He took the plan, handwritten on scrap paper and stapled together with the cover page boasting “INTUITION PAY MASTER BLUEPRINT,” to the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, housed at the Asper School of Business, working with the team to prepare his idea for the annual competition.

“This really is the manuscript and shows how the company was built on a piece of paper before I did anything else. At the beginning, it was kind of like a journal, where you’re putting ideas on the blank page and letting it grow, thinking ‘how will I address this?’ ‘but, what about that?’”

Mutamangira’s company is still called InTuition Pay, an online platform that helps international students pay tuition fees instantaneously by making local banks and Canadian universities more interoperable. In short, InTuition Pay allows students to pay their tuition fees using local currency, avoiding costly transfer, conversion or late fees.

The idea is informed by Mutamangira’s personal experience as an international student from Zimbabwe.

“I have seen how my community faces challenges accessing finances from back home. Moving money from the global south is slow and expensive, averaging 13% per transaction, and the consequences of not being able to pay tuition on time are dire: international students risk delays in their studies or even deportation if they are unable to enroll in classes,” he explains.

“I saw anxiety and depression skyrocket among international students across Canada due to these concerns, and I decided to build a solution that would ensure a smooth academic transition for new students and eventually all newcomers.”

Debra Jonasson-Young (I.H. Asper Executive Director of Entrepreneurship) and Tinashe Mutamangira at the 2023 Stu Clark New Venture Championships. Photo by Tony Nardella

Mutamangira spent twelve months preparing for the New Venture Championships and placed fourth in the undergraduate business plan category. In the year since, he has leveraged the connections and insights of his competition experience and been accepted into multiple accelerators across Canada.

When the production crew of Dragon’s Den Season 19 came to Winnipeg, he knew it was time to audition (once more). Despite not making it through the first time he auditioned in 2022, he had more confidence, more experience and an ever-determined entrepreneurial mindset.

“The Stu Clark Centre created an atmosphere that allowed me to develop my plan until I was confident enough to express myself and my thoughts. They nurtured the idea from inception, and it’s those roots that still hold the foundation of the company together.” He adds, “entrepreneurship is all about perseverance. If you are trying, you will eventually find success.”

In many ways, Mutamangira’s story reflects what a platform like InTuition Pay can make possible. Since arriving at UM, he has spread his studies and electives across three different disciplines: engineering, actuarial science and economics. He didn’t declare a major until his final year and plans to graduate in Winter 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in economics and completing a minor in management from the Asper School of Business.

In other words, he took his time, focused on learning and pursued the many experiential learning opportunities available to UM students. He felt nervous about participating in a prestigious pitch competition, not about ensuring that he could access his hard-earned money on time.

An app like InTuition Pay is designed to help international students make the most of their university experience by reducing financial barriers and bridging the gap in payment infrastructure between universities and financial institutions.

He can’t yet share the results of his Dragon’s Den experience, and interested readers will have to tune in to see if his story makes it into an episode—whatever happens, he is, at the end of the day, an entrepreneur undeterred by having to try again.

“For me,” he says, “an entrepreneur is a person who is willing to fail but not willing to give up.”

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Learn more about how the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Asper School of Business supports UM student entrepreneurs like Tinashe Mutamangira.

Be sure to tune in for Dragon’s Den Season 19 to cheer on Mutamangia and Asper alum Cheryl Zealand this fall on CBC.

Suddenly the outcome of Cheryl Zealand’s [BComm(Hons)/99] Dragons’ Den Season 19 audition was only a bonus.

Zealand, who graduated from the Asper School of Business in 1999, is the founder and CEO of Cranked Energy Bars, a product which was granted the ‘simple, but magical’ description by a CBC producer during Zealand’s first round of her fourth audition for the show.

“When I heard that, I thought, I can walk out of here right now. It was a win for me either way, and everything after that was going to be a bonus. Entrepreneurship teaches you that not everyone is going to love your product, but then there are those moments when someone tries it and says something like that.”

Zealand has always focused on creating an exceptional product that people love enough that they just have to tell someone about it, and she hasn’t been afraid to take her time in this goal.

A CPA by trade, she started Cranked in 2014, balancing contract work as a facilitator for CPA courses and raising her three boys with her husband (also an Asper alum!). Her career began right out of the Asper School of Business with a role at KPMG, but as her life changed shape, she felt her work needed to as well.

She decided to pursue Cranked full-time in 2018 and has been seeing steady growth since including a recent call-back to film for Dragons’ Den Season 19. The fourth try was a charm, she explains, because she was serious, and she was ready.

