, West

Coast Reduction Ltd., Bull, Housser & Tupper,

CanadaLife, Canadian Capital, Farris, Vaughan,

Wills & Murphy and HSBC. ■

Left to right: Sacha McLean, Brenda McLean, Jason McLean, David McLean, Judi Cunningham and Darren Dahl


Sauder Professor of Operations

Martin Puterman observed how

diffi cult chemotherapy patients

found their wait to confi rm

treatments, so he worked with a

team to redesign the BC Cancer

Agency’s chemotherapy booking

system.

Nolan Watson used the expertise

he’d acquired about a new way

to fi nance mines to co-found two

highly successful publicly traded

companies–Sandstorm Metals &

Energy and Sandstorm Gold.

Changing the world

Danish engineer Dan Eisenhardt’s

relentless quest for knowledge took

him all the way to Australia before

he arrived at Sauder’s Robert H. Lee

Graduate School. There, classroom

teamwork eventually resulted in the

world’s fi rst ski goggles equipped

with widescreen LCD performance

information.

see page 16

see page 20

see page 22

STORY BY KATE ZIMMERMAN COLLAGES BY NATALIE CARR STILL PHOTOS BY ROGER MAHLER

At the Sauder School of Business, we

believe creative, responsible business

leaders are central to society’s most

ingenious and positive developments.

By educating, training and inspiring

original thinkers, we play a part in

changing the world for the better.

That philosophy complements

UBC’s largest fundraising and alumni

engagement campaign, start an

evolution. Launched in September,

2011, this $1.5 billion campaign—the

biggest in Canadian university history

when it was announced—aims

to double the involvement of the

university’s alumni by 2015.

“One of the dual goals of the start

an evolution campaign is to double the

number of alumni actively engaged

in the life of the university. Alumni

can get involved in a whole range


begins with an idea.

Fashion designer Maryanne Mathias

teamed up with a partner to help

Ghanaian women fi nd a wider market

for their textiles. This spring Osei-

Duro’s designs will be available

through the American chain

Anthropologie.

An early adopter of social media

marketing, Ray Kanani started

SMART Pics Images, the company

he established with two other UBC

grads before he graduated from

Sauder. He now calls Microsoft a

client.

see page 18 see page 14

of activities, from guest lecturing

to student mentoring, to attending

social and academic events. Sauder

and UBC as a whole is brimming with

opportunities to pursue your passion

in life. Getting involved can really make

things happen,” refl ects Barbara Miles,

UBC Vice President of Development

and Alumni Engagement.

Learning, after all, does not stop

when a graduate leaves the university.

That is certainly the case for the

Sauder graduates and professors we

interviewed for this story. Their quest

for knowledge and their desire to

share what they’ve learned is readily

apparent.


But social media has to be constantly

updated, which many clients had no time to do.

So Kanani landed on the idea of a digital photo

kiosk that would take real-time before and after

shots of his parents’ customers and post them to

their social media accounts. That idea didn’t take

off in a salon setting, but Kanani and Ganapathi

realized there might be other applications for it.

Just before Vancouver’s 2010 Olympic

Games, the pair persuaded a major club owner

to move a mobile version of the kiosk from bar

to bar over the course of the event. These high

quality digital photos were free to customers,

who would get their pictures instantly sent to

their Twitter feed.

“The great thing for the bar is that they get

a lot of content online revolving around their

brand,” Kanani explained. “They’re also able to

capture data regarding the people who came to

their event or party.”

Ray Kanani’s clients want you to say “cheese”

START AN EVOLUTION

If you’ve had your picture taken

in a digital phone kiosk at Rogers

Arena, a Vancouver bar, a Las

Vegas nightclub, New York’s

Fashion Week or a post-Oscars

party, you have Sauder School grad

Ray Kanani and his partners to

thank.

KANANI, 24, IS THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF

SMART Pics Images, a company he founded in

2010 with fellow UBC grads Aman Bhatia, now

its software developer, and Nathan Ganapathi, its

sales director.

Kanani had arrived at the Sauder School

expecting to major in economics. He soon

decided he was less interested in theory than

he was in hands-on marketing. He became

captivated by the potential he saw in social

media and started using it to promote his

parents’ hairdressing salon. Other companies

wanting to attract a tech-savvy demographic also

approached Kanani.

“In some classes, I was listening to the

professor at the same time as I was updating

different clients’ Twitter or Facebook accounts,”

he recalled. “The professor would be saying

‘This is a good way to engage blah blah blah’

and I would be able to apply it, literally, right

away for clients I was working with.”

“We realized that authentic endorsements of a brand on people’s social networks are much more powerful than a one-way communication of a brand saying ‘We rock.’”

Success there allowed the founding partners

to make a more sophisticated version of the

unit with the help of Bhatia, who became the

third partner. The company caught the attention

of the Vancouver Canucks organization, which

sanctioned a booth outside Rogers Arena during

the Stanley Cup playoffs and has now installed

one inside it.

Since then, SMART Pics has found clients

in such major companies as Microsoft, and the

company has opened a sales offi ce in Las Vegas.

“I think initially people didn’t quite grasp

how important social media was going to be as

a marketing tool,” Kanani said. “We realized that

authentic endorsements of a brand on people’s

social networks are much more powerful than a

one-way communication of a brand saying ‘We

rock.’ If Microsoft says ‘We kick ass,’ that’s one

thing, but if your best friend posts on Facebook,

‘Hey, I’m at a Microsoft party and it kicks ass,’

you can just tell which one is going to be more

powerful, more infl uential to you.” ■

[email protected]

http://smartpics.cahttp://friendbangmarry.com

raykanani

Ray Kanani: President and CEO, SMART Pics Images, BCom 2011


http://smartpics.ca

http://friendbangmarry.com


World domination wasn’t in Dan

Eisenhardt’s offi cial game plan,

but as president and CEO of Recon

Instruments, he got it anyway.

EISENHARDT, A DANISH ENGINEER WHOSE POST-

graduate education took him to the Melbourne

Business School for an MBA and then to Sauder’s

Robert H. Lee Graduate School for a four-month

term on exchange, came up with the scheme

that inspired Recon while in his entrepreneur-

ship class in 2007.

A competitive swimmer, Eisenhardt felt

swim goggles should give athletes “instant

feedback on performance metrics.” He pitched

the idea to his class of business and engineering

students, found a group of enthusiasts, and they

began a project aimed at intriguing venture

capitalists. They had to change course when

they discovered a potential patent—skiers and

snowboarders, they decided that GPS-equipped

ski goggles were a better way to go.

Several years later, Eisenhardt and Hamid

Abdollahi began to pursue their scheme,

bringing another Sauder pair on once it got

underway. In the early stages, said Eisenhardt,

36, “It was very diffi cult, because you need a lot

of power to run a display system, and you need

a big screen to see the information, but you

don’t have the space for either. You need state-of-

the-art electronic components for the GPS and

sensors that take up even more space and cost

a lot of money. And you have to produce it at a

low price, because distributors and retailers take

a lot of the margin.”

Rapidly changing smartphone technology

helped, but it was also the height of the recession.

“One thing we did was believe in ourselves,”

said Eisenhardt, who persuaded friends and

family to put up the initial fi nancing. “It was

really tough to get this child up and running

and see it have a decent chance in life. That took

a couple of years, until we really got to the

fi rst proper prototype that we could show to

stakeholders and say ‘Here it is. You can put it

on your head and you can see the screen.’ From

then on, you had buy-in, immediately.”

Recon is now the only company in the

world that offers skiers real-time information

on widescreen micro LCD that includes speed,

jump airtime, GPS location, vertical distance

travelled, total distance travelled, temperature,

altitude and time. Its Android-based Mod Live

version offers Bluetooth access to Smartphones

for music playlists, caller ID and text messages,

as well as resort maps, buddy tracking and

wireless access to Action Sports cameras for

view-fi nding. The company is even releasing a

software development kit in 2012 so people can

develop their own apps.

The expansion plans of this Vancouver-based,

50-employee company include accessories

geared to snowmobilers, motorcycle riders and

the military.

CEO Eisenhardt has some advice for

aspiring entrepreneurs. “You need to be very

good at persuading, very good at relationship

management, and very good at being stubborn

and annoying, because you just keep calling. In

the beginning, it was Hamid—the CTO—and

myself. We were sitting in this tiny room and

making fl ashy Powerpoints and pretending we

were bigger than we were. That’s the only way

to get them to listen. You throw out some crazy

numbers. That’s how the game is played, so we

played it.” ■

START AN EVOLUTION

Going downhill lands Dan Eisenhardt at the peak

[email protected]

www.reconinstruments.com

Dan Eisenhardt: President & CEO, Recon Instruments, Inc.

“It was really tough to get this child up and running and see it have a decent

chance in life.”


http://www.reconinstruments.com


Travel got fashion designer

Maryanne Mathias thinking about

how she could have an effect on

the world beyond the runway.

THE 31-YEAR-OLD GRADUATED FROM KWANTLEN

Polytechnic University with a Bachelor of

Fashion Design and Technology, and soon began

designing clothes for a living. She quickly

realized that she needed to learn how to run a

business.

That’s what took her to the Sauder

School, where she got her MBA, specializing

in Sustainability and Business and Strategic

Management. As a result, “I just got more

strategic, setting more goals,” said Mathias from

Accra, Ghana, over a challenging telephone line.

“Before that I was kind of fl oating.”

Between degrees, Mathias had started to see

her chosen fi eld as shallow and had elected to

expand her horizons by travelling the world.

“Ghana was one of the places that sort of stood

out for me. I had a good time living there,”

she recalled. In 2009, impressed by traditional

Ghanaian textiles—weaving, crochet, “tie and

dying,” batik and wax prints—she and her

high school friend Molly Keogh, also a fashion

designer, decided to start a company that would

employ and train Ghanaian women at the same

time as it rocked the fashion scene.

Osei-Duro, the company the women

founded, remains a going concern. Its designs

are available in Canada, the U.S., and online.

Its collaborative work with a company called

Complexgeometries has also been sold in such

tony establishments as Barney’s New York and

the British chain Selfridges. Mathias expects that

the North American chain Anthropologie will

carry designs by Osei-Duro for spring-summer

2012. “That’s going to be big for us.”

When Osei-Duro started, a women’s co-op

situated 150 km north of Accra produced its

wares, without benefi t of electricity, using hand-

turned machines. Quality and capacity issues

forced the partners to transfer their company’s

operations to existing Accra factories. The

women working there are paid a livable

wage and the company supports them in

other ways.

“It’s defi nitely a for-profi t business, but it’s

also defi nitely an ethical business,” said Mathias.

“We have this one girl—she started doing

crochet for us, but with the Anthropologie

order, we’re going to need a thousand units of

crochet. A lot of times in Ghana, people would

try to do it all themselves but not be able to.

So we’re giving her management skills—we’re

trying to help her organize a business, and

organize thinking, and fi gure out how to take

care of things.”

Mathias now spends about half the year in

Ghana and half in Vancouver, in three-month

increments. However challenging it may be,

establishing a business in Ghana has convinced

her that providing jobs, skills and education are

essential—“the pillars of development.” ■

START AN EVOLUTION

Maryanne Mathias weaves success from West African roots

“It’s defi nitely a for-profi t business, but it’s also defi nitely an

ethical business.”

