DeGroote Alumni Report - Fall 2011

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Alumni ReportAlumni Report

Also in this issue:A diamond in the rough Information bombardment

Shawn Cheung’s

Raising the Village

The Alumni Report is a publication of the DeGroote School of Business and is managed by the External Relations Office.

Editor: Leah Rosenthal

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40063416

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:DeGroote School of Business,McMaster University1280 Main Street West, DSB-116Hamilton, ON L8S 4M4E-mail: [email protected] site: www.degroote.mcmaster.ca

ALUMNI OFFICER MESSAGE ........3

EVENTS CALENDAR .......................4

DEAN ON DECK ..............................5

DEGROOTE NEwS ..........................6

MAIN STORy ...................................8

ALUMNI PROFILES .......................11

RESEARCh @ DEGROOTE ...........14

ALUMNI COLUMN ........................15

Inside

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On the Cover: Shawn Cheung’s Raising the Village

Alumni profiles

Are you or do you know another alumni member who has taken a ‘road less traveled’? Someone who has carved out an interesting career off the beaten path? Did your professional adventures take you to one of the far-flung corners of the world? Please contact Kellie Rabak, [email protected], and share the details of where you found yourself since you graduated.

Did you know…?

2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the MBA program? We are planning a DeGroote celebration next June to mark this milestone occasion. If you are interested in assisting with the planning or alumni outreach for your class, please contact Kellie Rabak: [email protected]

Keep in touch

In the flurry of all the details to keep track of when you move or change jobs, you may not think to connect with DeGroote to let us know about your address, business or email changes. Please drop Kellie Rabak, [email protected], a quick email and we will update your information so you won’t have to worry about missing an Alumni Report, event invitation or e-newsletter.

Help! There’s a hole on our wall!

Help! Our Commerce 1996 class composite is MIA! Under the cover of darkness, someone has absconded with the class photo! If you are a member of that class and would like to donate your copy, we would be most grateful to display it on our ‘wall of fame’. For more information, please contact Kellie Rabak: [email protected]

DeGroote Mentor Program – alumni wanted!

Are you passionate about your career and willing to share your experiences with current DeGroote students? If so, the DeGroote Mentor Program is a perfect opportunity to connect with future business leaders and help guide them with any career advice you may have to offer. To learn more about the DeGroote Mentor Program and how to get involved as a mentor please email us at [email protected].

Attention AIESEC alumni

AIESEC McMaster is pleased to celebrate its 31st year as one of the 28 Local Committees in AIESEC Canada. It doesn’t matter if you have not been involved with AIESEC for a while. All that matters is that you are interested and excited to come out to the events or stay in touch virtually through social media, mentorship or alumni publications. For more information, please contact Angelina: [email protected] or find us on Facebook under “AIESEC McMaster-Non Profit Organization”. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Get InvolvedClaudia Hung

DeGroote School of Business Alumni Report - Fall ‘11 3

This past June I had the privilege of attending the spring convocation ceremony as the

School of Business welcomed almost 700 new alumni. The majority of the graduates transi-

tioned from the Commerce program with MBA grads following with a significant representa-

tion of 200. We were also pleased to welcome three new PhD alumni as well as three from

the Master of Communications Management program.

With the addition of these new alumni members, DeGroote now boasts a population of

more than 16,000 alumni! Although most of our alumni reside and work in Ontario, with a

heavy concentration in the GTA, we have alumni on all continents and living in many coun-

tries around the world. Some have returned to their homeland, while others sought opportu-

nities after graduating to work abroad or overseas.

It’s great to hear from our alumni near and far. There are several alumni in the area who

call or send me emails regularly to say hello or chat about upcoming events, or even make

suggestions about what programs they would like to see. A little further away, I had a recent

conversation with an alumnus in New York City who is anxious to connect with fellow alum-

ni in the area. I was also pleased to meet with another alumnus from the MBA ’86 class who

traveled from Hong Kong and made time during his personal travels to visit the campus and

reconnect with some of his former professors.

On Alumni Weekend in June, we hosted MBA reunion celebrations from the 1991 and

2001/2002 classes. Our guests enjoyed a reception and dinner at the new Burlington campus,

the Ron Joyce Centre. The majority of our guests traveled from within a close proximity to

the event; however we were delighted to see alumni who arranged travel from Ottawa, Cali-

fornia and Florida! It was a wonderful evening for classmates to get together, share memories

and reconnect with McMaster and the School of Business.

I’m very excited about our upcoming fall program: Commerce reunions; the HSM alumni

dinner; and our new alumni speaker series. I look forward to seeing the many alumni who

support our events regularly as well as those who have recently graduated and are coming

to one of our events for the first time.

A warm welcome to all of our new alumni members! You are in excellent company and we

wish you the very best as you embark on your career adventures. To all of our alumni – we

continue to be very proud of your successes and we thank you for being our dedicated

DeGroote ambassadors!

Kellie Rabak, Hons. BA ‘90

Alumni Officer, DeGroote School of Business

[email protected]

Ph: 905-525-9140 ext. 26971

Alumni Of f icer Message

Events Calendar

Alumni Wine & Cheese Networking Event WEDNESDAy, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Ron Joyce Centre, Burlington

Connect with our newest MBA students and help them develop their networking skills.

For more information please contact Leahann Renaud: [email protected]

DeGroote Health Services Management Alumni DinnerTHURSDAy, SEPTEMBER 15, 2011


Networking reception: 6:00 pmDinner: 7:00 pmSpeaker presentation: 8:15 pm

For more information or to register, please contact Kellie Rabak: [email protected]

Company Information Sessions MONDAy, SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

Beginning September 19 opportunities for recruiting partners to brand their organization and meet interested candidates.

Please contact Leahann Renaud for more details: [email protected]

McMaster Career Fair (all Faculties) THURSDAy, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

David Braley Athletic Centre, McMaster University

Contact Leahann Renaud for more information on how to participate: [email protected]

Commerce Class Reunions: 1976, 1986, 1991 and 2001HOMECOMING WEEKEND SATURDAy, OCTOBER 1, 2011

DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University

Reception and Dinner starting at 6:00 pm

For more information or to register, please contact Kellie Rabak: [email protected]

Mock Interview Night: Commerce & MBATUESDAy, OCTOBER 4, 2011


Help students prepare for job interviews.


DeGroote Alumni Speaker SeriesFALL 2011

This fall, we are pleased to present a series of dynamic alumni speakers who will share their experience and professional insights with students and fellow alumni.

Please check our website for complete details on this exciting program:www.degroote.mcmaster.ca/ alumni/events.html

Cup o’ Joe with Alumni FALL 2011

There are various opportunities throughout the fall for DeGroote alumni to come and speak to current MBA students in an informal setting. Enjoy a light breakfast and a cup o’ joe!


4 DeGroote School of Business Alumni Report - Fall ‘11

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Dean on Deck

One year at the RJCOne year ago this month, the DeGroote

School of Business’ Ron Joyce Centre

opened its doors. The RJC, as it quickly

became known, is McMaster’s bold-

est move to expand its campus outside

of Hamilton. Located in Burlington on

South Service Road, the RJC is home to

DeGroote’s MBA and executive education

programs.

Approximately 440 students made up

the 2010-11 MBA class spread across the

co-op, full-time, accelerated and part-

time streams. We’re on track to exceed

that number this year with an anticipated

enrolment of approximately 470 MBA

students. Back on the main campus, we’re

also welcoming a near record number of

first year students to the undergraduate

commerce program.

Executive education is a major focus of

the Ron Joyce Centre, which allows us to

expand our programs and provide a wide

variety of education opportunities to busi-

ness clients in the Greater Toronto Area

and Golden Horseshoe.

Between September 2010 and the end

of June 2011, more than 440 executives

participated in open enrolment and cus-

tom executive education programs offered

at the RJC.

One of our most popular offerings

in our new suite of programs was the

five-day Executive Management Program

which focuses on accounting, leader-

ship, crisis communications, new product

development and strategic planning. The

Executive Management Program will be

offered again in October.

This fall we have a large number of

executive programs running – 15 at last

count – including 10 newly developed

courses. Each program is designed to fit

with the working professional’s lifestyle

and to provide immediate impact in their

day-to-day business life. Visit our web

site to learn more and to enroll in one of

our programs.

One of our goals with RJC is for the

facility and its programs to form a hub for

academic and economic collaboration in

Burlington and the Halton Region. One

year into operation, I am pleased to say

we’re well on our way to achieving that

goal.

The Burlington and Halton communities

have been engaged in DeGroote’s expan-

sion from the very start, as advocates and

funders during the early stages and now

as some of the biggest users of the build-

ing and its services. Local government,

businesses and community organizations

have also warmly welcomed McMaster to

Burlington.

Events hosted at the RJC include Burl-

ington’s Sound of Music Festival Line-up

Release Party, custom training programs

for Burlington and Halton staff, a two-day

conference for firefighters, and public

lectures through Burlington Mayor Rick

Goldring’s Inspire Burlington lecture

series. Beyond the building, there is also

immense support for our students with

many organizations funding scholarships

and recruiting Co-op students and gradu-

ates.

The Ron Joyce Centre is a space to

inspire community, collaboration and pas-

sion for learning. While we have enjoyed

great success in our first year, there is

always room to expand, develop and

improve. I invite the alumni and business

communities to share in our continuous

journey for excellence at the RJC.

Visit www.degroote.mcmaster.ca/rjc/ to

learn more about the RJC and its programs

and how you can be a part of this exciting

time in DeGroote’s history.

Mike Lalich

Bob McNutt, interim dean at the DeGroote School of Business, reflects on one year at the RJC.

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DeGroote News


Social mediaDo you have an account on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter?

So does the DeGroote School of Business! Join the con-

versation and stay engaged with the DeGroote community.

Share your experiences and network with other alumni.

Stay up-to-date on DeGroote news and events.

■ Become a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/degrootebiz

■ Join the official LinkedIn group at www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=44151

■ Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/degrootebiz

Connect with DeGroote and each other today.

“The board should have been on high alert. It should have had a red flag up there…they have

laid out the rules of conduct that they expect of all of their members, certainly staff.”

Chris Bart, discussing corporate governance of the IMF in The Toronto Star

“The market must be expecting a huge growth in revenue and profit to justify that level of market cap,

especially since the company is not expected to show a profit again for at least several quarters.”

Michael Carnegie, discussing LinkedIn’s IPO in The Globe and Mail

“Patients aren’t good at regulating their use of the healthcare system and a physician gets paid every time a patient comes in…So you have rampant growth in the use of physician services.”

Christopher Longo, discussing healthcare in The National Post

“It sends a signal to the rest of the world that Canada is pushing the envelope. For companies, there are real outcomes from these work-family measures, most notably recruitment and reduction of voluntary turnover and workplace discontent.”

Nick Bontis, discussing Quebec’s Work-Family Balance accreditation system in The Globe and Mail

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Suzanne Labarge, a distinguished graduate of McMaster University, received an honorary degree at convocation from the DeGroote School of Business in June. Labarge is now retired after a successful career in senior executive positions at the federal government and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). She currently serves on the Board of Gover-nors for McMaster.

FBC Soccer TeamBecoming a part of the Burlington community is some-thing that students at the Ron Joyce Centre feel passion-ately about. So much so, that Focus Business Consulting sponsored and coached a soccer team from the Burlington Youth Soccer Club this summer. The team was made up of 15 boys in the Under 14 age group. FBC is an MBA student-run consulting firm that operates in partnership with the DeGroote School of Business to offer consulting service solutions to companies of all sizes.

RJC Food DriveThe students, staff and faculty at the Ron Joyce Centre held a food drive in partner-ship with the United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton from May 16 to June 2 to give back to the Burlington community by raising awareness of youth hunger in the area. The collected food items were donated to Halton Food For Thought, a United Way agency that provides nutrition pro-grams for youth.

Doors Open BurlingtonMore than 160 people visited the Ron Joyce Centre on June 11 and 12 as part of Doors Open Burlington. Visitors were very impressed with the facility with many positive comments about the spacious rooms and

quality of the space.

Top 40 Under 40Commerce graduate Naman Budhdeo ‘96 was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, an award celebrating the accomplishments of excep-tional young Canadians. Budhdeo started FlightNetwork.com, an online travel agency in 2005. The company has grown from a single part-time employee at its creation, to 260 employees. It has now become the second largest online travel agency in Canada, with five per cent of the market share. Budhdeo also created a software company, FareMatrix, and lead generating another company called Booking Navigator.

■ Become a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/degrootebiz

■ Join the official LinkedIn group at www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=44151

■ Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/degrootebiz

Connect with DeGroote and each other today.


DeGroote News

“I obviously think very highly of the school. I think it is really underrecognized on Bay Street for the quality of people it produces.”

Adam Felesky ’99, discussing his donation to DeGroote in The Hamilton Spectator

“Successful businesses have an obligation to give back to the communities that supported their profitable growth – to balance the life cycle of needs for both them and their community.”

Murray Hogarth, discussing his donation to DeGroote in The Hamilton Spectator

“The great thing is that team reps can come in here, see what’s available and we can show them the quality and reinforce that it’s made locally. Some people are surprised by that.”

Ben Van Mierlo ‘10, discussing Niko Apparel’s Team Headquarters owned by Joe Camillo ‘87 in The Hamilton Spectator

“It’s enough to pay for all the orphan drugs for all the rare diseases that we currently deny people in this

province. That’s service. That’s front-line provision of care. When you put it into that sort of context, I don’t

see any value whatsoever having LHINs in place.”

Wayne Taylor, discussing spending on Ontario’s Local Health Integration Networks in The Hamilton Spectator

“We are grateful to Adam Felesky for helping to lead this wonderful gift to McMaster. He is someone

who has had great personal and professional success and we are very proud of him.”

Patrick Deane, discussing the donation to DeGroote by Adam Felesky ‘99 and Horizons Exchange

Traded Funds in The Hamilton Spectator

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DeGroote alumni recruiters for fall 2011 Co-op work term

The Centre for Business Career Development appreciates the continuing partnership support received from our DeGroote alumni. We wish to recognize the following alumni who returned to recruit our MBA Co-op students for the fall 2011 Work Term:

Mo Bhamani ‘06, KPMG

Mark Bleiwas ‘01, CresaPartners

Todd Brien ‘05, ArcelorMittal Dofasco

Laura Cherubin ’01, FedEx

Aman Dhaliwal, ’07, Hamilton Health Sciences

Lori Franze ‘00, Rosetta

Mike Heenan ’08, Credit Valley Hospital

Brian Herechuk, ’09, St. Joseph’s Hamilton Health Care

Deanna Heroux, ’04, KPMG

Melissa Jacobson Graham ‘97, Becton Dickinson Canada

Beena Mistry ’04, Hoffmann-La Roche

Doug Murray ‘92, William Osler Health System

Kristen Moore Petten ‘03, ArcelorMittal Dofasco

Nadia Sartor, ’04, Eli Lilly

Neil Shah ‘07, St. Michael’s Hospital

Scott Sherwood ‘10, Teva Canada

yvonne Sinniah ‘05, Central West LHIN

David Stolte, ’92, York Central Hospital

Jason Weshler ‘06, Siemens

Tom Lumley ‘00, Ontario Power Generation

Gia Marasco ‘05, William Osler

We are also proud to announce these companies as new employer partners with DeGroote:

Innovation Factory, Rosetta, Simply Good Technologies*NOTE: This list is not all-inclusive as recruitment for the fall 2011 work

term will continue until early September.

It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in DeGroote’s 2011/2012 fall on-campus recruitment (OCR) programs. This is an excellent opportunity for your company to recruit the most skilled and qualified MBA Co-op candidates, as well as DeGroote business students for your full-time graduate and summer op-portunities.

At DeGroote’s Centre for Business Career Development (CBCD), we are readily available to support your recruiting initiatives, with students available to meet your short and long-term employ-ment needs. With offices at each of the Hamilton and Burlington campuses, our teams will endorse your industry specific requests and ensure that your job posting and interview process are man-aged seamlessly.

Our services are offered cost-free and can include:•Recruitment planning with a Relationship Manager•Posting your position on McMaster’s online job posting system

(OSCARplus)•Hosting on-campus interviews, including lunch and refreshments•Support for on-campus recruitment events

Our OCR process is committed to developing strategic partner-ships by meeting your specific recruitment needs on several levels. To learn more about our fall recruitment programs, or for more information about how CBCD can support your organiza-tion, visit us online today! http://www.degroote.mcmaster.ca/recruit/grad_summer.html

To submit an employment opportunity for fall recruitment, please email your job-posting to:[email protected] – MBA Co-op [email protected] – Graduate & Summer Recruitment

Recruit @ DeGroote: Post your MBA Co-op and Grad/Summer roles now!

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Main Story


Raising the Village

Claudia Hung


Shawn Cheung ‘05, Executive Director of

Raising the Village, believes that it takes a

village to raise a child. A graduate of the

DeGroote School of Business commerce

program in 2005, Cheung founded Rais-

ing the Village, a Canadian charity focused

on alleviating poverty in rural and hard to

reach places in Uganda.

After hitch-hiking across Africa, Cheung

came back to Canada realizing that people

were living in extreme poverty without

access to the resources that could help

them realize their potential. Cheung saw

that along with the pride and dignity of

the rural villages he visited, there was a

deep desire to learn. The people he met

didn’t want to be saved, they wanted to be

educated.

Cheung returned to Canada on a mission

to research the best way to provide these

communities with sustainable solutions to

the problems they were facing. Cheung

called upon professors from his time at

McMaster University to help him create his

charity’s approach.

“What is unique about McMaster Univer-

sity is its doors open policy. After coming

back from Uganda and seeing the need and

recognizing that I needed to do something,

I approached several professors to help

me. Their advice and time was priceless to

the structure and planning of Raising the

Village,” says Cheung.

After three years of research, strategic

modelling, design, and considerations, Rais-

ing the Village became a registered charity

in 2009. What sets Raising the Village apart

from other organizations is their mandate

to support the development of sustainable

communities by empowering the commu-

nity itself through education beyond the

four walls of the classroom.

The World Bank estimates that there are

1.4 billion people living in extreme poverty

in households earning less than $1.25 US

per day. The burden of extreme poverty

is a reality for many people in Sub Saha-

ran Africa including many people living in

Uganda. Uganda has a population of 31.7

million people, with 17.7 million under the

age of 18. Combined with high levels of

poverty and illiteracy, Raising the Village is

working with some communities where the

average household income is as little as 10

cents a day.