“I had to be at work that day, so I ran into the audition twenty minutes before closing with some bars and a cooler. I didn’t have a prepared pitch. Honestly, I went in there and said,

‘It’s been ten years. We’ve grown from this to this. I have a facility, capital equipment, staffing. We’re in 200 retailers. We’re trademarked in Canada and the US. I’ve done all of this on my own, and we are ready for a partner.’”

Zealand’s pitch, it turns out, wasn’t prepared, but it was lived in. And it worked. She flew to Toronto with her family to shoot with the Dragons at CBC Studios on Mother’s Day. While she can’t yet share the outcome of her seven tv-minutes (about 60 real minutes) in the den, she is confident that Cranked Energy Bars will continue to do what it has always done best: to grow, persistently but patiently, led by a product with a bit of magic.

“When I started Cranked at 40, I knew the product had to be better than anything else on the market, plain and simple, and not just the product but the customer service that we offer, my commitment to my community. All that stuff takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

It’s not yet clear if Dragons eat Cranked Energy Bars. Viewers will have to tune in to Dragons’ Den Season 19 and look out for Cheryl Zealand to find out. “All I can say,” says Zealand, “is that it is nothing that I expected, but everything I needed.”

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Cheryl Zealand has stayed connected to the Asper School of Business as a guest speaker and has helped faculty develop case studies based on Cranked Energy Bars. While she shares plenty of great advice with students, she always hopes to communicate the value of education and applicability of the CPA track.

“I think the Asper School of Business really trains you to be able to take on various roles and provides such a strong skillset as a basis. I also want more students to know how adaptable the CPA track is and how well it pairs with entrepreneurship,” she says.

The Asper School of Business holds accreditation from CPA Canada that allows BComm students to enter directly into its Professional Education Program. Learn more here. 

Beyond Profit: Seeking Sustainability, a short documentary film directed by Ridley, had its Winnipeg premiere on June 12, 2024. Featuring an introduction from the film’s executive producer, Bruno Dyck (Norman Frohlich Professorship in Business Sustainability at the Asper School of Business) and a fireside chat moderated by Asper MBA alum, instructor and producer Rohan Shanker [MBA/23], the premiere welcomed community members, local business owners, students and faculty to connect over their passion for sustainable business.

Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company co-founder Tabitha Langel, Long Way Homestead co-owner Anna Hunter and BUILD Inc. director Sean Hogan (each featured in the film), answered audience questions after the screening, reflecting on the power of storytelling, their journey into sustainable business and the reasons they do things the way they do.

Production started back in 2022 when Dyck encouraged Ridley to use his background in film studies to apply for a UM Undergraduate Research Award project, spotlighting local firms classified as SET (Social & Ecological Thought) businesses.

While minoring in management during completion of his BA, Ridley was inspired to pursue his BComm, drawn to the business of media. With a major in accounting, he plans to achieve his CPA designation after completing his BComm.

Ridley is also currently conducting research with Mingzhi Liu (Associate Professor in Accounting & Finance) developing pro forma financial statements for the newest course on business sustainability.

“Ultimately, I’m excited to contribute to the standards behind sustainability and ESG reporting,” he says. “One of the central ideas of the film is that we need to reconsider net income as being the sole measure for business excellence. We cannot afford to continue business practices that pollute and damage our own backyards for the sake of a share price.”

Dyck, with Asper colleagues and Associates Fellows Sean Buchanan, Chi Liao, Rajesh Manchanda and Kelsey Taylor, leads a SSHRC-funded research project, interviewing and studying SET firms across Canada. Asper alum, instructor and producer of the film, Savanna Vagianos [BComm(Hons)/19, MSc/22] has worked on this project as a research assistant since 2019, completing firm interviews and data collection. Her rapport with the firms made her a perfect fit for the film’s growing team.

In her view, the film’s Asper School of Business connections are the result of an environment where diverse students and faculty can connect over what they are passionate about, whether that’s a documentary about sustainable business or her own entrepreneurial pursuit: the Manitoba Local Business Alliance, a social enterprise that supports small local businesses and connects local business owners.

“With the premiere, I’m most excited to host an event that fosters a sense of community, bringing people who care about sustainability together to connect,” she said.

Fellow producer Shanker explains that this is the goal of the film itself. “Our purpose is to inspire others who want to pursue sustainability or who are on the fence. I think the film tells them that they are not the only ones looking to change or do something totally new,” he says.

