Members of the Desautels community came together on January 27, 2012 to celebrate the recipients of the 32nd Desautels Management Achievement Awards.
Management Achievement Award
The Achievement Award is presented to individuals who serve as role models for students in their education, career, and philanthropic contributions.
Morrie Cohen (BCom鈥�60)
President, Modico Canada Ltd., Modico Parking Inc., & Waitsfield Capital Inc.
Bertrand Cesvet (BA鈥�86, MBA鈥�90)
Chairman & Chief Strategist, Sid Lee
Cora Tsouflidou
Founder & Chair of the Board, Cora Franchise Group Inc.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Each year, one individual is awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition for their exceptional philanthropic and economic impact on the Canadian economy. In addition to their achievements, their personal narrative of displaying perseverance and resilience serves as a source of inspiration for the students in attendance.
Ned Goodman (BSc.鈥�60)
Co-founder, President & CEO, Dundee Corporations
Business leaders share success with students
On Jan. 27, students, faculty, administration, and alumni came together at the Omni Hotel for the 32nd Management Achievement Awards. The event honoured four individuals in the business world who had exemplified entrepreneurial skills, using their success to give back to the community. The event also provided a unique networking experience for those in attendance.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those things you can鈥檛 learn in a classroom. This is hearing [advice] from people who have done it, who have experienced it, and who have succeeded in doing it,鈥� Keith Chan, U3 international management and chairman of the event, said.
In a brief speech, the dean of the Desautels faculty of management, Peter Todd, commented on the appropriateness of the award鈥檚 recipients, who were chosen by the student organizers. The selection aimed to聽 recognize community entrepreneurs who would serve as a good example for other management students.
A subcommittee of the Management Undergraduate Society had been organizing this event since June. Management undergraduate students who attended the event also benefited from the presence of representatives from major Canadian companies such as Ernst & Young, Sid Lee, PWC, and KPMG.
鈥淔or students, they have a chance to meet [company representatives] and chat informally in an environment they might have not otherwise had,鈥� Jason Paseli, a 平特五不中 alumnus now working for KPMG, said.
While the event was ideal for students to network, Samantha Butler, U3 accounting and chairwoman of the event, explained that it was designed for students to gain more than ordinary networking opportunities.
鈥淭his is business-meets-students and in a really interesting way, not just networking but having award winners share their stories. That鈥檚 not something you get with networking, where you鈥檙e trying to just sell yourself and [you can鈥檛] just 鈥� put that aside and listen to people who made it to the top,鈥� she said.
President and CEO of Dundee Corporation Ned Goodman, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, spoke about how students should proceed in the business world, showing students that success is about more than just large investments.
鈥淭here are people who say my success and career has been lucky, and they鈥檙e right, it has been lucky, but luck only comes from being associated with the right people. I have been lucky to surround myself with people who are smarter than me,鈥� he said.
Having spent over 50 years in the natural resource investment industry, Goodman鈥檚 advice was not always specific to business.
鈥淲e live in a world that has confused regulations and rules with cultural principles,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ules can always be bent but principles are forever 鈥� [You should] always finish what you start, when you鈥檙e riding through hell, keep riding, and never give up.鈥�
Another award winner was Cora Tsouflidou, founder and chair of the board for Cora Franchise Group Inc. This franchise was created when Tsouflidou, a single mother, bought an abandoned diner in Montreal that later became Chez Cora.聽
鈥淐ora doesn鈥檛 come from a business background but possesses a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Look [at] what she has accomplished; she has taken her passion and built a great enterprise. It gives hope to students to take what they love and run with it,鈥� Michaela Hirsh, U1 finance and director of operations and logistics of the event, said.
Bertrand Cesvet, chairman and chief strategist of Sid Lee, was ecstatic about being able to give back to the Desautels community.
鈥溒教匚宀恢� changed my life; I really think that none of what I accomplished in my life could have happened if I had picked one of the other schools I was looking at,鈥� he said.
The event emphasized that being a successful business leader is about more than securing investments and major projects.
鈥淭he news often paints corporate executives as monsters, but there are many people who share their success and I think that undergraduate students should see that,鈥� Hirsch said. 鈥淲hen you work towards something, you鈥檙e not working just for your own personal gains but for the community at large.鈥�
