Tim Ray

Toronto, ON — A special edition of CBC’s hit TV series Dragon’s Den featured a deal by MBA’11 alum Tim Ray’s FoodScrooge group-buying website. The Feb. 29 episode highlighted some of the shows “most memorable entrepreneurs” and updated viewers on how their new ventures have fared. Tim’s deal with Dragons Arlene Dickinson and Bruce Croxon saw the pair invest $125,000 for a 35% stake in the company. Scant weeks later, Foodscrooge was purchased by industry leader WagJag, “the quickest exit in Dragon’s Den’s history,” according to host Dianne Buckner.

Read all about Tim’s venture, and those of his fellow alums Michele Romanow, MBA’08 (Buytopia.ca), and Derek Szeto, BCom’05 (RedFlagDeals), in the feature story ‘Group-buying Power’ in QSB Magazine’s current issue.

Calling all alumni with new ventures: Add your company to the interactive list of new ventures accompanying the magazine story.

RBC judges Avi Pollock, VP Innovation (far left) and Morteza Mahjour, Chief Information & Operations Officer (far right), flank Dream Builders team members Francesca Burdett-Coutts, Gleb Nikitashenko, Jonah Guo and Soumen Saha.

Toronto, ON — Three of the five finalist teams invited to attend RBC’s Next Great Innovator Challenge Gala on Feb. 23 in Toronto were comprised of Queen’s full-time MBA students. This is the first time in the Challenge’s six-year history that a QSB team has made it to the finals. QSB’s Dream Builders team nabbed second place honours and a $10K prize, while the Goodes Hall Warriors and ToRC teams each received a $5K prize. Finalists also scored interviews with RBC and media training to assist them in handling media enquiries.

KINGSTON, ON, March 1, 2012—HSBC Bank Canada has established the HSBC Women in Business Leadership Award at Queen’s School of Business. The award, worth $10,000 per year for two years, is granted to a third-year female student based on academic achievement and leadership potential. Four Queen’s students will receive the award over the next five years.

Third-year Queen’s Commerce student Cathy Huizi Wang was selected as the 2012 recipient for her outstanding academic record and leadership roles with Queen’s University Investment Counsel (QUIC), a student-led investment fund managing a real money portfolio, and Students for Free Enterprise (SIFE), an entrepreneurial student group that empowers people in need to improve the quality of their life. Cathy is also a case competition winner and a teaching and research assistant.

“This scholarship is a tremendous opportunity for emerging female leaders at Queen’s School of Business,” said Shannon Goodspeed, Executive Director of the Commerce program. “We are thankful for HSBC’s investment in the most vital educational building block—our students—and for their support for women in business.”

According to a recent Catalyst Census, women made up 47.3% of the Canadian workforce, but held only 17.7% of senior officer positions at Financial Post 500 companies; and more than 30% of companies in the study had no women senior officers.

“HSBC believes that education is a fundamental building block for communities,” said Lindsay Gordon, President and Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Bank Canada.  “Our success is built on our ability to attract and develop a diverse range of talent, and we are delighted that the HSBC Women in Business Leadership Awards will recognize future business leaders, encouraging them to achieve their full potential and forge a path towards becoming some of Canada’s top executives.”

HSBC Bank Canada’s $80,000 donation will fund the award over a five year period. Students can also apply to be considered for HSBC Bank Canada summer internship positions, as well as management trainee programs upon graduation. The award is renewable in fourth year provided the student maintains a GPA of 3.7 and continued leadership activity. The award has also been established at seven other universities across Canada.

“This award has given me financial security and the confidence to pursue my career in the finance industry,” said Cathy Huizi Wang. “I am very thankful to HSBC and Queen’s School of Business for recognizing me with this award, which provides women with the support and mentorship needed to succeed in their careers.”

About Queen’s School of Business

Queen’s School of Business is one of the world’s premier business schools – renowned for exceptional programs, outstanding faculty and research, and the quality of its graduates. Canadian executives regard Queen’s as Canada’s most innovative business school, offering students academic excellence and a superior overall experience. Queen’s School of Business – where Canada’s first Commerce program was launched in 1919 – is located at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. The School also delivers programs at locations across Canada, as well in the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region.

For more information:

Amber Wallace
Queen’s School of Business
awallace@business.queensu.ca / 613.533.3151

Queen’s School of Business (QSB) recently signed the university’s first student exchange agreement with a Colombian university.

“We are excited to partner with the Universidad de los Andes School of Management (UASM), which is among the top business schools in Latin America,” says Angela James, Director, QSB’s Centre for International Management. “With the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement coming into effect last summer, this is a great opportunity for Queen’s Commerce students to make connections in a key emerging market.”

