Reunite at Rotman - Your Alumni Homecoming
Thank you for joining us at Reunite at Rotman!
We hope you enjoyed the opportunity to connect with fellow alumni and faculty – and were as energized and inspired by the speakers as we were.
We truly appreciate your continued involvement and support, and hope we’ll get a chance to meet in person soon.
Thank you to our supporting sponsors
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Out of respect of the National Day For Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, we have moved our Alumni Awards to September 29
Rotman Alumni Awards
6:30pm to 8:15pm
We are excited to be presenting three Reunite Alumni Awards this evening with the following presentations:
- Lifetime Achievement: This award recognizes a seasoned graduate’s significant contributions to their organization, industry, and community.
- Volunteer Excellence: This award recognizes the outstanding volunteer contribution of a graduate to Rotman/U o fT and our mission.
- Leader to Watch: This award recognizes a young graduate who is having a tremendous impact on their industry, and who has demonstrated a commitment to giving back to their community.
The evening will include several special tributes and presentations. Learn more about our 2021 winners »
If you are interested in sponsoring the awards evening or Reunite weekend, please contact Chantal Cory at 416 816 8540, or chantal.cory@rotman.utoronto.ca.
Friday, October 1, 2021
Fireside Chats, Keynote Speakers, and Class Reunions
2:30pm to 6:30pm
Agenda
2:30 pm: Reunite at Rotman Conference Platform Opens
2:45 pm: Welcome and Land Acknowledgement
3:00 to 3:45pm: Fireside Chats – Round One
Hear from alumni who have built extraordinary careers in a wide variety of fields! Choose from an exciting lineup of senior leaders who will share their personal and career journeys and insights they’ve gained along the way. This year we have two rounds of Fireside Chats.
Business Design
Miguel Jiménez, GEMBA '16, Head of Futures Intelligence, FFWD (Spain)
Jennifer Riel, MBA '06, Global Director Strategy, IDEO (Toronto/Chicago)
Hosted by Kriti Singhvi, Business Design Club
Consulting
James Tucker, GEMBA '06, Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group
Hosted by Annie-Pier Vallieres, Management Consulting Association
Consumer Packaged Goods
Lesya Lysyi, MBA '86, CMO, The Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams, Twisted Tea)
Ken Valvur, BCOM '84, Founder and Group Director, Bento Sushi
Hosted by Fabiola Diaz, Rotman Marketing Association
Entrepreneurship
Charlene Li, BCOM '06, Co-Founder EATABLE
Thomas Wong, ME MBA '06, Co-Founder, Kevito Group (Chatime Canada)
Hosted by Solomon Zheng, Rotman Culinary Club
Health/Life Sciences/Pharma
Kelly Martin, BCOM '90, CFO, LifeLabs
Hosted by Tushar Sinha, Healthcare Management Association
Sustainable Investing
Sarika Goel, MBA '05, Global Head of Sustainable Investment Research, Mercer
Hosted by Melody Zhang, Net Impact
3:55pm to 4:45pm: Faculty Keynote
What power is, how it’s gained and lost, and how you can use it for good
Synopsis: Power is one of the most misunderstood—and therefore vilified—concepts in our society. Many assume power is predetermined by personality or wealth, or that it’s gained by strong-arming others. Many write it off as “dirty” and want nothing to do with it. But as pioneering researchers Tiziana Casciaro and her co-author Julie Battilana deftly show in their new book Power, for All, everyone can understand how power operates, and research shows that once you understand, you can take action to improve life for yourself and others. Join Prof. Casciaro as she demystifies the essential mechanisms for acquiring and using power with a presentation on some of the highlights from Power, for All followed by audience Q&A.
4:55 to 5:45pm: Fireside Chats–Round Two
Banking
Natalia Evtushenko, MBA '11, Vice President - Funds Risk Management, Scotiabank
Hosted by Fred Lucarelli, Rotman Risk Management Association
Data Analytics
Andrew Covato, MFIN '12, Global Head of Marketing Science & Measurement Product, Snap Inc (FL)
Rohn Jackson, MBA '09, Senior Data Analyst, Synctera
Hosted by Priscila Fulvia Bittencourt Da Silva, Rotman Business Analytics Club
Entertainment
Ivana Strajin, BCOM '13, Screenwriter & Filmmaker
Hosted by Gareth Fernandes, Entertainment & Media Association
Real Estate
Pouneh Rouhani, MBA '11, Co-Founder, Luloo Boutique Homes
Hosted by Andrew Honsberger, Rotman Real Estate Association
Regional Trade + Investment
Sekou Alleyne, MBA '06, President, Invest Trinidad and Tobago (InvesTT)
Holland Grant, MBA '06, COO, Bahamas International Securities Exchange
Hosted by Charles Nwani, Rotman African Caribbean Business Club
Start-Ups/Private Equity
Nolan Bederman, JD/MBA '98, Managing Partner, Bederman Capital Corp.
