Program Objective
The Rotman LEADS Program: Leadership, Exploration, Advice, Development and Success, aims to identify motivated and committed Rotman students across our programs to participate in a mentoring cohort in their industry of interest. Students apply to be matched with a senior industry leader (“mentor”) who will facilitate individual guidance/insights that will give mentees a clear perspective of what it takes to succeed in the industry.
Program Description
Students will be matched with a Senior Industry Leader “mentor” and are provided with the opportunity to participate in the following activities:
- Two Industry gatherings to be hosted by the Mentor with his/her respective cohort of students. These engaging events will provide a platform for Senior Industry professionals to engage in a high-level discussion of the issues of the day facing the industry.
- One private meeting (virtual), per term, with the Mentor to discuss student’s interests and to seek advice on how to realize their objectives.
- Occasional ad hoc calls/meetings, at the mentors’ discretion
Accepted mentees are expected to attend all industry gatherings and individual meetings.
Mentors Information
Click on each of our mentors to read more about them.
Analytics
Terry Hickey, EMBA '08, Managing Director, Head of Technology, Onex
Consulting
Sanjay Dhar, MBA ‘98, Managing Director – Accenture Strategy; B2B Growth Lead – Communications Industry
Accenture (International mentor; based in New York)
Entrepreneurship
Doug Collier, MBA '89, Early-Stage Investor/Advisor and Board Member
Dr. Frederick Murrell, Owner, Village Orthodontics
Finance
Nolan Bederman, JD/MBA '98, Founder & Managing Partner, Bederman Capital Corp.
Dr. Rajeev Chib, EMBA '08, Asia CAO - Financial Institutional Sales & Solutions, Citibank (International Mentor; based in Hong Kong)
Kevin Dougherty, EMBA '98, Past President, Sun Life Canada
Mike Durland, Former Group Head and CEO, Global Banking and Markets, Scotiabank
Jennifer Hartviksen, BA '92, Managing Director, Global Credit, IMCO
Yale Holder, MBA ‘06, Vice President, Customer Experience, Moneris
Doug Horn, MBA '12, Managing Director, Clairvest
Sandra Jarvis, MBA '92, Retired, Managing Director, Global COO Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities, RBC Capital Markets
Richard Nesbitt, MBA '85, Adjunct Professor and Executive in Residence, Rotman School of Management
Jude Pinto, MBA '02, Chief Delivery Officer, Payments Canada
Darie Urbanky, EMBA '12, President & COO, CI FInancial
Healthcare
Debbie Fischer, Executive in Residence, Rotman School of Management
Diana Flaminzeanu, EMBA '01, Specialty Medicine Director, Global Strategic, Marketing, Hematology, Bayer Health Care Pharmaceuticals
Mari Iromoto, MBA '98, CIO, Strategy & Performance, Cambridge Memorial Hospital
Marketing
Avidan De Lara, MBA '05, AVP Digital, CAA Club Group
Paul Hodges, MBA '01, Vice President, eCommerce, Nestle
Real Estate
Jeffrey Olin, BCOM '83, President and CEO, Portfolio Manager, Vision Capital
Salima Rawji, MBA '07, President and CEO, York University Development Corp.
Risk Management
Kathryn Fric , Chief Risk Officer, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Sustainability
Faith Goodman, MBA '94, CEO, Goodman Sustainability Group; Founder & Director, VeriStell Institute
Talent Management
Kathy Sipos, EMBA '01, Retired Chief of Staff, Barrick Gold Corporation
Technology
Michael Ansley, PT-MBA '98, Former Director, Worldwide Sales Strategy, Cisco Systems
Rodney Hill, Global Head of Technology, Data and Security, OMERS
Adina Saposnik, EMBA '09, Principal – Technology and Cyber Security, ETGAR Associates Inc.
Alice Thomas, MBA-M/E '94, Chief Architect and Digital Technology Officer, Sun Life Financial
Danish Yusuf, Founder and CEO, Zensurance
Application Process
Applications for 2023-2024 are open now and the deadline to apply online here is Monday, September 25th, 2023, at 11:59pm EST.
For security purposes, applicants will need to log into Microsoft Forms using their UTORID login in order to access the application form.
Applicants may select up to three mentors of choice, to be ranked in order of preference. Successful applicants will be matched with only one mentor.
Students will be required to submit a Cover Letter, Resume, Short Bio (max. 300 words), Headshot, and will need to answer the following questions on the application form:
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Why are you interested in the LEADS Program?
- What are you looking to get out of the mentorship experience? (Please provide three specific personal and/or professional goals for your time in the LEADS program.)
- LEADS Mentees get to participate in a minimum of two individual one-on-one meetings with their mentor over the course of the year. If accepted into the program, what topics do you intend to discuss or have addressed in your first one-on-one meeting? (Please provide three topics or questions for your mentor.)
- What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
- How do you plan on making an impact in your chosen industry?
Apply now »
Need more information? Sign up to attend one of two online information sessions to get in-person answers to your questions about the program, learn how you can leverage this program to enhance your Rotman experience and build your professional skills.
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
12:00 – 12:30 pm ET
SPEAKERS:
Mentor: Richard Nesbitt, Adjunct Professor & Executive-in-Residence, Rotman School & LEADS Program Chair
Former Mentee: Laura Garzon (MFin ’20), Director, CIBC Capital Markets
Thursday, September 14, 2022
5:30 – 6:00 pm ET
SPEAKERS:
Mentor: Richard Nesbitt, Adjunct Professor & Executive-in-Residence, Rotman School & LEADS Program Chair
Former Mentee: Christina Linda Chan (PT-MBA ‘23), Founder & Lead Investor – Branding, Marketing, Strategy, Product Management, Primal Note Inc.
