In deadline-driven case and academic competitions, students work against the clock to come up with compelling presentations that respond to real-world business issues, preparing to answer any question the judges throw to them.

But this experience extends far beyond presentations, with months of preparation and lasting impact after the podium is populated and the awards are presented. These competitions test agility as much as they do perseverance, and they are experiences built on community connections within and beyond the team.

JDC West, a business education in giving back

Take JDC West for instance, Western Canada’s largest business case competition hosted this year in Calgary by the Haskayne School of Business.

Evan Adair, BComm student and one of Team Asper’s captains, explains how the year-long process of preparing for JDC West goes well beyond academics.

“The thing that defines JDC West for me is the community. Obviously, we take the academic portions very seriously—we have rigorous training, plenty of workshops throughout the year, and very qualified coaches and industry experts.

“But JDC is also so much more. Our team logged a total of over 2,200 volunteer hours before the competition, partnering with six local charities,” he says.

These organizations include Harvest Manitoba, Koats for Kids, and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Team Asper, made up of 46 BComm students, finished first in the finance competition (and skit night), and third in debate, operations management, and not-for-profit.

Fellow Team Asper captain Grace Cook says that the results are exciting, but the team’s progress is even more so.

“A lot of students on the team had no case experience when we started, and seeing all those students giving killer presentations and showcasing so much knowledge in their fields was such a highlight,” she says.

MBA Games 2025, a Stu Clark Graduate School record

At the graduate level, a small but mighty Stu Clark Graduate School team finished third overall in the annual MBA Games, a competition of academics, athletics, and spirit.

Team captain Oluwagbotemi Dada shares that it was a record-setting year. “This is the first time that Asper achieved a podium finish in the MBA Games, which is super impressive considering that we were the smallest team there with only 15 members,” she says.

Much like JDC West, the MBA Games features a charitable component, with Team Asper showing up and contributing to the over $29,000 raised for Canada Learning Code, a national not-for-profit that designs programs for those who have been historically underrepresented in tech—Team Asper finished second in the Canada Learning Code Case Competition (Bamibo Isichei, Sharib Jalis, Sravani Kalva).

“It was all about doing more with less,” she says, referring to a team small in numbers but big in passion.

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As part of the Asper School of Business’ commitment to experiential learning, business and case competitions offer students the chance to apply their in-class knowledge to real-world business problems, all while making strong connections to industry experts and practitioners in Manitoba and beyond. Learn more about experiential learning opportunities in our professional graduate programs and see what M Business is all about.

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This February, nine graduate teams from across Canada will bring their strategic acumen to the Asper School of Business for the third annual Asper Business Case Competition. Stay up to date with all the excitement—the cases, the competitors, and the experience—by following @asper_bcc on Instagram.

“It’s the most rewarding experience not only to see the community rallying around our athletes, but also to see the participants’ athleticism, their camaraderie, and the respect that they have for each other,” says Wheatley [BComm (Hons)/09, MBA/14].

Wheatley, who holds a BComm and MBA from the Asper School of Business, has served as CEO of Special Olympics Manitoba for over two years. Her leadership journey began with a desire to make an impact, a drive that inspired both her volunteerism and her pursuit of a business degree.

She started volunteering as a softball coach for Special Olympics during her undergraduate studies and years before she would earn a top leadership role at the organization. As a volunteer, Wheatley witnessed what Special Olympics does for athletes, families, volunteers, and the entire community. “We’re about sport and about so much more than that,” she says.

“What has always struck me about Special Olympics is how it brings people together.”

Wheatley stayed with the organization as a volunteer throughout her career. In addition to volunteer coaching, she also served as Event Director and a National Board Member for Motionball Winnipeg (a nonprofit in support of Special Olympics), and Chair of the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee and Board Treasurer for Special Olympics Manitoba.

She explains how this decades-long progression with Special Olympics Manitoba has culminated in her role as CEO today.

“My role touches on all elements of the business management and organizational structure, of course, but what it really comes down to is understanding where we are and where we need to be—making sure that our team understands the vision of the organization and is continuously motivated and inspired to get us to that vision,” she says.

From her days as a softball coach, to her success in directing Motionball events and serving the board, Wheatley has been part of so many of the moments that contribute to this vision. She’s seen athletes and coaches take years of hard work into competition, showing up for the home crowd in Summer and Winter Games and excelling in national and international events; she’s seen families cheering on their loved ones and community members feeling the excitement of sport; and in 2023, she saw the organization recognized provincially, attending the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba to mark the 10-year anniversary of Special Olympics Awareness Week.

