Beedie School of Business News

The winning team visiting one of the local businesses. From left to right: Pawel Herra, James Yang, Ashley Burgess, Rajlakshmi Mital and Mohammad Habbal

Students from the MBA program at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business have been pounding the pavement in an effort to bolster business prospects in the Heritage District of downtown Vancouver during evenings and weekends – when thousands of area office workers have gone home. The district – the historic commerce and banking area of Vancouver’s West Hastings Street – is a dynamic area for retailing and includes some world-renowned brands in addition to numerous small- and medium-sized businesses. The emergence of the area has translated into an unprecedented opportunity for area development, marketing and promotion.

To this end, the first ever MBA Opportunity Quest saw SFU’s graduate students engaging with local businesses in the core West Hastings Street area in order to help local merchants create strategies to bring the area to life when the weekday traffic starts to dwindle.

The event was pioneered by Professor Eric Gedajlovic through a partnership with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA). Before hitting the streets, the students were briefed by Gedajlovic and Ivy Fong, Member Services and Projects Officer, DVBIA, on the problems facing the area and what their expectations of the students were. The cohort of 52 students was split into 12 uniformed teams before being unleashed onto both West Hastings and Pender Street between Richards and Thurlow on the morning of May 23. Keep reading…

Tags: business community, Business Strategy, Daniel Shapiro, DVBIA, entrepreneurship, Eric Gedajlovic, Heritage District, innovation, local business community, MBA, Opportunity Quest, social entrepreneurship, West Hastings Street

Alice Longhurst (left) and Alannah Cervenko are MBA students at Simon Fraser University.

Two graduate business students at Simon Fraser University are putting their business acumen to work for the benefit of young women hoping to make positive strides as future leaders, managers and entrepreneurs.

Alannah Cervenko and Alice Longhurst, graduate students in the MBA program at Simon Fraser University, created the Graduate Business Women’s Council for the Beedie School of Business in 2011. To date, their primary focus has been raising awareness amongst the membership about upcoming networking and development opportunities focused on women in business, and collaborating with organizations to ensure that their fellow members can participate in these activities.

This term, Cervenko has assembled an all-star panel of female executive speakers for what is being dubbed a “fireside chat” with SFU’s full-time female MBA students. This event, which is taking place at Segal Graduate School on June 6, will be followed by a Q&A session and networking. Entitled “Everything You Wanted to Know About Business… But Were Too Afraid to Ask,” the meeting aims to provide access to female executives who will share insight and strategies on how to succeed as emerging leaders. The student organizers are looking forward to “inspiring dialogue, candid discussion and insights into workplace best practices that we, as MBA students, may draw upon as we ascend the corporate ladder upon graduation”.

The executives that will be participating in the June 6 discussion are:

• Christina Anthony, Vice President, Director, Portfolio Manager and Investment Advisory, Odlum Brown.
• Tracey L. McVicar, Partner, CAI Capital Management Co.
• Susan Yurkovich, Executive Vice-President, Site C Clean Energy Project, BC Hydro

About GBWC: Co-founded in 2011 by two full-time MBA students, Alannah Cervenko and Alice Longhurst, The Graduate Business Women’s Council is comprised of passionate MBA students from the Beedie School of Business who believe that knowledge-sharing and networking with executive women, along with providing insights and guidance to younger generations, can lead to enhanced careers and greater diversity in leadership in BC. GBWC is also planning a “Effective Negotiation Strategies for Women” event, which will be held this summer at Segal Graduate School.

About GBWC’s Co-Founders: In 2011, Longhurst received the Nancy McKinstry graduate student scholarship for leadership, given to a Beedie School of Business graduate student who has been a leader in promoting opportunities for women in business. Cervenko’s resume at the Beedie School includes her team project work supporting the Dugout, a local organization that provides daily meals and support services to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside community. The organization, which positions itself as the “community living room” for people in that neighbourhood, has roots going back to the 1960s. To raise funds and awareness for the Dugout, she took the organization’s story to the Vancouver Canucks — where she garnered support from the likes of hockey stars Roberto Luongo, Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa.