Click here to register for either session.
If you have questions please email Alexandra Brennan, Alumni Officer at a.brennan@rotman.utoronto.ca or 416-978-0622.
Stewart Burton
Vice Chairman, RBC Capital Markets
Stewart Burton is Vice Chairman and member of the Global Banking Operating Committee of RBC Capital Markets. He is responsible for senior client coverage and has extensive experience in investment banking, providing both financing and merger and acquisition advice across a broad range of industries. Stewart joined the Corporate Finance Department of RBC Capital Markets in 1986 after earning his MBA degree from the Harvard Business School. Stewart also holds an HBA from the University of Western Ontario.
Prior to completing his MBA, Stewart earned his Chartered Accountants designation after spending three years with Ernst and Young. He is a Director of the Canadian Opera Company, Honorary Colonel of RCAF 450 Squadron, member of the campaign cabinet for CAMH and is involved in a number of other charitable organizations.
Dr. Frederick Murrell
Owner, Village Orthodontics
Fred Murrell is an Orthodontist with a practice in Mississauga and Toronto. Fred received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta. He earned his Doctorate of Dental Surgery from the University of Toronto. After working in Northern Ontario for a year, Fred attended the University of Manitoba, where he obtained his specialist degree in orthodontics as well as a Master of Science.
Fred has been highly entrepreneurial outside of orthodontics; involved in numerous business ventures both as an investor and advisor over the last 30 years.
Sandra Jarvis, MBA '92
Retired, Managing Director / Global COO Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities, RBC Capital Markets
Sandra Jarvis recently retired after 27 years working internationally in capital markets. Having completed her MBA at Rotman, Sandra started her career with Braxton Associates, Deloitte’s strategy consulting practice. Soon after, Sandra and her husband were transferred to Japan where she joined Credit Suisse (First Boston), building their first client analytics team and integrated sales platform. Once scaled and mature, Sandra joined CS’s newly established global emerging markets business; this move was the beginning of a long run of COO roles in which she held leadership positions in the fixed income, foreign exchange, equity and commodity asset classes. Sandra is passionate about leading strategic plans and advancing innovation.
After repatriating to Canada Sandra worked on the buy side for CPP Investments and latterly for RBC Dominion Securities. Returning to Rotman as an auditing student in 2011 and 2019, Sandra embraced engaging with the community as an interview coach. In addition to enjoying new found time with her two teenage children, Sandra is a mentor with Lean in Canada and is co-chairing an African refugee initiative. Sandra also holds an HBA (econ/math) and the bulk of a graduate degree in international development economics.
Richard Nesbitt, MBA '85
Adjunct Professor and Executive in Residence, Rotman School of Management
Richard Nesbitt is an Adjunct Professor of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Richard is now based in London, United Kingdom where he is working with the London School of Economics as Chair of a new research institute “The Inclusion Initiative at LSE”. His new book (with Michael King) is titled “The Technological Revolution in Financial Services” (UTP 2020). In June 2017, Richard published a book (with Barbara Annis) titled “Results at the Top” on the issue of men’s responsibility for gender diversity to improve their organizations (Wiley 2017).
Richard was CEO of Global Risk Institute in Financial Services until 2019. Prior to that he was Chief Operating Officer of CIBC until September 2014. From 2004 to 2008 Richard was Chief Executive Officer of TSX Group, a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, having joined TSX as President of TSX Markets in 2001.
Richard is a graduate of the London School of Economics MSc 1986, Rotman School of Management MBA 1985 and Ivey School of Business HBA 1978.
Debbie Fischer
Executive in Residence, Rotman School of Management
Debbie is an Executive-in-Residence in Residence at the Rotman School of Management and has taught at the Rotman Executive Leadership Development Program at the University of Toronto. As an academic mentor at the Rotman School of Management, she is a passionate coach for business students who are interested in a career in health care.
Debbie has held senior leadership positions in professional consulting services, hospitals and government. She is currently an Executive Associate with KPMG where she consults on organizational change and large-scale system transformation in health care and public sectors. Debbie also serves on several boards including North York General Hospital and OntarioMD. She was the inaugural Chair of Joule- a subsidiary of the Canadian Medical Association. Past governance positions include Chair of Plexxus, director on the Boards of the Ontario Centres of Excellence, CIHR, and OECM.
She was previously an Executive Vice President, Strategy and Organizational Development at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. In this role, she spearheaded strategic partnership initiatives and programs that lead to the hospital’s national recognition for organizational quality and wellness, diversity, and corporate culture. While continuing to maintain an active role at Mount Sinai, she had a secondment to Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as Assistant Deputy Minister, Transition to lead a major transformation of the entire Ministry.
Previously, she held a number of senior consulting and executive management positions in international professional services firms--Ernst &Young, Cap Gemini and KPMG.
Debbie has a BSc (Neurobiology and Comparative Physiology) from McGill University and MHA from the University of Ottawa. She also holds CHRE and ICD.D designations
Kevin Dougherty, EMBA '98
Past President, Sun Life Canada
Kevin Dougherty held the role of President of Sun Life Canada from 2004 to 2007 and from 2010 to 2017 and Executive Vice-President, Innovation and Partnerships, until Dec. 31, 2019.