The film makes a provocative case for rethinking the purpose of business and uses the concept of externalities to reimagine what profit, sufficiency or even a dollar really mean. “Externalities,” Dyck explains, “refer to those things a company does that are not reported in its financial statements. Some firms create positive externalities, such as providing jobs to those on the margins or using practices that regenerate the soil.”

A loaf of bread baked and sold by Tall Grass, for instance, contains about two-dollars-worth of positive externalities not found in grocery store bread because, among other things, they use local organic flour.

As Shanker notes, the numbers provide context, but it’s the stories that make an impact. The film received a Merit Award from the 2023 Canada Shorts Film Festival and was officially selected for the 2024 WILDsound Film Festival.

“The film tells human stories about real people who are doing this amazing work. That’s really what got me interested in the project,” Shanker says. “It’s been a thrilling journey to see our little film about Winnipeg-based firms go on to win accolades at Toronto- and Los Angeles-based film festivals.”

In his introduction before the screening, Dyck emphasizes this point further, taking a moment to pause and express awe of the people involved in the film, the event and the community.

It was, he explained, an evening of celebration—for everyone involved in producing the film, for the businesses interviewed and featured on screen and for “the larger community who ‘gets it’.”

“Businesses like these create the kinds of communities that we all want to be a part of,” he said. “They represent the best of us, and they bring out the best in us.”

Beyond Profit is a film about sustainability that makes you feel—it’s not the doom of complete climate cynicism, but not the bright (fleeting) assuagement of greenwashed marketing either. No, the film invites audiences to “let your heart break a little,” as BUILD Inc.’s Hogan quipped in the Q&A. It invites care because it offers community; it welcomes a little bit of fear and uncertainty because it fosters connection; and it inspires because it dares to imagine a better way forward.

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Learn more about the incredible work done by local SET businesses and hear from Asper School of Business faculty, students and alumni (and more!) by watching Beyond Profit: Seeking Sustainability here.

The PSLP welcomes students from all levels of postsecondary study and across disciplines. Participants, called PSLP Fellows, collaborate with each other, apply critical thinking and tap into their curiosity and passion to contribute solutions to complex leadership problems impacting Manitoba.  

The sixth cohort represents 22 different disciplines across four levels of postgraduate studies from the University of Manitoba, Red River College Polytechnic, University of Winnipeg, and University College of the North (Thompson).

Throughout the Core Week, PSLP Fellows meet leaders representing a number of sectors critical to Manitoba’s economic and social well being, from innovation in education and community development, to Indigenous leadership and economic growth, manufacturing, entrepreneurship and technology. Leaders discuss their most pressing challenges, opportunities and successes to help expand participants’ leadership toolkit and practice.

Along with an array of cutting-edge workshops, the Fellows learn from these inspiring senior leaders’ experience while building community and their capacity to lead in their careers in any field.

“These students have committed themselves to build on their already considerable leadership abilities through this collective learning experience over the coming nine months,” said Dr. Suzanne Gagnon, Canada Life Chair in Leadership Education at the Asper School of Business and program director. “They join more than 110 program alumni to date, and we are excited to see their future accomplishments in their careers and for our society.”

Congratulations to PSLP Cohort Six!

1. Oluwafemi Awopegba. University of Manitoba, PhD in Economics
2. Logan Basarowich. University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Commerce, Honours (International Business)
3. Madison Bonnefoy. University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Arts in Women & Gender Studies and Indigenous Studies
4. Kiera Butterfield. University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies
5. Olamide Collins-Longe. Red River College Polytechnic, Diploma in Disability & Community Support
6. Alejandra Diabb Sanchez. University of Manitoba, Master of Natural Resources Management
7. Laura Effinger. University of Manitoba, Master of Business Administration
8. Mackenzie Ferguson. University of Manitoba, Master of Science in Agricultural and Food Sciences         
9. Craig Hillier. University of Manitoba, PhD in Applied Health Sciences
10. Halem Hrizai. University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Arts in English
11. Noor Imran. University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Science in Microbiology
12. Jenel James. University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Health Sciences
13. Kelly Laybolt. University College of the North, Bachelor of Arts
14. Sahil Lekhi. University of Winnipeg, Bachelor of Business and Administration
15. Tobi Olanipekun. University of Manitoba, Master of Science in Physiology and Pathophysiology
16. Briana Oliver. University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Commerce Honours (Human Resource Mgmt)
17. Ayushi Pattharwala. University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Biosystems)
18. Tooba Razi. University of Manitoba, Medicine
19. Erin Sinclair. University of Manitoba, Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology
20. Jory Thomas. University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Environmental Design
21. Faye Vaquilar. Red River College Polytechnic, Diploma in Business Information Technology
22. Ariel Wilcox. University of Manitoba, Master of Nursing
23. Kezia Wong. University of Manitoba, Master of Arts in Psychology

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The James W. Burns Leadership Institute is housed at the Asper School of Business and was created through a visionary endowment to UM from Canada Life, IG Wealth Management, the Power Corporate of Canada as well as the Province of Manitoba.

For more information about the President’s Student Leadership Program visit: https://umanitoba.ca/faculties/management/leadership_institute/3434.html

ENGCOMM brings together students from engineering and business for a hands-on learning experience, tackling timely issues at the intersection of technology and commerce. Teams worked on three cases, from automating and monitoring aircraft repair to cleaning space debris, culminating in a final case about how drones could be used to fight wildfires in Canada.

The competition was grueling; students had six hours each for the first two cases, and an intense twelve hours to prepare their final presentation. Habiba Mahmoud, who is studying computer engineering, describes the team’s motivation amid the competition’s mounting pressure.

“We felt the responsibility of representing the Price Faculty of Engineering and Asper School of Business on an international stage. Our main goal was to showcase our faculties and university as best as we could, while focusing on personal growth and learning. Winning first place was a wonderful surprise that added to our experience. I believe our success came from this shared goal and dedication.”

As representatives of UM, the team showcased insight, talent, strategic thinking, technical savvy and exceptional presentation skills. As Marcia Friesen, P.Eng., PhD, FEC, FCAE, Dean of the Price Faculty of Engineering, notes, the team also demonstrated the longstanding legacy of this inter-faculty partnership.

“The ENGCOMM competition is a great example of collaboration across Faculties, and it is evidence of the powerful combination when business and engineering minds get together. Our team comprised of students from the Asper School of Business and the Price Faculty of Engineering who have found a lot of success in this competition over the years, and I’m very pleased to support such opportunities.”

Bruno Silvestre, PhD, Dean of the Asper School of Business, adds that the students’ win demonstrates the value of experiential learning, embraced by both faculties.

“Experiential learning opportunities prepare students for the realities of the business world—a business world that is interdisciplinary and multifaceted. We are very proud of this successful collaboration between the Asper School of Business and the Price Faculty of Engineering. Through this initiative, our students can learn by doing, test their skills across areas and get better prepared for the challenges they will face in the job market. Congratulations to Ethan, Kenny, Habiba and Mustafa for representing UM so well and earning this first-place victory!”

Kenny May, an accounting and finance major at Asper, explains how the competition enriched not just what students learn, but also how they learn. The team was coached by Nish Balakrishnan [BSc/12, MSc/15] from the Price Faculty and Bhaumik Gandhi [MBA/19] from the Asper School, and supported by Trent Vos, Judith Jayasuriya [BComm(Hons)/10, BA/12, MBA/14], Shannon Campbell, Kevin Klimchuk [BSc/23] and Adriana Ong.

“Our coaches’ feedback allowed us to put things in perspective and open our eyes to new ways of thinking. When you’re working so closely on your solution, it’s easy to take your approach for granted, but when you’re challenged to explain your thought process, you see gaps more clearly and the choices you could still make.”

Beyond rethinking their own solution, both Mahmoud and May express the value of working with students from other disciplines, from being able to balance “solutions that weren’t just technically sound, but also feasible,” as Mahmoud explains, to getting a glimpse into the student experience of another faculty, as May articulates. “I think that was a highlight for me: also seeing how our experiences of UM were similar and different,” he says.

As the students celebrate an impressive win, they can also celebrate the realization of their shared goal to represent UM well, living up to a vision of inter-faculty collaboration, interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, innovative and practical training for future careers and an investment in student success.

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ENGCOMM represents the close ties between engineering and business and reflects the reality of the business landscape today.

For students interested in learning more about the productive synergy between business and engineering, the IDEA Student Presentation featuring Gerry Price is sure to impress. A Manitoba business icon with close ties to the Asper School and namesake of the Faculty of Engineering, Price will share his career journey in an intimate, student-focused session. RSVP here to this exclusive event taking place at the Asper School of Business on May 30, 2024.

“Health equity embodies the basic principle that everyone, regardless of wealth, background, identity, sexual orientation, or circumstances, deserves the opportunity to live a healthy life in a healthy environment,” says Borce. “It requires collective effort and dedication to challenge past and present harms to create a future where equitable care is a reality.”

