Elizabeth Caley (GEMBA ’10) hasn’t been getting much sleep lately.
She’s been busy. Last fall, Caley launched a new venture called Poppy, the world’s first pathogen monitoring and protection network. Back when the global pandemic struck, Caley had a lot to think about. COVID-19 had created an even greater sense of urgency in getting Poppy off the ground and it opened her eyes to the bigger issues.
“I think most of us are starting to realize that the challenges we’re dealing with now are here for the long term,” explains Caley. “We're all waking up to the idea that this is not going to be the last pandemic of the century. And this will not be the last major disruption to the global economy.”
Elizabeth Caley, GEMBA '10
This is a lot to process — and it’s time to talk about it.
For her upcoming fireside chat during Reunite weekend at Rotman, Caley will reflect on the past year and dive into the things we’re worrying about right now.
With so many of us feeling disconnected from our communities and anxious about the future, this year’s Reunite weekend comes at a crucial time. Reunite 2020 — which is taking place October 2nd and 3rd — promises to bring together alumni from across the globe and takes aim at the big issues keeping us up at night. (Hopefully, all attendees will be able to sleep a bit easier afterwards.)
Rest assured, even though this year’s event is going virtual, the key aspects that make every Reunite event special will be intact. As always, the weekend kicks off with a series of fireside chats, where attendees are invited to engage in small-group discussions with established leaders (including Rotman alumni) from various industries.
“As we look to rebuild after this pandemic, now is the perfect time to challenge what wasn’t working before.”
Elizabeth Caley, GEMBA ’10
The following day (October 3rd) will feature sessions that touch on key issues. Keynote speakers Cornell Wright (JD/MBA ’00), a partner with Torys, and Andrea Stairs (JD/MBA ’00), chief marketing officer at eBay North America and president of eBay Canada, will discuss how the pandemic has impacted operations at their organizations and their strategies for moving forward. In her talk, Professor Sarah Kaplan will explain why inclusion is essential for economic recovery. Later that day, Interim Dean Ken Corts and Ron Saporta (EMBA ’13), chief operating officer of property and sustainability at U of T, will shine a light on sustainability in the effort to build back better.
“These sessions are especially relevant right now,” says Caley, who is looking forward to the talks on Reunite Saturday. “As we look to rebuild after this pandemic, now is the perfect time to challenge what wasn’t working before. We should be thinking about systemic changes and any opportunities to make things work better than before.”
Throughout the weekend, the school will be hosting several reunion celebrations for classes celebrating milestone anniversaries.
Miglena Nikolova (MBA ’00), who is a reunion co-lead for the Rotman MBA class of 2000, is looking forward to reconnecting with former classmates next month.
She and her reunion co-lead Amy Charette (MBA ’00) have been attending Reunite weekend since 2017. For Nikolova, who is a senior portfolio marketing advisory lead at IBM, the weekend is about stepping out of her daily routine, hearing new perspectives and reconnecting with old friends.
“It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work and responsibilities. At some point, I realized that it was important to make space for ‘me time’ — time to connect, learn and grow — and to keep that focus as a priority,” she explains. “It became an event I looked forward to, and I knew that for this Reunite weekend we had to do something special for our MBA class’ 20-year reunion.”
“It’ll be amazing to take a bird’s eye view to see what my classmates have built, how they have impacted the world, and how they have blossomed.”
Miglena Nikolova, MBA ’00
Despite the challenges of organizing a reunion during a global pandemic, she’s optimistic that her classmates will turn up. And the virtual nature of the event opens up the possibility that classmates from across the globe will be able to join in.
“It’ll be amazing to take a bird’s eye view to see what my classmates have built, how they have impacted the world, and how they have blossomed,” she explains.
She’s aware that this virtual reunion is just a taste of what’s to come. (In-person reunion celebrations have been postponed to May 2021, to coincide with the University of Toronto’s Alumni Reunion weekend and the Lifelong Learning Conference at Rotman.)
“In the last 20 years, most of us have gone through different life phases — we’ve progressed in our careers, started families, moved abroad,” she says. “I’ve come to realize that we need different things at different stages of our lives. It makes it that much more important to have people and touchpoints in your life and events to return to — it keeps you grounded.”
Written by Rebecca Cheung | More Student Stories »