Cheung has heard the overwhelming po-

sition of people in Raising the Village com-

munities: “We are willing and able; show

us how to do it.” Raising the Village works

to lift the human spirit, overcome poverty,

and nurture growth by empowering people

By Leah Rosenthal ‘07

“We go into these remote villages and we change their lives. We change the day-to-day focus of pure survival into a

sustainable community. My greatest accomplishment? Hope. These people began to dream - and dream big- for the first time.”

– Shawn Cheung

Brendan Maynard

Claudia Hung

Claudia Hung

Developing a sustainable water supply.

Building sustainable housing.


with education. The charity aims to de-

velop truly sustainable local solutions – one

community at a time.

“I never imagined that we’d be dealing

with the challenges and needs which arise.

We’re appreciative of the support of the

government, the leaders and the communi-

ty members themselves. This collaborative

effort is what truly drives change in these

villages to occur,” says Cheung.

The need for sustainable education is

a challenge that Raising the Village faces

head on. Since 2009, Raising the Village has

been working together with six extremely

poor and remote villages in Uganda.

Communities such as Kanga, where the

average income is between 15 and 25 cents

per day, didn’t believe it was financially

feasible to educate its children. When

Raising the Village first arrived in Kanga,

the community had a population of 3,000

and a landscape primarily made up of rain

forest. The village was isolated, with roads

washed out for months during the rainy

season, limited infrastructure and access to

clean drinking water.

Since partnering with Raising the Village,

Kanga has developed a community owned

self-sustainable school house, with several

classrooms to provide subsidized and free

primary education to approximately 200

students. This community is committed to

participating in the self-sustainable agricul-

tural program, to raise and harvest crops

to provide a free meal lunch program and

to sell the remaining crops, with revenue

to cover teacher salaries, school supplies

and fees. Within the first six months it has

provided over 60,000 free school meals, not

including second and third helpings.

Cheung’s greatest accomplishment is to

bring hope to places like Kanga. “We go

into these remote villages and we change

their lives. We change the day-to-day focus

of pure survival into a sustainable commu-

nity. My greatest accomplishment? Hope.

These people began to dream – and dream

big – for the first time.”

Special thanks to Catriel Silver ’05

for recommending Shawn Cheung

and his work. Please email Leah Rosenthal

[email protected] if you have

suggestions for our next issue.

Claudia Hung

Claudia HungClaudia Hung

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Children taking in a daily lesson in a newly constructed classroom.

Students are ready to learn.

Self-sustainable agricultural programs are adopted by the villages.

Alumni Profile


Sapphire. Amethyst. Gold. Silver. Diamond.

The downtown is really starting to sparkle.

Maja Prvanovic-Kogut ‘02 hopes she

has added a gem to downtown Hamilton

after moving her family jewellery business,

Zoran Designs, from Westdale to the city’s

core.

“Right now I’m battling against the stigma

surrounding the area, but I can see the

potential for making this a beautiful down-

town,” says Prvanovic-Kogut, owner of

the store. “I’m relying on that feeling, that

vibe, that this is going to be a great place.

But I am a business grad after all; I did my

research and this is a prime location.”

Prvanovic-Kogut completed her under-

graduate degree in commerce in 2002 at

the DeGroote School of Business, special-

izing in marketing. “It provided me with an

artistic outlet and created an opportunity

for flexibility in my career choice – I could

stay with my family business, or move on to

something else.”

Her father, Zoran Prvanovic started the

business after immigrating to Canada from

Serbia. He began designing jewellery and

selling his creations at festivals and art

shows, and eventually opened his first store

in 1997 in Westdale.

Prvanovic-Kogut helped out in the store

throughout her undergraduate education.

Unsure of what she wanted to do after

graduation, she decided to work in the

store for a year. After the year was up,

Prvanovic-Kogut knew she wanted stay

with the family business.

“One of the benefits of having a local

family operate this business is that we have

a personal connection with customers. We

go through milestones with them – gradua-

tions, weddings, anniversaries, new babies.”

Since her parents are reaching retirement

age, Prvanovic-Kogut has taken over the

store officially. “They’ve put their whole

lives into this store and it’s time for them to

be able to relax. I can do this,” she says. “I

never do anything unless I’m going to do it

right.”

She has been keeping up the tradition

her parents established of offering unique,

custom made jewellery and quality custom-

er service. But she is also making the busi-

ness her own with a modern store design

and a fresh location.

“The amazing thing about this family

business is that it went from a booth, to

a store, and now to an even better store,”

says Prvanovic-Kogut. “My aim is to con-

tinue improving. I just want to get better

and better and moving downtown is the

next step.”

Prvanovic-Kogut knows she is taking a

risk, but sees promise in the new location.

She hopes that the move will make Zoran

Designs one of the businesses that people

associate with the downtown.