She is passionate about the impact the organization continues to have in Manitoba, and as CEO has seen how every win, every practice, every cheer, and every event contribute to the big picture.

“At Special Olympics Manitoba, our vision it to foster empowerment, inclusion, and achievement through sport,” she says. “It’s incredibly rewarding to be part of an organization where people are so dedicated to the mission and show up every day to make a difference in our community.”

Advancing leadership and impact, building community

Before becoming CEO and while working at Manitoba Hydro, Wheatley had a sense that she would return to school, ever an advocate for continuous learning and ever motivated by her own drive to show up and make a difference in the community.

The Asper MBA felt like the right fit, she explains, because of its ties to the Winnipeg business community, the flexibility it offered while she balanced full-time work, the network of diverse business professionals to study alongside, and the leadership education she could sense her career would soon need to leverage.

Today she recognizes fellow Asper alumni in leadership roles across the province, not just because she remembers them from classes, but because she can place that shared commitment to community, a hallmark of the Asper School of Business.

“We all feel this responsibility to make our province, our city, a better place and grow our organizations and make a big impact,” she says.

Confidence to lead and community connections define Wheatley’s leadership journey. What she has learned, through her Asper experience and her career so far, is that confidence is less a mindset and more a mode of action.

“You have to keep growing and learning and applying those lessons in order to build that confidence. The MBA gives you that opportunity,” she says.

Two years in, Wheatley herself is confident in Special Olympics Manitoba’s vision—for Manitoba, for athletes with disabilities, for an inclusive community—and her role in driving this vision forward.

It’s about sport; it’s also about the confidence and connections inclusive, informed leadership in action can cultivate for any community.

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Business leadership drives community forward especially in the not-for-profit sector. With one of the most flexible and adaptable programs in Canada, the Asper MBA program is designed to help students build their leadership skills in any field. Turn your passion into impact today and transform your career with an Asper MBA.

Now in its 10th year, AACSB’s Influential Leaders member spotlight program highlights the value that business schools bring to business and society. All honorees from this year’s class have a degree from one of AACSB’s more than 1,000 accredited business schools worldwide.

Leaders in the 2025 class have used their entrepreneurial skills to not only realize their business dreams but foster economic growth in their communities, generate new value for existing organizations, and leverage innovative thinking to solve societal challenges.

“Kathleen is an incredible entrepreneur and visionary leader transforming the social and economic landscape here in Manitoba. As an alum, she has displayed generosity in her contributions to our students, speaking about MBA info sessions and supporting experiential learning here at Asper. This is a well-deserved honour, and we are proud to congratulate Kathleen,” said Bruno Silvestre, Dean of the Asper School of Business.

BlueSky is currently CEO at Treaty One Development Corporation, the organization leading the development of Naawi-Oodena, the largest urban reserve in Canada. She has worked with First Nations her entire career, serving in high-level positions at the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Nisichawayashik Cree Nation. Today, in addition to her role at Treaty One Development Corporation, she is CEO of her own practice, Seven Feathers Consulting, and co-founder of Wiijii’idiwag Ikwewag, a First Nations birthing support service.

“Kathleen BlueSky’s work demonstrates how business schools can fuel solution-minded leaders to create new business ventures and solve complex challenges,” said Lily Bi, AACSB president and CEO. “Through entrepreneurial approaches and visionary thinking, Kathleen BlueSky is creating meaningful change in the world.”

Learn about the unique stories of each honoree at AACSB’s Influential Leaders page, and read more about Kathleen BlueSky’s MBA experience and entrepreneurial journey.

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The Asper School of Business has proudly been accredited by AACSB since 1999, the second-ever Canadian business school to earn this significant recognition.

AACSB International (AACSB) is the world’s largest business education association, connecting business schools, business, and lifelong learners to create the next generation of great leaders. With members in over 100 countries and territories, AACSB elevates the quality and impact of business schools globally.

Schaubroeck [MBA/17] was drawn to entrepreneurship during his time in the Asper MBA program, looking for a way to enact change. The unpredictable, always dynamic terrain of entrepreneurship has kept him solidly in this space as he moved from the launch and acquisition of his first venture, ioAirFlow, into his latest project.

Today, he is Principal and Founder of Leverage Point Consulting, where he works with start-ups and founders seeking to pursue business that has a positive impact on the world—fellow entrepreneurs with the drive not just to start a business but to do business differently. The role is a natural fit for Schaubroeck, a founder who thrives in the execution.