18

[email protected]

www.oseiduro.com

OseiDuro

www.facebook.com/OseiDuro

Maryanne Mathias: Co-founder, Osei-Duro, MBA 2011


http://www.oseiduro.com

http://www.facebook.com/OseiDuro


Nolan Watson claims that

accounting didn’t come naturally

to him. In the second term of his

BCom, he was struggling to get

good grades.

WHEN HE MET AN OLDER STUDENT WHO HAD A

4.0 GPA, Watson asked him his secret. “Finally

he told me,” said the South Surrey, BC native.

“The secret was just to work harder than

everybody else, and you’ll beat them.”

So he did just that. “I started working

harder than I’d ever worked in my life—day

and night.” By the end of his program, Watson

was on a full scholarship and he graduated

with honours, going on to complete his CA

and CFA.

Next stop, the multi-billion dollar market

capitalization company Silver Wheaton, working

100-hour weeks. By the time he was 26, the

company had made Watson CFO. While there, he

witnessed the birth of a new way of fi nancing

mines, called metal streaming, which started

with a small Mexican silver mine and quickly

became a world class method of fi nancing mines

into production.

“What we do is we give these companies

money up front on day one, and they use it to

go build their mine, or pay down their debt,

or whatever they want to use their money for,”

Watson explained. “And then what we get back

is a stream of that commodity. So our contract

might say something like, ‘You now have to

deliver us 15 per cent of all of the copper you’re

ever going to produce for the life of your mine,

and every time you deliver it to us, we may pay

you some nominal fee, like 55 cents a pound

or something like that, when the market price

is $3.50 a pound.’ The difference between the

50 cents we buy it at and the market price is

basically our profi t. That’s how we make our

money back.”

Companies liked the model because it gave

them the money they needed without involving

potentially meddlesome joint management.

They keep 100 per cent of their deposit and

the fi nancier has no say in mining company

operations.

In 2008, Watson co-founded Sandstorm

Resources (later Sandstorm Gold) with fellow

Silver Wheaton alumnus David Awram, applying

the same model to the much-larger base

metals and energy sector. At 32, he’s now the

Vancouver-based president and CEO of both

Sandstorm Metals & Energy and Sandstorm

Gold, publicly traded companies. The former’s

market evaluation is about $140 million, while

the latter’s nears half a billion dollars.

“I honestly believe that Sandstorm Metals &

Energy can become one of the largest companies

in Canada, full stop,” said Watson, who’s also

known for founding the charitable organization

Nations Cry, with education projects in Sierra

Leone, El Salvador and Guatemala.

“We’ve changed the way the worldwide

mining industry views how to fi nance a mine,

and we’re going to continue to do that.” ■

START AN EVOLUTION

21

For Nolan Watson, even copper’s as good as gold

“I started working harder than I’d ever

worked in my life—day and night.”

[email protected]

www.sandstormltd.comwww.nationscry.com

Nolan Watson: President and CEO, Sandstorm Metals & Energy, BCom 2001


http://www.sandstormltd.com

http://www.nationscry.com


Dr. Martin Puterman knows that

some of the most dreaded words

in the English language are “You

have cancer.” So, in an effort to

help alleviate the uncertainty

for patients who’d received that

unwelcome diagnosis and were

awaiting chemotherapy, in 2009

he and his team of researchers

launched a redesign of the BC

Cancer Agency’s chemotherapy

booking system.

APPLYING BUSINESS STRATEGIES TO HEALTH

care management problems was nothing new

for Puterman, who has worked at Sauder since

1974 and in the health care fi eld in various

capacities since 1982. Half a dozen years ago,

funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health

Research (CIHR), he created a research team

at the BC Cancer Agency’s (BCCA) Vancouver

Centre to apply operations research methods to

improve cancer care delivery. It was observing

the undue stress his wife and others underwent

when awaiting confi rmation of chemotherapy

treatment appointments that got him thinking

that there had to be a better way to do this.

“Because I saw the system from the inside—

not as a patient, but as the spouse of a patient—I

was able to identify many opportunities for

improvement,” said Puterman. “I know how

taxing the system was on patients in terms of

added stress from uncertainty throughout the

process, especially from waiting and lack of

information. I thought that what we study and

apply in many other fi elds would apply equally

well to cancer care.”

Much of the stress for chemotherapy patients

revolves around their fi rst appointment, after

which they follow a rigorous protocol. Already

scared, cancer patients knew they were supposed

to start chemotherapy, but had no idea when.

This uncertainty meant that they couldn’t plan

ahead for treatment day, coordinate pre-treatment

drugs, arrange child-care or request rides.

Coordinating chemotherapy appointments

is a complex task. The Centre books 15,000

appointments for more than 2,000 patients

every year, and “every patient is different in

terms of the amount of nursing and chair time

they need, what drugs they receive, when they

can start their treatment, and what other tests or

procedures they might have the same day,”

said Puterman.

Puterman and the UBC grads on his

Operations Research for Improved Cancer Care

(ORICC) team—Ruben Aristizabal, Vincent

Chow, Kevin Huang and Pablo Santibanez

—observed the existing system, identifi ed

ineffi ciencies, redesigned processes and

determined the need for a schedule optimizer. In

collaboration with Centre staff, they developed

a customized schedule-planning software tool

called Chemo SmartBook. Within a year, the

proposed changes and new system went live.

Chemo SmartBook allows schedulers to

simultaneously determine appointment times,

assign patients to nurses, balance workload

and case complexity between nurses, smooth

pharmacy workload and accommodate patients’

requirements and requests for specifi c times. It’s

been so successful that ORICC recently received

another grant from CIHR to help it perfect

Chemo SmartBook and apply it at another BCCA

centre.

ORICC is involved in 10 different projects at

the BCCA, Puterman noted, using tools based on

innovative analytical thinking that are commonly

taught and researched at business schools.

When it comes to health care, however, Chemo

SmartBook is such an innovative development

that the team is now exploring ways to make it

more widely available. ■

START AN EVOLUTION

Puterman’s chemo treatment

schedule inspired by his wife

“I thought that what we study and apply in

many other fi elds would apply equally well to

cancer care.”

[email protected]

puterman.chcm.ubc.ca

Dr. Martin Puterman: Sauder School, Professor of Operations



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BY ALLAN JENKINS

David Kwan

Mike Peplinski (second from left, front row)Rodrigo Caetano

Hashem Aboulhosn


Mike Woodward

Annie Shu-Yuan YuKathleen Diga (fi rst from left, front row crouching)

Dallas Henault

Terence Ting-Chi Wang


I think education and skills development are going to evolve

in ways that are hard to imagine today. Some institutions

will evolve to meet and lead those changes and it will

primarily be through the quality of the social networks

we are only now beginning to deploy and new tools and

approaches to generating and sharing knowledge. With its internationalist

outlook, UBC is really well positioned to evolve and lead the evolution on

teaching, research and knowledge sharing. Canada now attracts about twice

as many immigrants as the U.S. on a per capita basis. Vancouver counts

every second resident as foreign born. And UBC has always had ties to Asia

that are deepening every year. It’s a great position from which to infl uence

the future of business thinking and education.

Mike Peplinski, MBA 1992President and Founder, Assemblex Technologies, Inc, Austin, TexasSauder Alumni Representative, Austin, Texas

Evolution requires change. With the reputation of the

business world suffering since the fi nancial crisis started,

now is the time to chart a new course. I think there is an

opportunity here in Vancouver for Sauder alumni to be the

next face of the business world in our city, province and

country. People are hungry for this kind of leadership.

Dallas Henault, MBA 2011Manager, Client Services, Kirk & Co. Consulting Ltd, VancouverVP Events, Sauder Business Club of Vancouver

Evolution is change. I think we are at a critical moment.

Will we change our practices of mass pollution and the

growing divide between rich and the poor? I work at the

University of KwaZulu-Natal and see the challenges people

face. If universities and educators could change their

thinking, and start teaching our young leaders about economic growth

and its implications for humanity, we just might start an evolution.

Kathleen Diga, BCom 2003 (International Business)Manager/researcher, Poverty Reduction Assessment Project, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South AfricaSauder Alumni Representative, Durban

We live in an interesting time. We’ve never been so

interconnected, but so vulnerable to environmental

changes. We’ve never been so productive, but so dependent

on energy. We’ve never been so sure that we have limited

resources. I invite you to start an evolution by reaching

out to our global network and rethinking how we could use our natural

resources more effi ciently. Innovation can make a real difference in

our history!

Rodrigo Caetano, MBA 2007Executive Director – Business Development, WhiteLeaf Management Consulting, Brasilia, BrazilSauder Alumni Representative, Brazil

ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

In what ways do you, your classmates, your profession, or your industry hope to start an evolution?


Back in the 1980s, Sauder was one of the fi rst Canadian universities to establish an academic presence in Shanghai. Since then, many outstanding alumni have returned or moved to Shanghai. The IMBA program will add to our alumni in this region. So it is important to have the Sauder

Business Club to serve as a platform that connects our alumni. I’ve lived in fi ve different countries and regions in the past 20 years. Before I graduated from UBC, it was hard to get a sense of belonging to this global village. Today, in the Sauder Business Club, I know I’ve found a community that shares the understanding and experience we gained at Sauder. I’d like to encourage more alumni in Shanghai to share their experience and mentor our young alumni via the Sauder Business Club platform.

Terence Ting-Chi Wang, IMBA 2009Managing Partner, Mason Investments LLC, ShanghaiPresident, Shanghai Branch, Sauder Business Club of Greater China

We’re in the early stages of harnessing the power of our alumni base, both at Sauder and UBC. I hope this increased focus on engagement will get more of us involved with students at the school, to help them reach their full potential. In turn, I hope that these students will do the same after

they graduate, so that the quality of education and learning experiences for students continue to improve over time, as more and more alumni give back.

David Kwan, BCom 2000 (Finance)Vice President, Institutional Equity Sales, Macquarie Capital Markets, TorontoFounding President, Sauder Business Club of Toronto

The Sauder Business Club helps connect alumni with each other and the school. I have been enjoying the benefi ts of the alumni connections and would love to help others. I also think working with the Sauder Business Club helps to promote our school’s brand.

Annie Shu-Yuan Yu, IMBA 2009Financial Analyst, IBM, Shanghai Public Relations Executive, Sauder Business Club, Shanghai

I had a lot of help getting my current role here in Calgary. Not in terms of signing the offer—but in terms of getting me up to speed on the industry and answering my questions. I even had the opportunity to do a practice interview through the career centre. I want to give the

same opportunity to other grads who aren’t as familiar with the city or industry—and hopefully I can help them the way I was helped.

Mike Woodward, BCom 2007 (Accounting)Equity Research Associate, CIBC World Markets, CalgaryPresident, Sauder Business Club of Calgary

Extending the connection to create a community away from home is a great value to me. Many alumni in Shanghai are far away from home and new in town. What I gained or learned from the IMBA program in Shanghai is not only the education or new perspective in life; it helped give me a sense

of belonging. I am proud to be a Sauder and UBC alumna and so would love to help others to be connected and expand our community.

Annie Shu-Yuan Yu, IMBA 2009Financial Analyst, IBM, Shanghai Public Relations Executive, Sauder Business Club, Shanghai

When visiting a new country, the fi rst thing I do is to connect with someone from our Sauder network. Through that experience, I met extraordinary people who took the time to share invaluable insights on their career development. After moving to Brazil, I decided to take a

more active role. This has been an incredible opportunity to consolidate my network with the Sauder international community.

