Rotman and Bocconi Design New Global Executive MBA, and More – Toronto News
Toronto’s best business schools have seen some exciting developments this week. We’ve laid out some highlights below.
New Partnership for a Global Executive MBA Program Announced by University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and SDA Bocconi School of Management – Rotman Media Centre
The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management is banding together with the SDA Bocconi School of Management to offer a Global Executive MBA (GEMBA). Students in the program have the opportunity to study at seven international business hubs, including Toronto and Milano. This program allows students to graduate with both and MBA from Rotman and a GEMBA from SDA Bocconi. Both institutions are enthusiastic about the opportunities this joint venture will present.
Alongside the Rotman School of Management, SDA Bocconi has recently introduced its brand new, joint GEMBA program.
Ferdinando Pennarola, Director of the SDA Bocconi Global EMBA program, says:
“The program will expand each participant’s global understanding and business skills, as it is delivered through a dynamic blend of classroom discussions, convenient self-paced learning, and valuable interactions with leading businesses around the globe.”
Find out more about the brand new Rotman and Bocconi Global EMBA here.
Courses Spring Up to Train Students in the Business of Bus – The Globe and Mail
As the cannabis industry in Canada expands, so too does the need for acknowledgement of the industry in business education. In response to this need, Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management has banded with the Chang School of Continuing Education to launch a course called The Business of Cannabis.
The creation of the course was spearheaded by Brad Poulos, Academic Coordinator of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at Ryerson. The course deals with the marketing, logistics, sale, and finance aspects of the cannabis business. The non-credit, 39-hour course (coded 420) is designed to help entrepreneurial students get a leg up in a relatively new industry.
Poulos, profiled in the Globe and Mail, says:
“There is a massive influx of people into [cannabis industry] jobs. With any other consumer good, there is already a huge pool of people to pull from, but that’s not the case here. What we’re trying to do is fast-track.”
You can read more about the cannabis course here.
Arcane Wins Prestigious Google Award For Work With Ivey – MARTECHSERIES
Marketing and analytics firm Arcane received the Search Innovation Award at the 2018 Google Premier Partner Awards, for its work with Western University Canada’s Ivey Business School. The award ceremony occurred at The Press Lounge in New York City.
“Over the past year and a half, the organizations have worked together to refine their digital marketing footprint and drive significant growth for their programs,” according to MARTECHSERIES. The award was based on innovative work with Google’s search advertisements. Arcane is the first Canadian agency to receive the prestigious award.
Ron Gallagher, Director of Marketing at Ivey Business School, says:
“I have been impressed by the innovation and impact of our partnership with Arcane. The Google Search Innovation Award is testament to Ivey’s progressive, results-oriented, and highly accountable approach. We are proud to see Arcane recognized for their digital marketing work with Ivey.”
You can find out more about the award and event here.
Ted Rogers School Holds Cannabis Legalization Symposium
Last week, the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University held its latest public symposium to discuss cannabis legalization in Canada. The event welcomed a broad range of voices from the marijuana industry, government, academia and civil society. The goal was to bring experts together to discuss the need for vigorous regulation development and the challenges, both ethical and business-related, that cannabis presents. Continue reading…
Smith Research Points To Hottest Cannabis Investments
A new study by Robert H. Smith School of Business grad Evan Qiu and Quantum Financial Advisors co-analysts Peng Zhang and Steven Nunez—a 2010 UMD economics graduate—has helped formulate list of hot cannabis investments despite potential regulatory issues. Continue reading…
Berkeley-Haas Surveys The Future of Cannabis Industry
Berkeley’s Haas School of Business recently published an article on the conclusion of “High Margins: The Business of Legal Cannabis,” a six-week student-organized series that explored the “most promising business models, investment strategies, future regulatory schemes and the changing risks for a market long forced to operate underground.”
Stanford GSB Alum Talks Cannabis, Future Investment
The Stanford Graduate School of Business recently published an article about the fledgling—and admittedly peculiar—cannabis consulting industry. Erika Brown spoke with Stanford ’91 alum Hadley Ford whose iAnthus Capital Holdings merchant bank-come-consulting firm has become a mover and shaker within the field.
iAnthus offers an “experienced staff that can handle the financial end of things and [a team] of cannabis advisors and contacts who can vet the cannabis operations.”
Although Ford, the co-founder and managing director, describes himself as an advocate for legal weed—“I am a child of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s; it’s about ‘power to the people'”—he didn’t initially think the the drug would be a sound investment, especially when it came to building large national brands.
“Cannabis is still illegal in most of the U.S., which means you can’t trademark or copyright your product or manufacture and distribute across state lines,” he says.
Ford quickly discovered that due to cannabis’ social stigma in the business world, entrepreneurs have “no access to institutional startup or growth capital” but they still “need counsel on how to run a company efficiently.” To offer some perspective, Ford mentions that he raised $800 million from his Rolodex on his last business venture compared to the $9 million he snagged with the exact same personnel and contacts.
To circumvent domestic policy and stigma, Ford opted to reach out to Canadian investors where “issuers can sell securities related to cannabis and investors can buy them.” Ford structured a $500 million “public vehicle that raises money in Canada and uses the money to fund businesses in the U.S.”
That said, Ford believes the tides could turn dramatically in the next 5-10 years in terms of domestic cannabis investment.
“We will see a lot more investing by smaller institutions and regional banks providing credit, though probably not the big banks yet. In 10 years it will look more like the alcohol business, with dry counties and wet counties.”