QSB students applying for the exchange must have a strong command of Spanish as they will be integrated into UASM classes. While in Colombia, they can draw on the academic and personal support offered by UASM and its students.

UASM and QSB students can apply for the Scotiabank Group Scholarship of the Americas, which QSB established in 2006 to help foster and support international exchange with institutions in the Americas. UASM students at Queen’s can also apply to the Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program scholarship program.

Up to two Queen’s Commerce students can spend a semester at the Bogota-based university beginning in the 2012-13 academic year, with the same number of Colombian students coming to Kingston.

Over 93 per cent of the second-year Commerce class has applied to go on an international exchange in 2012-13. QSB continues to expand its exchange opportunities for Commerce students as it guarantees every student a spot on exchange. Last year QSB signed exchange agreements in the Czech Republic (University of Economics in Prague), India (Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore), Spain (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid), Russia (St. Petersburg State University) and Turkey (Sabanci Business School).

Toronto, February 8, 2012 - The Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CMC-Canada) is pleased to welcome Queen’s School of Business (QSB) as a partner in education.

The specific focus of this MOU will be the educational preparation of students to access the Certified Management Consultant (CMC) certification program within the Queen’s School of Business MBA programs. The programs included in this arrangement are – the full-time Queen’s MBA, Queen’s Executive MBA National Program, Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA, and Queen’s Accelerated MBA for Business Graduates.

All interested students must sign adherence to CMC-Canada’s Uniform Code of Professional Conduct. Required certification courses include The Essentials of Management Consulting and Professional Conduct and Ethics: Best Practices and Professional Standards. Students may receive exemption from three other required courses — Proficiency in Project Management and Proficiency in Interpersonal and Personal Skills provided the applicant meets equivalency requirements. Student memberships are automatically upgraded to CMC Candidate status the year following graduation.
 
“The Canadian Association of Management Consultants offers the highest standard of training for management consulting in Canada and we are thrilled to partner with them on all of our MBA programs,” said David Saunders, Dean of Queen’s School of Business. “We are united in our commitment to advance learning for future business leaders and recognize the tremendous opportunity available to Queen’s School of Business students through this relationship.”
 
“The CMC designation is the management consulting profession’s only international certification mark and is recognized in over 50 countries,” said Glenn Yonemitsu, MBA, CMC, Chief Executive Officer of CMC-Canada. “The designation represents a commitment to the higher standards of consulting and adherence to the ethical guidelines of the profession. We are delighted to be working with Queen’s School of Business to offer this new path to our designation for all their MBA students.”

A total of 3600 hours of consulting experience is required to qualify for the CMC designation. Students may submit experience gained through the MBA program towards this criterion. After the applicant has completed the required courses and achieved the consulting experience, they begin the certification process that involves an oral assessment, engagements summaries, references, and other deliverables.

CMC-Canada
The Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CMC-Canada) fosters excellence and integrity in the management consulting profession as a whole. CMC-Canada administers, and its provincial Institutes confer, the CMC designation in Canada. The Association and its members advocate for the CMC designation and are dedicated to advancing the profession and delivering the benefits of those efforts to the client community. CMC-Canada is a founding member of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI). For more information, please visit cmc-canada.ca

Queen’s School of Business
Queen’s School of Business is one of the world’s premier business schools – renowned for exceptional programs, outstanding faculty and research, and the quality of its graduates. Canadian executives regard Queen’s as Canada’s most innovative business school, offering students academic excellence and a superior overall experience. Queen’s School of Business – where Canada’s first Commerce program was launched in 1919- is located at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. The School also delivers programs at locations across Canada, as well in the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates.

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Media Contacts

CMC-Canada
Andrea Vandenberg
Manager, Communications & Marketing
CMC-Canada
Telephone: (416) 860-1515 x5
E-mail: avandenberg@cmc-canada.ca

Queen’s School of Business
Amber Wallace
Director of Communications and External Relations
Queen’s School of Business
Office: 613.533.3151
Email: awallace@business.queensu.ca

Delegates from across Canada and around the world hone business skills in international business, marketing, entrepreneurship and the sports industry

QEC 2012 Delegates

Kingston, February 9, 2012 – Commerce student organizers hosted three conferences and one competition in January, attracting delegates from across Canada, the US and overseas, including teams from Bangladesh, South Africa and the Netherlands. All aspects of the planning and delivery of these conferences are spearheaded by Commerce students who gain invaluable leadership experience in the process.

Each of the four conferences are summarized below:

QMAC – Queen’s Marketing Association Conference welcomed 130 Canadian and international delegates at its event held Jan. 12-14. A highlight – the QMAC Challenge marketing case competition – tested delegates’ critical thinking and creativity. Commerce students Jia Zhen and Hemani Kamdar, both Comm’14, won the top prize: a seat at The Body Shop’s table at the Canadian Fragrance Awards. Speakers included Alfredo Tan, a Senior Director at Facebook Canada; John Betts, the CEO of McDonalds Canada; and Marc Boderke, VP of Marketing at Mercedes Benz. Unilever shared the weekend’s title sponsorship with The Body Shop.

