Beedie School of Business News

Two undergraduate students from the Beedie School of Business have won the opportunity to represent Canada at the prestigious KPMG International Case Competition (KICC).

Christian Jeffery and Juan Pablo Leal won the local and national stages of the Ace the Case competition and will now go on to compete at the KICC with the rest of their team in Hong Kong this April.

According to the official KPMG announcement: “KICC will provide Christian Jeffery and Juan Pablo Leal with exposure to KPMG leaders and professionals from around the globe, international networking opportunities, and necessary business skills to succeed as an accounting professional.”

The Ace the Case program consists of three stages of competition: local, national and global. The competition consists of a two-day workshop and competition hosted in each of KPMG’s four national offices: Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. The workshops are designed and delivered by KPMG and geared towards first, second and third year commerce students with a long-term interest in pursuing a CA designation.

The local workshop provides students with an opportunity to improve case-writing and analytical skills, as well as presentation skills, in order to reach their full potential as young professionals. During day one, students primarily cover case-writing skills, including the basic approach, outlining, ranking of issues and quantitative analysis, among others. By the second day, students focus on the presentation aspect of case writing and properly presenting results as a group. Groups then go on to tackle a case head on and present solutions to a set of KPMG judges.

At the KICC, Jeffery and Leal will compete against students from across 23 participating countries. Teams will be provided with case studies based on a realistic business scenario, and will identify the key business issues and analyze, consider and develop a compelling set of recommendations to present to a panel of experienced KPMG partners and leaders from around the world.

“Ace the Case was an amazing opportunity to connect with the people of the firm, work in teams, and develop our communication and leadership skills,” said Leal. “It will be an honour to represent Simon Fraser University and Canada at the global competition in April!”

For more information on the competition, visit the Ace the Case website or watch highlights of the 2011 competition.

Tags: Ace the Case, BBA, case competitions, Christian Jeffery, Juan Pablo Leal, KICC, KPMG

By Martin van den Hemel – Richmond Review

Age: 20. High School: R.A. McMath.

When Aamir Sheriff helped lead an initiative to open his mosque’s doors to the public, he didn’t think the efforts would be so successful.

But some 300 people from all parts of the community, and many faiths, participated in Journey into Islam, which served to clear up people’s misconceptions about the Muslim faith. In fact, the event was so successful, organizers are now mulling over whether to make it an annual offering.

“I think the responsibility of all of us is to do something beyond the walls of our mosque,” he said.

Sheriff is currently studying business at Simon Fraser University and is originally from Bangalore, India. He and his family moved to Richmond eight years ago, and he said he’s proud to live in such a diverse community of people who respect each others differences. Keep reading…

Tags: Aamir Sheriff, BBA, SIFE, Top 30 Under 30

A new mobile phone platform co-created by a Simon Fraser University MBA alumna is helping health organizations use their resources more efficiently.

Texts 4 Health can also help health care professionals provide better care.  Patients respond to automated text messages that are automatically categorized by the software and analytics platform, increasing efficiency in hospitals and clinics and allowing for greater patient load.

The technology recently won first place at SFU Venture Connection’s inaugural Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize competition.

“Winning this prize really helps validate our concept and provides useful feedback during this early-stage of our business,” says SFU Beedie School of Business grad Bella Hwang, who recently completed her MBA and co-founded the venture with Jesse Coleman, health project manager at the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Hwang has worked with start-up non-profit and private health clinics and developed public health promotion programs in Canada and developing countries. She also served as executive director of the Shanti Uganda Society, an NGO focused on women’s health and community development in Uganda.

Other Venture Prize winners from the Beedie School of Business include second-place VenueWize, a wireless events system that enables event organizers to capture analytics, measure team performance and build their guest database, created by student Arvand Alviri.

Third-place Ads on Naps specializes in printing and distributing high definition advertisements on high quality napkins, including QR codes directing users to online ad offers and websites, created by students Jag Manhas, Philip Chow and Raymond Dich. The winners shared $5,000 in prize fund.

