Alumni News

A newsletter for graduates of the College of Business and Economics | Fall 2015

www.uoguelph.ca/business

Clockwise from left,Justin Manarang, Ronnel Santos, Prof. Lianne Foti and Sophie Arkelltraveled to China.

Business+

CStudents Win Big in Case Competitions

ase competitions give students the National Competition. The team pitched opportunity to apply their knowledge and their business ideas to a panel of more than

skills to real-world situations. Here are some 70 judges at the Metro Toronto Convention examples of U of G commerce students who Centre in May.have excelled in case competitions this year.

• University of Guelph students also excelled • Marketing management students Justin at the CSA National Academic Challenge in

Manarang, Sophie Arkell and Ronnel San- Niagara Falls, with two teams making it to tos (pictured above) traveled to China in the final round. Corrina Claus placed first April to learn about the Chinese import for her project on mobile device privacy. and export market. The students won the Guelph’s second team, consisting of MichaelBridges to International Practice live case Halyk, James Munro, You Jia Lee and Meet competition and spent the semester work- Shah, gave a presentation on requirements ing with ESKA Water president and CEO Jim for organizers of sustainable events. This Delsnyder on developing marketing strate- year marks U of G’s best performance at thegies for the company’s potential expansion. annual event. Both teams were part of the

quality management course taught by pro-• A U of G student-led team of entrepreneurs fessor emerita Anne Wilcock. The course

placed in the top 10 among 58 post-second- invites students from a wide range of ary institutions across Canada at the annual majors to collaborate on projects covering Enactus Canada Student Entrepreneur topics in quality management and safety.

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New York Welcomes Guelpht was a busy summer for the College of Business and Economics. At Alumni

Weekend we introduced alumni to the transformation that is underway in historic Macdonald Hall, which by this time next year will be the new home of “business at Guelph.”

In keeping with Guelph being “Cana-da’s food university,” I took part in Food Day Canada’s charitable event in May in New York City. Food Day Canada and U of G present an annual award to chefs who create innovative menus featuring local ingredients. This event allowed last year’s winner, along with our own Simon Day from PJ’s Restaurant, to showcase their culinary talents. It also gave me the opportunity to connect with alumni who are living in the “Big Apple.”

I had the privilege of connecting with Geoff MacNeil, a management econom-ics alumnus and vice-president of sales at Infusion, which provides custom IT support to a variety of industries. Prior to his career in the IT industry, he worked for the UN Foreign Service, ana-lyzing economic policies in developing countries. He is also heavily involved in another endeavour called Atikus, which provides micro-financing loans to entre-preneurs in developing countries.

I also met with marketing alumnus Janet Bumstead, president of JBL Mar-ket Analytics, LLC, based in New York City. Her company specializes in provid-ing sales consulting and management services to clients across the world.

In June, I had the honour of speaking at the United Nations General Assembly regarding the Global Compact’s Princi-ples for Responsible Management Edu-cation initiative (PRME, www.unprme.

org). This conference, which included university administrators and profes-sors, examined how post-secondary institutions can implement themes of corporate social responsibility and sus-tainability in their curriculum.

Although I was the only academic invited to speak, I was not the only

member of the Guelph community that was present at this event. As part of a PRME competition, students from our third-year “Corporate Social Responsi-bility” course created videos reflecting how businesses can accomplish PRME’s goals. A team of four Guelph students placed third in this global competi-tion and attended the event as volun-teers. Associate dean Kerry Godfrey and Prof. Trent Tucker also contributed to the conference.

Most recently, we welcomed a record number of business students to cam-pus. We are all looking forward to the year ahead.Dean Julia Christensen Hughes

Dean Christensen Hughes addressing the

UN in June

CHANGING MAJORS CHANGED HIS LIFE

en Miner’s lifelong dream of becoming a veteri-

narian came to a halt when he dis-covered he was allergic to certain animals. By then, he was already taking science at U of G with the intention of attending the Ontario Veterinary College. While taking courses outside his science studies, he discovered a new interest: economics. Not only was he fascinated by it, he excelled at it. After graduating with a degree in economics in 1982, he began a lifelong career in finance. He recently retired as vice-chair of TD Asset Management (TDAM).

Miner says one of the high-lights of his career was hiring “a lot of great stars,” who became stellar teams. One of those teams won the Morningstar Cana-dian Investment Award for fixed income team, two years in a row.

He also played a key role in TDAM’s expansion into the United States. After TD bought Bank North and later merged Waterhouse with Ameritrade, Miner helped mould their port-folio managers into one team and added extra staff. “Our team is capable of providing excellent offerings to our wealth channels in the U.S.,” he says. TD invested $20 billion in its U.S. expansion and now has more branches there than in Canada, building a platform for future growth.

