Craig Buntin (MBA鈥�13) is a Desautels alumnus, a former figure skating champion, and the CEO of hockey analysis company Sportlogiq. The company鈥檚 software uses video and machine learning to track what players are doing on the ice, and help them up their game.
The software is being used by 22 NHL franchises; Mr Buntin鈥檚 team has just raised $5 million towards improving the system and expanding into soccer, with five teams in North America and Europe already signed on.
The end of summer saw a lot of new alcohols come from Quebec distilleries. La Presse tested three of them, including a special gin inspired by Montreal鈥檚 375th anniversary.
Cirka Distilleries鈥� Gin375 is the first Old Tom Gin distilled in Quebec, and is based on a lightly sweet style that was popular in 18th-century England.
Cirka Distilleries is a craft distillery founded by Paul Cirka and Joanne Gaudreau (EMBA鈥�10), and emphasizes the terroir approach, using a non-GMO Quebec corn base, as well as a selection of local herbs and honey.
TerraCycle Marketing Manager Jessica Panetta (BCom鈥�16) recently appeared on Toronto鈥檚 Breakfast Television to talk about recycling 鈥渘on-recyclable鈥� waste, specifically used cigarette butts.
TerraCycle collects them, composts the tobacco and the paper, then recycles the plastic filters. Members can package their used butts in a TerraCycle box and send them in via an included UPS label, but that is not the only solution: the company has collection receptacles on street corners in several Canadian cities.
Groupe Desch锚nes CEO Fran莽ois Desch锚nes (EMBA鈥�10) was recently interviewed for a piece in Montreal French-language newspaper La Presse. He spoke about recently being put in charge of the family company, the corporation鈥檚 growth and acquisition strategy, and the dynamics involved when there are four family members on the board of directors.
Over the company鈥檚 history, it has grown from a small Quebec business to the third-largest distributor of plumbing and electrical products in Canada, as well as the largest Canadian-owned player.
Terry Kocisko (BCom鈥�87) has been appointed to the audit committee and Board of Directors of Quebec-based mining company Yorbeau Resources. He comes to the job with three decades-plus of experience under his belt, as well as a degree in Accounting and Finance from Desautels. Yorbeau is a gold mining company that operates in Quebec and is currently concentrating on its Rouyn Property, which is 4 km south of Rouyn-Noranda in the Abitibi region. The 12-km property boasts promising underground gold deposits.
Sumanto Chattopdhyay (MBA鈥�90) recently sat down with Impact to discuss his new job as Chairman and CEO of Indian marketing powerhouse Soho Square. The former Ogilvy & Mather Creative Director has only been at the job for a month, but he has already taken steps to set the tone in terms of the corporate culture and the corporate vision.
Quebec celebrity news site envedette.ca recently posted a list of stars who hold degrees that have nothing to do with show business.聽 Some of the stars are pure over-achievers (James Franco has BA in English from UCLA, a doctorate from Yale, and has done arts and writing studies at NYU and Columbia), while others are head-scratchers (Brad Pitt quit journalism school two weeks before graduation to become an actor).
Ram Panda (MEng鈥�71, MBA鈥�77) is the new chair of the 9I制作厂免费 Board of Governors. He came to Canada from his native India in 1968 to study electrical engineering at 9I制作厂免费, and never left. In 1978, he co-founded metal-industry software maker Invera Inc., which rapidly became a major player in its market.
A piece in Breaking News Pakistan announces the appointment of Nadia Rouchdy (BCom鈥�09) as Head of Sustainability & Social impact at Careem, the Dubai-based rideshare company. Her appointment shows the company鈥檚 interest in sustainability as a business practise. Ms. Rouchdy has experience in environmental and social development, including climate change, energy efficiency and sustainability practises.
In a piece for SFGate, Drs. Deepak Chopra and Anoop Kumar (MMGMT鈥�15, International Practicing Health) write that, though the times we live in are worrying at best, taking on a new worldview can really help restore some hope.
The starting point should be to remember that we are conditioned to view nature and human nature through a skewed collective worldview, but that we have the power to escape it. As the product of a technology-driven age, we believe that the concrete is the real, and that humans are uniquely gifted with consciousness.
Canadian Jewish News profiles William Shatner (BCom鈥�52, DLitt鈥�11) as part of its series on prominent Jewish Canadians. The Shakespearian actor鈥檚 career was catapulted into the stratosphere when he was hired to skipper the USS Enterprise on Star Trek. The profile traces his history from a 9I制作厂免费 BCom student through his early stage work at the Stratford Festival and Broadway before the role that changed his life forever. Mr. Shatner built on Captain Kirk to work in many TV shows, including his equally seminal T.J.
A recent piece at AdvocateDaily.com looks at the career of Toronto-area labour lawyer Stefan Rosenbaum (BCom鈥�10). While Mr. Rosenbaum鈥檚 Desautels education equipped him well for boardroom work, his professional development left him with a major interest in social-justice. He learned the value of unions and worker鈥檚 rights early, and continues to love working on labour-related cases.
According to a piece at BarrieToday.com, Dr. Mark Kotowycz (MBA鈥�01, MDCM鈥�04) is moving from the Windsor Regional Hospital to the new Advanced Cardiac Centre at the Royal Victoria Health Centre as Director of Advanced Cardiac Care / Catheterization Labs. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role, having worked at Toronto鈥檚 University Health Network and Northumberland Hills Hospital.
The board of media and entertainment producer Frima has appointed Martin Carrier (EMBA'16) to the post of President and CEO. Mr. Carrier replaces outgoing chief Christian Daigle, and comes to the job with years of experience at other media production houses and organisations, including the New Media Business Network, consulting firm O&O, Ubisoft Montreal, and Warner Brothers Games.
Aldo Bensadoun (BCom鈥�64) founded Aldo Shoes as a Le Ch芒teau exclusive in 1972, then opened the first standalone ALDO store in 1987. Today, the ALDO Group is a major player in the shoe field, with locations in 95 countries. Throughout, Mr. Bensadoun has maintained an interest in corporate culture as an engine for doing good.