The competition jury included Beedie student Milun Tesovic, founder of MetroLyrics.com, as well as representatives from program partner Coast Capital Savings, the SFU Innovation Office, and industry entrepreneurs.

Tags: Ads on Naps, ag Manhas, Arvand Alviri, Bella Hwang, Coast Capital Savings, Jesse Coleman, MBA, MetroLyrics, Milun Tesovic, Philip Chow, Raymond Dich, SFU Innovation Office, Texts 4 Health, VenueWize

by Joanne Leung

A team of undergraduate students from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business has been selected to participate in the 2012 Copenhagen Business School (CBS) Case Competition, one of the most high-profile competitions of its kind globally, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from February 27 through March 2.

Beedie alumnus Matthew Martell will be coaching BBA students Amar Klino, Andrew McKinlay, Clare Lei, and May Yu for the world’s leading undergraduate case competition. Only twelve universities around the world are invited to participate in the CBS Case Competition each year, and only two Canadian universities have been chosen for the 2012 competition. The other Canadian school participating in the competition will be McGill University.

“It’s been a long grind from our first practice session to now,” said Amar Klino. “Prepping for Copenhagen has been like a full-time job for all of us, but it’s been a great experience and we’re really proud to be representing SFU on an international venue. We all believe SFU can compete with the best schools internationally and now’s our chance to prove that.”

The teams in the competition will be presented with a real-life business challenge and will have 32 hours to solve the case. Each team will be evaluated on the reasonability, creativity, and overall financial feasibility of their strategic approach.

To learn more about the Copenhagen Business School Case Competition, visit: http://www.casecompetition.com

History of the Copenhagen Business School Case Competition

Back in 2000, a team of students from Copenhagen Business School participated in the McIntire International Case Competition at the University of Virginia, US. This was no particular news, since teams of students from CBS had been participating in international case competitions for some time already. However, the story of two of the participating students would prove it differently. Seeing what they saw, they came up with a novel idea: Why not start up an international case competition for undergraduate business students in Europe? So far case competitions had predominantly been a North American phenomena.

The two students felt so inspired by the concept that they decided to investigate the possibilities of creating a case competition at CBS. As it turned out, President of CBS at that time, Finn Junge-Jensen, fully supported the idea, and in March 2002 the first annual case competition at Copenhagen Business School was a reality.

The following was submitted by the SFU chapter of Young Women in Business

Last year, the SFU chapter of Young Women in Business (YWiB) had the pleasure of hosting its first annual International Women’s Day Conference. The sold-out event was a truly inspirational day, featuring amazing speakers, a great panel session and plenty of new connections and friendships. YWiB SFU will once again be hosting their signature event, but this year everything is bigger and better!

Following this year’s theme, “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures,” the event will be focused on making connections between people and experiences. While most of us are, in fact, “Young Women in Business,” the event is relevant to girls from any industry and faculty. Our keynote speakers will discuss challenges that all women face, such as over-coming adversity and achieving your dreams. The panel will discuss a variety of questions regarding the unique challenges women face in today’s world and ways to overcome them.

This year’s event will also feature entertainment and an expo showcasing entrepreneurs, startups, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to women’s rights and advancement.

For one of our keynote speakers, Anna Rice, the battle for women’s equality continues to be a top priority. As a member of the Canadian National Badminton Team, Anna has been an advocate for women’s equality in badminton for all of her career. One of the main highlights comes from her fight for equal salaries amongst female and male badminton players; it isn’t easy to represent yourself in a world of athleticism dominated by the male superiority.

From the number of male athletes compared to females, to the average salaries between both genders, there are inequalities that still exist in the athletic world today. It used to be that the females would play shorter games than the male players, and that was the justification for the unequal salaries. However, when the rules changes and games became equal lengths, Anna took it upon herself to fight for equal salaries.