QEC – Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition’s move to Toronto attracted a stellar group of 16 finalist teams representing 14 universities at the Jan. 19-21 event. QEC founder Meredith van Binsbergen, BCom’90, attended and remarked: “The international reach, high number of participating teams and sophistication of the business ventures put forward reflect that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive among today’s University students.” Sponsors included Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing, Queen’s MBA Class of 1970 Entrepreneurship Fund, CVCA (Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association), Manulife Bank, LoyaltyOne, Corplex Canada, Clean-Mark Industries, JCM Capital, Inceptive Solutions, Unilever, and Bounce Entertainment. Keynote speakers included Chris Hodgson, Head of Industry Retail for Google Canada; John Poulos, President and CEO of Dominion Voting Systems, and Ted Zittell, President at Ted Zittell & Associates. For complete results, visit QEC.

QCIB – Queen’s Conference on International Business focused on ‘Celebrating Innovation by Gaining First Mover Advantage’ with a diverse line-up of speakers, including Betty DeVita, CEO and President of MasterCard Canada, former federal cabinet minister Pierre Pettigrew, Austin McGhie, President of Strategy at Sterling Brands, and Richard Ross, Inmet Mining’s former CEO. The Toronto event, held Jan. 19-22, brought together delegates from 12 universities and featured a case competition sponsored by LG. Commerce students Vladana Zlatic and Sarah Marion were members of the winning team that presented options for LG to reclaim market share in developed countries and penetrate more developing markets.

QSIC – Queen’s Sports Industry Conference held Jan. 26-28, welcomed 120 delegates to explore the theme ‘Dream. Believe. Achieve.’ In addition to hearing from such speakers as Ian Clarke, CFO, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment and Anthon Thun of MFIVE Sports Management (NHL star Vincent Lecavalier’s agent), delegates competed in the Case Classic Competition to solve a business problem facing the Toronto Argonauts CFL team.

Kingston, February 3, 2012 – The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) has awarded Queen’s School of Business EQUIS re-accreditation. The European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) is the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration.

Queen’s School of Business (QSB) is also accredited by the U.S.-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the other leading global academic quality assessment organization.

“EQUIS accreditation is yet another validation of the quality educational experience Queen’s School of Business offers,” says Dean David Saunders. “Being a member of this exclusive group speaks to QSB’s reputation as an innovative global leader in business education.”

QSB received its initial accreditation for a five-year term in 2006 and, following a thorough review process in the fall of 2011, its re-accreditation was confirmed in December.

To be accredited, institutions must demonstrate high academic quality and professional relevance, as well as a high degree of internationalization in keeping with the increasingly global business and educational environment. EQUIS also looks for innovation, especially in program design and pedagogy.

The fundamental objective of EQUIS is to raise the standard of management education worldwide. EFMD’s diverse membership of international academics and professionals form the pool from which the international peer review teams are drawn. As of December 2011, 133 business schools in 38 countries have been awarded EQUIS accreditation.

KINGSTON, January 9, 2012 – The final round of competition in Canada’s largest and longest-running undergraduate business case competition took place January 5 to 7 in Kingston. The preliminary round of the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.) drew 165 submissions from teams representing 38 universities across Canada and internationally. The top six teams in each of the eight disciplines that make up the competition were invited to participate in the finals.

Some of the best and brightest students from 15 universities across Canada and from the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane Australia competed in the final round. Accomplished business leaders served as event judges, including Paris Aden, Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at RBC Capital Markets and Eric Morris, Head of Mobile Advertising for Google Canada. The competition was supported by more than fifty Commerce student volunteers as well as faculty advisors. Corporate sponsors included KPMG, Bain & Company, and Target.

The following winners were announced at the event’s concluding banquet on January 7:

• Accounting Event (Presented by Ernst & Young): Dalhousie University, Mark Allen and Jennifer Watson
• Business Policy Event (Presented by Level5): Queensland University of Technology, Ben Dunphy, Caroline Clarke and Emily Clark
• Ethics Event: Okanagan College, Bianca d’Errico & Zach Webster
• Finance Event (Presented by BMO Capital Markets): York University, Matthew Lee and Mark Santos
• Minerva Health & Safety Human Resources Event: University of Regina, Dale Diekrager and Laura Poure
• Marketing Event (Presented by Target): University of Calgary, Courtney Tanaka and Lindsey Welch
• The Flip Development MIS Event: Dalhousie University, Deanna Burke-Courage and Trevor Nelson
• Debating Event: Dalhousie University, Samantha Begelfor and Lauren Mitchell