He began his career journey as a frontline nurse, working in critical care and seeing patients at their most vulnerable. Driven by compassion, commitment and competence in patient care, Borce never took for granted the gravity and “the privilege of caring for patients and their family members in their most vulnerable moments.”

With each shift and new assignment, he recognized how both patient and staff well-being existed in the larger system of public healthcare, and when he was offered his first leadership opportunity, he reflected on what it meant to bring his drive and compassion to a larger scale.

“I found myself drawn to the challenges and complexities of leading a publicly funded health system. As I grew in my career, my desire to affect positive change in a broader sense attracted me to more leadership positions and growth. Pursuing an Asper MBA was really a result of my desire to tackle these complexities and ultimately to get out of my comfort zone, grow and broaden my skillset.”

The Asper MBA offered Borce the tools he sought. He emphasizes how the focus on strategic thinking and leadership development enriched his education, and that the degree certainly delivered on his desire to get out of his comfort zone.

“On day one, I looked around at everyone in their crisp business attire, and I felt like a misfit. I was a healthcare professional surrounded by people with backgrounds in accounting, finance, engineering—disciplines that I knew very little about.

“But what I soon learned was that we were all in the same boat with that feeling. We were all here to embark on the next stage of our professional journey with a lot of excitement but a lot of unknowns.”

As he reflects on how the MBA informs his work today, Borce notes that his network stands out. The diversity that prompted MBA first-day imposter syndrome has become an asset, with professional contacts and friends—leaders across disciplines—whom he can call for support, ideas and fresh perspectives.

“Ultimately, completing my MBA, that was a personal and professional investment, and it was really worthwhile.”

Given Borce’s humility and compassion as a leader, the program may well be a public investment as he brings his experience, insight and commitment to continuous improvement to CancerCare Manitoba. Two in five Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and each diagnosis affects family, friends and a community surrounding them.

“Cancer is more than just a physical disease,” Borce explains. “It transcends the physical. So, I’m fueled by a deep sense of responsibility to help shape the future of cancer services in Manitoba. To innovate, to optimize and to ensure that every decision we make is driven by the pursuit to provide the best possible care to Manitobans with cancer and their family members.”

In professional bios, Borce usually includes a promise that he will “do ordinary things extraordinary well.” Though he remains humble in his sense of duty, purpose and his career journey so far, with enough prompting, he can admit that as an internationally educated nurse, arriving in Canada from the Philippines with his family, pursuing leadership roles that he had never imagined for himself and continuing to move out of his comfort zone, it is not entirely unreasonable to suggest that he is also doing something extraordinary.

The next Asper MBA application deadline for Canadian and US students is May 1, 2024. Explore the program here.

Learn more about Ken Borce’s MBA journey in the video below.

“We donated the prize back to CanU Canada, which does a lot of amazing work with high school students. They were also a great partner in helping us prepare for this competition, volunteering their time to create a practice case for us.”

CanU Canada representatives actually brought the team’s practice case to executives, giving students valuable feedback on their presentation.

The generosity at the heart of CanU’s practice participation and the students’ winning gesture is fitting given the focus of the competition that Peterson, Roslinsky, Bially and Sabu won.

Alberta Not-for-Profit’s competition is the only live, not-for-profit (NFP) business case competition in Canada. The team worked on a case about the CapitalCare Foundation, an organization that supports long-term care initiatives in Alberta. Together, they tackled funding, operational and awareness challenges, competing against teams from across North America.

Roslinsky, an Asper student majoring in finance and HR management, reflects on the team’s success.

“As a team, we were realistic about what was possible, which is very important when looking at an NFP. We have to approach these problems differently than a for-profit business, but at the end of the day, an NFP still needs enough resources and revenue to sustain itself. Successful and great NFPs focus on doing one thing or a small number of things very well rather than trying to do everything just okay.”

Bially, who is majoring in marketing and management information systems at Asper, adds that NFPs require a unique approach.

“Our coaches and mentors really helped us to adjust our mindset, encouraging us to focus less on making money and more on creating value.”

Roslinsky and Bially learned throughout the competition that NFPs must balance practicality with idealism—a change- or issue-driven organization might not need to maximize profit, but it does need to consider how to generate enough revenue, resources and connections to keep its doors open.

Discussing their reasons for joining case at Asper, Roslinsky and Bially strike a similar balance; both acknowledge that case looks great on a resume, but also that it offers amazing opportunities to work on real-world business problems, sharpen collaborative skills, improve confidence in public speaking and meet fellow students from across Canada and beyond.