Nuha Siddiqui, BCOM '18, Co-Founder, erthos
Hosted by Ridhi Goolabjith, Rotman Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Association
5:50pm to 6:25pm: Final Keynote
Power of Community
Join Wes Hall for the final keynote at Reunite as he talks about how the power of diversity and inclusion can lead change and make a difference in your own community
6:25 pm: Closing Remarks
6:45 pm onwards: Individual Virtual Class Reunions
A number of classes celebrating milestone years have organized virtual celebrations. Invitations and details will be sent out over the summer. For more information, please contact jennifer.neill@rotman.utoronto.ca.
Tiziana Casciaro
Professor of Organizational Behavior
Marcel Desautels Chair in Integrative Thinking
Tiziana Casciaro is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at Rotman and the holder of the Marcel Desautels Chair in Integrative Thinking at U of T. Her research explores how structural and psychological forces jointly shape behavior in organizations. Her work on organizational networks, power dynamics, change implementation, and professional networking is published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Organization Science, and Harvard Business Review, and featured in the Economist, Financial Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, USA Today, Forbes, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBC Radio, Fortune and TIME. Professor Casciaro has served as Senior Editor at Organization Science. Her awards include the Outstanding Publication in Organizational Behavior Award of the Academy of Management, and Thinkers50 Radar list of the 30 management thinkers in the world most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed and led.
Linda Dudek, CFRE
Executive Director, Advancement, Rotman School of Management
Linda joined Rotman from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, where she was the Director of Development, and helped raise $60 million in three years, including over $4 million in 2017 to launch CDL-Rockies. Prior to this, Linda was at the United Way of Calgary and Area, in campaign management and business development. Linda is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).
Wes Hall, D.U., ICD.D
Executive Chairman and Founder
Kingsdale Advisors, KSS Group of Companies, The BlackNorth Initiative
Newest Dragon – CBC’s Dragon’s Den
Wes Hall is an established innovator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. As Executive Chairman and Founder of Kingsdale Advisors, he has been repeatedly named one of Canada’s most powerful people by The Globe and Mail, Canadian Business, Toronto Life and Maclean’s. He is also the owner of QM Environmental, a leading environmental and industrial services provider; Titan Supply, a top manufacturer and distributor of rigging and wear products serving industries in the oil and gas, construction and transportation sectors; and Harbor Club hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, one of St. Lucia’s premier resorts. In 2020, Wes was also appointed to the Ontario government’s Capital Markets Modernization Task Force, an advisory group of experts tasked to review and modernize the province’s capital market regulations.
In June 2020 Wes launched Black North Initiative. BlackNorth challenges Canadian businesses to both acknowledge and end anti-black systemic racism head on in a business centric approach. As the Founder and Executive Chairman of BNI, Wes and his highly esteemed team of experts are collaboratively improving the lives of millions of black Canadians by opening doors that otherwise would have been shut. Now, Wes has become the face of hope and opportunity for millions of people who look just like him. You can find Wes on the upcoming 16th season of CBC’s Dragons Den as the first Black Canadian to enter the den as a Dragon who will make an impact and conscious effort to awarding opportunities to up and coming BIPOC entrepreneurs.
Wes is also known for his generosity, leveraging his business success to benefit others with several impactful charitable initiatives. He is Founder and Chairman of The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism and the BlackNorth Initiative, committed to the removal of anti-Black systemic barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians.
Wes also serves as a board member of the SickKids Foundation, Pathways to Education, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and The Black Academy and is a Member of the Board of Governors at Huron University. He has changed the lives of thousands of children in the Caribbean and Canada, donating both his money and time. Wes is the recipient of the International Association of Business Communicators’ (Toronto) 2020 Communicator of the Year Award, and has received an honorary doctorate (2017) as well as the Vice Chancellor’s Award (2015), both from the University of the West Indies.
Susan Christoffersen
Dean
William A. Downe BMO Chair in Finance
Professor of Finance
Professor Susan Christoffersen is the Dean and the William A. Downe BMO Chair in Finance at the Rotman School of Management. She was appointed by the University of Toronto to a five-year term as Dean beginning on July 1, 2021.