Ultimately, this event will give students and professionals alike the opportunity to connect with other like-minded, motivated individuals who are interested in bettering the situation for women everywhere.

For more information about the International Women’s Day conference, check out www.ywib.ca/sfu/iwd.

And be sure to follow @YWiBSFU and #IWDsfu on Twitter for more conference updates!

Tags: Anna Rice, conference, International Women's Day, International Women's Day Conference, sfu, Simon Fraser University, Young Women in Business, YWiB

Submitted by Winnie Jung

The BASS Banquet is the Beedie School of Business’ signature networking event, which showcases the brightest students of the BBA program to the Vancouver business community. Consisting of a networking reception and a sit-down dinner, the banquet is an evening of fine dining, inspiring leadership, and stimulating conversation.

Taking place on March 14 at the Four Season Hotel, the 11th annual BASS Banquet aims to celebrate the community within the Beedie School of Business by inviting alumni and past stakeholders to support the continued success of Beedie students.

The benefits of attending the event include:

• Mingle with top industry professionals
• Converse with Beedie alumni and celebrate the Beedie Community
• Practice your networking skills
• Enjoy a delicious three-course meal

Each year at the BASS Banquet, two awards are presented to a business leader and a student: the Corporate Impact Award and the Student Impact Award.

The recipient of the Corporate Impact Award is an outstanding business leader who exemplifies Corporate Social Responsibility not only in their business practices, but through their substantial philanthropic contributions to the Vancouver community as well. The students at the Beedie School of Business would like to honour the chosen recipient’s personal humanitarian endeavours, which have had an extraordinary impact in the business community.

The Student Impact Award is given to one student whose amazing attitude and ability to positively influence the people around them inspires the entire Beedie School of Business community. The recipient of this award is recognized for their noticeable contributions to the community through their success in class and through personal humanitarian endeavours.

The 2012 BASS Banquet organizing committee is happy to announce this year’s recipients of the two distinguished Impact Awards.

Corporate Impact Award
Recipient: Janet Austin, CEO YWCA

As CEO of the Vancouver YWCA, Janet Austin has overall responsibility for one of BC’s largest and most diversified non-profit organizations, offering services for 60,000 people annually in more than 30 locations throughout Metro Vancouver.

Prior to joining the YWCA of Vancouver, Janet served as Executive Director of Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland.  She has also served as Director of Development Services for BC Housing, where she oversaw the development of the Province’s social housing for seniors and families, as well as transition housing, homeless shelters, and group homes for people with disabilities.

Janet is a recipient of the Business in Vancouver – Influential Woman in Business Award, the Vancouver Board of Trade Community Leadership Award, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, and the Big Sisters “Big Heart” Award for outstanding contribution by a volunteer.  In 2008, she was named to the WXN (Women’s Executive Network) list of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

In the past, Janet has been an active as a community volunteer with a wide variety of organizations, serving in Board and volunteer positions with the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, MOSAIC, United Way of the Lower Mainland, The Council for Early Child Development, Leadership Vancouver, and the BC SPCA. She has also served on the Blue Ribbon Council on Vancouver’s Business Climate and the City of Vancouver Women’s Task Force.  As well, she has served as a weekend puppy-sitter for assistance dogs in training with the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society.

Student Impact Award
Recipient: Stephanie Wong

Stephanie Wong is an aspiring business leader completing her final two semesters at SFU. Passionate about diversity, Stephanie founded Young Women in Business (YWiB) SFU in 2009, which is in its third year of successfully supporting female students from numerous faculties. Her entrepreneurial drive spurred her to create two innovative programs: the Supporting Our University Leaders (SOUL) Mentorship Program, SFU’s only one-on-one professional mentorship program connecting SFU alumni with female students, and Project GIVE (Generating Innovative Visions of Entrepreneurship) for social entrepreneurs.