Kevin joined Sun Life in 1994 as Vice-President, Marketing and Sales for Group Benefits.
Under his leadership, Sun Life Canada grew to the number one market positions in group benefits and group retirement services and in individual insurance sales and was instrumental in building successful new lines of business including Sun Life Global Investments, Client Solutions and Defined Benefit Solutions and revitalized Sun Life’s business in Quebec.
In 2018, Dougherty took on the role of EVP, Innovation and Partnerships where he helped Sun Life accelerate the development of data and analytics capabilities. He created a digital accelerator to incubate new technologies and applications in the mobile/digital/AI space, solidifying and extending Sun Life s leadership position during a time of profound business threat and change. Kevin is an active community board director.
Mike Durland
Former Group Head and CEO, Global Banking and Markets, Scotiabank
Mike Durland is the Former Group Head and CEO, Global Banking and Markets, Scotiabank, the Chair and CEO of Receptiviti, the Chair of Social Navigator Inc, a member of the board of Truleaf Sustainable Agriculture, a founding principal in Cabot Links, the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation, a member of the board of the True Patriot Love Foundation, a member of the Business Strategy Committee for the Global Risk Institute. Mike the Chancellor of Saint Mary’s University and is a Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto. Durland holds a B Comm degree from St. Mary’s University, a PhD in Finance and Operations Research from Queen’s University and an honorary Doctorate from St. Mary’s University. Mike held various roles at Scotiabank, including Group Head and CEO, Global Banking and Markets.
Kathy Sipos, EMBA '01
Retired Chief of Staff, Barrick Gold Corporation
Kathy Sipos, former Chief of Staff at Barrick Gold Corporation, is now enjoying her second year of retirement. She spent the majority of her 25-year career in the gold mining industry where she was fortunate to work closely with phenomenal and distinguished business leaders. She attended all Company Board meetings for three publicly listed companies over the past 13 years (Barrick Gold Corporation – Global Operations, Teranga Gold – Operations in West Africa and Gabriel Resources - Largest undeveloped gold asset globally in Romania).
Kathy started her career at Barrick in 1996 working directly with the Founder and then CEO, Peter Munk. After 10 years with Barrick working in communications and investor relations, she worked for two junior mining companies from 2006 to 2015. With these companies she gained additional experience in sustainable development and government relations while spending time in Romania (VP Investor Relations, Gabriel Resources), and later in Senegal, West Africa (VP Investor and Stakeholder Relations, Teranga Gold). Kathy was called back to Barrick in 2015 by Peter Munk and John Thornton, Executive Chairman (former President Goldman Sachs) where she was able to draw on her collective experience as the Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman.
Most recently and prior to her retirement, Kathy was part of Barrick’s very successful, transformational merger with Randgold Resources creating the industry’s leading gold company.
Susan McFadden, MBA '11
Senior Principal, Value Creation - Infrastructure and Natural Resources
Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan
Susan is currently a Senior Principal of Value Creation in Infrastructure & Natural Resources at Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP). In this role she works with business that OTPP owns to maximize their value by ensuring that each business has the right strategy, talent and governance in place to realize their potential.
Prior to joining OTPP, Susan spent almost 9 years at Rogers Communications where she worked in progressive internal strategy consulting roles. For the two final years of her time at Rogers, she was Senior Director, Strategy and Planning for Rogers B2B business where she led a team of professionals that built Rogers B2B long-term strategy and guided the year-by-year and quarter-by-quarter execution roadmap.
Susan has made two major successful career transitions, one by moving into Strategy right after completing her MBA at Rotman in 2011 and the other a year ago when she joined the Investments industry.
Alice Thomas, MBA-M/E '94
Chief Architect and Digital Technology Officer, Sun Life Financial
Alice is the Chief Architect and Digital Technology Officer at Sun Life Financial. Alice joined Sun Life in 2007 and has over 30 years of experience in technology, the last twenty-five years focused on digital strategy and solutions.
In her current role Alice is responsible for global technology enablement of the company’s digital strategies and leads an engineering team responsible for the design and delivery of best-in-class digital experiences for Sun Life’s clients, advisors, and employees. She also leads a global Enterprise Architecture team and is responsible for the overall architecture vision, strategy and roadmaps that align with the business and product objectives of Sun Life.
Prior to joining Sun Life, Alice was Vice President Consulting Services at CGI, where she led a national professional services team delivering digital strategy and solutions. She has also held senior IT leadership roles working for a number of other leading Canadian and global organizations including GE Capital, Imperial Oil and the federal government's department of transportation in Ottawa.
Alice is a passionate supporter of diversity and inclusion and a champion of the advancement of women in technology. In 2019, she was named Advocate of the Year by the Women in IT Award Series for her efforts to increase the participation of women in IT.
Alice was selected as one of Canada’s Tech Titans: Top 19 of 2019 award winners in Canada which represents a group of Canadian technology leaders who have achieved significant accomplishments in their career and have instigated a positive change or made an impact on the growth and innovation of his or her company.
In 2021, Alice was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by The Women’s Executive Network (WXN). She was a winner in the Science and Technology category, which celebrates female leaders in STEM roles who are challenging the status quo for knowledge and female empowerment.
She holds a BSc. in Computer Science from the University of Ottawa and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University in Toronto. In 2017, Alice received the Alumni Award of Excellence from the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Engineering.
Alice is a member of Seneca College’s board of governors.