Prof. Christoffersen joined the Rotman School as a finance professor in 2010 after spending more than a decade as a faculty member at Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. In her role as Vice-Dean, Undergraduate & Specialized Programs at the Rotman School from 2015 to 2020, she provided the leadership and energy to both re-invent undergraduate education and build three new pre-experience specialized programs. The Master of Financial Risk Management (MFRM), Graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting (GDipPA) and Master of Management Analytics (MMA), were launched in quick succession as a key part of the Rotman School’s growth. She was also a driving force behind the redesign of the Master of Finance program (MFin) as well as the fundamental transformation of the Rotman Commerce program including a curriculum restructuring and the more than doubling of resources including space and staff dedicated to the program, in partnership with the University’s Faculty of Arts and Science. In addition to her work as Vice-Dean, she also founded and contributed to the growth of the TD Management Data Analytics Lab, an important hub of activity for advancing the School’s research and teaching in the field of data analytics. She also served as co-academic director of the Lab.
Her research focuses on mutual funds and the role of financial institutions in capital markets. She has published in top finance journals and been cited in The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and The Wall Street Journal. She has received numerous honours for her work, including research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and research awards from the Bank of Canada, Swiss Finance Institute, and Q-Group among others.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Queen’s University and a master’s degree from the University of British Columbia and earned her PhD in finance at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jennifer Riel, MBA '06
Global Director Strategy, IDEO (Toronto/Chicago)
Jennifer Riel is IDEO's global director of strategy. In this role, she collaborates with clients and internal teams to push the edges of creative problem solving, leveraging tools from strategy and design thinking. Before IDEO, Jennifer spent 13 years at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, where she taught undergrads, MBAs and executives how to think creatively about their toughest challenges. During this period, she partnered with organizations (large and small, for profit, not-for-profit and government) to help them build their strategic thinking capabilities and transform their teams. Jennifer is also the author of Creating Great Choices: A Leader's Guide to Integrative Thinking (with Roger L. Martin, Harvard Business Review Press, 2017). Creating Great Choices is a Wall Street Journal best seller and was shortlisted for Canada's National Business Book Award.
Lesya Lysyi, MBA '86
CMO, The Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams, Twisted Tea)
Lesya Lysyj joined the Company as Chief Marketing Officer in April 2019. Ms. Lysyj has nearly 30 years of marketing experience in the food and beverage industry. Prior to joining Boston Beer, she served as President U.S. (Sales and Marketing) for Welch’s Foods, based in Concord, Massachusetts from September 2017 to April 2019. From 2013 to 2015, she served as President North America of Weight Watchers International. She was Chief Marketing Officer for Heineken USA, headquartered in New York City, from 2011 to 2013. Prior to that, she held a number of positions with Kraft Foods from 1990 to 2011, including positions as Vice President Marketing, Confectionary and Executive Vice President of Marketing, Cadbury.
Thomas Wong, ME MBA '06
Co-Founder, Kevito Group (Chatime Canada)
Thomas Wong is Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer at Kevito Group, which focuses on launching and growing innovative food & beverage concepts in the Canadian market. Kevito Group's brands include Chatime, a bubble tea franchise with over 60 locations across Canada, and Bake Code, a retail and wholesale bakery chain. Prior to founding Kevito Group in 2012, Thomas held senior leadership roles across a variety of industries, including at BMO Financial Group and Monitor Deloitte, an international strategy consultancy. Thomas holds a BASc in Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management.
Ivana Strajin, BCOM '13
Screenwriter & Filmmaker
Ivana Strajin (B.Com. '13) is a Serbian-Canadian filmmaker. She left a safe career in corporate strategy (much to the dismay of her engineer parents) to work as an independent writer and director. She writes dark comedy scripts about rebellious outcasts.
Sekou Alleyne, MBA '06
President, Invest Trinidad and Tobago (InvesTT)
A strategic business development professional, Sekou attained his MBA from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business and earned his Bachelor of Commerce at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Sekou has leveraged his background in Toronto’s real estate development and leasing market to play a leading role in the investor attraction effort in InvesTT since its inception. Sekou was intimately involved in the attraction and facilitation of the set-up of Trinidad and Tobago’s first international Call Centre, iQor, which is located at the Tamana Intech Park. A primary focus for Sekou at InvesTT, the national investment promotion agency of Trinidad and Tobago, is attracting investment to the country’s Business Process Outsourcing, Manufacturing, Logistics and Maritime sectors. As well, the development and tenanting of the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate is of utmost importance to the agency at this point. As the leader of the Agency, Sekou is highly motivated to engage in activities leading to investment in the above sectors including stakeholder engagement with existing industry participants, site selector consultant engagement as well as foreign and local investor awareness, outreach and facilitation.