Longhurst meanwhile was part of a group working with the Minerva Foundation for BC Women, which promotes community and workplace opportunities for women. Her team developed a successful “Leading by Tweeting” campaign – where they secured online champions such as Patricia Graham (Vice President, Digital, Pacific Newspaper Group) and the renowned Canadian author Margaret Atwood

For more information:

Alannah Cervenko, SFU MBA Candidate
acervenk@sfu.ca

Alice Longhurst, SFU MBA Candidate
alonghur@sfu.ca

Tags: Alannah Cervenko, Alice Longhurst, Christina Anthony, Graduate Business Women’s Council, Kevin Bieksa, Margaret Atwood, Minerva Foundation, Patricia Graham, Roberto Luongo, Susan Yurkovich, The Dugout, Tracey L. McVicar, Vancouver Canucks

Surrey, BC – On Tuesday, May 29th from 5:30-8pm at Eaglequest Golf Course, the Surrey Board of Trade will award 25 winners in their second annual Surrey’s Top 25 Under 25 Awards event.   The event will celebrate the incredible initiatives of Surrey’s youth under the Age of 25. The winners were chosen based upon a subjective analysis of their business or community achievements, leadership ability, community involvement, professional achievements and uniqueness of their business or community projects.

The winners include Beedie undergraduate student Joyce Loksum Mak, who is 19 years old. While studying business at SFU, Joyce holds the position of President of the SFU International Business Association, a nonprofit organization that aims to assist all SFU students interested in pursuing a career with international prospects.  Joyce is also an active member of the Guildford Rotary Club, coordinating multiple fundraisers including food bank and clothing drives.

Also recognized was BBA alumnus Julian DeSchutter, 24, who is the founder of the DeSchutter Group. After identifying that there was an opportunity to gain valuable experience as a student in the mining industry, Julian sought out opportunities that would allow him to gain the most experience, as well as set himself up for success upon graduation. Instead of becoming an employee, Julian developed his own consulting company, allowing him to grow an organization, while gaining experience in many facets of the mining industry. Julian took bold steps to win the trust of a number of CEOs, many of which are held in high regard, and was not afraid to step in and lead when needed. Since then, he has been given work-related opportunities to travel throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe.

Mak and DeSchutter are joined on the list by 23 other young adults who have engaged business and community through volunteerism, social innovation, and business impact.

“Their community and entrepreneurial spirit were showcased through their nominations. We have amazing talent in these winners who will take our businesses now and in the future to amazing heights,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade (SBOT). “At the Surrey Board of Trade it is in our mandate to grow our business community by instilling in our youth entrepreneurial support and spirit – and for them to be an active part of Surrey,” said Huberman.

Tags: Alumni, Bachelor of Business Administration, BBA, BBA alum, Beedie, Beedie School of Business, business, community, community involvement, DeSchutter Group, Guildford Rotary Club, International Business Association, Joyce Loksum Mak, Julian DeSchutter, sfu, SFU International Business Association, SFU Surrey, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, Surrey Board of Trade, Top 25 Under 25

A new award honouring the memory of a greatly-admired Management of Technology MBA student will provide financial support for graduate students at SFU’s Beedie School of Business.

The Cecelia Suragh Memorial Graduate Award in Business will provide support to individuals with an undergraduate degree in life sciences who are pursuing graduate degrees at the Beedie School of Business.

The award has been established in the memory of Cecelia Suragh, a Management of Technology (Biotechnology) MBA candidate, who passed away suddenly on June 16 2010.

The Beedie School of Business, along with the 2009 Management of Technology MBA cohort, set up the Cecelia Suragh Memorial Endowment Fund in Suragh’s honour after her untimely passing. The endowment fund will now be used to support the award.   Keep reading…

Tags: Cecelia Suragh, Cecelia Suragh Memorial Endowment Fund, Cecelia Suragh Memorial Graduate Award in Business, Management of Technology MBA

The Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University has announced the establishment of the Dr. Rick Iverson Memorial Fund. The fund has been set up to honour the memory of a very special faculty member at the business school.

Rick Iverson, a Professor of Human Resource Management at SFU’s Beedie School of Business, passed away this past May. Joining SFU’s Faculty of Business Administration in 2001 from the University of Melbourne, Rick become an admired and highly-respected scholar, teacher and colleague within the business faculty and across Simon Fraser University, where he leaves an extraordinary academic legacy. He is remembered by colleagues for his sensible advice and counsel, brilliant Australian sense of humour and an unmatched enthusiasm for his work.

Rick was an exemplary scholar in every respect. He was a repeat recipient of the Faculty of Business Administration’s TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award (2011 and 2004) and the Annual Excellence in Research Award for 2005. He was also awarded the 2008 SFU Award for Excellence in Teaching — an award that can only be received once in a faculty member’s academic career at SFU.

In a prolific scholarly career, Rick published over 50 refereed research articles and book chapters. His human resources research was awarded the prestigious Best Convention Paper at the National Academy of Management meetings on three different occasions.

His research interests in HR management, organizations, and workplace issues such as occupational injury, absenteeism, turnover, and change management led him to consult extensively with organizations in Australia, Canada, and the US.

In addition to teaching and research, he was the Director for the SFU Centre for Workplace Health and Safety; and served as Chair of the Appointments Committee to recruit new faculty members to the Beedie School.

Rick is survived by his daughter Amy as well as his partner Shelly, his sister Leeann, his father Arthur and his ex-wife Dianne.

To donate to the Dr. Rick Iverson Memorial Fund, or for more information about supporting the fund, click here.

Tags: Dr. Rick Iverson Memorial Fund, Rick Iverson

From left to right: Olivia Griselda, the team's Singapore Management University team host, John Wu, Emily Chua, Carlo Inigo and Dr. Kamal Masri

Students from SFU’s Beedie School of Business finished amongst the top three teams at the recent APEX Biz-IT Global Case Challenge.

The competition, hosted by Singapore Management University from 29 April to 3 May, featured 19 teams from top universities across the globe. Each team was tasked with developing working strategies for growth for Brand Karma, a tech start-up company based in Singapore.

The Beedie team finished in third place in this year’s competition and consisted of students Emily Chua, John Wu and Carlo Inigo, along with their coach, Beedie lecturer Dr. Kamal Masri. In addition to the team’s podium finish, John Wu received an honourable mention from the judges as best speaker among all competitors.

The podium finish for the team is the third time in the past four years where a Beedie team has finished in the top four in this global-class competition.   Keep reading…

Tags: APEX, APEX Bis-IT Global Case Challenge, BBA, Brand Karma, Case competition, Kamal Masri

Distinguished business professor’s path – from industrial smelter to some of the world’s most prestigious business faculties – was guided by non-traditional start at SFU.

Will Mitchell didn’t come by his decision to attend business school lightly. As an 18 year old, he was pouring lead slag into a furnace for a living at a lead-zinc smelter in Trail, BC when he decided to heed the call of higher learning – from Simon Fraser University.

Mitchell, whose parents were both teachers, grew up in the scenic West Kootenay communities of Trail and Fruitvale. Geographically, he was hundreds of kilometres from the West Coast and the top of Burnaby Mountain. Psychologically, the distance was even further.

But the lure of SFU was neither dulled nor diminished by distance or geography. Keep reading…

Tags: Barry Schachter, Berkeley, credit union, deposit insurance, Duke University, economics, international business, Research, Richard Schwindt, Rotman School of Management, Trail, University of Michigan, University of Toronto, West Kootenays, Will Mitchell

The 2012 SFU Nancy McKinstry Awards for Leadership in Diversity is issuing a call for nominations for the Corporate Diversity Award. Nominations are open to all companies with operations in British Columbia, and recognizes one that excels in the area of diversity. The winner of the Corporate Diversity Award will be announced at the awards breakfast on September 19. Nominations and finalists will be confidentially held and resubmitted with future nominations for a period of two years. Keep reading…

Tags: diversity awards, Nancy McKinstry

The Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University will this fall launch a new career preparation program for undergraduate students – Business Career Passport.

The program will focus on career management and preparation and is intended to help students successfully launch their careers upon graduation.

Students admitted to the BBA degree at the Beedie School of Business from fall 2012 and thereafter will be required to complete a series of six mandatory workshops focusing on various elements of career management before graduation. In addition, Business Career Passport will offer optional one-on-one career coaching sessions for students wishing to receive more support.

“Business Career Passport will help students to assess their career interests and options and develop career management skills, ensuring that they are recognized by employers as being polished and professional during the job search process,” says Nancy Fournier, Associate Director – Undergraduate Careers of the Beedie School of Business’s Career Management Centre (CMC), which oversees the Passport Program. Keep reading…

Tags: BBA, Business Career Passport, career management, CMC, Procter & Gamble

From left to right: Sven Gebhard, Herbert Leung, Judy Zaichkowsky, Feng Li and Holly Wang

Beedie School of Business Professor and former MBA program director Judy Zaichkowsky took advantage of a recent trip to Shanghai to reconnect with a group of MBA alumni.

Zaichkowsky was visiting Shanghai to explore the possibility of hosting an SFU undergraduate field school at the EMLyon Asian campus at East China Normal University. While there, she took the opportunity to engage with several of her former students now based in China.

Beedie alumni Sven Gebhard, Holly Wang, Feng Li and Herbert Leung, all of whom were members of the 1999 MBA cohort, were on hand to welcome Zaichkowsky to Shanghai. Keep reading…

Tags: Alumni, Judy Zaichkowsky, MBA, Shanghai