“I’m not necessarily the ideas person, but I can help turn other people’s ideas into reality because I can parse it through and ask the tough questions to figure out an execution plan,” he explains.

“I get to work with brilliant people—visionaries—who just might not know how to build a three-year financial projection, for instance. I also get the opportunity to ask them, what are we doing from an environmental or social lens? How are you considering your team and what company culture looks like for you? What values are you hoping to bring to this venture?”

While he emphasizes the brilliance of his clients and his current passion for enabling fellow entrepreneurs to succeed, Schaubroeck has logged some pretty impressive headlines himself.

Winnipeg Jets Whiteout Street Party media relations lead (for which he received the 2019 Canadian Public Relations Society Communicator of the Year award), a featured speaker at TEDxWinnipeg’s 2024 post-lockdown return, the youngest individual to run for provincial office in Manitoba, and the Co-Founder/CEO who launched and led ioAirFlow into a successful acquisition in 2022.

He describes the acquisition of the company as “a coda on a really exciting experience,” recounting how this software startup (focused on increasing energy efficiency in commercial buildings), all started in an MBA class.

Schaubroeck and classmates were instructed to come up with an idea and then take that idea to as many people as they could—high-level executives and decision-makers across sectors. Classmate Mandeep Saini [BSc/10, MBA/18] had an idea, a decentralized smart thermostat, that he and Schaubroeck started to shop around. Honouring the aforementioned NDAs, Schaubroeck can share one resounding piece of feedback they received: build it and come back to us.

Soon after, Schaubroeck and Saini were travelling to a conference in Hanover, Germany, with a prototype, which he refers to affectionately as a “just slightly more improved science project” at that stage. They pitched their prototype with the confidence befitting any successful entrepreneur (by necessity, as the device had blown a fuse in the hotel and was no longer functional).

“I think that’s one of the qualities of a good entrepreneur—that tenacity,” he quips.

But beyond learning more about different voltage requirements between North America and the EU, Schaubroeck felt again the pull of entrepreneurship in this pitch—what that tenacity can do and serve.

“You see something in the world that is not working the way it ought to be working, and you have the audacity to say, you know what, I’m going to fix this.”

And it’s the process of following that instinct, making the prototype, building something capable of making a change, that drives him today. The acquisition of ioAirFlow was big news, an impressive feather for an entrepreneur’s cap, but the years before that moment stand out to Schaubroeck.

“It was the journey to get there, to building something worth acquiring, that I think I’m most proud of,” he says.

The journey, the path of the entrepreneur, is not without its disappointments (blown fuses and the like), but it’s all part of having the audacity and tenacity to do something differently, to imagine business as regenerative, a way to leave things better than you found them.

“The path between that long-term vision and executing it is a long road filled with a lot of no’s and discouragement and late nights and all of those things,” says Schaubroeck.

“But if this is your path, and if you really are an entrepreneur, you’re going to love it all.”

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The Asper MBA program is designed to meet the market-driven needs of today’s industry professionals. With one of the most flexible and adaptable programs in Canada, the Asper MBA program is designed to help students build their leadership skills in any field. With functional and specializing concentrations in entrepreneurship and innovation, sustainability, and more, the Asper MBA program provides the opportunity for career transformation in any industry.

Interested in the tech? Check out Schaubroeck’s TEDxWinnipeg presentation on YouTube!

Walker [MBA/94], who received the Order of Manitoba in 2024 in recognition of her championing of “an inclusive and thriving city where no one is left behind,” brings to this role her extensive senior leadership experience in the not-for-profit and public sectors, her unique career journey, and her drive to create connections to inspire purpose-driven leadership here in Manitoba.

The LIR helps to foster connections between the Burns Institute, the University and the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, serving as a link to the wider community. The role involves working collaboratively to provide input on critical leadership topics for UM students across disciplines, collaborating on leadership workshops, recruiting guest speakers, and developing networks among students and community leaders. The LIR also sits as an ex-officio member of the Burns Institute Advisory Board.

For Walker, this role—a nexus between the business, government, non-profit and academic communities—felt like a perfect continuation of her leadership journey following her retirement as President and CEO of United Way Winnipeg (UWW, 2014-2023).

“United Way Winnipeg (UWW) sits in the space between sectors—you’re working with the private sector, community agencies, government and labour to make a positive difference in the community we all love. The Burns LIR role seemed a way to bring some of those relationships and our shared responsibility to build a better community, to the School, and the students.”

