Alumni

Montreal retailer Frank and Oak files for creditor protection for second time

admin — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 17:25:58 +0000

In January 2025, the Montreal-based retailer Frank and Oak filed for creditor protection for the second time in recent years. A company statement said it was to protect employees, assets and operations from creditor claims while exploring options to restructure. “The brand is not standing out in an environment where other brands have done well,” said Bensadoun School of Retail Management Executive Director Charles de Brabant in an interview with the Montreal Gazette.

Keeping Christmas lights on to add ambiance can help set a shopping district apart

admin — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 20:07:13 +0000

Christmas lights that glow softly through long winter nights are part of what makes the holiday season so atmospheric—but they can add to the ambiance any time of year. Some shopping districts are leaving their lights up for exactly that reason.

SGI student spotlight luncheon

admin — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 12:34:26 +0000

Join us for a lunch session featuring a ��ɫTVl student team that recently participated in the ENGCOMM World 2025 competition.

Climate Fresk Workshop

admin — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 14:26:41 +0000

Turn Climate Science Into Action – Join the Climate Fresk Workshop!

In collaboration with the Desautels Faculty of Management and the Sustainable Growth Initiative

Complicated crypto products recall derivatives at the centre of the global financial crisis

admin — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 18:37:40 +0000

Cryptocurrencies are volatile, risky and lack transparency. For banks and investors alike, that’s risky. “Some like to think ‘this time it’s different’,” Prof Patrick Augustin told PaperJam.lu. But for Augustin, crypto today recalls Lehman Brothers, the financial services firm whose collapse set the global financial crisis in motion in 2008. The similarities are striking. Like today’s crypto markets, Lehman Brothers complicated investment products that many buyers and sellers didn’t fully understand.

Concrete policy steps could address issues with Canada’s pension system

admin — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 18:39:36 +0000

A well-designed pension system brings enormous social and economic values to its members and to society as a whole. Unfortunately, Canada’s doesn’t stand out. A 2024 report from Mercer ranks it just 18 out of 48 countries. In thefutureeconomy.ca, Prof. Sebastien Betermier proposes three measures that could help improve it by:

· Ensuring there are stronger guardrails to keep pension funds operationally independent

Desautels to launch new Master of Management of Finance program in Luxembourg

admin — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 18:40:45 +0000

��ɫTVl Desautels is partnering with the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg on a new Master of Management in Finance. The program will launch in 2026, and will have a blended format that combines online learning and in-person sessions on weekends or evenings. The new degree will be delivered over 20 or 24 months in Luxembourg, a major European financial centre.

Learn more

Global public relations firm delivers ��ɫTVl course content to staff in 12-week boot camp

admin — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 18:29:08 +0000

Being happy doesn’t just make life more enjoyable, it can help you get things done. In 2024, ��ɫTVl Desautels Adjunct Lecturer Anita Nowak co-designed a course on the power of positive psychology called Happiness means business, and it is gaining traction beyond the university’s walls. The global public relations and marketing consultancy Edelman brought in Prof. Anita Nowak to teach staff course materials. The intensive 12-week ‘boot camp’ teaches concepts like altruism and forgiveness to give employees new tools to use in client relationships.

ACCEPTER le vélo: Findings and Perspectives from Two Years of Research

admin — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:38:01 +0000

As municipalities and governments are increasingly called upon to accelerate the ecological transition, the development of sustainable mobility has become a major strategic priority.

Financial institutions shift climate strategies amid GFANZ changes

admin — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 01:14:08 +0000

Despite BlackRock’s exit from the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), climate action remains a key priority for financial institutions, says Sebastien Betermier, Associate Professor of Finance. He notes that asset managers are shifting their strategies to focus on helping firms transition to net zero rather than maintaining strictly net-zero portfolios. While GFANZ is adapting to these needs, Betermier warns that moving away from alliances could weaken collective action.

Dean Yolande Chan on breaking barriers and the work ahead

admin — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:36 +0000

Dr. Yolande Brown Chan, Dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management, shares her journey and ongoing mission for racial equity in an interview with CTV News. Appointed in 2021, she is ��ɫTVl’s first Black dean and remains one of Canada’s few Black deans. Reflecting on her experiences—from childhood to early academic success to encounters with racism—she emphasized the need for continued progress. She has championed initiatives to increase access for racialized communities and lead equity reviews.

Trump’s tariffs: “Short-term pain, long-term gains?

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 19:05:10 +0000

As President Trump’s latest tariffs send markets into turmoil, ��ɫTVl Desautels Professor Vivek Astvansh provides insight into the potential long-term impact on trade and investments. Amid uncertainty, experts suggest diversification as the key to stability. Read more on how Canadian markets and investors can navigate this shifting landscape.

Chinese tech firm DeepSeek shows smaller firms can compete with tech giants in AI

admin — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 17:49:19 +0000

When OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022, the hype around AI began building to a fever pitch. Big money poured in to big tech, sending the stock of companies like Microsoft and Nvidia soaring. But a December 2024 AI chatbot release from a much smaller Chinese tech firm is showing that generative AI can be built a much more modest budget. “Deepseek shows that smaller companies with more limited resources can compete with tech giants,” Prof. Ruslan Goyenko told Benefits Canada.

To be effective, sometimes leaders need to display aspects of both introversion and extroversion

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 18:32:08 +0000

A stereotypical extrovert loves to engage with people, and derives energy from it. For stereotypical introverts, the reverse is true: they prefer to keep to themselves, and too much interaction with others saps their energy. But ambiverts display traits of both personality types, Professor Karl Moore told CBC Radio’s The Weekender with Jared Monkman. The word dates back to the 1920s, but Moore has revived it after interviewing many senior leaders as part of his research program.

Announcing the 2025 Lionel Pelham Kent Scholarship recipients

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 15:08:35 +0000

Congratulations to Harley Belfer (BCom’23), Isabelle Erb (BCom’24), Veronica Hall (BCom'24), Raphael Lafleur (BCom’24), Andrea Peck (BCom’24), and Dylan Winick (BCom’24) who were awarded the Lionel Pelham Kent Scholarship by the Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting (GCPA) program.