Roslinsky, Bially, Peterson and Sabu were supported by a team of Asper advisors including Howard Harmatz, Robert Biscontri, Judy Jayasuriya, Melani Fernando, Laura Effinger and Steven Harrison.

“They helped us see things through a different lens, thinking more about what NFPs need rather than treating them like traditional businesses,” says Bially. She also comments on their ability to home in on seemingly minor details that made a big difference. Roslinsky echoes this praise.

“Once we had the overarching structure down, they helped us to really get into those fine, granular bits because those are the things that change a team from being good to being great.”

The little things, it turns out, matter. Both students share how a surprise delivery while they toiled away on their case presentation might not have won the competition for them, but certainly left an impression.

Biscontri, Asper associate dean of undergraduate and international programs, took some dessert to-go (“one of everything,” he explains) while out to dinner with rest of the advising team. Barred from any contact with the students while they developed their solution, he delivered the pile of cakes and other goodies by way of the hotel front desk, leaving nothing—not even a note—to explain the gesture.

There is a practicality to case competitions—they prepare students for the real business problems they will face in their careers, they introduce students to invaluable networks of advisors, industry judges and colleagues and they help refine core skills from public speaking to problem solving.

That said, whether it be a local organization giving their time to help students practice, those same students donating their winnings back to the organization or a surprise dessert delivery left without a note, there is also something more to case—an experience unique to each team and competition, summed up in part by Biscontri’s accidental advice to the team:

“We can go for dinner after, but let’s get dessert first.”

“You’re coming here to be yourself—to be a visionary—that’s what Asper is for.”

Matthew Carriere is a BComm student at the Asper School of Business and member of Indigenous Business Education Partners (IBEP) who knows what it means to find himself through community.

He pursues and creates spaces of belonging, whether he is heading to Montpellier, France, through Asper’s International Exchange program, planning networking events with UM Indigenous Commerce Students (UMICS), or relaxing in the IBEP lounge.

IBEP offers a broad range of services to Indigenous students pursuing a degree at Asper, including tutoring, access to bursaries and scholarships and networking opportunities. Carriere is also grateful for the community IBEP has built for students. “IBEP is a place to feel safe. It’s our own little tight-knit community. I can sit down with an advisor who is there to help me while understanding my needs and background,” he says.

As VP of corporate relations for UMICS, Carriere plans events that get Indigenous business students face-to-face with potential employers and mentors, creating opportunities for students that they may not otherwise access on their own.

A Red River Métis citizen, Carriere’s life within and outside of Asper is characterized by the transformative power and place of community connection.

He was one of three youths selected to attend the Papal visit on the Maskwacis Reserve in 2022, caring for, supporting and connecting with Elders during the journey. The experience revealed the meaning of resilience and community that, rather than enforcing uniformity, holds space for difference.

“That was lifechanging,” he says. “I got to hear multiple perspectives and learn from the Elders—some forgave, some didn’t, some felt uneasy or uncertain. It shaped my view of how important community is because even with different responses, the most consistent thing was resilience. Witnessing that resilience drove me towards applying to be a provincial board member.”

In November 2023, he joined the Provincial Youth Advisory Committee of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) after years of service as a Winnipeg Regional Youth Advisor. As a teenager, Carriere sought guidance in the Métis community of Manitoba and MMF, which became a place of belonging and reclamation.

“I never really knew my Métis background when I was younger because for my dad and my grandpa, back then, that identity and history was shameful. My family encouraged me to go out and be in the community to find my place. At my first meeting, I was gifted a Métis sash by Elders and leaders in the St. Norbert Local (MMF). Instantly, I felt welcomed.

“I felt like I had a place.”

Carriere’s willingness to embrace his history and actively take part in his community is something his family celebrates today, a reminder that more equitable futures are imagined through truthful reckonings of the past. Committed to empowering youth in the community, he shares the long-term goals that drive his work with the MMF and Métis youth.

“I want to help create an identity for youth to embrace and live through, and cultivate inclusiveness, because Métis people come from many diverse backgrounds.”

For Carriere, inclusivity recognizes that every individual—every generation—has wisdom to offer.

Whether he is heeding advice from his grandparents (encouraging him to go with his gut and pursue business), following a lead from IBEP to secure an internship at Deloitte this summer, connecting fellow Asper students to part-time work through his current role at TD, or engaging with the next generation of Indigenous business and Métis leaders, Carriere works to create spaces that value experience at every level—what he refers to as a “ladder of wisdom.”