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College Presents Leadership Awards

From left, U of G president Franco Vaccarino with Lincoln Alexander Outstanding Leader

Award recipient Sheldon Kennedy and dean Julia Christensen Hughes

Former NHL player and child Governor of Ontario and Chancellor abuse survivor Sheldon Kennedy Emeritus of the University of Guelph.

was honoured with the Lincoln Alexan- The MBA Distinguished Leader der Outstanding Leader Award in May Award went to Ken Otto, one of Can-in recognition of his commitment to ada’s leaders in hospitality and food raising awareness of child abuse and service. An alumnus of the School of prevention. Hospitality, Food and Tourism Manage-

After pressing charges against his ment, Otto is currently president, family Major Junior Hockey League coach dining division, and chief development for sexual assault he experienced as a officer of CARA Operations Limited, teenager, Kennedy gained international Canada’s largest full-service restaurant recognition as an advocate for child company.abuse victims and used his status as The MBA Distinguished Leader a professional athlete to make their Award recognizes individuals who have voices heard. made a significant contribution to the

The Lincoln Alexander Outstanding food and agri-business sector, the hotel Leader Award recognizes a Canadian and tourism sector or have conducted who has exhibited exemplary leader- business in a sustainable manner. ship both within and beyond his or her Throughout his distinguished career, profession. It is named after the award’s Otto’s contributions have spanned some first recipient, the late Honourable of North America’s top restaurant fran-Lincoln Alexander, former Lieutenant chises and consulting firms.

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KEEPING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY HELPS COMPANIES SUCCEED

he next time you go to the bank or build a teddy

bear, you might be using technol-ogy developed by Infusion, a New York-based company that special-izes in custom tech solutions that are as unique as the companies that use them. The company’s recent projects include touch-screen technology for RBC and Build-A-Bear.

As vice-president of U.S. sales at Infusion, it’s Geoff MacNeil’s job to stay one step ahead of emerging technologies. “You always keep your head down on today but keep your eye on the future,” says McNeil, B.Comm. ’04. “You can’t be complacent in the niche market that we’re in.”

Working with the startup com-munity, Infusion brings new tech-nology to the market and adapts it for their clients’ needs.

MacNeil says he was drawn to work in tech sales because of its global impact and rapid pace.

Infusion’s Geoff MacNeil

Fall 2015 — 3 — College of Business and Economics Alumni News

Consultant Helps Companies Improve Sales

Companies struggling with their bottom line often turn to Janet

Bumstead, B.Comm. ’96, to help boost their revenues. Specializing in sales effectiveness management consulting, she started her own business, JLB Mar-ket Analytics, in 2009 and now works with multimillion- and multibillion-dollar companies.

“I help companies transform and enhance overall sales effectiveness,”

she says. “A lot of times that involves restructuring sales organizations.”

A variety of factors can lead to sales problems, she says, such as staffing issues, flawed processes and products that don’t meet consumer demand.

Analytics play an important role in her ability to advise companies and offer targeted solutions. “A lot of com-panies struggle with effective reporting and analytics,” says Bumstead, adding that accurate and up-to-date informa-tion is key to implementing a successful sales strategy. “I help them define the core set of their key performance indi-cators (KPIs) because a lot of times they are measuring KPIs that aren’t relevant, so they’re trying to run a business on the wrong metrics.”

As a consultant, Bumstead enjoys working with different companies and helping them implement change using strategies that fit their needs. Work-ing for the same company, she says, “you don’t see the change as much and you’re not going to be able to innovate as much, whereas coming in from the outside as a consultant, I’m able to recommend change and drive change quickly.”

Janet Bumstead

COURSE AIMS TO IMPROVE SENIOR LIVINGanada’s population of seniors in working in senior care management aged 65 and older is expected to and want to upgrade their skils.

exceed the number of children under 15 The course is taught by Prof. Joseph by 2016, according to Statistics Canada. Tindale, acting chair of the Department

To meet the needs of a growing of Sociology and Anthropology, and senior population, Guelph’s Executive Elaine Shantz, MA leadership graduate Programs is offering a new professional and CEO of PeopleCare.development course called “Founda- For more information, please contact tions of Retirement Living.” The course Chuck Evans at 1-888-622-2474, male-is catered to industry professionals adership@uoguelph.ca or mbaguelph@who currently work or are interested uoguelph.ca.

KEEP IN TOUCHAlumni News: To share your stories, contact Scott Carter, marketing and communications manager, at 519-824-4120, Ext. 52538, or scarte09@uoguelph.ca.To advance your career with our MBA or MA (leadership) programs, contact Catherine Statton, recruitment and operations manager, executive programs, at 519-824-4120, Ext. 56607 or cstatton@uoguelph.ca.

@UoG_Business /uoguelphbusiness

Alumni News Editor: Susan Bubak519-824-4120, Ext. 56581 s.bubak@exec.uoguelph.ca

View more of our accomplished alumni at www.uoguelph.ca/business/notable-alumni.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Jan. 16 and 18Wine and Spirit Education Trust Certification programs begin. Visit www.uoguelph.ca/hftm/wset for more information.

June 10 to 12 Alumni Weekend

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