Aldo Bensadoun and the company he turned into a big-league player
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.
To realise your potential, be fully engaged.
A piece in Forbes co-authored by Desautels professor Karl Moore and Sandoz executive Vincenzo Ciampi (BCom鈥�94) says that it takes a sense of purpose to realise one鈥檚 career potential.
Improved scale and production set to open up edible cricket market
When Aspire Food Group started operations in 2013 under co-founder Mohammed Ashour (MSc鈥�11, MDCM鈥�15), the field it was playing on was wide open. Insects are a viable food source across much of the world, but to farm them on the industrial scale that Aspire needed in order to make crickets an affordable, scalable food-production option was going to take some doing. The answer comes in the form of a well-designed automated cricket farm.聽
Montreal shoe giant ALDO agrees to buy the shoes and accessories part of the Camuto Group鈥檚 business
A news release at canadianinsider.com reveals that Montreal-based footwear giant ALDO is set to buy the shoes and accessories side of the Camuto Group. The deal plays nicely into ALDO鈥檚 expansion efforts and frees up Camuto to concentrate on its apparel unit.
After DavidsTea, Desautels alumnus goes for something new
According to a recent piece in the Ottawa Business Journal, David Segal (BCom鈥�04) knocked one out of the park with DavidsTea, and he bets he can do it again with salad. His new venture, Mad Radish, brings premium salad to the fast-food scene, where Canadians currently spend $24 billion per year. There鈥檚 a growing hunger for healthier choices, which is why big-calorie chains like McDonald鈥檚 have started adding salads to their menus, but Mr.
Desautels alumnus and Global Expert rebuilds after major biking accident
Jonathan Ross Goodman聽(BA鈥�89, MBA/LLB鈥�93) is the CEO of Montreal-based pharmaceutical company Knight Therapeutics and a Desautels Global Expert. He is also a textbook case of how to overcome adversity: A 2011 biking accident left him in a coma for weeks and caused massive brain damage. Even today, his short-term memory is poor and he has trouble eating. But Mr.
Desautels alumnus and amateur sailor hits the high seas to make history
Clipper Round the World is an epic endurance event, a race that crosses 40,000 nautical miles and hits six continents. It鈥檚 unique in that there is no requirement to have ever stepped on a boat to crew one of the twelve 70-foot yachts. Simon DuBois (BCom鈥�10) is on a mission to be the first Quebecer to complete a round-the-world yacht race. The last attempt by a Quebecer was when solo racer Gerry Roufs disappeared in 1997 while racing in the Vend茅e Globe.
Desautels alumna on Auto Remarketing Canada鈥檚 Under Forty list
The Remarketing Under Forty list in Auto Remarketing Canada鈥檚 Special Conference Issue is a roundup of the industry鈥檚 brightest young minds. Desautels grad Stephanie Turner聽(MBA'15) is the Senior Manager for Strategy and Business Development at Cox Automotive Canada in Toronto, where she has been since 2015.
Change is in the air for European EMBAs
A recent piece in Poets & Quants for Execs looks at how EMBAs are at a crossroads: As companies are less willing to invest in an EMBA for an employee鈥檚 advancement, those execs are looking more and more towards entrepreneurship, which was once the wheelhouse of the MBA set; and B schools are, in turn, facing disruption from microlearning tech startups.
平特五不中 X-1 Accelerator: seventh week at a glance
Week seven of the 平特五不中 X-1 Accelerator was all about two things: Announcing a transformative $2 million gift from the John Dobson Foundation, and setting up for the upcoming Demo Days.
A Desautels alumnus steps towards international stardom
Geoffroy Sauv茅聽(BCom'10) built on his 2014 stint on Quebec鈥檚 La Voix music competition show to make music his full-time job and land a record contract.聽But he鈥檚 not exactly a newcomer: Geoffroy worked on the music scene鈥檚 business side for a decade, and still hires composers for advertising and film work.
A new networking company aims to get Quebec IoT-ready
By all accounts, the Internet of Things (IoT) is going to be the next major paradigm shift in online technology. Rather than being about information transfer between humans, the IoT is all about contact between smart devices, a sensor in a field speaking to an irrigation system without human intervention, for example. X-Telia is a Quebec company that is rolling out a new network specifically aimed at connecting those devices.
Women speak out on gender and comedy
Though today鈥檚 female comics are making breakthroughs, stand-up is still very much a men鈥檚 game. In a recent Le Devoir article, Louise Richer (EMBA鈥�16), Director General of Quebec鈥檚 脡cole nationale de l鈥檋umour, points out that humour is seen by many women as an attractive feature in a man, but that the reverse is not often true.
Desautels alumna appointed Regional Sales Director for Cambium Networks鈥� DACH region
Wireless broadband solutions specialist Cambium Networks has named Munich-based Tabatha von K枚lichen (MBA鈥�91) as the new Regional Sales Director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, known collectively as the DACH region. She will be responsible for management solutions, Wi-Fi and Industrial Internet of Things activities, as well as for expanding the company鈥檚 network of resellers throughout the region. Ms.
平特五不中 business grad was head of Birks for four decades
George Drummond Birks (BCom鈥�40) was practically destined to go into the jewellery business. Born into a family of silversmiths, he eschewed an apprenticeship in favour of a 平特五不中 Commerce degree and a stint in the Black Watch Regiment during World War II, where he served well enough to get a citation for bravery. After the war ended, he joined the family business and was running it a decade later.