Terry Hickey, EMBA '08
Managing Director, Head of Technology, Onex
Terry Hickey is a trusted and seasoned leader who works with executive management teams to get stuff done. At Onex, Terry leads Technology, Corporate Services and Innovation across the firm, with a focus on leveraging the latest tools and knowledge to build a successful organization.
Terry is a passionate advocate for gender equality in the workplace and sponsoring STEM-related inclusion and diversity initiatives. He also serves on the board of directors of Renascent, a not for profit focused on addiction and mental health.
Terry joined Onex in June 2021 from CIBC first as the Chief Analytics Officer then as the Chief Information Officer for Corporate Technology. Prior to CIBC, Terry was the VP and Global Leader of Advanced Analytics, Artificial Intelligence & Quantum Computing for IBM Global Business Services. He earned his Masters In Business Administration from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Diana Flaminzeanu, EMBA '01
Specialty Medicine Director, Global Strategic Marketing, Hematology Bayer Health Care Pharmaceuticals
Diana Flaminzeanu is a marketing professional with an extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical sector. From single brand to portfolio management and from country specific launches (Canada, France) to global strategic marketing (USA, Global), Diana has developed a passion for leading cross-functional teams and bringing to market therapies that are valuable improvements in people’s lives. With over two decades of combined commercial, consulting and marketing experiences, Diana worked on launching more than 10 novel therapies, coupled with global and local patient educational services across many therapeutic fields (Hematology, Cardiovascular, Surgical, Neurology, Pain Management, Radiology).
An educational background in life sciences (MSc.Ch.Eng) combined with medical certifications, (Candidate HOM ’20) - CCHM Toronto and a business degree (MBA) Rotman - University of Toronto (’01), have formed the foundation for Diana’s professional platform. Employers have been primarily large multinational corporations (Currently Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Sanofi/Aventis) as well as small consulting firms in the biotech sector.
Diana has a life long passion for learning and development. She continued to expand her medical-scientific knowledge as well as her leadership experiences, both as a trainee and mentor. From academic programs such as the The “New World of Health Care “ (Rotman - Harvard 2001), “Women in Leadership” Executive Program (Rotman 2009), to many in-house leadership opportunities (LEAD Programs, Peer Coaching, Bayer USA, etc.) to the prestigious “Women Unlimited Inc “ the NJ-NY Campuses, USA (Class of 2018), Diana developed herself and others, including her own direct report teams, interns and mentees, both in Canada and US ( Rotman, McGill, Rutgers). In addition she is a mentor in the novel and innovative Global Executive MBA for Health and the Life Sciences at Rotman, where she was honoured to give the Address Speech to the first graduating class of 2020 !!!
Jeffrey Olin, BCOM '83
President and CEO, Portfolio Manager, Vision Capital
Jeffrey Olin has been a co-founder, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Vision for 13 years.
The Vision Opportunity Funds are real estate focused alternative investment funds seeking to outperform in all market environments with low volatility and uncorrelated returns. The Funds seek to buy real estate cheaper in the stock market than one can in the property market and target superior risk-adjusted total returns with a focus on capital preservation as a core component of the Funds’ strategy. The Funds have delivered a Total Return of 396%, a Compound Annual Return of 12.3% since inception in July 2008. Prior to Vision Jeff had fifteen years of senior level investment banking experience.as the Managing Partner, Ontario and Head of Investment Banking with Desjardins Securities and as Managing Director with HSBC Securities. Previously, Jeff had ten years of direct real estate industry experience. with Bramalea Limited in Dallas and with Olympia & York Developments Ltd.
Jeff has served on the Board of Directors for numerous public companies as well as charitable and community boards and served as an expert witness on behalf of the Ontario Securities Commission and the Government of Canada Parliamentary Finance Committee. Mr. Olin is a graduate from the Kellogg Graduate School at Northwestern University in Chicago with an MBA. He received his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto.
Medhat Mahdy
President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Toronto and
President of YMCA Ontario.
Medhat Mahdy is the President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Toronto and President of YMCA Ontario. He is driven to help the Y promote equity and boost well-being across the GTA, because he believes we owe every individual the opportunity to shine.
Medhat has an extensive background in charitable sector leadership and has been involved with the YMCA for over 40 years as a member, volunteer, donor, and leader. He holds a Bachelor Degree from the University of Toronto and has received several designations from York University, McGill University, Harvard University, and Queen’s University. Currently, Medhat is Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
An immigrant who was welcomed to Canada by the YMCA as a young man, Medhat lives in Toronto with his wife and is a father and grandfather. He is a classical music fan and tennis lover who started working at the YMCA of Greater Toronto in his early twenties as a part-time tennis coach.
Timothy Hodgson
Chair, Hydro One
Timothy Hodgson is a corporate director and currently serves as Chair of Hydro One. Mr. Hodgson also Chairs the board of Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited, a financial and life insurance company and sits on the board of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Mr. Hodgson was formerly Managing Partner of Alignvest Management Corporation from 2012 until his retirement in August 2019. He was Special Advisor to Mr. Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada from 2010 to 2012. From 1990 to 2010, Mr. Hodgson held various positions in New York, London, Silicon Valley and Toronto with Goldman Sachs and served as Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Canada from 2005 to 2010, with overall responsibilities for the firm’s operations, client relationships and regulatory matters.
His prior directorships include MEG Energy, Alignvest Acquisition Corporation, Alignvest Acquisition II Corporation, The Global Risk Institute, KGS-Alpha Capital Markets, Next Canada, the Ivey School of Business and Bridgepoint Health.
Mr. Hodgson holds a Masters of Business Administration from The Ivey School of Business at Western University and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Manitoba. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants (FCPA) and holds his ICD.D.
Jennifer Hartviksen, BA '92
Managing Director, Global Credit, IMCO
Ms. Hartviksen is a global credit investor with over 25 years of experience on both the buy and the sell-side at banks, pension funds and asset managers. In her current role at IMCO as Managing Director, Global Credit, she is responsible for building out the fund’s credit team and investments across public and private credit markets. Prior to joining IMCO in January 2020, she held several roles at Invesco including Head of Global High Yield, Head of Fixed Income, Trimark and Senior Portfolio Manager. Previously she also held the position of Senior Portfolio Manager on a market-neutral credit strategy with the CPPIB. Prior to returning to her native Toronto in 2009 she spent nearly a decade in Southern California with Western Asset Management, a leading fixed income asset manager, and before that was in Sao Paulo, Brazil where she worked as an EM Corporate Analyst at ING Barings and a Senior Analyst at JP Morgan. Ms. Hartviksen holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Toronto and is a CFA charterholder.
Jude Pinto, MBA '02
Chief Delivery Officer, Payments Canada
Jude has been part of the Canadian and Caribbean Financial Services industry for the past 30+ years. He has played executive leadership roles in a variety of Retail Banking, Payments, Insurance, Technology, Operations and Finance areas.
Jude has led transformation strategies and programs around process and technology driven automation, service and customer experience excellence, digital banking, acquisitions and divestitures, new market entries, strategic cost management, industry utility evolution and technology modernization. His role as President of INTRIA Items Inc. included operating this Canadian Payments and Cash Processing Utility for numerous FIs.
In addition, Jude has led several other functional areas covering Retail Distribution and Product Strategy, Innovation, Insurance, Finance, Operational Risk and Compliance. He also spent five years with CIBC FirstCaribbean as Chief Information Officer and Managing Director - Technology, Operations & Corporate Services. Jude has a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Rotman School of Management, he is a Certified Management Accountant/Chartered Professional Accountant, and has an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Currently, Jude is serving as Chief Delivery Officer at Payments Canada - focused on transforming Canadian payments infrastructure for the financial ecosystem at large.
Darie Urbanky, EMBA '12
President and COO, CI Financial
As President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Urbanky is responsible for the operational aspects and resources of CI Global Asset Management, CI Assante Wealth Management and other CI Financial companies.
He has been with CI Global Asset Management for over 20 years, serving in progressively more senior roles in Information Technology. His previous position, Chief Technology Officer, included overseeing the technological functions at CI. Prior to that, he held a variety of roles in the financial technology industry at companies such as DST Systems (now IFDS).
Mr. Urbanky holds an MBA from Rotman School of Management and a master’s degree in computer science from University of Toronto and has attended leadership and management programs at Queen’s School of Business.
Paul Hodges, MBA '01
Vice President, eCommerce, Nestle
A recognized leader in brand strategy and eCommerce at Nestlé, the world’s largest Food and Beverage Company, Paul has built an accomplished 25-year global career focused on branding, marketing strategy and leading new business ventures.
Paul has worked on some of the planet’s most recognizable food and beverage brands like Perrier, Kit Kat, Nespresso, and Gerber. His consulting engagements around the world have focused on understanding consumer motivation, delighting with product experience, and creating engaging brand experiences. After 7 years on international assignments in Europe and South America, Paul returned to Canada as Vice President of eCommerce, where he is focused on building organization-wide capability to position the organization for success as consumer shopping behaviour evolves.
Paul received his MBA from the Rotman School of Management in 2001 and holds a BAH from Queen’s University. Trilingual, Paul is a dynamic leader and passionate brand builder, eager to share his thoughts on how to shape a fulfilling career fueled by purpose.
Dr. Rajeev Chib, EMBA '08
Asia CAO - Financial Institutional Sales & Solutions, Citibank
Dr. Chib is a seasoned capital markets professional with 28 years’ international experience with leading financial institutions based in Hong Kong, New York, and Toronto. He is the Regional Asia Head of Client Facilitation & Business Management across Investor Sales and Relationship Management at Citi Global Markets in Asia Pacific region. Dr. Chib and his team are responsible for partnering with Sales & Relationship Management and delivering Citi’s extensive investor client strategy across all products and geographies in the region within a risk-controlled framework.
Dr. Chib is a member of the APAC Investor Sales & Relationship management team, and Co-Chair of the COO Markets committee of Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA).
Before taking on his current position in October 2013, Dr. Chib was the Equities Business Unit Manager for Asia Pacific. He was responsible for Business Unit Management functions related to equities products. Dr. Chib has a Doctorate in Business Administration from City University of Hong Kong, an Executive MBA from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Economics (with honours) from the University of Toronto.
Nadine Rijkhoff, MBA '12
Transformation Program Director
Nadine Rijkhoff is a Transformation Program Director, specializing in delivering projects which redesign broken operating models and make them more user-centric and cost-effective. Her reputation for turning executive aspirations into actionable plans, coupled with her charm in leading digitally-dispersed teams, earns her fulfilling missions for C-suite clients and stakeholders across Canada, the US, the UK, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Nadine holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University, plus CPA, CAIA, Change Management and SaFE designations. She graduated from Rotman’s full-time MBA program in 2012, where she dually served as the MCA’s Vice President of Case Competitions and a non-profit Board Chair, while also completing her studies. For her summer placement, Nadine worked at Extreme Blue, IBM’s innovation accelerator, leading a team of engineers and marketers in the launch of a new commercial client offering.