Holland Grant, MBA '06
COO, Bahamas International Securities Exchange
Mr. Holland Grant is the Chief Operating Officer of The Bahamas International Securities Exchange. Holland joined BISX in 2006. During his time at BISX, Holland has focused attention on capital creation and market transparency amongst other areas. Mr. Grant has previously held positions at Insurance Management Bahamas Ltd. and at The Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund Ltd. Mr. Grant has a Masters in Business Administration Degree from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto with a focus on Entrepreneurship and Finance, a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Finance) from Dalhousie University, and an Associates Degree from the University of The Bahamas (then “the College of The Bahamas”). Holland is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder.
He also serves as a Part-time Lecturer in the School of Business at the University of The Bahamas. In his part time Holland plays the saxophone, engages in mentorship for young men and participates in the Bahamian cultural festival Junkanoo.
Nolan Bederman, JD/MBA '98
Managing Partner, Bederman Capital Corp
Nolan Bederman has a long history of successfully investing in North American growth companies and actively partnering with management teams to help companies optimize organic growth and acquisition-based expansion. Nolan is the founder and managing partner of Bederman Capital Corp., a private equity fund focused on investing in North American growth companies seeking an involved partner to help optimize the transition to a larger scale business. Bederman Capital Corp., currently has investments in four active platform companies in business and consumer services, including LifeSpeak (digital wellbeing platform), Berkeley Payment Solutions (technology-based payment platform), United Environmental Holdings (solid waste management) and Park9 (pet care). Nolan serves as Chairman of each company, and is actively involved in strategic direction and management development. In 2018, in order to extend this business, Nolan formalized a partnership with New York-based Valinor Private Capital Partners, a U.S. $110 mm private equity fund focused on making similar investments. Through this relationship Nolan has led investments in companies across North America including Mobile Klinik (mobile phone repair, sold to Telus Communications Inc. in July, 2020 for $180 mm and a 3.1x return after a 14 month investment period), Super Sports Holdings (youth sports), and Rentacrate (corporate move management). Nolan also serves as an independent director (and a member of the audit committee) of Air Wisconsin, one of the largest regional air carriers in the United States.
Prior to founding Bederman Capital Corp., Nolan, was a co-founding partner of Genuity Capital Partners, a North American mid-market Private Equity fund of approx. $500 mm which commenced operations in 2005. While at Genuity, Nolan led and participated in numerous investments, focused primarily on specialty consumer/retail and business services. Nolan held 8 board roles including several board chairman roles. In particular, Nolan was instrumental in helping grow such investee companies as GFL Environmental Services (sold to an investor group in 2014 for $950 mm, and again in 2018 for over $5bn), Waterworks (sold to Restoration Hardware in 2013 for $120mm), JBrand (sold to Fast Retailing in 2012 for $360 mm), and Front Porch Digital (sold to Oracle in 2014). Prior to joining Genuity, Nolan was an Executive Director in private equity at CIBC Capital Partners, a $3bn private equity investment division of CIBC, which he joined in 2002 to capitalize on investments focused on financial services outsourcing. In addition to making new investments, Nolan was part of a small group asked to manage a portfolio of over $500 mm of undermanaged and troubled investments, ultimately generating substantial gains for CIBC through restructuring, refocusing businesses, follow-on investing and strategic M&A.
Prior to 2002, Nolan was a Vice President in the U.S. M&A group of Merrill Lynch & Co. where he focused on advising global companies in the capital/consumer goods, transportation, food and pharma sectors. Nolan holds a J.D./MBA from the University of Toronto where he was awarded the Gold Medal for graduating first in his class, as well as a BA (Econ.) from the University of Western Ontario where he was awarded the Chancellor’s Prize for graduating first in both the economics department as well as in the entire faculty of social science. In 2017 and 2018 Nolan was a volunteer member of the Ontario Provincial Finance Committee charged with assisting the PC party to develop a finance platform in its 2018 election.