“Everyone has their own story,” he explains. “Everyone is a visionary. Share your life experience and what you’ve seen of the world and seek that out in others. That exchange, that’s your leverage.”

Competitor Thea Hughes explains how the case experience has enriched her Asper studies. “Participating in case competitions has allowed me to apply my in-class learning to real-world business problems to create solutions. It works hand-in-hand as my case competition experience has in turn made my classes easier.”

Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (ICBC) – Finals: January 12-14

Three Asper undergraduate teams competed in the finals of ICBC, Canada’s longest-running business case competition.

Kenny May and Benjamin Swistun won first place in Digital Strategy, while Carl Ortega and Lily Francis (HR), and Thea Hughes and Tristan Garland (Debate), brought home second place in their respective categories.

May, who competed in ICBC for the first time last year, explains the real win during his second shot at the competition.

“It feels great to win of course, but our goal was to put together a strong solution that we could be proud of. It was about applying our coaching to these new problems. Case is all about making sure that you’re continuously improving, developing yourself and striving to be the best student or business professional you can be,” says May.

Creative Shock – Finals: November 25-26

Fifteen Asper students participated in Creative Shock, a global social business case competition.

MBA students Julie Xue and Ryan Nykvist, MSCM student Shivam Patel and BComm student Anmoldeep Malhotra made the top ten. Cases included consulting an agricultural co-op based in South Africa and marketing a Lithuanian board game designed for people with visual impairments.

Pedro de Souza Quadros, Evan Adair, Gustavo de Souza Quadros, Riley Kotzer, Karimot Abodunrin, Shivam Sabharwal, Erika Hunvinger, Joy Okafor, Harsh Chapatwala, Bo Wen and Agwuncha Maureen Ifunanya also competed in preliminary rounds.

PrimeTime Sports Business Case Competition – November 12

This competition invites future business leaders to Toronto to tackle cases related to sports and entertainment.

Alyssa Houde, Christina Tines, Dalton Reidke and Evan Adair made the semi-finals, and MBA team Mark Roy, Nicole Buckle [BComm(Hons)/21], Shorya Angrish and Steven Regeher [BComm(Hons)/12] competed in the preliminaries.

DeGroote Innovative Solutions Challenge (DISC) – November 11-12

DISC is a first-of-its-kind, virtual case competition, open to graduate students. This year, Stu Clark Graduate School students Aliasgar Sanwarwala, Hans Suri, Sravani Kalva, Khashavar Khosrowabadi, Eli Koulack, Laura Kroeker, Ramy Penner and Raza Jamil tackled cases on the likes of Scotiabank and KPMG.

Says Sanwarwala, an MSCM student, “the experience gained through this competition was invaluable, helping me understand the complexities of business decisions. I feel better equipped to take on future competitions!”

Ted Rogers National Ethical Leadership Case Competition (TRELCC) – November 3-11

The TRELCC is a national case competition centered around the importance of ethical practices and leadership in the dynamic world of business. Asper students Nicole Blatta, Olivia Velasco, Nikol Sokolsky and Melani Fernando proudly represented Asper in Toronto.

Business and Management Case Competition (BMCC) – October 29-November 4

Hosted at Universidad Panamericana in Guadalajara, Mexico, BMCC is a prestigious event that enables universities to collaborate and tackle business challenges from a global perspective. Students work with their Asper cohort, but also join mixed teams in the second round. Asper students Avery Groeneveld, Christina Tines, Eric Bao and Logan Basarowich competed together before breaking off into new teams.

In the mixed case round, Groeneveld took home first place alongside students from universities around the world. She describes the benefits of the unique format.

“I was able to employ skills that I had learned in the four-hour case to the final round—that’s case: you’re always learning new things and gaining new skillsets, so long as you put yourself out there!” says Groeneveld.

Bensadoun School of Retail Management Retail Innovation Challenge (RIC) – October 18-November 4

Hosted by the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, the RIC presents students with challenges related to the new realities of retail. Asper students Benjamin Swistun, Darbara Kaushal, Udit Gopalk, Ravneet Brar, Chaitanya Maggo, Aliasgar Sanwarwala and Karimot Abodunrin worked on cases related to sustainability and the retail circular economy. Both teams advanced to the semi-finals in the competition.

Thammasat Undergraduate Business Challenge (TUBC) – October 11-15

TUBC is an international business case competition hosted by Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. Asper students Alyssa Houde, Dalton Reidke, Harsh Thakkar and Braden Hargreaves competed in the 26^th TUBC.