Rodrigo Caetano, MBA 2007Executive Director – Business Development, WhiteLeaf Management Consulting, Brasilia, BrazilSauder Alumni Representative, Brazil

A common bond exists between classmates. Part of the mandate of the Sauder Business Club is to extend that bond beyond alumni in the same graduating year. Our club’s launch brought together more than 400 members. Seeing and hearing people connect and re-connect reinforced that

all of our time is worth it.

Dallas Henault, MBA 2011Manager, Client Services, Kirk & Co. Consulting Ltd, VancouverVP Events, Sauder Business Club of Vancouver

For you, what’s the greatest value of staying connected to Sauder and UBC?


ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

Why is it important to you to volunteer for Sauder?

I live in Durban, South Africa, and so I think it is important

to recognize we have amazing alumni in far corners of

the world who may not be able to make the next social in

Toronto or Shanghai, but who care deeply for the place they

still call home.

Kathleen Diga, BCom 2003 (International Business)Manager/researcher, Poverty Reduction Assessment Project, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South AfricaSauder Alumni Representative, Durban

While working in Toronto and getting involved with

recruiting for our fi rms, the advantages for students

from Eastern schools became clear: polish and summer

internships. Easterners were not necessarily more talented,

but they were better prepared for interviews. Second,

local alumni from their schools secured summer internships and co-op

positions for them—getting a full-time offer as a summer student is a

much easier way to get into a fi rm.

So we started the Capital Markets Mentorship Program to help UBC

students compete better. We pair selected 3rd year students with two

mentors at the start of the year to prepare them intensely for summer

internship interviews in January. We help these talented students get the

extra polish they need to get through the door with summer positions.

Hashem Aboulhosn, BCom 2008 (Finance)Associate, Vanedge Capital, Vancouver Co-founded Sauder CMMP in 2009

Toronto’s vast Sauder alumni base is second in size only to

Vancouver’s. It was important to bring alumni together to

help leverage this network, whether it is for business or

social purposes. We also help educate students and recent

alumni about opportunities in Toronto, and give them

resources to help them in their transition.

David Kwan, BCom 2000 (Finance)Vice President, Institutional Equity Sales, Macquarie Capital Markets, TorontoFounding president, Sauder Business Club of Toronto

With the SBCT, staying connected to UBC provides a sense of familiarity

and community in Toronto—especially if you’re relatively new to

the city. It wasn’t until I moved to Toronto that I realized and truly

appreciated the network I had built in Vancouver. In Vancouver, my

network grew very organically—very naturally—through school,

organizations, volunteering, work, friends... In Toronto, those options

to meet people were suddenly very limited. The SBCT gave me an

opportunity to rebuild that network and to help others do the same.

Pey-Lin Hui, BCom 2006 (Finance)Associate, TD Securities, TorontoHead of Mentorship Program, Sauder Business Club, Toronto

A strong education has helped give me opportunities few

other people get. I went to a very good high school and had

an incredible university experience. If I can help someone

get a similar education that gives them an opportunity they

would not otherwise have had—I think that makes their

life, and Canada, a better place.

Mike Woodward, BCom 2007 (Accounting)Equity Research Associate, CIBC World Markets, CalgaryPresident, Sauder Business Club of Calgary


The road less travelled BY ALLAN JENKINS PHOTOS BY JOACHIM VON AMSBERG

Joachim von Amsberg (MBA 1990; PhD 1993) has

seen much of the world in his travels, both personal

and professional. His almost-20-year career with

the World Bank has taken him down paths exploring

investment and infrastructure in the Phillippines

and Brazil. And his international life, and adventures

with three daughters, leaves him always considering

alternate paths Viewpoints interviewed Von Amsberg

and got a glimpse into his experiences.

Ever the explorer, Joachim von Amsberg hiked up Borneo’s 13,435-foot Mount Kinabalu, the tallest mountain in the Malay Archipelago, in 2010.


VIEWPOINTS For most of your World Bank career, you have been “out in

the fi eld,” so to speak, and now you are Vice President of Operations Policy

and Country Services back in Washington. How did that go?

VON AMSBERG It’s been an interesting transition because I have been in

country programs, essentially advising governments, for most of my career.

Then I moved to this corporate role, which is more about the leadership,

organization, positioning and reform of the Bank. So it was a big change.

But it’s actually interesting, in a sense that I can try to bring the client

spirit and the fi eld sprit to headquarters.

Reform is just making sure the whole World Bank is more client-oriented

and results-focused. That involves reforming our fi nancial products, but also

our knowledge products, which is really the advice that we give to clients.

VIEWPOINTS What needs to be in place for a developing country to

leverage the resources the World Bank provides? What needs to be in place

for you to feel that the risk is managed?

VON AMSBERG Development is ultimately private-sector driven. But

countries typically need effective public institutions to provide the

framework to facilitate development. Our role as the World Bank is to help

facilitate the emergence of these institutions. By that, I mean structures and

the ministries, and, more important, the rules of the game.

Sixty years ago, when we thought about development, we thought it

was all about capital investment and building infrastructure. In the 70s, we

discovered that human capital and education are critical. Then, in the 80s,

we started emphasizing the right policies, such as pricing policies and trade

policies.

But in the past 20 years, people have looked even deeper and realised

“well, it’s really about the institutions that make the policies.” This is

where the focus of our thinking is today. How can we help strengthen the

emergence of effective institutions that provide supportive environments

for private investment and private sector-led development? How can we

support institutions that allow collective action on options that need to be

taken to the public sector where coordination is necessary, such as large

infrastructure projects or major policy changes?

VIEWPOINTS Your story is somewhat unusual. You started as an electrical

engineer, and then went on to get your MBA and a PhD. Many Sauder

graduates want to go straight into business. Yet you chose public service.

Why?

PROFILE

Joachim spends as much time as he can in Vancouver, where the view from Kits Point never disappoints.

Three daughters (Safi ya, Yasmina and Zara) keep him on his toes, and exploring different horizons.Th d ht (S fi Y i d Z ) k hi

VIEWPOINTS What does the Operations Policy and Country Services

department do?

VON AMSBERG In a sense, we’re responsible for the corporate policy and

strategy of the World Bank. I typically express it in three R’s: results, risks

and reforms.

Results means making sure that everything we do actually has tangible

results in the countries where we work. We want to make sure all of our

instruments will lead to results, by which I mean such things as schools,

clean water, vaccinations… that kind of real development outcome. So

we make sure that the Bank is managing for those results, that we are

managing ourselves for those results, organizing ourselves around those

results, measuring them and then communicating them to our funders.

As for risk, well, development is risky. We work with developing

countries that have weaknesses. Often these are institutional weaknesses;

sometimes it is corruption or lack of adherence to social or environmental

safeguards. So we have to manage our internal systems in a way that we

can responsibly manage these fi duciary, social and environmental risks.


VON AMSBERG From early on, I was very interested in development and

environmental challenges. When I went into electric engineering, it was

really about energy policy and energy supply. Development is absolutely

driven by the private sector, thus the MBA was a natural fi t. Then I did

the PhD in public policy, which brought the economic and business

side together. So I came from that angle, and I was also motivated by

the experience of having spent some time in India and other developing

countries.

VIEWPOINTS And why the World Bank?

VON AMSBERG I interned with the World Bank while I was still at UBC.

Since the Bank is the premier institution in the development area, it was

hard to turn down their job offer. I haven’t regretted it a single day.

We work on the toughest issues in the world: countries with poverty,

countries with environmental challenges. To do this, we have to be a

learning organization. We have to learn from our mistakes. So the bank

encourages a lot of innovation and a lot of criticism, and it has faith in

people to come up with solutions to problems.

From my fi rst day, I was given the space to come up with solutions to

tough problems. On my fi rst assignment, I was sent to Chile to meet the

environment minister and help address environmental problems. I’d barely

been with the Bank for two months. I thought, hey, this is an interesting place.

Where else do you get so much responsibility, so quickly, to help shape major

policy discussions on behalf of a large organization and help an entire country?

VIEWPOINTS What about when you’re not working?

VON AMSBERG I enjoy nature tremendously, and I have been lucky to

have been in very beautiful places. I like hiking, biking, scuba diving and

JOACHIM VON AMSBERG TOOK OVER AS THE WORLD BANK’S VICE

President, Operations Policy and Country Services, on July 1, 2010.

Von Amsberg, a German national, has held various positions in

Washington and in the World Bank’s country offi ces.

Before being named Vice President, OPCS, he was Country Director

for Indonesia for three years, overseeing one of the Bank’s largest

country programs and country offi ces. He supported the Government

of Indonesia’s efforts to improve the investment climate and service

delivery to the poor through stronger governance; and led the

Bank’s relationships and engagement with Indonesia, its government,

and other stakeholders, in close collaboration with the International

Finance Centre (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee

Agency (MIGA).

As Country Director for the Philippines from 2004–2007, Von

Amsberg led a new World Bank strategy for enhanced support to the

Philippines. This strategy supported “Islands of Good Governance,”

demonstrating how improved accountability and service delivery

would lead to better economic and social outcomes. Under this

strategy, World Bank programs were scaled up signifi cantly, aligned

more closely with the country’s own priorities, and implemented, as

far as possible, through the country’s own systems and institutions.

Von Amsberg began his career at the World Bank in 1993 as an

economist and young professional. He worked on environmental

programs and policy studies from 1994–1997 for Argentina, Chile,

and Paraguay, as well as on policy studies in Egypt. Subsequently,

he worked for many years on the Bank’s Brazil program, including a

stint as lead economist, where he led the economic policy dialogue,

analytical and advisory assistance, and adjustment lending programs

for the Government of Brazil.

Von Amsberg was a member of the steering committee that

oversaw the preparation of the World Bank’s Governance and Anti-

Corruption Strategy. He was also an integral part of several task forces

to strengthen the World Bank’s programs in support of middle income

countries.

Von Amsberg holds a PhD in Finance and Economic Policy from the

University of British Columbia; an MSc in Electrical Engineering from

the Technische Universität Berlin, Germany; and an MBA in Finance

from the University of British Columbia. ■

Career highlights

Sights set high: At the peak of Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, two years ago.

the like, from the shores of Vancouver Island to Brazil to the Philippines to

Indonesia. I enjoy it tremendously.

VIEWPOINTS And on the family front?

VON AMSBERG Yeah, I have three daughters. They’re actually living now

back in Vancouver. So that’s a good opportunity for me to go back to

Vancouver more frequently. ■


Customized Corporate ProgramsSauder partners with client organizations including Cathay Pacifi c Airways,

the BC Lottery Corporation, and Rocky Mountaineer, to craft customized

programs that blend research and practice.

Randy Powell became President and Chief Executive Offi cer of the

Armstrong Group, owners and operators of the world-acclaimed Rocky

Mountaineer, in October 2007. Prior to joining the Armstrong Group, he

was President of Maple Leaf Fresh Foods, President and CEO of Second

Cup, and President of S.C. Johnson and Sons.

As CEO, Powell says, he looked for a source of “talent, insight, and

knowledge” that Rocky Mountaineer could draw on. Over the years, he

built an “integrated, multi-faceted” partnership with the Sauder School

of Business, including serving on the school’s Faculty Advisory Board,

developing a relationship with the Business Career Centre, hiring summer

interns from the MBA program, coordinating faculty members, facilitating

board meetings, and having members of the Rocky Mountaineer team

teaching and presenting at the School.

“Having had so much interaction with the school,” Powell says, “I

recognized the incredible value that Executive Education could offer.”