Nuha Siddiqui, BCOM '18
Co-Founder, erthos
Nuha is the CEO & co-founder of Canadian based green-tech start-up erthos which creates plant powered alternatives to traditional plastics. Single use plastics made with erthos solutions are compostable, and compatible with existing plastic technology, making plant powered plastics the natural choice. Nuha founded the company while still completing her degree at the University of Toronto Rotman Commerce program where she specialized in Business & Environmental Economics. After graduating, Nuha launched erthos full-time, and scaled up her team to 20, raised over $7.3 Million within a year and launched global manufacturing pilots to help tackle the issue worldwide
Miguel Jiménez, GEMBA '16
Head of Futures Intelligence, FFWD (Spain)
Miguel Jiménez, GEMBA 2016, is a futures intelligence and foresight practitioner, CEO & Founder of FFWD - Futures Intelligence and Strategic Foresight, a firm headquartered in Madrid, with offices in Singapore and Dubai. Miguel's background is cross-disciplinary, with an education in computer science, technology, social sciences, business administration, and industrial design. He has over 20 years of expertise helping companies and governments worldwide to raise the standards of foresight, strategic thinking, and world-class innovation.
James Tucker, GEMBA '06
Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group
James Tucker, GEMBA 2006, is a member of the Global Leadership Team for Boston Consulting Group’s Corporate Finance & Strategy practice and leads the practice in North America. James is also a member of the Global Leadership Team for the firm’s Financial Institutions practice and leads Large Scale Change globally, including M&A, PMI, transformation, turnaround, and zero-based budgeting. He leads the Financial Institutions practice in Canada. James primarily serves large multi-line financial intuitions, corporate and retail banks, wealth and asset manager, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, payment companies, and select private equity players, and their respective portfolio companies. Before BCG, James amassed significant experience in sales, marketing, and business development across multiple industries. James is particularly active in the community supporting serval charities having sat on several boards and having taught in the Marketing Faculty at the Rotman School of Management. He was awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. James has more than 15 years of experience working in a breath of industries from Molson Coors to CTV, as well as owning and operating his own business.
Charlene Li, BCOM '06
Co-Founder EATABLE
Charlene Li, BCOM 2006 is the Co-Founder of EATABLE – a gourmet popcorn infused with wine, spirits, and cocktails. Charlene began her career in finance and accounting working at firms such as Deloitte and TD Bank before starting her first entrepreneurial venture in the wedding industry, then as the Director of Finance for a start-up real estate management firm Rafi Properties in Boston. EATABLE was started in 2019 along with her husband Vince, when the pair explored their passion for food at a Boston-based commercial kitchen, where their Whisky-infused caramel popcorn won a food pitch competition. Frustrated by the lack of clean, yet flavorful snacks on store shelves, Charlene and Vince worked for over a year to perfect recipes as well as collaborate with professional pastry chefs to learn the art of traditional confectionery and chocolate making to create the “perfect pairing” of two loves: A good snack + a good drink! EATABLE popcorn is now sold in 200+ retailers in Canada and USA including Indigo, Saks, and HBC. The company has been featured on CBC's Dragon's Den, Chatelaine, The Globe and Mail, and Food & Drink Magazine.
Sarika Goel, MBA '05
Global head of Sustainable Investment Research, Mercer
Sarika Goel, MBA 2005, is Global Head of Sustainable Investment (SI) Research at Mercer. In this role, she provides direction and leadership for SI/ESG research across asset classes, including research coverage of investment strategies targeting sustainability themes such as those aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, climate transition, impact investing and other stewardship ideas. She works with clients in helping them to structure portfolios with a sustainable investment focus. Sarika is a member of Mercer’s Strategic Research Group and responsible for intellectual capital focusing on implementable solutions in sustainability themes. She has also served on the Analyst Advisory Committee of the UK Sustainable Investment Finance (UKSIF) organization, and participates in various external working groups focused on sustainable investment. Prior to joining Mercer in 2010, Sarika spent three years at RBC Wealth Management in London within the Advisory and Discretionary business groups. Previously, she spent two years as an equity research associate at Scotia Capital in Toronto, Canada, covering the Canadian Banks and Diversified Financials sectors.
Sarika holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and is a CFA charterholder.
Andrew Covato, MFIN '12
Global Head of Marketing Science & Measurement Product, Snap Inc (FL)
Andrew Covato (MFIN 2012), is the Global Head of Measurement and Insights at Snap, Inc., the parent company of Snapchat. Andrew's career has focused on the quantitative and technological aspects of ad tech and marketing tech for over a decade. He has held positions at eBay, Google, Facebook, and Netflix. In his present role at Snap, Andrew leads a global organization responsible for demonstrating the ROI of advertising on Snapchat to marketers who invest in campaigns on the platform. Digital advertising is a vastly complex ecosystem, so this seemingly simple task requires a multi-functional team including analytics, business development, and product R&D.