As LIR, Walker will also work with the Burns Institute’s flagship program, the President’s Student Leadership Program (PSLP), assisting current PSLP fellows and alumni with continuous leadership development through community connections and engagement.

During her time as CEO of UWW, Walker welcomed multiple cohorts of the PSLP for site visits, sharing her leadership journey and the work of UWW with PSLP’s diverse student leaders, fostering the unique leadership learning the fellowship program provides.

Walker began her own leadership journey as a public health nurse, which offered the opportunity to meet remarkable Winnipeggers facing significant barriers. “I was welcomed into people’s homes – and sometimes my clients had no home. They taught me about what equity and inclusion really mean, and I’m very grateful for it,” she says.

This journey took an important turn when she began her MBA at the Asper School of Business. She recounts learning about finance, organizational behaviour, business strategy, and more, and just as important, she learned to be in teams where members had diverse backgrounds and experiences. Walker says she learned to think more broadly and to situate her leadership style in curiosity and connection.

“When we are curious, we have less judgment. We’re more open to ideas. We see dots to connect and opportunities we may otherwise have missed. We’re more creative and more inspired. At the root is the capacity to connect with people, including those who may be very different from us. The MBA program fostered this for me,” she says.

After completing her MBA, Walker worked as an Audit Manager at the City of Winnipeg and, for ten years after that, led a strategic planning team in the CAO’s office.

Returning to the community in a role with UWW felt full circle to her. “Working at UWW was the greatest privilege of my career,” Walker says.

She hopes to work with the Institute to inspire strong connections to the broader community knowing that our province (and the world), needs leaders who are inspired to make a difference and who actively bring their talents to the table to do so.

“In Manitoba, we have and need great leaders. In this role, I hope to emphasize our responsibility as leaders to create the city and province we all want for our kids and grandkids. We all need to be involved.’

“I see the potential in this community, and I want us to reach it. I am so excited about the next generation of leaders. I consider it an honour to share experiences and advice – and to learn from them!”

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The Burns Leadership Institute at the University of Manitoba was created through a visionary endowment from the Power Corporation of Canada, Canada Life, and IG Wealth Management. It is housed at the Asper School of Business and supports leadership education across faculties. Learn more about the Institute and leadership programming here.

With the Asper MBA, Connie Walker went from public health nurse to auditor to CEO. The Asper MBA program is designed to meet the market-driven needs of today’s industry professionals. With one of the most flexible and adaptable programs in Canada, the Asper MBA is designed to help students build their leadership skills in any field. Learn more here.

“When I saw opportunities to make changes—to improve efficiencies or outcomes—I really enjoyed it. I quickly realized that I wanted to move into a managerial role because I saw the potential to bring broader change and make an impact. I was ready to work up that ladder, but within six months of working there, COVID hit.”

Suddenly, feeling even farther away from her family in Toronto amid lockdowns, Mehta realized that she needed a leap, not a ladder, to move forward. She began looking into MBA programs, seeking to develop her leadership skills closer to home.

This June, she graduates with an MBA from the Asper School of Business despite never before imagining this outcome for herself. She will take what she has learned to the RBC Leadership Development Program in July.

During her MBA, Mehta found her focus shifting from forensic science research to risk management in finance, a track she will continue to pursue with RBC.

“The way I define that shift is going from reactive to proactive work. With financial risk management, you’re trying to anticipate challenges, avoid crises, identify opportunities and plan for outcomes based on your analysis,” she explains.

Perhaps her knack for risk management began sooner than she thought, as Mehta bet big on the MBA. When she was admitted to the program, she was still in the final interview stage for a job in Winnipeg and even moved here before getting an offer, leaving full-time work to return to school. Taking the leap seems to have paid off, given her current path to leadership and her MBA experience (and, she did get that job after all).

A skilled risk management expert, Mehta knows that even the best analysis leaves variables and uncertainties. Fortunately, the unexpected opportunities she found at the Asper School of Business were pleasant surprises.

She describes joining business case competitions and student leadership at Asper thanks to colleagues who took a moment to tap her on the shoulder and make a recommendation. She graduated from the fifth cohort of the President’s Student Leadership Program (PSLP) this April thanks to one such recommendation.

“Each experience taught me so much and really revealed that value of staying curious, saying ‘yes’ to opportunities as they come and allowing myself to be inspired by people who have done it before. If not for those colleagues reaching out, I might not have had the confidence to go for it.”