For Hargreaves, the Asper case experience is a highlight of his studies.

“My experience with case competitions has completely changed my perspective of business. Being able to take what we learn in the classroom and apply it to real world issues had made my time at Asper so much more valuable. Being able to meet and connect with some of the top business students across the globe is something I never thought I would be able to do!”

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Case competitions can allow you to strengthen your public speaking and problem solving skills while demonstrating your acumen as a business professional. For information on upcoming case competitions and to join a team, read more here.

“Everything I do is about supporting and designing initiatives led by Indigenous people and rooted in Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing.”

BlueSky has worked with First Nations her entire career, serving in high-level positions at the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation.

Today, she is CEO of her own practice, Seven Feathers Consulting; Co-founder of Wiijii’idiwag Ikwewag, a First Nations birthing support service; and is currently CEO at Treaty One Development Corporation, the company leading the development of Naawi-Oodena, the largest urban reserve in Canada.

BlueSky’s resumé demonstrates her ambition, but she acknowledges another motivation that is inextricably tied to her identity.

“As a First Nations woman, working with my community has always been my drive. It has been my goal, focus and vision to empower self-determination at every level. Business is the best place to do that, to reinforce a solid foundation of independence, self-worth, and spirit. Entrepreneurship is about believing in yourself, believing in your value, 100%.”

BlueSky is fulfilling her desire to solve problems for others. In the pursuit of this goal, she became more familiar with the feelings that she and her community carried.

“That colonial trauma is not something that I was explicitly taught. Internalized oppression, it’s something that we carry genetically and intergenerationally,” she says. “It’s a belief system that stems from the colonial history—residential schools, criminalization of economic activity in First Nations, and immobilization of Indigenous people from worldwide trade—that conditions you to accept that you are not worthy, and an unjust society, that still exists, reinforces this.”

She sees the impact of this internalized oppression in First Nations communities across Manitoba. As a leader, she is attuned to how pervasive this belief system is and how crucial it is to challenge it.

“Not only do I need to unlearn these beliefs, but I have to support others to unlearn as well so that we can change the future history. That’s a huge responsibility but if we all take ownership, we can shift the paradigm much faster.”

For BlueSky, an Asper MBA was a way to elevate her skillset so that she could contribute even more to her community, but it became a challenge to confront her own internalized feelings of unworthiness and to grow into her own leader.

“It was scary and healing at the same time,” she says, as the program introduced an environment full of seemingly confident, self-assured students. BlueSky leaned heavily on her family—her mother and husband—for support and found solace at IBEP (then ABEP).

IBEP, Indigenous Business Education Partners, is a unit that provides services to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students who pursue an undergraduate degree or MBA at Asper. During her MBA, BlueSky connected with Peter Pomart, who served as IBEP Program Director from 2011 to 2022.

BlueSky reflects on connecting with people in the MBA environment.

“Peter supported me daily. I would stop by his office and talk to him. I felt acceptance in the beginning by having at least one person to connect with at Asper because every class was different—the teams were different, and the people were different.” Pomart and IBEP offered BlueSky the consistency key to navigating the program.

BlueSky learned about herself during her MBA, discovering the doubts she had carried into the program despite her demonstrable professional success, but also honing and transforming her unique skillset.

“I’m not one of those people that is at the forefront, always asserting what I think. I listen, and I see the solution emerge from the group. One of my strategies is listening and seeing the power of collective energy, and that really inspires me. My gift is to envision solutions by listening.”

She also learned that she could create a sense of belonging and confront those doubts by embracing her own leadership style. BlueSky accepted that she didn’t need to be the loudest in the room, but she did need to speak up.

“Leadership is about being brave. At first, I didn’t ask many questions; I was just observing. I realized that I had to allow myself to be vulnerable. I had to ask questions and be open to judgement.

“Working through that fear, being brave, speaking up and encouraging others, that’s leadership.”

For BlueSky, growing in this way was more than a personal journey, it was a condition of coming together in the program to collectively empower each other.

“In the MBA program, I was immersed in this environment where everybody asked questions and spoke up and gave their criticism in front of everyone. I loved it because it was an environment of truth and vulnerability.”

BlueSky’s MBA experience reveals how truth creates the groundwork for change, facilitating the creation of more just systems and better equipped leaders, and how it can challenge beliefs carried across generations, creating space for new narrative: one of worthiness, reclamation and collective energy.