Andrew graduated from Rotman with a Master of Finance, and has his BASc. from the University of Toronto in Engineering Science. He is a formal advisor to several start-ups in the FinTech sector, dad of two, and loves cycling, hiking, and golf.
Rohn Jackson, MBA '09
Senior Data Analyst, Synctera
Rohn Jackson, MBA 2009 is the Senior (first) Analyst with Synctera, a Fintech startup. His current role involves building an analytics function and team from the ground up, choosing and setting up foundational tools, frameworks, strategies, and team structures for the company. In his previous role as Senior Manager / Head of Analytics and Operational Planning at Kijiji Canada. In his current role, Rohn focuses on taking complex problems or amorphous issues and breaking them down into component analyses for business leaders, teams, and clients. Rohn has been at Kijiji for almost ten years working in strategy and analytics. Prior to this role, he worked at Deloitte as a Manager and Senior Consultant in the Corporate Strategy and Operations team. Rohn has his BASc Mechanical Engineering from U of T and his MBA from the Rotman School of Management. He is also a member of the Rotman Masters of Management Analytics Advisory Board.
Pouneh Rouhani, MBA '11
Co-Founder, Luloo Boutique Homes
Pouneh Rouhani, MBA 2011 is the Managing Director at Luloo Boutique Homes, a real estate development firm, specializing in custom designed residences and homes. Their projects have been featured in the Globe, Toronto Star and Dwell and have received numerous Awards for building truly unique architectural and design residential properties. With a background in advertising and marketing, prior to her current role, Pouneh, was the Co-founder and Strategy Director of RadRou Creative Agency.
Kelly Martin, BCOM '90
CFO, LifeLabs
As Chief Financial Officer, Kelly Martin is a key advisor to the CEO and Executive Team on strategic and financial matters, working closely with LifeLabs’ Board of Directors and audit committee. Kelly plays a critical role in increasing LifeLabs’ ability to further leverage its core lab services capabilities while fueling innovation by capitalizing on growth opportunities to continue to diversify its service offerings.
Acting as a change agent, Kelly will build LifeLabs’ commercial acumen by developing sound financial plans and simplifying operating policies and procedures. Her mandate is to evolve the financial operations beyond debits and credits by utilizing financial and customer data to drive a culture of continuous improvement within the organization.
Kelly has over 25 years of organizational and C-Suite leadership experience, with an emphasis on the pharmaceutical sector and brings a broad and unique background in both finance and logistics across multiple sectors. Kelly has a consistent track record of developing winning strategies to realign resources, deliver operational excellence and improve profit margins.
Prior to joining LifeLabs, Kelly held several Chief Financial Officer positions, most recently at Wolseley Canada Inc. Kelly is a chartered professional accountant and received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto.
Natalia Evtushenko, MBA '11
Vice President - Funds Risk Management, Scotiabank
Natalia is Vice President with an oversight of Market and Credit Risk for Non-Bank Financial Institutions. She joined Scotiabank in 2011 and has over 10 years of experience in both market and credit risk. In her previous role she was responsible for Market and Liquidity Risk in Asia Pacific Region and was based in Singapore. In her current role she is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership globally with an oversight for Prime Services, Leveraged Loan Portfolio as well as credit oversight for Hedge Funds, Regulated Funds, Private Equity, Pension Funds and Broker / Dealers. Natalia has an undergraduate degree in Economics and Master of Business Administration.
Ken Valvur, BCOM '84
Founder and Group Director, Bento Sushi
Ken Valvur BCOM 1984 is the Founder and Group Director of Bento Sushi, Canada’s largest sushi company which applies the Japanese style of lunch to a North American setting, and Founder and President of Ontario Spring Water Sake Company, eastern North America’s first sake brewery. Ken started his career as a CA at PwC and then worked at Scotiabank as a VP and Director in their global capital markets team where he was stationed in Tokyo and London before starting Bento Sushi in 1996. In 2017 Bento Sushi was purchased by Yo! Sushi based in London UK where Ken is a Director. His current venture Ontario Spring Water Sake Company, located in the historic Distillery District of Toronto has been a labour of love that grew out of Ken’s time working in Japan early in his career.