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Lifelong learningEarly-morning yoga, avalanche beacons, computer

simulations, a surprise visit from a mystery CEO: all

lessons from Sauder’s Executive Education.

These elements combine with small-group activities,

stimulating dialogue, experienced professors and

cohorts of motivated, executive-level participants.

From their start 30 years ago, Sauder’s Executive

Education programs have evolved to include

customized programs, short-term workshops, and even

a 10-month, health care-focused Executive MBA. This

suite of choices refl ects Sauder’s partnership approach

to program development and delivery. Formed in

collaboration with clients, learning options remain as

unique and dynamic as participants.

We asked 10 individuals from very different

industries—from health care to telecommunications—

to refl ect on their executive education experience.

Here are their stories.

Randy Powell, President and Chief Executive Offi cer of the Armstrong Group

BY ROB MCMAHON AND CRISTINA CALBOREANU


Powell helped design a six-

module customized program

ranging from strategy to

innovation to fi nance, but using

Rocky Mountaineer case studies.

“It’s one thing to teach a basic

fi nancial management course to

leaders in sales or marketing,”

Powell explains, “but being able

to teach it to them using our own

company’s balance sheet or P&L, as

opposed to example companies, is

much more valuable.”

The program also includes

action learning projects—as Powell

explains, “working on real live

projects underway in our company,

with the benefi t of academic,

structured thinking.” Participants

receive Sauder credits that can

be used, for instance, towards an

undergraduate degree.

The fi rst cohort included 20

senior managers, with another

40 managers in a subsequent

cohort, out of a total workforce

of approximately 200, or 400

including seasonal staff.

Asked to comment on the

program’s quality and impact,

Powell doesn’t hesitate:

“I am ecstatic,” he says.

“The caliber of faculty at Sauder

is world class, and although

we’re not a multibillion-dollar

corporation, this program gives

us access to resources that would

otherwise only be available to such

organizations.”

Philippe Lacamp is Head of

Sustainable Development for John

Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd., whose

portfolio includes Cathay Pacifi c

Airways. He assumed his role in

August 2010, after serving as

Cathay Pacifi c’s General Manager

Corporate Risk Management,

responsible for the development

and implementation of a corporate

risk management structure for the

airline covering legal, compliance,

risk and insurance.

According to Lacamp, Swire

partnered with Sauder to create

a customized, Cathay Pacifi c-led

course for Swire Group employees

because “Swire has a long history

with UBC, dating back 30 years,

which gave us both a deeper

understanding of the values and

areas of expertise that could be

developed and hopefully would be

mutually benefi cial.”

Lacamp described the focus

of the customized course as

“sustainability.”

“We needed to make sure that

we had a generation of future

leaders who would be able to

think outside the narrow confi nes

of their daily jobs,” he explains.

“This is a never-ending process,

of course, and thus the need to be

sustainable. Swire has been around

for 200 years. We fully intend the

businesses and their positive broad

social impacts to be around for

another 200 years. The one thing

we know is that they will look

very different from what they are

today. How do we address that?

Thus the specifi c challenge was

how to create the right conditions

to stimulate our future leaders

to think deeply about future

scenarios: access to resources,

technologies, future generations’

employment expectations, social

impacts, the environmental

footprint and so on.”

Analyzing the impact of the

program, Lacamp noted that

“The feedback continues to be

overwhelmingly positive.” He

added, “It has broadened people’s

awareness of the thinking around

broad business issues and strategies

and also enabled valuable cross-

industry sharing within the

Group. Those are networks that are

essential for the sustainability of

the Swire Group.”

Peter Charlton, the Vice Presi-

dent of Human Resources at the BC

Lottery Corporation, has taught at

business schools around the world.

He was drawn to Sauder for its

willingness to customize a pro-

gram with BCLC. At that time, the

economic downturn was under-

mining the organization’s traditional

business model, and so the CEO was

open to structural change.

“BCLC was a very traditional

organization that needed outside

input to evolve. Sauder helped us

challenge our assumptions and

offered us different models to work

with. Together, we shaped these

ideas to fi t BCLC’s organizational

context,” explained Charlton. “I

think a lot of organizations look

Philippe Lacamp is Head of Sustainable Development for John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd.

Peter Charlton, Vice President of Human Resources at the BC Lottery Corporation

to business schools for what they

can bring to an organization.

But it’s important to frame that

consideration not on what happens

in the classroom, but rather around

how those ideas are transformed

and applied in a specifi c

workplace.”

The fi rst 12-person cohort of

senior BCLC employees involved

working with Sauder to translate

theory into organizational practice.

The results of the two-year

program are already apparent:

Charlton pointed to substantial cost

savings, new revenue-generating

projects, and increased employee

satisfaction with company

leadership.

Accelerated Leadership ProgramIn a word, Sauder’s Accelerated

Leadership is intense. The three-

week program, split into two

sessions, requires full-time

commitment. Participants are

nominated by their organizations

and travel to Whistler for small

group seminars.

When she arrived in the winter

resort, the last thing Elise Gillespie

expected was to hunt around in the

snow for an avalanche beacon. But

that “search and rescue” exercise

Elise Gillespie, a vice-president at COBS Bread


EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

became a course highlight for

Gillespie, a vice-president at COBS

Bread.

“The instructor hid a beacon

and told us to go fi nd it. The fi rst

time, it took 10 minutes—defi -

nitely not fast enough. Working

together, we trimmed our time to

a minute. The exercise really dem-

onstrated that working collectively

gets better results,” she said.

A relatively young leader at

COBS Bread, Gillespie signed up at

Sauder on the recommendation of

the company’s board of directors.

At fi rst, she was skeptical: when

hiring, she is critical of applicants

who boast long lists of degrees, but

little on-the-job experience. But the

program convinced her of the value

of self-refl ection. She used her time

there to develop a strategy to align

staff functions across the company

to better fi t the company’s mission:

real bread, real people, real delight.

Jerry McPherson, General

Manager, Project Portfolio at

Syncrude Canada Ltd., is one of

seven executive-level colleagues

who completed Sauder’s

Accelerated Leadership Program.

Originally an engineer, McPherson

was impressed by the program’s

peer-based learning and the

diversity of his cohort, which

included professionals from fi elds

like human resources and law.

Compared to his undergraduate

experience, where McPherson sat

in a giant lecture hall absorbing

hours of lectures, he enjoyed the

opportunity for facilitated, open

discussions with peers—and in

particular, one involving Cathay

Pacifi c Airways.

“The case study was about the

airline’s reorganization. We broke

into groups and reviewed the

new CEO’s decisions,” explained

McPherson. “After presenting our

thoughts, someone at the back of

the room stood up and introduced

himself: it was the CEO. He walked

us through his reasoning step-by-

step, which I found a very creative

learning approach.”

Executive MBA in Health Care

The Executive MBA in Health

Care is Canada’s only business

program specifi cally focused on the

health care sector. Now in its third

cohort, the part-time program

brings together participants in clin-

ical and administrative positions.

Dr. David Albiani is a

viteoretinal surgeon, a clinical

position as highly specialized as

it sounds. He signed up to build

up administrative knowledge for

work with the UBC/VCH Eye Care

Centre, UBC Retina Fellowship

Program, and the British Columbia

Society of Eye Physicians and

Surgeons. While he entered the

program to improve technical skills

like fi nance and accounting, by the

end he was focused on “softer”

skills, like leadership.

“My ongoing clinical learning

is extremely specialized, so I

wanted to try out something

very different: I fi nd when you’re

thrown into the deep end, you

end up learning so much more,”

he said. “Health care is one of

the biggest expenditures in the

country, and I think it’s absurd to

think the system is not as effi ciently

and optimally managed as it could

be. We need programs like Sauder’s

to bridge that gap.”

Dr. David Butcher, Vice

President of Medicine and Clinical

Programs at Northern Health,

agrees. After starting medical

school with expectations to

become a surgeon, he spent 15

years as an anaesthetist and a

general practitioner before moving

to administration. Suddenly

his colleagues spoke a different

language of “strategic planning”

and “resource utilization.” Sauder’s

program helped him understand

this new context.

“As a physician, I was trained

to completely focus on the needs

of individual patients,” he said.

“I fi nd administrators apply more

of a systems approach: it’s still

fundamental to provide the highest

quality care to individuals, but as

stewards of public resources, they

also consider broader impacts.”

Dr. Butcher enjoyed the EMBA’s

participatory and interactive

structure, and found that with

a little modifi cation, he could

apply his course assignments to

on-the-job issues, like contract

negotiations with physicians in the

Northern Health region. He found

the peer groups he formed with

clinical practitioners, pharmacists

and others pushed his group to

negotiate creative solutions to

common challenges.

Ted Ritchie, the Director of

Information Technology at Catalyst

Health Care, also pointed to the

benefi ts, and tensions, that come

from those negotiations. A lot of

Ritchie’s job involves negotiation

and change management in IT

processes across a variety of

professional fi elds. He enjoyed the

opportunity to learn alongside

diverse people with very different

perspectives on health care.

“Most of our cohort worked

for the public sector—only

three or four came from private

Jerry McPherson, General Manager, Project Portfolio at Syncrude Canada Ltd.

Dr. David Albiani, viteoretinal surgeon,UBC/VCH Eye Care Centre

Dr. David Butcher, Vice President of Medicine and Clinical Programs at Northern Health

Ted Ritchie, the Director of Information Technology at Catalyst Health Care

enterprises, and I found their views

surprisingly different from mine,”

he said. “Some people stressed

the need to contribute to society,

while I was focused on turning

a profi t. Being exposed to those

perspectives was benefi cial, both

personally and professionally.”

Open Enrollment Programs

Every year, Sauder offers

close to a hundred management

seminars to approximately 1,900

working professionals. One

seminar, called “Meeting the

Leadership Challenge,” presented

both Andrew Llewelyn-Jones and

Shawn Ershad with an opportunity

to confront their thinking about

what makes a strong leader.

Andrew Llewelyn-Jones, the

Agricultural Superintendent at

Lantic Inc., attended the week-

long workshop last summer.

Small groups and role-playing

scenarios helped him build

relationships, discuss ideas, and

exchange productive criticism

with peers. While critiques always

feel somewhat uncomfortable,

they also help establish an

environment of honest, two-way

communication—a context he’s

working to develop with his own

team.

“My group often meets for

open discussion, but it’s usually

focused on scientifi c or operational

issues. After the course, I asked

everyone to tell me what they

thought of my leadership,” he said.

“Their responses were not only

fascinating, but helped us become

a tighter group. Hearing critique

from my peers at Sauder helped me

start that discussion.”

Shawn Ershad, a Senior Region-

al Manager at Bell Canada, also said

his Sauder experience helped him

better interact with his 14-per-

son Senior Sales Consulting team.

Ershad described a key lesson: the

distinction between a manager and

a leader. Though he has received

numerous “President’s Club”

Awards throughout his sales career,

Ershad said the course demon-

strated that leadership also involves

developing a vision and strategic

goals for oneself, and one’s team.

“I believe a great leader has

no need to lead. A great leader

is content to point the way with

positive reinforcement,” said

Shawn. “Sauder’s ‘Meeting the

Leadership Challenge’ curriculum

helped me to further understand

and create a balance between my

personal and professional life and

shifted my management philosophy

into leadership skills.” ■

AFTER GRADUATING FROM THE SAUDER SCHOOL IN

1987 with a BCom with a marketing option,

Bruce Wiesner started his career as a sales

representative with Minolta Business

Equipment. He held positions with Pitney

Bowes, Quebecor, and fi nally Canada Wide

Media, where he served as Senior Vice

President before returning to Sauder in

spring 2010 as Associate Dean of Executive

Education.

Wiesner says he found sales an

excellent entry into the business world, and

his work for three Fortune 500 companies

taught him another crucial lesson: the

importance of lifelong education. Using

signifi cant in-house corporate training

enterprises, outside consultants, or a mix of

both, Pitney Bowes, Quebecor, and Canada Wide all made substantial investments

in training and professional development for their employees.

“I saw that the best organizations invest heavily in their people, no matter

what their background, talent, or education,” Wiesner says. “You can’t possibly

enter the workforce and be prepared for the rest of your life. The workplace

changes, competition changes, technology changes, and people evolve over time

in terms of their skills and abilities. You need to be prepared for that.”

The opportunity to lead Executive Education at Sauder was attractive,

Wiesner explains, because he believes in lifelong learning, and he believes that

Sauder can leverage its strengths to become a leading player in the competitive

executive education market.

“We have done very well with our open enrolment courses, helping individuals

with their own personal and professional development. Now we have a huge

opportunity to capitalize on our relationships with the business sector to create

custom programs, helping organizations build their teams and address business

problems through corporate education.”

Sauder has partnered with organizations like the BC Lottery Corporation, Rocky

Mountaineer, and Cathay Pacifi c Airways to create customized programs that blend

research and practice—programs that Wiesner describes as “applied learning,

action learning, project-oriented learning—solutions for real business problems.”

He adds, “Custom programs are a tremendous opportunity for knowledge

transfer—an opportunity to apply research and create a feedback loop.”

“We have a reputation as Canada’s leading research-based business school,

and we are able to leverage the thought leadership of our faculty to deliver

immediate impact back to businesses,” Wiesner says.

“One client described it as being able to see farther ahead, over the top of the hill.”

Wiesner notes that, all too often, when organizations go through tough

economic times, they cut back on discretionary expenditures like training and

professional development. “The temptation to cut the short-term cost and put the

money back into their bottom line is overwhelming,” he says. “But that represents

a serious challenge to their long-term success. The best organizations invest in

professional development in tough times as a way to emerge successfully ahead

of their competition.“

And that, for him, is the true meaning of lifelong learning. “It’s about being

proactive, in your own development as well as the organization’s development,”

he says. “It’s about being prepared for what’s coming around the corner.”

Or over the top of that hill. ■

MBA alumni course privilegesUBC MBA modules are now available for auditing to MBA alumni post–convo-cation (subject to space availability). This is an excellent way to support a new career direction, pursue a professional interest, and build your network.

A complete list of modules and module descriptions can be found at http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Programs/MBA/MBA_Full_Time/Current_Students. To fi nd out more about specifi c course availability, administrative fees, and how to register, email [email protected] or call 604-822-8422.

Andrew Llewelyn-Jones, the Agricultural Superintendent at Lantic Inc.

Shawn Ershad, Senior Regional Manager at Bell Canada

Bruce Wiesner, Associate Dean of

Executive Education


http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Programs/MBA/MBA_Full_Time/Current_Students



Josh Epstein happy to “wait for rain.” Vancouver’s Motion 58 premieres award-winning short fi lm at VIFF

A WARMING PLANET HAS MADE WATER SCARCE, FOOD A RARITY, AND

wearing plants like jewelry fashionable.

James, a hapless offi ce worker, becomes obsessed with nurturing his

plant in order to obtain the respect of his peers and risks everything not to

wait for rain.

Wait for Rain, which was screened this past October at the Vancouver

International Film Festival, is a futuristic comedy about James, the pitiful

offi ce worker who must sacrifi ce himself to get the attention of the girl he

desires. The fi lm was produced by Motion 58, a Vancouver-based, up-and-

coming fi lm production company lead by Josh Epstein, BCom 2001, and

Kyle Rideout, two Vancouver fi lmmakers and actors.

“Kyle and I were interested in exploring the modern obsession with

fads and how sometimes important causes become a fad,” says Epstein.

“So we had this idea of a green movement that starts out wearing green

ribbons and buttons and evolves as people try to outdo one another—so

the ribbon turns into a branch, a leaf, and eventually everyone is wearing

plants around their necks like necklaces and have forgotten why.”

A winner of the National Film Board of Canada Filmmaker Assistance

Program, the National Screen Institute Drama Prize and the Bravo!FACT

Award, the fi lm is narrated by acclaimed Canadian actor, writer and

director Paul Gross. Mr. Gross won international attention for the drama

series Due South, which he starred in, co-wrote, and executive produced.

His directorial debut came with the fi lm Men With Brooms, a movie which

broke Canadian box offi ce records. Shortly after, he played Geoffrey Tenant,

the troubled Artistic Director of the New Burbage Festival, on the beloved

television series Slings and Arrows, and is the recipient of four Gemini awards

for his feature fi lm Passchendaele.

The Wait for Rain cast also includes Peter DeLuise, Lara Gilchrist, Pippa

Mackie, Blu Mankuma and Haig Sutherland.

“Paul Gross is such a strong supporter of Canadian fi lm, when we

approached him to be a part of this project he was happy to come

on board,” says Rideout, who directed the fi lm. “And Paul is such a

phenomenal actor with such a strong artistic vision; it was inspiring for all


of us to have him a part of this movie.”

“We were very excited that Wait for Rain

had its fi rst public screening at the Vancouver

International Film Festival,” says Epstein, the

fi lm’s producer and co-writer. “Kyle and I are

both from Vancouver so it means a lot to us that

the people here got the fi rst opportunity to see

this fi lm that showcases so many talented artists

within the community.” Following the festival,

the fi lm went on to be named one of the top fi ve

Canadian short fi lms of 2011, and is screened

by the TIFF Film Circuit before some of their

features.

Epstein and Rideout founded Motion 58

Entertainment in 2011, and Wait for Rain follows

the multiple Leo Award-winning short fi lm,

Hop the Twig. They currently have a screenplay

in development with Movie Central, a Corus

Entertainment Company.

An established and award-winning theatre

actor, Josh Epstein recently began to gravitate

towards fi lm, combining his commerce

background with his passion for storytelling

to produce award-winning work. Motion 58

currently has two screenplays in development,

including one with The Movie Channel, and is

creating a new television series with Canadian

rocker Josh Ramsay of the band Marianas Trench.

He has also produced a trio of award-winning

theatrical productions including a show which

The Guardian trumpeted as the “Best Solo Show

of the Year.” As an actor, Epstein has starred in

productions across Canada, including Dirty Rotten

Scoundrels (Jessie Nomination) at the Playhouse,

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which

won him a Jessie Award, The Producers at the

Arts Club (Ovation Award), Bard on the Beach and

The Lord of the Rings. He is headed back to for

his second season at the Stratford Shakespeare

Festival. Director and writer Kyle Rideout has

worked extensively as an actor across Canada for

the last nine years, in theatre, anime, voice-over,

fi lm and TV. He is the recipient of two Jessie

Richardson Awards and was honoured with

the Sam Payne Award for Outstanding

Performance. His fi lm Hop the Twig recently

won three Leo Awards and has played around

the world. ■

“ Kyle and I were interested in exploring the modern obsession with fads…”


THE SOLD-OUT SEPTEMBER 28 EVENT WAS THE

culmination of a year of hard work and planning

by the Sauder Business Club of Vancouver

Executive team—Jeff Potter, BCom 2006; Alex

Monegro, BCom 2010; James Mollard, MBA

2010; Felicia Lee, MBA 2006; Chris Lee, BCom

2005; Nik Laufer-Edel, BCom 2008; and Dallas

Henault, MBA 2011, along with members of

the Sauder Alumni Engagement team and

Club volunteers.

Sauder Dean Daniel Muzyka welcomed the

enthusiastic crowd, noting proudly that an active

alumni community is one of the hallmarks of

a world-class business school. Distinguished

Connecting alumni in the Lower Mainland:

Sauder Business Club of

If the size of the crowd and energy

in the room were any indication, it’s

an idea whose time has come. More

than 500 people, representing a

cross-section of degrees and grad

years as far back as 1973, attended

the launch of Sauder’s newest

Business Club at the Fairmont Hotel

in downtown Vancouver.

“An active alumni community is one of the hallmarks of a world-class business school.” - Dean Daniel F. Muzyka

ARTICLE BY CAROL DOUGANS PHOTOS BY ROGER MAHLER

alumnus and keynote speaker Roberto Aquilini,

BCom 1989, conveyed his wholehearted

support for the club initiative, describing his

Sauder experience as the foundation for both

friendships and business relationships. Aquilini

is a managing partner of the Aquilini Investment

Group, which, among other interests, owns and

operates the Vancouver Canucks hockey team.

Promising to foster lifelong connections

among alumni and between alumni and the

school, Business Club President Jeff Potter

made a compelling case for club membership,

Keynote speaker Roberto Aquilini, BCom 1989

including enhanced business and social

networking, mentorship, professional

development, the opportunity to make a

difference and, last but not least, have some fun.

The club is off to a great start. For more

information on the Sauder Business Club of

Vancouver and how you can get involved, visit

www.saudervancouver.ca. ■

http://www.saudervancouver.ca


Vancouver launches

Sauder Business Club of Vancouver Executive Team—left to right: Nik Laufer-Edel, Jeff Potter, Alex Monegro, Chris Lee, Felicia Lee, James Mollard, Dallas Henault


Last November, the University of

British Columbia welcomed a $2.2

million donation from BMO Financial

Group to support education and

outreach to help families successfully

transition their businesses over

multiple generations, as well as assist

innovative research and education to

benefi t dairy farms—most of them

family-run.

THE BUSINESS FAMILIES CENTRE (BFC) AT UBC’S

Sauder School of Business received $1.95

million to establish a new Family Enterprise

Program. The program will further academic

research and innovation in areas that include

succession planning, family dynamics and

governance. The BFC will also set up a new

national database—the fi rst in Canada—to

advance research in this fi eld while giving

entrepreneurial families the necessary tools and

information to fl ourish.

Family enterprise forms the backbone of

the Canadian economy, with families owning or

controlling an estimated 80 per cent of

all businesses and representing the largest form

of enterprise worldwide.

The Canadian Federation of Independent

Business and Statistics Canada surveys from

2009 show that businesses with fewer than

50 employees represent almost 98 per cent

of total businesses in Canada, generate 45 per

cent of Canada’s GDP, and employ 55 per cent

of workers. However, in today’s economic

landscape, only 30 per cent of family businesses

survive into the second generation.

The BFC was initiated in 2001 with more

than 30 founding families, including those of

Brandt Louie, Gordon and Leslie Diamond, Peter

Bentley, and Charles Young. A leader in the fi eld,

the BFC is known for its comprehensive research

and academic programs, addressing issues such

as succession planning, wealth management,

family dynamics and governance. The BFC

also serves families by educating professional

advisors working with families.

In addition to its gift to the BFC, BMO

Financial Group is providing $250,000 to

develop new classroom space at UBC’s Dairy

Education and Research Centre located in

the Fraser Valley at Agassiz. The largest dairy

cattle research facility in Canada and one of

the largest in the world, and part of the UBC

Faculty of Land and Food Systems, the Centre is

renowned for pioneering research that considers

sustainable food production along with animal

health and welfare.