“It is turning into a centre for arts and

culture and I am excited about investing in

that,” says Prvanovic-Kogut. “The down-

town is the heart and soul of Hamilton.”

Zoran Designs is located at 285 King

Street East, Hamilton, across from

Denninger’s.

By Victoria Coates

A diamond in the rough

Leah Rosenthal

Students are ready to learn.

Self-sustainable agricultural programs are adopted by the villages.

Alumni Profile

From working the night shift at Walmart

when he and his young family first im-

migrated to Canada, to heading up energy

projects in Suncor, Canada’s largest inte-

grated oil and gas producer, Chitram

Lutchman is living the Canadian dream.

The road to success started back in 2000,

when Lutchman graduated with an MBA

from the DeGroote School of Business.

A then shift employee of Petro-Canada

Oakville Refinery in a single income home,

Lutchman worked 40 hours over weekends

so that he could attend classes on a near

full-time basis to complete his MBA as

quickly as possible, while he continued to

provide for his family.

He graduated on the dean’s honour list

one semester after full-time students. Since

graduating from DeGroote, Lutchman has

completed a doctoral degree in business

administration, obtained both Canadian

Registered Safety Processional (CRSP) and

Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designa-

tions.

“Education is invaluable. It opens doors

for you. But the rest is up to you and

depends on what you can deliver. My time

at the DeGroote School of Business helped

give me the tools but it was up to me to go

out and use the tools,” says Lutchman.

Lutchman used his knowledge from his

home country of Trinidad and Tobago and

his MBA education to quickly become an

experienced professional with extensive

frontline and leadership experience in the

energy industry. As his career evolved, and

reflecting on a disability sustained much

earlier in his career from an industrial work

accident, Lutchman developed a passion

for improving health and safety in the

workplace and this is the area where he

currently focuses his attention.

With international oil and gas experi-

ence, Lutchman has experienced the

extremes of organizational health and

safety practices. As an employee of Suncor

Energy Inc., Canada’s largest oil and gas

producer, he pioneered work within his

organization aimed at improving contractor

health and safety management.

“Oil and gas is a high risk industry

with many of the projects and tasks being

completed by separate contractors. With

75 per cent of work place injuries happen-

ing to the contracted workforce, I have

been tasked with figuring out a strategy

and practical solution to protect this valued

asset,” says Lutchman. “No one should

be hurt at work. And with the support of

my employer, I am committed to finding

solutions that help prevent work place ac-

cidents.”

Lutchman recently published his first

book in 2010 – Project Execution: A practi-

cal approach to industrial and commercial

project management, which summarizes

his knowledge in planning, leadership and

health and safety. Lutchman is also the

principal author of a new book titled Safety

Management: A comprehensive approach

to developing a sustainable system, to be

released later this year.

With his training, skills and experience in

business, safety and technical operations,

Lutchman is among a selected few glob-

ally qualified professionals capable of tying

these three disciplines together.

Lutchman was awarded one of McMas-

ter’s most distinguished awards, the Arch

Award, this past April. The Arch Award

recognizes McMaster’s graduates for their

unique and interesting contributions to so-

ciety, their local community, and to McMas-

ter University. “The Arch Award opened my

eyes to the efforts of my past and the direct

way of helping society by giving back,”

said Lutchman. “I am so honoured to be

recognized but it is recognition for my

family, immediate and extended, as well. I

wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the

love, support and sacrifices of my wife and

children.”


From Walmart to Suncor, a tale of living the Canadian dream


PhD Profile


Extensive researching, late nights reading,

and the endless analysis of data. Complet-

ing a PhD is no easy task, but for those

who love to learn it is invaluable.

DeGroote’s PhD program in business ad-

ministration offers students the opportunity

to study and conduct leading-edge research

with some of the top researchers in their

fields. The program allows students to gain

a world-class education that develops the

expertise needed to make a significant im-

pact on the business world through original

research. For recent graduates Christa

wilkin ‘11 (nee Austin) and Nicole

wagner ’11, the PhD program was all that

they hoped for and more.

After taking some courses at DeGroote

during an interdisciplinary masters program

in Labour Studies, Wilkin was drawn to

pursue a PhD at DeGroote in the human

resources stream.

“There is a lot of great research happen-

ing at DeGroote and I just basically wanted

to be a part of it,” says Wilkin.

She successfully defended her thesis

on people who feel they have been paid

unfairly. She concentrated on the emotions

impacting these people, particularly envy,

and the resulting counterproductive behav-

iours they engage in, such as theft. Wilkin

also examined how individual factors

such as personality can reduce theft in the

workplace. Her thesis was supported with

a competitive $40,000 national scholarship

from the Social Sciences and Humanities

Research Council (SSHRC).

“It’s been a really great experience, and

I’m kind of sad that it is over, but excited

for the bigger and better opportunities that

are to come,” says Wilkin of her time at

DeGroote.

These new opportunities are already ma-

terializing for Wilkin who has accepted a

tenure track teaching position at California

State University. This job will allow her to

teach and continue her research on fairness

in the workplace, as well as study non-

standard workers and how their attitudes

and behaviours might be different from

those of permanent workers.

“It’s an aspiration that I’ve had since

coming into this program. It’s been my

end goal to have this tenure track position,”

says Wilkin.

Wagner achieved her PhD in Information

Systems. She investigated the differences

experienced by older and younger users

of a website, exploring their ability to de-

velop a mental model of the website, their

performance, and their feelings toward the

website.

Aside from her research and the theoreti-

cal knowledge she gained, Wagner, a busy

mom throughout her PhD, notes that there

is a lot more to be learned in the program.

“What I learned in the PhD program at

DeGroote was not just the content of what

I studied. It’s not just about the classes,

or just about the research. I learned a

lot about people and different types of

work environments. I learned about be-

ing accountable for myself and being self

guided,” says Wagner.

What’s next for Wagner? She has a

postdoctoral research position with

campus-wide libraries at McMaster. Wagner

is currently holding focus groups with dif-

ferent users of the library website to help

the library redesign their website to make it

more user-friendly.

By Victoria Coates

The pursuit of academia

Victoria Coates

Alum

ni R

epor

t •

Fall

2011


Research@DeGroote

What is the last thing you touch before

you go to bed? Ever feel your phone vibrate

in your pocket when it isn’t even in there?

You’re not alone. Recent research by Nick

Bontis, associate professor of strategy, has

shown tangible results for those who rely on

smartphones and suffer from uber-connec-

tivity.

Bontis received his first Social Sciences

and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

grant ten years ago. After receiving three

more, Bontis began research with two

DeGroote PhD graduates, Ofir Turel (PhD

’07) and Alexander Serenko (PhD ’05) on

a research study that focused on family and

work-related consequences of addiction to

work-related technology.

The results were published in 2011 in the

Information & Management Journal. Bontis

and his colleagues focused on 241 organiza-

tional mobile email users and studied their

levels of addiction, work overload, reliance

on technology and work-family conflict.

The research team found that addiction to

mobile devices related to increased family

conflict and work overload. In simple terms,

excessive use of one’s smartphone led to

feeling overwhelmed at work and tension

within one’s family life. This ultimately

results in a decrease of commitment to one’s

organization and higher levels of work-family

conflict.

“There are real economic and social impli-

cations to crackberry addiction. The average

Canadian smartphone user is receiving 84

emails every twenty-four hours and checking

them at night, on weekends and on vaca-

tion. Even though the numbers are alarming,

the evidence is all around us,” says Bon-

tis. “This study provided a natural bridge

between academic research and practical

implications. We all need to learn how to

work smarter, not harder.”

As an extension of his research activities,

Bontis launched his new book, Informa-

tion Bombardment: Rising above the digital

onslaught in April 2011. “The big problem

is that most of us have no idea how to filter,

organize and prioritize all the information we

receive,” says Bontis. “My BlackBerry was

supposed to allow me constant access and

connectivity in order to be more productive.

Ultimately, it has led to more stress, sleepless

nights, and phantom vibrations.”

Mobile digital devices have crossed all

boundaries of our lives, and some of us can’t

live without them. While we suffer from

the dangers of addiction, work overload,

and stress, we must never forget that oth-

ers around us (like our children) suffer as

well. Bontis and his colleagues have rung

the alarm on the dangers of these pervasive

technologies.

This particular research program originally

started with a SSHRC grant that was applied

for a decade earlier. The funding supported

data collection, doctoral students, a working

paper, a conference presentation, a peer-

reviewed publication and a series of outreach

presentations that the public benefits from.

That this cycle of research has culminated in

a new book for the general public is particu-

larly rewarding for Bontis. The book clearly

illustrates the impacts on society at large and

offers tangible tips to users of digital devices.

Information BombardmentFOur ways tO wOrk smarter, nOt harder

1) use rule wizardsWhether you use Gmail, Hotmail or Out-look, use e-mail rule wizards to gain greater control over the daily deluge of informa-tion. By implementing some of the inher-ent sorting and classification tools of these programs, information can be more easily organized and managed.

2) exit InterviewsUnder the umbrella of succession planning, significant amounts of intellectual capital can be either gained or lost depending on how well an organization manages its human capital. Institutionalized exit inter-views are critical in coding and quantify-ing what employees know before its gone forever.

3) Benchmarking & metricsRemember: if it is not measured, it can’t be managed. For example, calculate the full amount of dollars spent on training and de-velopment in your organization and divide it by the number of full-time-equivalents (headcount). Then benchmark your $T&D/FTE metric year-over-year and against other competitors.

4) alumni networksSetup an alumni network of former employ-ees who have since retired from your orga-nization. Their insight offers a tremendous opportunity to gather and harvest historical intellectual capital.

Nick Bontis

Nick Bontis is a 3M National teaching fel-low and an award-winning professor of strategy. His Bontis on Business news-paper column appears Saturdays in The Hamilton Spectator and Bontis on Business TV segment appears Fridays on CHCH television at 6pm.Information Bombardment: Rising above the digital onslaught is available for purchase in print and e-book formats at www.InformationBombardment.com



Alumni matter. Maintaining the connection

with the people and the school can be a

critical tool to enhance both your personal

brand and your school’s reputation. It’s

win-win for everyone. So why let the con-

nections dissipate, especially in the age of

social networking, which should make it so

much easier?

My favourite MBA instructor, Jim Letwin,

told me to always promote the school and

the brand. It’s normal to have some com-

plaints about any school, but it’s essential

to speak positively about your experiences

and remain engaged. He mentioned that

York University’s poor reputation 20 years

ago greatly improved through alumni en-

gagement.

Everything I did while at DeGroote was

about trying to improve our reputation. In

1999, our school never went to the MBA

Games or case competitions. As presi-

dent of the MBA Association, I thought we

should go, then win and then host. We

made that happen then and DeGroote still

does today.

People ask me what I think about the

Co-op MBA. I tell them all the amaz-

ing things our school did, as well as my

personal experiences and what I got out of

them. As alumni, we should promote our

school through events, actions and words.

By giving back, you improve the De-

Groote brand for both future and past

students. Remember that this is the school

that will always be on your resume.

Today, I donate my time to engage

others. I come back to McMaster to de-

liver presentations, give advice and help

students network. I always make myself

accessible, on and off campus. Anything

I can do to make them successful leaders

will reflect back on us all.

You too can engage by hiring DeGroote

students as Co-op or full-time hires. You

can join us for the golf tourneys, alumni

events and reunions. While donations are a

great way to invest in the School, there are

many other ways for you to give back.

Just take the first step - make the call and

give your time. Be an engaged alumnus or

alumna and build up your personal leader-

ship brand, as well as DeGroote, McMaster

and your fellow alumni.

Bobby Umar ‘02 is president of Raeallan,

a training and speaking company, and

delivers keynotes on leadership, branding,

and connection. Bobby is a TEDx speaker, a

DeGroote executive education instructor, a

comedic actor, and a proud new dad.

Web: www.raeallan.com

Twitter: @raehanbobby

FB fan page: http://dld.bz/Rjyu

TEDx talk: http://youtu.be/piKHZWhzTYU

Engage and enhance the brand for everyone

Alumni ColumnKaren N

ewm

an

Karen New

man

Members of Bobby’s 2002 class gathered at the RJC on Alumni Weekend in June to tour the new facility, reconnect with each other and enjoy a reception and dinner.

By Bobby Umar

Great Organizations are Built Through Great Leadership

As Global Head of Human Resources, Tax & Global

Resourcing at KPMG, Alim Dhanji, SHRP, is leading

a cohesive world-wide transformational strategy

enabling KPMG member fi rms to recruit over 250,000

partners and professionals for Audit, Tax and Advisory

functions across 150 countries over the next fi ve years.

Increasing globalization means our fi rms’ clients place

ever more emphasis on high caliber people with a

global mindset. This, combined with KPMG’s growth

plans, call for aggressive recruitment plans. Dhanji’s

strategy helps achieve this through innovative cross-

border sourcing programs and international mobility

initiatives such as Tax Trek, which provides some

200 tax professionals annually with an international

assignment to develop global skills.

These are results that set him apart as a

Senior Human Resources Professional (SHRP)—

a senior HR designation for proven, high-impact

leaders.

Alim Dhanji

The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) is Canada’s HR thought leader with more than 19,000 members in 28 chapters across Ontario. It connects its membership to an unmatched range of HR information resources, events, professional development and networking opportunities and annually hosts the world’s second largest HR conference. In Ontario, HRPA issues the Certifi ed Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation, the national standard for excellence in human resources management and the Senior Human Resources Professional (SHRP) designation, reserved for high-impact HR leaders. www.hrpa.ca

www.hrpa.ca/shrpFind out if you have what it takes to be an SHRP:

FILE NAME: 11_SHRP_AlimDhanji_DeGroote PUBLICATION: DeGroote PUBLICATION DATE: September 11

DIMENSIONS: 8.5x 11 BLEED: 0.125 CREATION DATE: July 31. 2011 AUTHOR: Jill Holmberg

Documents

DeGroote Alumni Report - Fall 2011