A piece in Forbes co-authored by Desautels professor Karl Moore and Sandoz executive Vincenzo Ciampi (BCom鈥�94) says that it takes a sense of purpose to realise one鈥檚 career potential.
The article makes the case that spending your early career chasing bigger job titles and paycheques is all well and good, but at some point it鈥檚 not enough. The authors point to their own experiences of changing vectors mid-career, and how friends who never made the jump often show the signs of burnout.
A news release at canadianinsider.com reveals that Montreal-based footwear giant ALDO is set to buy the shoes and accessories side of the Camuto Group. The deal plays nicely into ALDO鈥檚 expansion efforts and frees up Camuto to concentrate on its apparel unit. The ALDO Group鈥檚 ties to Desautels and McGill run deep: founder Aldo Bensadoun (BCom鈥�64, LLD鈥�04) is a McGill alumnus and a lifetime member of the Desautels International Advisory Board.
According to a recent piece in the Ottawa Business Journal, David Segal (BCom鈥�04) knocked one out of the park with DavidsTea, and he bets he can do it again with salad. His new venture, Mad Radish, brings premium salad to the fast-food scene, where Canadians currently spend $24 billion per year. There鈥檚 a growing hunger for healthier choices, which is why big-calorie chains like McDonald鈥檚 have started adding salads to their menus, but Mr. Segal believes that quality will make Mad Radish stand out.
Clipper Round the World is an epic endurance event, a race that crosses 40,000 nautical miles and hits six continents. It鈥檚 unique in that there is no requirement to have ever stepped on a boat to crew one of the twelve 70-foot yachts. Simon DuBois (BCom鈥�10) is on a mission to be the first Quebecer to complete a round-the-world yacht race. The last attempt by a Quebecer was when solo racer Gerry Roufs disappeared in 1997 while racing in the Vend茅e Globe.
Geoffroy Sauv茅聽(BCom'10) built on his 2014 stint on Quebec鈥檚 La Voix music competition show to make music his full-time job and land a record contract.聽But he鈥檚 not exactly a newcomer: Geoffroy worked on the music scene鈥檚 business side for a decade, and still hires composers for advertising and film work.
George Drummond Birks (BCom鈥�40) was practically destined to go into the jewellery business. Born into a family of silversmiths, he eschewed an apprenticeship in favour of a McGill Commerce degree and a stint in the Black Watch Regiment during World War II, where he served well enough to get a citation for bravery. After the war ended, he joined the family business and was running it a decade later. He was a director at Standard Life and a freeman of the City of London who kept up a lifelong association with the Black Watch.
The Quebec Press Council has elected Caroline Locher (BCom鈥�01) to the position of Secretary General, effective September 5th. Prior to her election, Ms. Locher was Executive Director of the F茅d茅ration professionelle des journalistes du Qu茅bec. A journalist by trade, she worked as a CBC Radio One producer, and as a bilingual reporter on the international stage at BBC World Service, France24 and Radio-Canada. Ms. Locher says she will continue to 鈥渄efend press freedom and the public鈥檚 right to information,鈥� and to promote the value of journalistic integrity.
Desautels professor Karl Moore and actor-cum-management consultant Kat Garcia (BCom'16) recently appeared on ABC Radio in Australia to talk about skills that CEOs can borrow from actors to improve their own performance.
eFinancialCareers.com has published a list of eight young London-based investment analysts to watch, all of whom started at their respective companies in June. The high-octane London banking scene is highly competitive, but these newly-minted pros have what it takes to make a real impact.
According to BNN.ca, changes are afoot at CIBC: a shakeup of the management team has two department heads leaving the company, as well as a couple of promotions. One of those promotions sees Desautels alumnus Jon Hountalas (BCom鈥�84, MBA鈥�91), bumped up to Group Head, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, Canada from his previous role of running the company鈥檚 commercial banking arm. This comes as CEO Victor Dodig announces that some 40 junior executives are being moved around as well.
BoxKnight is a new kind of delivery service. For an extra few dollars, consumers can have their packages delivered while they鈥檙e home in the evening. A text message lets them know that their goods are at BoxKnight鈥檚 warehouse, and asks when they鈥檇 like it delivered. Right now, it only works for online purchases at four Montreal-area retailers, but the company is already looking at expansion beyond the city limits.
After two years as Director General, Corporate Comptroller at Quebec telecoms giant Vid茅otron, Antoinette Noviello (BCom'91, DPA'93) has been promoted to VP. She brings massive experience to the role: she has been a CPA Qu茅bec member for 20 years, and has served as Financial Services Director General at Qu茅b茅cor, VP Finance at Lelys Group, and VP Finance at PVA Consulting. Ms. Noviello is also a lecturer at McGill鈥檚 School of Continuing Education. In her new job, Ms. Noviello will oversee the entirety of Vid茅otron鈥檚 accounting and finances.
The FreeWheel Council for Premium Video has been a thought-leadership player in North America since 2015, educating stakeholders on the differences and benefits of premium video, from marketing to monetization. The company recently opened a European division to tackle the unique perspectives and issues present in that market.
Frederick Chenel (BCom'04) has big plans for CFA Montreal. As the Association鈥檚 new president, his goal is to up its exposure, both at home and on the world stage. He鈥檒l be doing this by bringing industry heavyweights to Montreal to speak at the Association and by forging partnerships with major finance organisations. You can also expect to see Mr. Chenel promoting the city at conventions and other events.
According to a piece at BNN.ca, over 900 nominations have been reviewed and pared down to the final Canada鈥檚 2017 Top 40 Under 40 list. The list is a roundup of some of Canada鈥檚 most outstanding young business and medical leaders, and technologists. Goodfood CEO Jonathan Ferrari (BCom'10) is also listed, as is DAVIDsTEA co-founder David Segal (BCom'04). Interviews with the recipients will be airing on BNN Tuesday and Thursday mornings throughout the summer.
