Ontario Business Concerns, Leadership, and the Economics of AI – Toronto News
Toronto‘s finest business schools have provided valuable marketplace insight to their communities this week. We’ve outlined some of the high points below.
Ontario Business Bankruptcies Up 39 Per Cent – CBC News
Corporate bankruptcy is on the rise in Ontario. According to Madhu Kalimipalli, Professor of Finance at the Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, the higher cost of borrowing for corporations could be to blame.
“A lot of these businesses … are the ones who had a tough time servicing their bank loans,” Kalimipalli says in a recent CBC News interview. Kalimipalli posits that the pending NAFTA agreement between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico (CUSMA), as well as the real estate slowdown in the GTA may have also been factors in the corporate bankruptcy rise.
Kalimipalli does not believe the increase in bankruptcies are necessarily cause for alarm. It is possible that the pending U.S. approval of the NAFTA agreement could reverse the bankruptcy trends, as long as government attempts to alter it do not have unintended consequences down the line.
You can learn more about Ontario business bankruptcy here.
Don’t Just Be a Leader, Become a Global Inspiration; Almas Jiwani Delivers a Riveting Keynote Address at Ryerson University – Global Newswire
Almas Jiwani, President of Emeritus UN Women National Committee Canada, recently delivered the keynote speech for the Women in Information Technology Management (WITM) at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management at the Emerging Leaders Project (ELP). Jiwani spoke about utilizing technological advances to achieve more “sustainable and inclusive” societies around the globe.
In the speech, Jiwani says:
“We have come a long way with technology, and it has changed our world. It has not only changed the way we work, live, and conduct business, but has also helped create a bridge that connects us to millions across the globe. The age of social media has made it possible for today’s leaders to create a bigger impact, and has empowered them with the ability to reach out to people in different and remote parts of the world and be an inspiration to them to learn, dream bigger, and achieve more.”
Jiwani is also CEO of the Almas Jiwani Foundation, which seeks to “empower women, girls and marginalized communities through focused projects that directly address disparities in equality, education, entrepreneurship and energy rights.”
Learn more about Jiwani’s speech and ELP here.
Joshua Gans Weighs In On Marketing Disruption – Forbes
Forbes recently published a comprehensive interview with Joshua Gans, Chair of Technical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Professor of Strategic Management at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, revisiting some of the themes in his 2016 book The Disruption Dilemma. In particular, Gans speaks about disruption in marketing.
He addresses the future of marketing with advances in AI, saying, “AI can do only a limited range of what we might call cognitive functions,” Gans said, “What it can’t do is exercise judgment and understand what the trade-offs are in decisions.”
According to Gans, exercising judgment in this way is, “an essential part of any creative process.”
Gans is also the Chief Economist at Rotman’s Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), a seed-stage program for tech-based companies. CDL is dedicated to helping innovators grow their ideas and attain the funding necessary to bring their ideas to the marketplace.
You can read more from the full Joshua Gans interview with Forbes‘ Paul Talbot here, and watch Gans’ discuss AI at Rotman below.
New Yorker Cites Rotman Professor in Nobel Story – Toronto News
This week, representatives from Canada’s best business schools have utilized their skills and knowledge to make valuable contributions to the greater community. We’ve laid out the highlights below.
The Nobel Committee Honors The Economics of Market Failure – The New Yorker
A recent New Yorker article about the 2018 Nobel Prize in economics winners cites the blog of University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management Professor Joshua Gans. Though the Nobel winners, Bill Nordhaus and Paul Romer, have not collaborated with one another, both have independently highlighted possible flaws and oversights of market economies. The article utilized Gans’s insight that the work of both winners provided a framework for economists to analyze and account for market failures.
According to thearticle, “In an idealized competitive market, prices equate the costs of producing goods with the benefits derived by consumers, and this equalizing mechanism insures that markets allocate resources and goods more efficiently than government diktat or other methods.”
Nordhaus’s research on fossil fuels and Romer’s research on goods that demonstrate advances in human knowledge suggest gaps in this narrative. Nordhaus’s work addressed that the cost of fossil fuels does not account for the damage incurred by their use, and consequent cost for future generations. This negative cost, importantly, is not accounted for in market transactions. Romer’s work explored positive spillover that is not accounted for in market transactions, such as advances in technology.
On news of Romer and Nordhaus’ awards, the Nobel Committee says:
“Both Romer and Nordhaus emphasize that the market economy, while a powerful engine of human development, has important imperfections and their contributions have thus offered insights into how government policy could potentially enhance our long-run welfare.”
You can read more about the Nobel Prize winners here.
Ryerson University Names Janice Fukakusa As Its New Chancellor – Newswire
Ryerson University has announced that Janice Fukakusa will take over as its Chancellor. Fukakusa, who received her MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business, held senior roles at Royal Bank of Canada, including Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer. She is currently on the board of not-for-profits like General Growth Properties, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, and Cineplex. Until recently, Fukakusa was Chair of the Board of Governors for Ryerson. Fukakusa will be Ryerson’s first female Chancellor.
In her 31-year career, Fukakusa has received a variety of accolades celebrating her achievements. American Banker named her one of “The 25 Most Powerful Women In Banking” in 2016. She was also inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame.
On news of her new role, Fukakusa says;
“I am honoured to be Ryerson’s new Chancellor, and look forward to driving the positive educational and societal changes for which the university has become known. We are leading the charge on so many important issues, and I am eager to work with students, faculty and staff in this new capacity to further advance the impressive progress that has been made to date.”