Her past and present community involvement includes being a proud Beedie Ambassador, an avid volunteer for Junior Achievement, a columnist for the Vancouver Observer, and a facilitator for the BASS First Year Representative Program. She has also received her LEAD Certificate in Innovative Leadership and has traveled to China to collaborate with top students and business leaders from around the world through the International Scholar Laureate Program.

For more information about the BASS Banquet: http://sfubiz.ca/banquet

Tags: awards, BASS, BASS Banquet, BBA, Beedie, Beedie School of Business, corporate, Corporate Impact Award, Janet Austin, sfu, Stephanie Wong, student, Student Impact Award, YWCA

Dr. Carolyn Egri, a professor of management and organization studies at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University, has been named as the school’s inaugural William J.A. Rowe EMBA Alumni Professor. The goal of the new Professorship is to promote excellence in research and teaching.

Egri has taught in the EMBA program for over two decades, and is a past winner of SFU’s TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest teaching honour of its kind at the Beedie School. She teaches leadership at the EMBA level and also teaches sustainability and research methodologies classes in the Segal Graduate School, recently receiving the 2012 David L. Bradford Outstanding Educator Award from the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society for Management Educators.

Egri is a longstanding research leader in the realms of international management, corporate environmental and social responsibility, leadership and organizational change — with over 67 publications and 105 conference presentations to her name. She is currently an Associate Editor for Academy of Management Learning & Education, and is a past Chair of the Organizations and the Natural Environment Division of the Academy of Management. She has also been a director of the Organizational Behaviour Teaching Society and serves on a variety of academic journal editorial boards.

“The naming of Carolyn Egri to the William J.A. Rowe Professorship is another important milestone for our Executive MBA program,” said Daniel Shapiro, Dean of SFU’s Beedie School of Business. “This Professorship has been funded by generous contributions of EMBA alumni, and there is no doubt that Carolyn is a most worthy recipient as an outstanding scholar and for her contributions to the development of the EMBA program.”

The Rowe Professorship was established by the Beedie School in honour of the late William Rowe, who earned his Executive MBA from SFU in 1972. Rowe, who passed away in 2010, established a longstanding relationship with both Simon Fraser University and the business school, and was a longtime advisor to the program, which is the first Executive MBA in Canada, established in 1968.

This is the second EMBA Alumni Professorship created at the Beedie School of Business. The other, held by marketing professor Leyland Pitt, is named for the late Dennis Culver, also an alumnus from the EMBA program.

About William (Bill) Rowe, 1933-2010

William Rowe was a longtime advocate of management education who will be remembered for his enormous contributions to Simon Fraser University. Bill earned his Executive MBA from SFU in 1972. He credited his experience at the university for helping him receive a number of promotions throughout his impressive career, and for giving him the opportunity to experience life in most of Canada’s major urban centres.

Born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Bill worked 39 years for Air Canada, spending many of those years with the airline’s senior leadership team — all the while engaging the community through his contributions to numerous organizations. He was known by friends and colleagues for his “inquisitive, outgoing personality, and kind, caring disposition.”

At Simon Fraser, he held an Alumni Order-in-Council position on the university’s Board of Governors from July 1999 – 2005. He served for two years as the Deputy Board Chair, and seven years as the Chair of the 26-member External Advisory Board for the Faculty of Business Administration. He served as the Chair of SFU’s Finance and Administration committee, and served on the Audit, Nominating and Governance committees.

In 2000, Bill chaired the search committee for a new President for the university. He also played a valuable leadership role in Bridge to the Future, the university’s first major fundraising campaign.

He was a recipient of both SFU’s Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award and the Outstanding Alumni Award for his service to the university.

His previously cited advice to students — “to recognize when opportunity knocks – never say ‘no’ officially” — speaks volumes about Bill’s spirit and positive attitude towards life and towards the community he cared so much about.

In honour of his spirit and commitment to SFU, the William J.A. Rowe EMBA Alumni Professorship was established by the Beedie School of Business in 2010.

Tags: 2012 David L. Bradford Outstanding Educator Award, Carolyn Egri, Daniel Shapiro, EMBA, Executive MBA, Organizational Behavior Teaching Society for Management Educators, TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award, William J.A. Rowe EMBA Alumni Professorship, William Rowe

by Joanne Leung

Some of the world’s most prestigious business schools met in Vancouver for CaseIT 2012, an annual international undergraduate case competition with a strong MIS focus designed to find the best and brightest in strategic IT case analysis.

Hosted annually by Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, CaseIT is an entirely student-organized event in which 16 university teams compete in a 24-hour case deliberation.

The winners of this year’s CaseIT competition were:

1st Place: Kwantlen Polytechnic University
2nd Place: National University of Singapore
3rd Place: Kelley School of Business (Indiana University)

Some other universities that competed in CaseIT were the University of British Columbia, Queen’s University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Sydney, and the American University of Beirut.

Since its inception, CaseIT has given students from around the world the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge that they obtained in the classroom to real-life business scenarios through strategic IT analysis and presentation.

CaseIT began in 2004 as a competition between undergraduate teams within SFU, and the event grew with each year: it expanded to Western Canada in 2005; across Canada in 2006; to the United States and Denmark in 2007; to Africa, Asia, and Europe in 2008; and finally to Australia this year. The current competition format of 16 teams was finalized in 2009, and in 2010 the preliminary round was introduced.

The event was chaired by Nima Sarhangpour, a fourth-year student at Beedie School of Business concentrating in Management Information Systems (MIS) and Management & Technology, and a candidate for the Business Technology Management (BTM) certificate. Sarhangpour, who is extremely passionate about CaseIT, returned for a second year to serve as Chairperson of CaseIT 2012.

“It is not often you can say you can see growth, development and legacy,” Sam Thiara, Student Engagement Manager at SFU Beedie, said of the event and the student organizers and participants. “I am very proud of their work.”

To find out more about the CaseIT MIS Case Competition, visit http://caseit.org

Tags: Beedie, Beedie School of Business, case competitions, CaseIT, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, management information systems, MIS, National University of Singapore, Nima Sarhangpour, Sam Thiara, sfu, Simon Fraser University

The Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University is pleased to announce that its graduate finance degree has a new designation: MSc Finance.

The change reflects the evolution of Simon Fraser University’s popular graduate finance program, which attracts students from around the world.  Two years ago, faculty members and industry professionals redesigned what was then the Master of Financial Risk Management program – expanding the offering of core quantitative courses. In addition, the new MSc designation better reflects the two fields of specialization, risk management and investment management.

“The Master of Science in Finance designation properly reflects our vision and emphasis,” said Andrey Pavlov, Associate Professor of Finance and Academic Chair of the Master of Science in Finance program. “The 2008 financial crisis revealed the inadequacy of conventional wisdom pertaining to risk – and investment management.  It is clear that more sophisticated tools grounded in reality, rather than analytical convenience, are required. Mastering these tools requires strong quantitative skills and specific industry knowledge – two of the primary strengths of our program.”

Pavlov notes that the MSc designation will help graduates competing in the global arena for careers in finance, particularly in Asia, where an M.Sc. degree tends be better recognized. “In this sense, the change not only reflects the enhancements to the program, but also helps our graduates in the international job market,” he said.

The aforementioned growing focus on quantitative skills will also allow more students within the program to participate in SFU’s Student Investment Advisory Service. The $10 million portfolio is the largest student-managed investment fund in Canada.

In addition to the Master of Science in Finance program, the Beedie School is home to five other graduate business programs, offered at the downtown Segal Graduate School campus: MBA, EMBA, a Management of Technology MBA, PhD, and a Graduate Diploma in Business.