 
For further information, visit icbconline.ca or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Cara Fletcher
Commerce Society Public Relations Officer
(613) 929-8902
cara.fletcher@queensu.ca

Toronto, January 10, 2012 – For this first time in its 24-year history, the Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition (QEC) will take place in Toronto. Previously held on campus in Kingston, the competition finals move to Toronto to provide greater accessibility for the competition’s international competitors, judges and speakers. The QEC is Canada’s largest international undergraduate business plan competition and attracts young entrepreneurs from around the world. The competition’s mandate is to foster innovation and provide aspiring entrepreneurs with opportunities to launch successful and sustainable businesses.

After a preliminary round of judging competitors’ business plans, the top 16 teams were invited to compete in the finals in Toronto from Jan. 19 to 21. Competitors will present their business plans to a judging panel comprised of Canadian business leaders who will select the winning entries and award $25,000 in cash prizes.

Networking events will introduce students to representatives of some of Canada’s top companies including TD Bank Financial Group Wealth Management, ONCAP, IBM Canada, Manulife Bank, Level5, LoyaltyOne, Ricoh Canada and Freshii. Keynote speakers include Chris Hodgson, Head of Industry Retail for Google Canada; John Poulos, President and CEO of Dominion Voting Systems, and Ted Zittell President at Ted Zittell & Associates.The competition’s founder, Meredith van Binsbergen, BCom’90, will be attending the finals with her husband Steven van Binsbergen, MBA’91.

further information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Charlotte Gadon
Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition Public Relations Officer
(613) 532 5695
charlotte.gadon@theqec.com

Backgrounder
Founded in 1988, the Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition is under the management of undergraduate Commerce students at Queen’s School of Business in Kingston, Ontario. The QEC is part of the Queen’s Commerce Society, the largest and most successful business student government in Canada. As Canada’s largest international undergraduate business plan competition, the QEC seeks to provide student entrepreneurs with the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and mentors, and develop and bring their business ideas to reality through competition for cash prizes.

January 10, 2012—Suncor Energy Foundation has donated $500,000 to the Centre for Responsible Leadership (CRL) at Queen’s School of Business to support its education, community development and sustainability initiatives over the next five years.

The Centre for Responsible Leadership supports education, research, outreach and advocacy to develop outstanding socially responsible leaders across undergraduate and graduate business programs at Queen’s.

“This funding will support our ongoing development of responsible corporate and community leaders through programs that have a positive impact on society,” said the Centre’s Director, Professor Tina Dacin. “We are very excited to welcome Suncor as one of our Signature Sponsors.”

Suncor Energy Foundation’s grant will enable the Centre to expand its programming in aboriginal education, community development, environmental sustainability and support for volunteerism.

“There is great alignment between the Suncor Energy Foundation’s focus on building skills and knowledge for our current and future workforce and what Queen’s School of Business seeks to achieve through its Centre for Responsible Leadership,” said Patricia O’Reilly, director of Environment and Social Issues Management at Suncor Energy. “What we hope will emerge from this collaborative partnership are socially responsible leaders with the ability to creatively solve problems and develop stronger, more sustainable communities for the future.”

Queen’s School of Business Centre for Responsible Leadership
Founded in 2004, QSB’s Centre for Responsible Leadership (CRL) is working to develop the next generation of socially responsible leaders through education, research, outreach and advocacy. The Centre fosters leading-edge education and research in the fields of responsible leadership, social responsibility, social innovation, social entrepreneurship and sustainability. It also provides support for the non-profit community and, through its membership in the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative and the European Academy of Business in Society, acts as a global advocate for responsible leadership. Learn more about the CRL’s initiatives at responsibleleadership.com.

Suncor Energy Foundation
The Suncor Energy Foundation is a private, non-profit charitable foundation established to receive Suncor’s contributions and support registered Canadian charitable organizations. Funded entirely by Suncor, the Foundation seeks unique opportunities to build sustainable communities through effective collaborations and to enhance the quality of life in key operating areas. To help communities achieve greater sustainability, the Suncor Energy Foundation has developed five integrated funding priorities which include cultivating community leaders, building skills and knowledge, inspiring innovation, engaging citizens and collaborating for our energy future. Since its inception in 1998, the Foundation has contributed more than $74 million to Canadian communities. For more information about Suncor Energy Inc. and its community investment program, please visit www.suncor.com/community.

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For further information, please contact:
Prof. Tina Dacin, Director, Queen’s School of Business Centre for Responsible Leadership
613.533.2366 / tdacin@business.queensu.ca

Suncor: 403-296-4000 / media@suncor.com