“We are delighted that BMO Financial Group

sees strong value in the vital work that the

Sauder School of Business is doing to ensure

the continued health of family businesses,” says

UBC President Prof. Stephen Toope. “We are also

very grateful for BMO’s investment at our Dairy

Education and Research Centre, which is known

globally for research that produces evidence-

based recommendations for the dairy industry

in Canada and around the world.”

“Many Canadian industries, including the

dairy industry, succeed because of the shared

talents, energy and knowledge among family

members,” says Senior Vice President Joanne

Gassman, BC and Yukon Division, BMO Bank

of Montreal.

“BMO has a long and proud tradition

of support for UBC, through scholarships,

fellowships, research grants and capital building

campaigns,” says Gassman. “Given such

outstanding research and education initiatives,

we were very pleased to come alongside UBC

as a major supporter of UBC’s campaign. This is

also historical for the Bank, since it is the largest

single donation ever made in BC.”

“As a national leader in family enterprise

education we are always looking to innovate

and deliver improved programs for our

business families and their advisors,” said

Business Families Centre Executive Director Judi

Cunningham. “The generous gift from BMO

Financial Group will allow us to do just that—to

expand and build on the reputation of our Road

Map Program and to develop a much-needed

database to house latest thinking, empirical data

and provocative research.” ■

Business Families Centre receives $1.95 million from BMO

Left to right: Dean Daniel Muzyka, Janine Guenther, Joanne Gassman, UBC President Stephen Toope


“OUR NEW OFFICE IN BANGALORE

puts UBC and Sauder on the

ground in a country that will

infl uence global economic growth

for the next century,” says Sauder

Dean Daniel Muzyka. “Through

enhanced research, programs

and engagement, the school will

endeavor to serve the needs of

India as it grows, while learning

from rapid changes taking place in

its economy.”

Sauder is also signing

Memoranda of Understanding with

two of India’s most prominent

educational institutions, the

Indian Institute of Management

Bangalore and the Indian

Institute of Technology Madras.

These partnerships will provide

a framework to increase student

exchange, research partnerships

and collaborative program

development.

The announcement of the new

UBC India Offi ce in Bangalore was

part of a BC government trade

mission to India led by Premier

Clark.

“International education is an

important part of BC’s Jobs Plan,”

says Premier Clark. “The opening

of the UBC India Offi ce will

showcase educational opportunities

available in BC as well as support

future partnerships and academic

exchanges.”

The UBC India Offi ce in

Bangalore will be a gateway

allowing UBC and Sauder

to engage directly with key

academic, government and

business stakeholders. With the

goal of enhancing educational

programs, exchanges, and research

collaboration, the offi ce will work

to deepen connections with the

Indian business community to

enhance career support and job

opportunities for students and

alumni. It will also serve as a strong

base to the ever-growing network

of UBC and Sauder graduates who

call the country home.

Sauder’s new India initiatives

will offer important opportunities

to exchange country-specifi c data

and collaborate in the creation

of new knowledge in areas such

as entrepreneurship, health care

management, family business,

and operations and logistics.

Faculty and students will have the

opportunity to gather valuable

insight from the world of Indian

business, which can only be gained

through hands-on in-country

experience.

Sauder’s connection to

India has grown substantially

since 2004, when it established

a student exchange program

with the Indian Institute of

Management Ahmedabad. Since

2006, the school’s full-time MBA

program, offered by the Robert

H. Lee Graduate School, has seen

applications from Indian-educated

candidates more than triple. Many

of Sauder’s Indian students return

to live and work in India, and there

is an exciting network of Sauder

grads building on the ground in

the country. ■

UBC establishes signifi cant new on-the-ground presence in IndiaThe University of British

Columbia is deepening its

commitment to India by

opening offi ces in Bangalore

and New Delhi and

establishing partnerships

with leading universities

and research institutions

across India. The new

Bangalore offi ce will be

spearheaded by the Sauder

School of Business and was

announced in the city at a

recent event hosted by the

BC Premier Christy Clark.Sprawling suburb in Bangalore.


CLASS NOTES

Peter Hebb BCom 1963

Peter Hebb is now living on campus in

Chancellor Place, less than 100 metres from

the original Commerce “shacks.” As a Member

of the Order of St. John and its Palliative Care

Foundation, he issued a press release mid-year

congratulating UBC for its decision to allow the

new St. John Hospice to proceed.

The release said “The University campus site

on Stadium Road is the best place for the Faculty

of Medicine’s research and educational activities

while providing a badly needed hospice for the

community at large.”

The primary focus will be to provide for the

end-of-life physical comfort of the patient by

eliminating pain and controlling symptoms.

J. Gilles Nolet MBA 1968

Gilles started his career with the Bank of

Montreal before moving to Roynat Capital, a

Canadian fi nancial institution involved in term

lending, where he worked for about 10 years

and eventually became Vice-President for the

province of Quebec operations.

Afterwards, he became a major shareholder

and President of Matco-Ravary Inc., a publicly-

traded building materials company, involved

in the retail as well as the wholesale business,

in the industrial, commercial and residential

construction sectors, and where he spent 25 years.

Following the sale of Matco-Ravary to Groupe

BMR in 2003, he continued to manage the

corporation for an additional period of two years.

From 2005 to 2007, he was the President of

Le Commensal Inc., a manufacturer of vegetarian

food sold to distribution outlets such as grocery

stores, convenience stores, institutions, and

franchised restaurants. Gilles was also a director

of the Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon, the

largest foundation in Canada, and a member of

its Audit and Investment Committees, for ten

years. He is currently a director of the Chagnon

Family Trust and of the Foundation of Greater

Montreal.

He also sits on the Board of Directors of

Convivia inc., a holding company owning Pacini

Restaurants and Commensal, and of non-profi t

organizations such as Formetal Inc., a social

reinsertion organization helping disadvantaged

young people. Throughout his career, he also

held directorships in several other public and

private corporations.

J. Gilles Nolet is a graduate in Civil Engineer-

ing from the Université Laval and received an

MBA in Finance from the University of British

Columbia. Gilles taught fi nance at the École des

Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC Montreal).

Over the course of his business life, Gilles

has observed that successful organizations had a

common denominator, which is a better-than-

average management of their human resources.

He has been practicing executive coaching

since 2008, where he can use his rich and

varied business and management experience

with managers and professionals to help them

develop their full managerial potential.

Dear alumni, From Vancouver to Hong Kong and from London to Karachi, the Sauder community includes 30,000 alumni in 67 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.

So tell us your story, and share your news. We want to hear from you! 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. Let us hear from you, and send us your photos.

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 your 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.

1960S

YOUR FEEDBACK MATTERS Tell us what you think of this issue of Viewpoints.

Go to www.sauder.ubc.ca to complete our reader survey.



1970S

John Coombs BCom 1973

After 35 years with TD Securities, I recently

retired from my position as head of the

European & Asia-Pacifi c region in London.

During the summer months, we will be

residing in our cottage on Skootamatta Lake,

enjoying time with our son’s family (two

granddaughters). In the winter, we will be living

in Victoria West, and visiting with our daughter’s

family (two grandsons) in Tofi no.

Meena Sheth BCom 1978

In Chicago since 2008—before that was in

Rochester, NY for 28 years! I have two grown

sons, a doctor and an actuary. I have worked in

public accounting, banking, Xerox and now at

Navistar. Enjoying the Windy City for now, will

see where we end up in the future!

Paul Miachika BCom 1980

As a founding partner of Sun Commercial

Real Estate fi ve years ago, a brokerage fi rm

specializing in commercial investment sales

in Phoenix and Las Vegas, 2011 has turned

out to be a very busy year, albeit mainly with

bank-owned or -controlled properties. In May,

our investment team participated in the largest

commercial real estate note and property

auction in US history and successfully sold four

properties/notes totaling $15 million. We have

had several subsequent closings and continue

to uncover, list and sell attractively priced

commercial properties well below replacement

cost with excellent actual and/or potential

cash fl ow. Check out our web site at www.

suncommercialre.com to see what we are up to.

Remember, while it is raining what seems to be

nonstop in Vancouver, it is sunny almost every

day in Scottsdale and Las Vegas, so come on

down and check things out down south.

Jennifer Martin MBA 1982

Jennifer Renshaw (Martin) launches SIP natural

craft sodas for non-drinkers and healthy soda

seekers. Try the three curious fl avors—Rosemary

Lime, Lavender LemonPeel, and Coriander

Orange at UBC’s Point Grill.

Margaret Buttner BCom 1983

I have been Manager of Annual Giving at The

Arthritis Society. In my spare time, I sit on the

board of the Vancouver International Marathon

Society. This year I had the pleasure of being

Co-Chair of the 40 year celebration of the

marathon. As well, on October 9, I completed

my fi rst half-marathon in Victoria.

Richard Coulter BCom 1985

After graduation, I commenced work in the

real estate development industry immediately

with a company called Westwater Industries.

I continued in real estate with a number of

companies, namely McDonalds Restaurants,

Trilogy Development Corp., Colliers, and Bentall.

After Bentall, I began developing commercial

real estate for my own account (with a variety

of partners). At present we are responsible for

the development and ownership of assets in

excess of 200,000 square feet, with a capitalized

value in excess of $85,000,000. I am married

with four children and two grandchildren and

enjoy traveling, playing hockey, golf and making

wine. Looking forward to a variety of business

and fun activities over the coming years. I have

and remain committed to a variety of volunteer

activities as well.

Robin Bristow BCom 1986

I joined MacKay LLP’s Kelowna offi ce in

September as a senior manager in its accounting

and assurance department.

Grace Sun BCom 1986

After graduating from Commerce in 1986, I

went to law school in Windsor, Ontario and I

have been practicing family law with Sorbara

Law, the largest locally owned law fi rm in the

Guelph-Kitchener-Waterloo area in Southern

Ontario. I also act as agent for the Offi ce of

the Children’s Lawyer representing children in

custody battles and children apprehended by

Children’s Aid Society. I also act as agent for

the Offi ce of the Public Guardian and Trustee in

domestic matters.

Michael Beg DULE 1987

This past year I accepted an executive

appointment to run BMO’s Corporate Finance

Division, Real Estate Finance group and oversee

BMO’s Canadian real estate lending business. The

group provides construction and term fi nancing

to builder/developers and other mid-market

private real estate investors with offi ces in

Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal

and Halifax.

1980S

SHARE YOUR NEWSClass Notes are easier than ever

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

ca/alumni/classnotes

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


CLASS NOTES

Veronica Wargo BCom 1987

Teaching ice skating at the Ice Den in Scottsdale.

I have transitioned from running my food

brokerage business to teaching. My husband

Ray now maintains the business so that I may

teach full time. It is my passion so I am really

enjoying this segment of my life. I am turning

50 in January and my twins Luke & Sedona will

be graduating high school with an Associate’s

Degree in May. They have both been accepted to

ASU Polytechnic campus where my son will be

taking software engineering and my daughter

Mechanical Engineering. We took a Caribbean

cruise with my parents in celebration of their

50th and our 20th anniversaries. We have been

very blessed. Always enjoy reading this section

to see if I recognize people from my era.

Rob Carpenter BCom 1989

I also garnered a law degree during my time

at UBC and am now working as Vice President,

Corporate Law at Enbridge Inc. in Calgary. My

wife Kelly and I are both single malt Scotch

geeks (a hobby picked up during a year spent in

Edinburgh while I did a Master’s in Commercial

Law), and in our spare time we have recently

launched the Canadian branch of The Scotch

Malt Whisky Society. The Society is the world’s

largest whisky club (26,000 members).