Over the past 10 years, Nadine lived and worked in New York City and Amsterdam as a delivery leader and portfolio-of-projects manager for global organizations like Barclays Wealth Management, BMO, Euroclear, Liberty Specialty Markets. This fall, Nadine, her husband and their little boys are returning to Toronto to reconnect with friends and family and start their next chapter in this amazing city.
Nadine is the ideal mentor for students seeking direct and practical advice on:
- What’s the best next step for me for summer internships or post-graduation, given my past experiences and career aspirations?
- What’s Management Consulting really like and how is it better/worse than in-house roles?
- What does it take to work abroad and how does it compare to working in Toronto or other Canadian cities?
Ian Gregoire, MBA '05
VP of Strategy & Operations, KSS Holdco
Ian is a seasoned finance executive who has held several senior finance roles throughout his career. Ian is currently the VP of Strategy and Operations for KSS Holdco, a private equity company based in Toronto. Ian was the Vice-President of Finance for Rogers Communications Residential Division. Prior to Rogers, Ian was the CFO for Canadian Business Television and Financial Controller for Bell Canada Residential Division. Ian is a strong business partner who enjoys collaborating with the business to help drive revenues, contain costs, and manage capital. He is a CPA and earned his MBA from the Rotman School of Management.
Ian’s expertise lies in strategic planning, M&A, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, product and P&L management, growth and expansion strategies, and diversity and inclusion.
Ian sits on the Board of the Casey House Foundation and the Casey House Hospital. Ian is also sits on the Board and is the Treasurer of both Rainbow Railroad Canada and Rainbow Railroad USA.
Doug Collier, MBA '89
Early-Stage Investor/Advisor and Board Member
Doug Collier is a director and advisor for private companies in the consumer products industry in North America and internationally. In his role as board director, he provides a range of advisory services to management, given his broad executive experience across strategic planning, international, marketing and brand development, IT and digital. Doug is an active early-stage investor in start-up companies from Chicago to London in industries ranging from food and beverage to industrial and consumer technology. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Advisors for Marxent, a quickly growing digital technology company focused on 3D/AR/VR, and Factum Global, an international consulting firm that helps companies expand globally, and he mentors and advises several other start-ups. He is a member of the University of Manitoba’s Alumni Council and Faculty of Science Board of Advisors.
Doug is a highly accomplished global executive and leader whose most recent experience included 12 years at La-Z-Boy, a $1.7B publicly-held home furnishings retailer and manufacturer, where he held the roles of SVP/Chief Commercial Officer and President International. He was a key member of the executive team that led the company’s significant turnaround, strategic repositioning and growth after the 2009 financial crisis, leading to a market cap increase from $66M in early 2009 to over $1.5B by 2019. Prior to La-Z-Boy, he served on the executive team of Sleep Number Corporation, where he was EVP/Chief Marketing Officer and led marketing, product management, new product development and e-commerce. Prior to his first three years at La-Z-Boy as Chief Marketing Officer and VP, Marketing and Furniture Galleries Development, Doug was on the executive team of Iomega Corporation, a $1B publicly-held technology company. He held the role of SVP, Product Management and President International. He began his career in the appliance industry, where he served in a variety of product management, strategy and business development roles at GE Canada (Camco) and with Whirlpool in the U.S., Germany and Italy.
Doug Horn, MBA '12
Managing Director, Clairvest Group Inc.
Doug is a Managing Director with Clairvest Group and is involved in the sourcing, execution and management of investments. Prior to Clairvest, Doug worked at TD Bank in their investment banking division focused on mergers and acquisitions, asset sales as well as equity and debt financings. Previously he was a Commodities Analyst for CPM Group in New York where he advised corporates, investors and intergovernmental organizations.
Doug holds an M.B.A from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, an M.Sc. in Global Affairs from New York University and a B.A. from McGill University.
Rodney Hill
Global Head of Technology, Data and Security, OMERS
As Global Head of Technology, Data and Security, Rodney has overall accountability for technology strategy, architecture, data, advanced analytics, security and operations.
Rodney previously served as Chief Risk Officer, leading the Risk Management, Compliance and Ethics functions, and working closely with Internal Audit. Under his leadership, these functions interacted with business units across OMERS, and provided monitoring and reporting to senior management, the OMERS Board of Directors and its various committees. Prior to joining OMERS in 2011, Rodney worked as a Partner at PwC, where he specialized in auditing complex public and private companies. During this time, he also held several leadership roles with the firm.
A graduate from the University of Kent at Canterbury, with an Honours Degree in Accounting with Computing. Rodney is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ACA-UK). He is also a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA, CPA) in Canada and has completed the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program.
Originally from Ireland, Rodney is passionate about giving back through involvement with community and serves on a number of public and private boards. He is a dedicated advocate of developing the leadership skills of those around him and he frequently serves as a formal and informal mentor. He lives in Toronto with his family.
Adina Saposnik, EMBA '09
Principal – Technology and Cyber Security, ETGAR Associates Inc.
I am a multifaceted technology executive with extensive technology, cyber security and governance experience in progressive organizations across diverse industries, both in public and private sector.
I led turn-around, and growth initiatives, strategy and digital transformation and I drove accelerated change during times of adversity. I leverage a strong background in regulatory and technical risk-based compliance initiatives. I have a proven, result-focused track record of managing, motivating and leading teams toward common strategic goals, making critical and time-sensitive decisions and applying sound judgement to maximize operational stability. Moreover, I am recognized for the ability to bridge between technology and business units and a I have a strong Board presence.