Through PSLP, Mehta learned more about the business landscape of Manitoba, understanding its challenges while also being inspired by the diversity of leaders she engaged with.

“We met youth leaders, Indigenous leaders, female leaders—that was so inspiring for me because I come from a visible minority background. Seeing what they have achieved, what they are achieving and their resilience was inspiring.”

These moments of inspiration, whether from colleagues, leaders or mentors, set Mehta on new and unexpected paths each time, ultimately empowering her to complete the degree, to secure a promising career path and to refine her understanding of how organizations and communities themselves work.

“The most important thing I learned through the MBA was systems thinking, which is so significant because it provides you with an understanding of the interconnected nature of organizations, how one action impacts another,” she says.

This sentiment rings true even as Mehta plans her convocation celebrations. “I’ll celebrate with my family and my husband, as they have been the backbone through this process,” she says.

Whether her next step is a leap or a ladder, Mehta is proud to celebrate convocation, the small moves that make a big impact and the community of support behind every degree conferred.

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The Asper School of Business experience doesn’t end after graduation. From building your network and giving back, to coaching, mentoring and advising, learn more about getting involved at Asper as an alum here.

“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.

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.

From sculptural seating to space-saving gate counters and even garbage bins, Arconas provides the essentials in airport and terminal furniture, emphasizing design, function and sustainability. The organization has received the prestigious Canada’s Best Managed Companies designation for the past ten years, and in 2023 earned the Jerry Fitzgerald Corporate Award of Excellence from the American Association of Airport Executives.

On freedom and flexibility

When asked what advice he would offer to recent MBA graduates, Reich suggests instead thinking about what they actually want from the degree. For him, it was freedom.

“I always held freedom as a very strong core value. For me, it wasn’t about coming into the office at 10 a.m. instead of 8 a.m.—that’s flexibility.

“It was about the freedom to be creative, to explore, to have the capacity to chart your own course.”

Reich clarifies that flexibility can also be an important goal. He and his wife moved from Buenos Aires to Winnipeg in 1997, and with a young family and a position at Palliser Furniture, Reich sought flexibility and efficiency from his MBA. He completed the degree in twelve months, sponsored by Palliser and supported by mentors and mainstays of the Manitoba business community.

He credits then-owner of Palliser Furniture Art DeFehr and a mentor, Harold Dueck, for encouraging him to pursue his MBA, and he cites Asper professor emeritus John McCallum as an inspiring instructor. After graduating, Reich leveraged the newfound freedom of the MBA, the general management education it provided and the power of mentorship to become a business owner and revive a struggling organization.

“If anyone has that bug of freedom and a desire to do your own thing, make decisions and take chances, then owning a business is an outstanding way to do that.”

An organization in transition

When Reich first got involved with Arconas in 2002, the organization was struggling, and its leader was nearing retirement. On DeFehr’s suggestion, Reich met with the management team. He saw the organization completely—its legacy, its struggles and perhaps most importantly, its potential.

Reich’s role eventually evolved into a partnership with Dan Nussbaum, president of Arconas. Together, they reimagined the organization and narrowed their focus to one unique market: airports.

“We established the four “highs” for our products: high-traffic, high-performance (built to last), high-design and high-sustainability.”

Reich is particularly proud of high-sustainability. “Arconas’ founder was a pioneer in using sustainable materials—one of the core elements of Arconas’ products is cold cure foam, and back in the 70s, they were among the first Canadian companies using that technology. We took that heritage and tried to build upon it.”

A framework for entrepreneurial freedom

Today, Arconas is one of the leading companies of its kind and a thought leader in the aviation sector. Reich is quick to credit his predecessors, mentors, and educators, his partners and his team for the success of the business. As he notes, the cost of opportunity is often dwelling in uncertainty while relying on your knowledge.

“I don’t know anyone who can tell you, ‘I had a master plan for the next 20 years of my business.’ Most decisions are made one step, a month, a day, maybe a year at a time. So, take the shot—the MBA will give you the strong knowledge and the framework to operate your business.”

That framework and that freedom, Reich suggests, can create positive change.

“As a business-owner and an entrepreneur with the MBA, I also have the freedom to choose how I can impact the world outside my business.”

It is perhaps no wonder that Reich now leads a company dedicated to thoughtfully crafting furniture that makes those moments between where you were and where you’re going a little more comfortable.

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Learn more about the Asper MBA Program today and sign up for the next information session taking place January 26, 2024.

“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.