Only members can purchase The Society’s

extraordinary and unique bottlings of single

cask, single malt Scotch whisky, selected from

over 125 different distilleries. See www.smws.ca.

June Wing MBA 1990

I am still very much enjoying being a realtor in

Victoria. Never a dull moment —there is always

a new challenge! I am fi nally making money

being a permanent student! I switched real

estate fi rms to Sutton Group—West Coast Realty

in August. Most of my business involves assisting

buyers from out of town so it makes so much

more sense to be with a national fi rm. I am very

passionate about introducing newcomers to our

wonderful city. Please call or email if you are

interested in relocating to Victoria.

Cynthia Wong BCom 1991

I have passed the basic windsurf coach exam

and am now a licensed windsurf coach in

Hong Kong. I continue my passion in Hobie

sailing and will join the upcoming Hobie Asian

Classic and the Around the Island Sailing Race

held in Hong Kong in October and November

respectively. On my Wellness Center, I found

Bell Lifestyle Products in Canada and bring the

products to Hong Kong through my website:

www.belllifestylehongkong.com. This will

hopefully benefi t many people suffering from

chronic illness and do not like the side effects of

prescription drugs.

VeronicaWargo BCom 1987

1990S





Nancy Chiao BCom 1991

It is such a strange sensation to be typing this

after almost twenty years since my graduation.

Can it really be that long ago?

I now live in California and have been

fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom for the past

12 years. While watching my son grow into a

teen, I do hear the call of commerce again. I’m

hoping to re-enter the work force some time

soon. The global economy has not been this bad

in a long time and certainly in Silicon Valley we

see the disastrous effects. But where there is a

will, there is a way.

I feel honored and proud to have studied at

UBC and would like to add that many Americans

here think highly of our university. Cheers to

everybody.

Mike Boorman DULE 1999

Since completing my Diploma in Urban Land

Economics at UBC, Mike has been managing

the family business in Victoria, BC. Boorman’s is

an independent, family-owned real-estate sales,

property management and general insurance

company operating since 1933. Mike is living in

Oak Bay and is married to Maria Payne Boorman

and has two children, Spencer and Evelyn.

Mike is the fourth generation of family to be

involved in the business. Mike’s focus aside from

management is real estate sales.

Tania Bangayan BCom 2001

I fi nally took some risks and tackled a few

bucket list items along the way. Get diving

certifi ed: check. Live & work abroad: check.

Venice, Turkey, Greece, Jerusalem, West Bank:

check. Pursue a new career direction: check.

Soon will start teaching at Capilano.

Rosanna Zhong BCom 2004

Kelly Tai, an amazing girl born on Sept. 11,

2010. She is truly our bundle of joy.

Graham Day BCom 2006

I have recently returned from a powerful

personal and professional experience in Haiti

working with the Clinton Foundation’s “Clinton

Health Access Initiative.” During my year-long

stay, I quickly learned that the post-earthquake

problems of Haiti are as numerous as they

are complex. To combat these, there is a need

to actively coordinate the many agencies,

country donors, NGOs and companies, without

crowding out the responsibilities of the

government or the potential of the private

sector—a tricky balance indeed.

After graduating from Sauder in 2006, I

spent three years working as a management

consultant for Oliver Wyman on projects in

the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East.

Since then, I have begun my master’s degree

in International Affairs and Economics at the

School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS),

Johns Hopkins University, in Washington, DC. As

I go forward, I hope to keep inching ahead my

knowledge on using for-profi t business models

to improve living standards in the developing

world. In Haiti, I saw many examples of how

this can work, but there are certainly many

more opportunities to be uncovered. Oh, the

applications of a business degree!

ik

2000S


CLASS NOTES

Jeremy Cook BCom 2006

This year I have been working full-time at a CA

fi rm in Victoria, making my way through CASB

(writing the UFE in 2012), and spending any

free time with my wife and two kids (now four

and one years old).

Jeff Desjardins BCom 2007

Launched Revolve Marketing Inc., a successful

investor communications company in February

2011. Pioneering the industry with its info-

graphic press release concept, Revolve works

with micro and small cap resource companies to

build awareness with investors.

Steve Lowry MBA 2007

I rebranded and re-launched a company I run

with two UBC grads nationally: www.playtaxi-

media.com. Here are the details:

Following three years of success in

Vancouver, Canadian company Play Taxi Media

is extending its Interactive Advertising Network

across Canada—The future of interactive

advertising is speeding through Canada to a cab

near you. Play Taxi Media (Play), founded by 31-

year old Canadian entrepreneur Zachary Killam

[UBC undergraduate & law school grad— my

business partner], is expanding its network

of taxi headrest touch-screens to 1500 across

Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, and will be

offi cially national in November 2011.

Why should you take notice? Play is defi ning

a new type of consumer engagement. From an

advertising perspective, Play takes the power

of TV’s full motion video, combines it with

the interactivity and measurability of online,

and places it in front of consumers in a captive

out-of-home environment. The network also

enables consumers to enter email or phone

numbers to get access to promotions and

additional information. The combination of

fun content, interactive ads and the captive taxi

environment has been a winning formula for

Play’s advertisers and for those in other markets

around the world. From a public perspective,

the interactive capabilities of the screen and

a permanent survey app give consumers a

chance to have their voices heard with respect

to product preferences and current event topics.

Interaction and survey results are made available

to advertisers and news partners, with survey

results also available on the screens themselves.

Play is bringing the most widely used

passenger taxi screen technology to Canada,

which has been developed by Touchmedia and

is already deployed in 30,000+ taxi screens

worldwide. In contrast to similar screens that

exist in some cities in the US, which are built

primarily to handle credit card processing,

Play’s screens are purpose-built entirely for the

enjoyment of passengers. The quality of the

visual and interactive experience is similar to

that of today’s smartphones. Play has partnered

with the CBC for daily news headlines, The

Weather Network for weather reports, and

provides local restaurant and attraction content

to interested passengers. In addition, Play

supports Mothers Against Drunk Driving, given

the natural fi t between the two organizations,

and will feature anti-impaired driving messages

on the network.

By offering video and mobile app

experiences to passengers without the

distractions of the home or the online

environment, Play has cornered the large-scale

interactive out-of-home advertising space. This

emerging media strategy allows brands to reach

consumers in a highly engaging manner for an

extended period of time. Notes Killam, “Our

advertisers, which have included brands such

as TELUS, Flight Centre and MasterCard, have

engaged with consumers in this very unique

way and our passenger engagement levels have

proven to be quite signifi cant. Interaction and

a lengthy dwell time simply result in higher

recall.”

SHARE YOUR NEWSClass Notes are easier than ever

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

ca/alumni/classnotes

St L MBA 2007

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


Eugene Lu BCom 2007

I went back to my hometown of Shanghai twice

to see my girlfriend and we decided to get

married in January 2012! Even though we are

15 hours apart, our relationship grows stronger

each and every day.

Thank you, Nina. You bring sunshine into

my night.

Jeff Symonds BCom 2007

I haven’t had much to report until now. I have

been working a part-time job at The Bike Barn

in Penticton and putting everything on the line

to pursuing a dream in triathlon. In September,

I had a huge breakthrough and got on the

podium with a third place fi nish at the Ironman

70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas. I think

the photo attached say everything there is to

say about how the race went. At 25, I was the

second youngest professional in the race and

only guy in the top 15 who, coming in to the

race, had to work part time to make ends meet.

It is a huge honor to be able to represent the

Sauder School of Business and the University

of British Columbia at International events. Big

thanks to Professor Dan Gardiner for daring me

to dream big and just GO FOR IT! I am looking

forward to using my marketing degree to build

a long career in the sport of triathlon.

Christian Dy MBA 2008

The past summer, I led a team of 17 volunteers

to Guatemala to work with projects including:

aid for battered women, excavating projects,

reforestation, and working with local schools. I

have empowered the volunteers to continue the

projects back here in Canada. We are continu-

ing to create funding for the women, and I am

attempting to bring the head Guatemalan coor-

dinator here to Vancouver in November to speak.

As well, I am training another team to return in

the summer of 2012.

Roshena Huang BCom 2008

In 2010, I founded Impactuate Consulting

Inc. with Tom Minnes, CA, CPA (Illinois), and

fellow BCom 2008. I provide management

consulting services in the areas of marketing,

communications, and new venture development

to a diverse portfolio of clients. Tom shares his

expertise in accounting and fi nance with clients

in the mining and oil and gas industries.

(www.impactuate.com)

Amoura Rose MBA 2008

Opened a skincare business, became the face of

two chains of tea shops and working in Best Buy.

2009: MBA class of 2008, but I graduated

later in 2009 to complete a double major in

Marketing and HR, the fi rst year a double degree

was introduced in the Sauder MBA.

2009: Opened natural skin care company

called “Amoura Rose” and sampled it out to

Christian Dy MBA 2008





CLASS NOTES

people for feedback and advice, did surveys on

product.

2010: launched the Amoura Rose skin care

line, Geisha photo became the brand and face

of US corporate tea chain Teavana and Canadian

corporate tea chain Teaopia.

2011: landed a Human Resources role with

Best Buy, opened an online dog boutique called

“Chihuahua Couture,” and the Amoura Rose

skin care line is now selling in three stores (and

given a trial run at the Sutton Place Hotel during

the summer of 2011 only).

2012: launching a new line of natural lip

balms to add to the Amoura Rose skin care

collection and getting married.

Warren Tardif BCom 2008

I spent most of the year traveling between LA,

Seattle, and Vancouver. My younger sister is now

studying at UBC majoring in economics, while

my older brother works for Microsoft in Bel-

levue. I keep my base in LA, but being close to

my siblings has kept me going back to the Great

Pacifi c Northwest. I earned the top award in my

current profession last September and I’m look-

ing forward to achieving even more next year.

Spenser Rocky BCom 2009

After two years at the Boston Consulting Group,

I’ve left to run pricing and promotions at

Mobilicity—one of three new wireless phone

companies. It’s fun to be one of the underdogs

fi ghting to upset Canada’s cushy telco cartel! Still

living in Toronto and loving it.

Martina Valkovicova MBA 2010

I spent my summer in Kenya with the Sauder

Africa Initiative for a second time, teaching

youth in Nairobi slums how to develop their

own businesses. It is the best project I have ever

been involved in and I hope to stay involved for

a very long time.

Adrian Law DAP 2010

After completing the DAP program in December

2010, I went traveling in Morocco with my wife

for almost three weeks. It was an exhilarating

and terrifying experience to be in North Africa

for the fi rst time! When I returned, I worked

temporarily as an IT technician at the Faculty of

Arts, UBC. During the summer of 2011, I went

camping in the USA and visited Zion Canyon (in

picture), Bryce Canyon, and the Grand Canyon.

All three canyons were spectacular and different

in their own way. Finally, in September 2011, I

started a new career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers

as a New Associate and am currently auditing

my fi rst client company. I hope to complete my

CA training in three short years.

Navida Nuraney MBA 2010

In January I became the Executive Director of

ArtStarts in Schools, a not-for-profi t organization

that promotes art and creativity among British

Columbia’s young people. My MBA combined

with my experience in the arts sector made me

well aligned to land my dream job—one that

combines the arts and business. Months have

passed and I still love the challenge of my role

where I manage a staff of seven, a budget of

$1.4 million, and where I work to achieve the

overall aims of the society through the imple-

mentation of our strategic plan. Come visit

ArtStarts’ public gallery in downtown Vancouver

at 808 Richards Street—Canada’s fi rst for young

people’s art.