I graduated in the top 10% of the Executive MBA class at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto and I am the winner of the CIBC Chairman’s Award.
Over the last several years and as Vice President – Technology and Chief Information Security Officer at Ontario Health, I conducted the transformation of a large technology organization operating on a budget of $100M+. I led the Implementation of the agile development methodology, including a repeatable set of processes to ensure operational currency, efficiency, and sustainability, underpinned by strong governance.
I built a new, independently assessed ‘best in class’ cyber security program and practice, strategically structured along four key pillars of the eco system: Governance, Defense, Resilience and Consulting. Consequently, the cyber security organization attained a higher degree of operational effectiveness, to better align with business objectives. I introduced the ‘Sec’ in the ‘DevOps’. As a result, no data breaches or compromises happened during my tenure.
Previously, I held progressive IT senior leadership and executive management positions with financial institutions (CDS, AMEX, Sun Life, CIBC), retail (Hbc) and telecom (the ISP Excite @Home and Bell Canada).
Currently I advise on strategy and leadership in the technology and cyber security space for organizations in both the private and public sector, including the manufacturing, municipal and financial institutions. I teach Cyber Security Risk Management at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies.
I am the proud mother of two sons. I enjoy swimming, downhill skiing, classical music and the ballet and I am passionate about helping the younger generations to develop and strengthen their leadership skills and their business acumen.
Avidan De Lara, MBA '05
AVP Digital, CAA Club Group
Avidan is an experienced digital marketer with a strong focus on testing, automation and machine learning. He has over 20 years of experience working at leading technology companies like eBay and Expedia in Europe, Canada and Mexico.
In his current role as AVP Digital at CAA Club Group, Avidan oversees CAA’s Digital Channel, including operation, digital marketing channels, analytics and digital experience. Avidan has been instrumental driving and implementing CAA’s digital transformation, especially during Covid when other traditional channels were not available.
Avidan is passionate about digital innovation, always looking for new ideas to improve the user experience.
Avidan holds an M.B.A. from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto and a B.A. in Mass Media from Universidad Iberoamericana.
Nolan Bederman, JD/MBA '98
Founder & Managing Partner, Bederman Capital Corp.
Nolan Bederman is the founder and managing partner of Bederman Capital Corp., a private equity business focused on investing in North American growth companies. Mr. Bederman is also the Executive Chair of LifeSpeak, Inc., a TSX-listed total wellbeing technology company, which he helped build and take public. In 2017, Mr. Bederman formalized a partnership with New York-based Reynolds Channel Capital Partners, a private equity fund focused on making similar investments. In addition to chairing several private company boards, Mr. Bederman also sits on the board of directors of Harbor Diversified, Inc. (publicly traded owner of Air Wisconsin). Before founding Bederman Capital Corp., Mr. Bederman was a co-founding partner of Genuity Capital Partners, a mid-market private equity fund, where he spent almost ten years leading numerous successful private equity investments throughout North America. Prior to joining Genuity, Mr. Bederman was an Executive Director in private equity at CIBC Capital Partners. Mr. Bederman was also a Vice President in the US Mergers & Acquisitions group of Merrill Lynch & Co., where he focused on advising global companies in the capital/consumer goods, transportation, food, and pharma sectors. Mr. Bederman graduated with the Gold Medal from the combined JD/MBA program from the University of Toronto and a BA (Econ.) from the University of Western Ontario, where he won the Chancellor’s prize and the Gold Medal in Economics.
Salima Rawji, MBA '07
President and CEO, York University Development Corp.
Salima Rawji is an accomplished city builder with a passion for purpose-driven solutions. As the former Senior Vice President of Development for CreateTO (the City of Toronto’s Real Estate Agency) she led the development team, managing a pipeline of over 200 sites, in addition to key portfolios such as the City of Toronto’s Housing Now Initiative, which leverages City-owned lands to build affordable housing, mixed-use, mixed income communities.
Salima’s commitment to city building extends beyond her professional role. Throughout her career, she has served on several non-profit boards committed to inclusive and resilient cities. Currently, she is a member of the ULI Toronto Advisory Board, the R-LABS Industry Issue + Transformation Council and serves on the Board of Directors for the YMCA GTA, as well as for the Toronto Foundation, where she chairs the Social Impact Investment Committee.
Salima holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto and is Valedictorian of her undergraduate class at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
Faith Goodman, MBA '94
CEO, Goodman Sustainability Group; Founder & Director, VeriStell Institute
Faith is the CEO of a global consulting firm focusing on ESG, Corporate Purpose and Net Zero as the new business essentials. She is at the forefront of helping firms consider that a global shift is redefining the contract between businesses and their communities from simply “being responsible” to creating real shareholder & societal value. (www.goodmansustainabilitygroup.com)
Faith’s deep Energy Sector 30+ years of operations experience including at Suncor Energy, provides her with a unique lens on sustainability challenges & opportunities. Faith has also led Climate policy /OECD benchmarking discussions for some of Canada’s largest energy firms, Faith understands the complexity and gravity of delivering on credible ESG in high carbon intensive, trade-exposed sectors. She understands the corporate & societal tradeoffs of remaining competitive while concurrently making meaningful and transparent progress on ESG & Corporate Purpose.
Faith is also the Founder of the NFP – the VeriStell Institute – a global think-tank, bringing together the world’s leading voices on corporate sustainability with a view to “mainstreaming” Corporate Purpose in the developed and developing world (www.veristellinstitute.com).