Tags: Andrey Pavlov, investment management, Master of Science in Finance, MSc Finance, risk management, Segal Graduate School, SIAS, Student Investment Advisory Service

On a recent Thursday in January, an emergency call from Mount Seymour in the North Shore Mountains is typical of what undergraduate business student Curtis Jones deals with when he’s not immersed in human resources studies.

Jones, who is in his final year at the Beedie School of Business, is also a longtime member of North Shore Search and Rescue, a volunteer-run search and rescue team operating in Vancouver and surrounding areas.

On this occasion, a 24-year-old snowboarder is stranded on the edge of a dangerous mountain drop known as Suicide Gully.

Within minutes of the alert, Jones and his team members from North Shore Search and Rescue are flying by helicopter into a perilous situation. Despite their accessibility from the city, the North Shore Mountains are known for treacherous terrain and wicked weather conditions, especially in the heart of winter.

It turns out the snowboarder in this case had unwisely ducked out of bounds from a groomed ski hill, only to find himself trapped on the remote edge of a deadly mountain drop. It could be a life-or-death situation. One wrong move and the results might be fatal.

With nightfall fast approaching, the stranded subject is located from above by Jones’ team between two cliff bands on steep snow. He is poorly equipped for the elements and mildly hypothermic.

Jones, who made his first helicopter rescue at the age of 16, is fully certified for helicopter rescue as a member of the Helicopter External Transport team. It means that he can exit the helicopter while in flight, he can dangle underneath it and he can be dropped into the rugged backcountry terrain.

With a limited light window, Jones is dropped from the hovering helicopter on a 200 foot longline – inserted to the site where the subject is located. Staying on the line, he connects the young man below to the system and evacuates back to the heli pad.

It’s a challenging call for both rescuers and pilot, but in this case the snowboarder is brought to safety without injury. Had the helicopter rescue failed, it’s unlikely he would have made it through the night.

It’s just another day at the “office” for volunteer Jones, who has participated in over 300 rescues  – each with its own set of circumstances, weather conditions and back-country terrain.

Jones isn’t the first member of his family to take on the world of search and rescue. His father, Tim Jones, is team leader of North Shore and Rescue, and is well known in British Columbia as their media spokesperson. It turns out that the elder Jones also attended Simon Fraser University.

So it was natural for the younger Jones, who hails from North Vancouver and graduated from Windsor Secondary, to follow his father on both fronts. “My dad really enjoyed his education at Simon Fraser, so I thought, why not for me as well,” said Jones.

As a freshman, he initially was aiming for a degree in criminology or psychology, but he quickly changed focus after an introductory economics course captured his imagination.  He parlayed that interest into more business classes, eventually switching over to the Bachelor of Business Administration program.

After taking an introductory class in human resources with Rick Iverson, Professor of Human Resource Management at Beedie, he quickly found a concentration in HR that was a perfect fit as well. “I chose my HR concentration because of him,” said Jones. “His classes aren’t easy, but his teaching style is amazing.”

The focus on HR is a natural fit for Jones.   “It’s more applied is what it came down to for me,” he said. “I think business as a field of study does a real good job of applying theory to the real-world.”

Jones, who more recently studied under Iverson in the class Performance Management, puts much of his learning to use in his volunteer capacity at North Shore Search and Rescue, where he also handles recruitment selection and training for regular team members, as well as some administrative activities. Additionally, he served on the organization’s board of directors for two years.

It may not be an obvious combination, but from Jones’ perspective, business skills and working in a search and rescue operation are a comfortable and logical pairing. “When you’re out there on a rescue, you are under time pressure, and you are problem-solving on your feet. You get that in the business world.”

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Curtis Jones also blogs extensively for North Shore Search & Rescue. To read some of the most recent entries, visit http://www.northshorerescue.com/blog

Tags: Curtis Jones, HR, human resources, Mount Seymour, North Shore Search and Rescue, Rick Iverson, Tim Jones