Ashar Kazi BCom 2011

I got plenty of stories from a short travel to the

UK and Karachi this summer; too many to men-

tion. I was back in Vancouver within three weeks

and I started getting bored after sitting at home

for 10 days so I jumped on the fi rst opportunity

I found.

I’ve been working for Phoenix Media Direct

in Burnaby for about three months and I’ve been

trying to bring some changes in their processes.

I never knew how to make websites, but I just

completed their content website, which is live

on phoenixmedia.ca (It’s SOOOO much better

than what it was a week ago). Now I’m building

an online store for a very extensive range of

products. I’m actually an Account Manager here

so I was primarily hired to deal with clients in

2010S


Surrey, Langley and Delta—which is a massive

region for one person to handle all printing

businesses.

I’m looking to relocate somewhere within

Canada to get a hang of the several other places

on this massive chunk of land.

William T. (Bill) Stanbury BCom 1966

It is with great sadness that we announce that

William T. (Bill) Stanbury passed away at his

home near Guadalajara, Mexico on October

27 after a short illness. Bill earned his BCom at

UBC in 1966 and went on to complete his MA

in 1969, and his PhD in Economics in 1972 at

the University of California at Berkeley. From

1970 to 2000, when he took early retirement,

he served as a faculty member in the Faculty of

Commerce and Business Administration (later

renamed the Sauder School of Business), retiring

as the UPS Foundation Professor of Regulation

and Competition Policy.

He was a prolifi c scholar and larger-than-

life character who became one of the country’s

best-known policy economists. Over his career,

with more than 200 publications including

many monographs, edited volumes and policy

studies, he made important contributions

to the debates surrounding public policy in

relation to competition policy, regulation,

privatization, the fi nancing of political parties,

and many other areas. In 1989, Bill won

both the Jacob Biely and Killam Research

Prizes at UBC. In 1996–97, he held the T.D.

MacDonald Chair in Industrial Economics at

the Competition Bureau.

He was a regular advisor to government

agencies including the Canadian Competition

Bureau, the Canadian Radio-Television and

Telecommunications Commission, the Law

Reform Commission of Canada, the federal

Offi ce of Privatization and Regulatory Affairs,

and the federal Treasury Board, and testifi ed

before several parliamentary committees

on competition policy, airline regulation/

deregulation, and the regulatory process.

Bill remained active after retirement from UBC,

continuing to write newspaper columns and

books.

Bill will be greatly missed by his many

friends and colleagues at the School and the

University, and by the Canadian public policy

community.

BCom 1961 50th Anniversary Reunion

The BCom Class of 1961 celebrated their 50th

anniversary in style with a three-course dinner

at the Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club on

September 16, 2011. The Development and

Alumni Engagement Offi ce decorated the venue

with photos of UBC and Sauder in the sixties,

which was very well received by the alumni.

Before dinner, the alumni enjoyed a tour of

the new Henry Angus Building, which features

expanded and upgraded spaces for studying,

collaboration, connection, and service. Special

thanks to the Reunion Committee—David

Howard, Michael Leckie, Bill Garriock and Doug

Butterworth—for their hard work and interest in

creating a great experience for their classmates!

Thank you to everyone who attended!

BCom 1975, 1976 and 1977 Reunion

The BCom Classes of 1975, 1976 and 1977 held

a reunion at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club

on September 16, 2011. To kick off the event,

a large group of alumni enjoyed a tour of the

newly renovated Henry Angus building. Daniel

Muzyka, Dean of the Sauder School of Business,

was pleased to host this great alumni gathering

where alumni had the opportunity to reconnect

and share memories and stories from their time

at UBC. Thank you to the Reunion Committee—

Mike Andruff (1975), Don Nilson (1976),

Barry Fenton (1977), Greg McPhie (1976) and

Gary Moore (1976)—for their enthusiasm in

organizing this event! Thanks also to everyone

from the BCom Classes of 1975, 1976 and 1977

who attended and helped make this such a

wonderful event!

The BCom 1957 Reunion will take place on

April 3, 2012. It will include a building tour

with Dean Daniel Muzyka at 9:30 a.m. and

brunch at the home of alumnus John Savage in

West Vancouver.

The BCom 1982 Reunion will take place in

October 2012. Details to come.

Planning for the BCom 1962 Reunion is

underway. Details to come.

For more information about these reunions,

please contact Sharlene Cheu, at 604-827-4616,

or [email protected]. We look

forward to seeing you next year!

in memoriam reunions

upcoming reunions

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.




In memoriam:Sauder School mourns loss of friend and supporter Milton K. Wong 1939-2011One of the Sauder School of Business’s strongest supporters, prominent Vancouver businessman and philanthropist Milton Wong passed away on New Year’s Eve at the age of 72.

THE UBC ALUMNUS WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF SAUDER’S

Portfolio Management Foundation (PMF), a program that gives students

real-world experience investing in the capital markets. Dedicating his time,

expertise and fi nancial support, Wong established and helped launch the

program in 1986 with fellow founders Murray Leith and Michael Ryan.

“Milton was a visionary. He understood the need for well-trained

investment professionals to manage changes affecting the fi nancial industries

and worked tirelessly to ensure that our students were ready to take them

on,” says Daniel Muzyka, Dean of the Sauder School of Business. “He will

be remembered for his generosity and dedication to the community, and

as an inspirational fi gure for a generation of BC entrepreneurs and

business people.”

Launched with an initial investment of $300,000, the two-year extra-

curricular PMF program allows a number of BCom students to work with a

real portfolio of stocks and bonds, now valued at $4.5 million. Until recently,

Wong met regularly with PMF classes to provide insight from his years of

experience into what is necessary to succeed in the capital markets. The

program now has more than 130 alumni working in the fi nancial industry

around the world.

Milton K. Wong grew up in Vancouver’s Chinatown as the eighth of

nine children of an immigrant tailor. He graduated from UBC in 1963

after studying political science and economics, and established the fi nancial

management fi rm M.K. Wong and Associates in 1980. After HSBC bought the

fi rm in 1996, he went on to serve as non-executive chairman of HSBC Asset

Management (Canada) Ltd., managing billions of dollars in global assets.

During his successful career, Wong purchased the Chinese Freemasons’

building at Pender and Carrall, where his father had started Modernize

Tailors in 1913. He restored it and converted the upper fl oors into housing

for seniors.


Wong remained engaged with UBC

throughout his life and was a generous donor

and supporter of the late Michael Smith’s human

genome sequencing project at the university.

“Milton Wong was a builder, constantly

looking for ways to make Canada better,” says

UBC President Stephen Toope. “He was, quite

simply, one of the most generous and genuinely

thoughtful people that I have ever met.”

Wong leaves a remarkable legacy. He was one

of the instigators of The Laurier Institution as

well as the Canadian International Dragon Boat

Festival, and played a major role in supporting

many First Nations initiatives, land claims, and

business partnerships.

Among his many honours, Wong was named

to the Order of Canada and the Order of British

Columbia for his contributions to education and

public service. He was inducted into the 2012

Business Laureates of BC Hall of Fame, and was

awarded the City of Vancouver’s highest honour,

the Freedom of the City Award.

A tireless supporter of higher education,

Wong served two terms as Chancellor of Simon

Fraser University, from 1999 to 2005. He was

instrumental in raising funds for and supporting

organizations such as the BC Cancer Foundation,

the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Science World,

and the YWCA.

Milton Wong is survived by his wife Fei,

daughters Andrea, Sarah and Elizabeth, sons-in-

law Kevin and Joe, and three grandchildren. ■

“Milton Wong was a builder, constantly looking for ways

to make Canada better. He was, quite simply, one of

the most generous and genuinely thoughtful people

that I have ever met.”— Stephen Toope, UBC President


POINTS OF VIEW

My journey. Your journey. Throughout this issue of Viewpoints, you have read about UBC’s start an

evolution campaign. Evolution may be defi ned as a process of “formation or

growth,” or “gradual, peaceful, progressive change or development.” This

campaign invites you to engage with your alma mater and our alumni network

as you grow and change.

HOW DOES STARTING AN EVOLUTION APPLY TO YOU AND

your relationship with the Sauder School of Business?

Throughout your life and career, each and every one

of you—our Sauder alumni—will undergo your own

unique evolution, transforming from a student to a

professional, a leader, a mentor and a global citizen.

The school has been part my own evolution, too.

Since 1999, with the exception of three years I spent

running a consulting practice, Sauder and UBC have

been a part of my own evolution as I developed my

professional skills, volunteered and gave back.

When I needed leadership training I turned to

Sauder, and was inspired to become a more creative

leader from the late Peter Frost; learned fi nance for

non-fi nancial types from the beloved Steve Alisheran,

and studied managerial economics with the renowned

Professor Brander. My studies continue today,

and—once a year—I also volunteer to run a team-

development workshop for our PMF students. Of

course, believing in the importance of environment

on education, I am also a donor to the Opening Worlds

Campaign. The school has been with me throughout

my journey and will be my partner as I continue

to evolve.

How can you connect and further your own

evolution? Reach out to the Alumni Career Manager

in the Business Career Centre, remain current by taking

courses through Executive Education, volunteer to

mentor or speak to students, or support an area you

would like to see developed at your school.

The start an evolution campaign is about changing

the world for the better. As someone who works

every day with alumni like you to fi nd out how to

better engage you, I am proud of the impact that

Sauder’s alumni and friends have on businesses, public

organizations and communities around the world.

This campaign is UBC’s hand extended to you,

to leverage the global network, resources, and

engagement opportunities the Sauder School of

Business makes available to you as you evolve. We all

look forward to joining you along your journey. ■

“The ‘start an evolution’ campaign is about changing

the world for the better.”

Sheila BiggersASSOCIATE DEAN, DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

Traits you admire most in others:

Patience and empathy

Talent you would most like to have:

The ability to cook (my husband

seconds this)

Last book you couldn’t put down:

There are so many! Chasing Daylight:

How My Forthcoming Death Transformed

My Life by Eugene O’Kelly

Most listened to: Amy Winehouse

Gadget of choice: iPhone

Your best-kept secret (what most people

don’t know about you): It wouldn’t be

a best-kept secret if I tell you, now

would it? :)

Favourite journey: My honeymoon with

my husband, more than three years ago

in Germany, Spain and Plzen

Where will you be in 10 years?

Wherever life may lead...

Degree and grad year: BCom 1997

Current home city: Singapore

Professional ID: Head of Talent

Acquisition, Private Bank, North & South

East Asia at Standard Chartered Bank

Business motto or philosophy: Passion is

key to success and fulfillment

In business today, it’s important to... have

the highest level of integrity

Most valuable thing learned since

graduation: Family comes first

Biggest risk taken ever taken: I changed

careers in 2005 and moved to a place

that I had not been to at that time—

Shanghai, from Hong Kong

Greatest achievement to date: I

successfully changed careers from a

Private Banker to HR professional, and

met my husband during the process!

Person you admire most and why (living

or historical figure): My father; he has an

incredible heart and is very loving, hard

working and persistent

HELINE LAM

Want to be profi led in our Alumni in Focus feature? Activate/update your

information and volunteer interests in the Sauder Global Alumni Network Business

Directory at www.sauderalumni.ca and we’ll be in touch.

Gain insight into fellow members of the alumni community.

ALUMNI IN FOCUS

http://www.sauderalumni.ca

PM

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http://www.startanevolution.ca

Viewpoints, Winter 2012 - Sauder School of Business

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