In addition, as Founder and Board Director of an award-winning registered pan Canadian Child Welfare Charity (Until The Last Child), Faith understands the opportunities for Public Private Partnerships with a view to driving societal solutions and transparent progress on the “S” in ESG. The Charity is also the winner of the RBC 2017 Social Finance award cementing her status as a trusted strategic advisor, leading social entrepreneur, and thought leader. Faith is amongst a small group of leaders globally who have co-launched a Social Impact Bond. Her Social Impact work is recognized as is her long-standing collaborations with Indigenous community leaders. www.untilthelastchild.com
Sanjay Dhar, MBA '98
Managing Director – Accenture Strategy; B2B Growth Lead – Communications Industry, Accenture
Sanjay is a Managing Director within Accenture’s Communications, Media and Technology Strategy group. He is the global lead for B2B Growth and leads the Strategy & Consulting practice for Canada.
Sanjay has over 20 years in consulting from Deloitte and Accenture. He has worked with clients in Canada, US, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Sanjay has extensive experience across a broad range of growth areas including product development, new growth channels, customer analytics, marketing and sales strategy, and digital enablement.
Sanjay holds an MBA degree from the University of Toronto, and a B.Com. (Economics/Statistics) degree from the University of Poona.
Yale Holder, MBA ‘06
Vice President, Customer Experience
Yale currently leads Moneris’ Customer Experience strategy and transformation as Vice President, CEx as the company evolves from offline pay enabled products to more Ecommerce and unified commerce solutions. With 15+ years of proven success in IT, Telecom and FinTech, Yale has excelled in multiple roles including Product development and strategy, business planning, analytics and operations / customer experience. Yale has an MBA from University of Toronto (Rotman) and a Computer Engineering Degree from McMaster University.
Mari Iromoto, MBA ‘98,br>
CIO, Strategy & Performance, Cambridge Memorial Hospital
Mari Iromoto is the Chief Information Officer and head of Strategy & Performance at Cambridge Memorial Hospital where she brings her passion and expertise in building a culture of performance and innovation. She is also the Executive Lead for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for the organization. Mari transitioned to healthcare after spending her professional career in a corporate environment as a change leader with companies including IBM Consulting Services and Maple Leaf Foods. She believes passionately in community involvement and has made significant contributions on various not-for-profit boards and committees over the past 25 years. Mari has earned an MBA from the Rotman School of Management and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and coach.
Kathryn Fric
Chief Risk Officer, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Kathryn joined Ontario Teachers’ in 2021 as the Chief Risk Officer, and is responsible for providing independent oversight of risk-taking activities and leading execution of the mandate for the Risk Division in alignment with the organization’s strategy. Her role includes overseeing the Enterprise Risk governance framework, establishing risk appetite, setting of key risk limits, and management of related risk systems with the goal of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Plan.
Kathryn joined Ontario Teachers’ following an extensive 18-year career at Sun Life Financial, where she was most recently Senior Vice President, Enterprise and Operational Risk. There she was responsible for the oversight of strategic, operational, asset liability management and market risks as well as the firm’s insurance risk management programs. Prior to that, she was Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Risk Officer, and previously held a number of positions in Investments including heading Sun Life’s North American Public Fixed Income Credit Research group, and Total Return Portfolio Management and trading. Kathryn started her career in Finance at Ford Motor Co. Canada before moving to Deloitte and then Citibank in progressively more senior roles.
Kathryn, a designated Chartered Financial Analyst, currently sits on the Board of the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall. She earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Business Administration, both from Western University.
Michael Ansley, PT-MBA ‘98
Former Director, Worldwide Sales Strategy, Cisco Systems
Michael Ansley is a business professional who specializes in introducing advanced IT technologies into international markets. Mike has worked with both large multi-national organizations and pre-product start-ups where he focused on ‘value chain’ creation, sales, operations, marketing and general management. During his 30 year career, Mike has done business in over 60 countries.
While living in London, England, Mike was the VP / General Manager EMEA for H3C, a joint venture between American Nasdaq listed 3Com and China’s Huawei. A restructuring of H3C’s ‘go to market’ strategy ultimately resulted in the 2009 sale of H3C (3Com) to Hewlett Packard for $2.7B. While living in Singapore, Mike was the President for Private Equity owned Avaya’s AsiaPac region. His leadership brought significant cost reductions while continuing to grow APAC revenue.
In his 13+ years with Cisco Systems Mike served in various international senior management positions including VP Sales & Engineering, Managing Director, Advanced Technologies EMEA and Director, Worldwide Sales Strategy. Mike has done fundraising for pre-product start-ups on Sand Hill Road (Silicon Valley). He has worked for organizations of various ownership form: Angel Investor, Private Equity, Venture Capital and Public over his career. Michael earned a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and his MBA from the Rotman School of Management.
Danish Yusuf
Founder and CEO, Zensurance
Danish Yusuf is the Founder and CEO of Zensurance, a Canadian technology company driving change in the property and casualty insurance space. Zensurance now has 275 employees and has served hundreds of thousands of small businesses.
Danish is a former leader in McKinsey & Company’s Digital Insurance practice, supporting insurance clients globally on defining their digital strategy. In his 7-years at McKinsey, he served clients in 8 countries, leading large-scale change programs. Before McKinsey, Danish was a software architect and developer at IBM Canada.
Danish earned a bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering from the University of Toronto and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. Danish sits not he Board of the Harvard Business School Club of Toronto.