You can find out more about Fukakusa and her new role here.
Competition for Great Talent Has Become ‘Intense’ Axonify CEO Says – The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail profiled Carol Leaman, Chief Executive Officer of Axonify Inc. to highlight struggles facing tech employers. Leaman, whose company provides training modules for employees of corporations like Walmart and Bloomingdales, expressed that it has been increasingly difficult to woo qualified tech candidates. Amazon, Uber, and other global companies have been infiltrating the Ontario market, employing massive numbers of developers and IT personnel. Moreover, companies like Terminal have been helping U.S. firms hire Canadian developers.
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Carol Leaman, president and CEO of Axonify / Photo via The Globe and Mail
According to Wilfrid Laurier University Professor of Organizational Human Behavior, Chet Robie, Leaman needs to offer stellar benefits and compensation in order to thrive.
“I would start working on making their compensation more competitive—and by doing that you don’t always have to increase base salary,” Robie says, alluding to benefits like work flexibility and upward mobility.
“What really resonates with this group of people doesn’t have to break the bank.”
Read more about competition in Canada’s tech market here.
BEworks Brings In Lazaridis, Schulich Alum David Lewis, Ph.D.
BEworks, a management consulting firm that applies behavioral science to consulting, has chosen David Lewis, Ph.D., as its Chief Client Officer. Lewis earned his Ph.D. in economics from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business. The business scholar is optimistic about the opportunities ahead for the company.
“With almost a decade applying behavioral science to business challenges, BEworks is poised for tremendous growth, and I’m thrilled to be joining such a high-energy, passionate team of scientists,” Lewis says.
Though Lewis has held senior positions at companies like UBS Bank and Barclays, his most recent position has been as an Assistant Professor at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management.
On Lewis’ new role, Kelly Peters, CEO and Co-founder of BEworks says:
“With his breadth of leadership experience and his scientific background, David [Lewis] will help us collaborate even more closely with our clients and introduce BE thinking to a broader range of organizations, further helping us bridge the gap between academia and business.”
“Organizations that embrace scientific thinking can embrace innovation and change faster, and take informed risks with confidence,” Lewis adds.
“With almost a decade applying behavioral science to business challenges, BEworks is poised for tremendous growth, and I’m thrilled to be joining such a high-energy, passionate team of scientists. Our upcoming Summit for Science in Financial Services in September is a testament to BEworks’ leadership in the behavioral science consulting space, as we convene the world’s best-known behavioral scientists to collaborate with business leaders from across North America.”
You can read more about BEworks and David Lewis here. In addition, you can learn more about the current BEworks projects here, with 20 operations across North America.
McMaster DeGroote Offers New Minor, and More – Toronto News
This week, Canadian business school have done their share to nurture innovative thinking in students and the broader community. We’ve laid out some of the high points below.
The Startup That Makes Globetrotting More Affordable– Communitech News
Rob Evans, graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, is CEO and founder of Backpacker College, a startup that connects travelers with affordable places to stay (generally in university housing). Backpacker College allows universities to sell their unused beds during the summer, when students are on break. Through the app or website, travelers can access dorms at upwards of 115 universities, Laurier included. Speaking with Communitech News, Evans says:
“Now you don’t have to spend half an hour online judging how creepy your host might be, or what the best deal is on Google. We’ve already curated a set of great options that are affordable, we’ve ruled out the high-end and the low-end stuff and provided that mid-market that’s safe and affordable for families, sports teams, young travelers, retirees, as well as small groups and student accommodation.”
You can read more about the startup here.
New Minor In Innovation Gives Students A Head Start on Becoming Successful Entrepreneurs – DeGroote News
This fall, McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business and Faculty of Engineering will partner with McMaster’s startup incubator, The Forge, to offer a minor in innovation to students interested in becoming entrepreneurs. The minor is meant to teach students to turn their own ideas into businesses, as well as how to think creatively within an organization.
On news of the new minor, Sue McCracken, Associate Dean at DeGroote School of Business, says, “The future of work is changing, and many of our students will be starting their own businesses within their own innovative ideas. We need to give these students the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to take the right steps and risks to develop their ideas and build successful businesses.”
The DeGroote minor is open to all McMaster students. Beginning in September, students will be able to take The World of Entrepreneurship, which consists of case studies and prominent guest lecturers, and Lean Startup, which will teach skills like establishing a business model and testing business ideas with customers and stakeholders. Additional courses such as Founders Startup and From Founder to CEO will become available over the next three years.
You can find out more about the new DeGroote minor here.
Lessons in Leadership from MBA Leadership Day – News@Ivey
In late July, the 2018 MBA Leadership Day was held at Western University Canada’s Ivey Business School. The day kicked off with a “Learning to Become Better Leaders” panel, featuring three Ivey alumni. The day concluded with a speech from Deepak Chopra, former President and CEO of Canada Post.
(Left to right) Pat Horgan, Barbara Stymiest, and Jon Hantho, attending this year’s MBA Leadership Day at the Ivey Business School / Photo via ivey.uwo.ca
The panelists offered important insights for the budding MBA’s. The panelists talked about the value of building a solid team, taking breaks, being humble, creating a strategy, and maintaining a big-picture perspective.
You can learn more about the key advice given to those in attendance at the MBA Leadership Day here.
