Announcing 18 new Lazaridis advisory board members

Jan. 11, 2022

Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics is pleased to announce the addition of 18 members to its Dean’s Advisory Councils. The Lazaridis School supports two advisory councils located in Waterloo and Toronto and five satellite councils in Calgary, Ottawa, New York, N.Y., U.S., Silicon Valley, Calif., U.S., and London, England.

The mandate of the Councils is to supply advice and guidance, to serve as an advocate for the Lazaridis School in their communities, and to work to support the achievements of the Lazaridis School’s strategic initiatives.

The following members have begun a three-year term:

CALGARY

Allison Durie (BBA ’06)

Director, Talent & Culture, Accor

Allison Durie began her career with Accor in 2006 and has worked in the beautiful Canadian Rockies at various iconic resort properties including Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and Fairmont Chateau Whistler. She is currently the Director, Talent & Culture at Sheraton Suites Calgary Eau Claire, which is a unique hotel managed by Accor under the Fairmont brand. Durie leads all elements of the employee talent journey while providing strategic business support to the hotel’s operation. She is committed to creating a workplace culture that is employee focused while collaborating across the organization to ensure decisions are made with the company’s greatest asset in mind – their people. Durie graduated from the Lazaridis School with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree with a minor in Geography.

Allison Hakomaki (BBA ’96)

Senior Vice-President & Head Corporate Finance, Prairies, BMO Financial Group

As Head of the Prairies Region, Allison Hakomaki is accountable for the management of all Corporate Finance Division lines of business, products and services for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Hakomaki joined BMO in 1997 as a Commercial Account Manager trainee in Toronto and progressed through various roles in Commercial Banking, Headquarters and Corporate Finance. Her first executive appointment was in May 2012 as District Vice-President, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and then became Regional Vice-President, Commercial Banking, Atlantic Canada in August 2013. Hakomaki holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Queen’s University, is a Chartered Professional Accountant, and earned a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School.

Yanna Inhaber (BBA ’13)

Supply Coordinator, Biofuels, Imperial Oil

Yanna Inhaber has worked in the oil and gas industry with Imperial for more than eight years both in the Greater Toronto Area and in Calgary. During this time, she has held positions in marketing and sales, analytics, logistics management, and has simultaneously developed expertise in Continuous Improvement. She is currently a logistics coordinator in the biofuels space, managing the company's biofuels supply chain and inventory in Eastern Canada. Being a Waterloo Region native, Inhaber has been a passionate advocate for the world-class education at Lazaridis ever since graduating from the prestigious Double Degree program at Laurier and the University of Waterloo from which she earned a BBA (Laurier) and Bachelor of Math (University of Waterloo). She also has a Bachelor of Applied Petroleum Engineering Technology degree from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and is currently pursuing an MBA at the University of Calgary.

Deanna Louth (BBA ’07)

Director, Global Accounting Consulting Services, PwC Canada

Originally from Toronto, Deanna Louth is an accounting and consulting services director in the PwC Calgary office. Over the course of her 14-year career with PwC, Louth has developed deep experience in the energy, mining and power and utilities industries serving her clients in both an audit and advisory capacity. Louth has significant experience with complex accounting matters and Canadian and SEC filings. She is currently the secretary of the global energy, utilities and mining technical committee for PwC and volunteers as a member of the CPA Canada Oil and Gas Conference Advisory committee and as a Director and Finance Committee member for the Mothers Matter Centre. She earned a BBA from the Lazaridis School in 2007 and obtained her Chartered Professional Accountant qualification in 2011.

Shelley O’Brien (MBA ’01)

North American Fuels Marketing Manager, Shell

Shelley O’Brien is the Retail Fuels Marketing Manager for Shell Canada and U.S. She has 15 years of professional marketing experience with Shell and Procter & Gamble. O’Brien is a strategic marketer with a passion for using data to uncover consumer insights that can deliver business growth. O’Brien is an authentic leader who enjoys coaching a team to grow the unique capabilities of others. O’Brien holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Calgary, a Master of Science in Biology from McMaster and an MBA focused on strategy and finance from the Lazaridis School. Outside of work, O’Brien is a mother of two teenage boys, a volunteer with the Canadian Olympic Committee, and a real estate investor.

Krista Pell (BA ’95)

Vice-President, Human Resources, Cenovus Energy

As Vice-President, Human Resources, Krista Pell is accountable for supporting Cenovus’s business activities and building the appropriate organization capability and capacity to deliver on Cenovus’s business strategy. In her role, Pell is responsible for working with key stakeholders and teams across the organization to create effective organizational design and development, strategic workforce planning, leadership and technical development, culture, and talent planning. With more than 20 years of experience across multiple industries including hospitality, retail, finance and client services, Pell was most recently Senior Vice-President of Talent at DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd. Prior to DIRTT, Pell was Vice-President of People and Performance at Ausenco, a global engineering, procurement, construction management and operations service provider to the energy and resources sector.

NEW YORK

Danielle Voisin (BA ’05 & MBA ’06)

Executive Director, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Danielle Voisin is currently at JPMorgan Chase & Co managing a document strategy program for the firm's Legal department. Voisin has lived and worked in Auckland, Hong Kong, London, Dubai, and New York. Prior to JPMorgan Chase & Co, she worked at HSBC in credit risk, portfolio management, talent development, and with HSBC's corporate monitor on a deferred prosecution agreement. Voisin completed an undergraduate degree in Political Science at Laurier and an MBA at the Lazaridis School. She has worked in finance for more than 10 years.

OTTAWA

Robyn Daigle (BBA ’99)

Director, Members’ HR Services, House of Commons of Canada

With more than 20 years of experience working in human resources in a variety of sectors including government, banking, and high tech, Robyn Daigle is known for her collaborative and client-oriented approach. She places great importance on being business-focused to ensure that HR strategies adequately address client needs while leveraging best practices. In her current role with the House of Commons as the Director, Members’ HR and Business Partners Services, she has developed and implemented a new HR service delivery model to support Members of Parliament in their role as employers.

Julia Duffy (BBA ’08)

Director, Human Resources, Tehama.io

Julia Duffy is a human resources leader with more than a decade of experience. Since 2016, she has worked with Tehama’s executive team to lay the foundations of Tehama’s people and talent growth strategy. Duffy has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. She holds numerous professional HR certifications, is a keynote speaker on talent management trends, and in 2014 won the Vision Award for Innovation in Talent Acquisition. Outside of work, Duffy enjoys volunteering, travelling and spending time with her family and friends.

Scott Hendry (BA Economics ’87)

Senior Special Director, Financial Technology, Bank of Canada

Scott Hendry was appointed Senior Special Director of Financial Technology (FinTech) in the Funds Management and Banking Department of the Bank of Canada in June 2016. In this role, he oversees the Bank’s efforts to monitor and research developments and implications of new technologies affecting the financial sector. This includes serving as the business lead on the Bank’s central bank digital currency research program. He previously held the role of Director of Research in the Funds Management and Banking Department and, before that, for the Financial Markets Department. Hendry’s personal research has focused on central bank digital currency, electronic money, price discovery in the Canadian government bond market, and central bank communication. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and Master of Arts and PhD in Economics from the University of Western Ontario.

SILICON VALLEY

Stephen Graham (MBA ’90)

Vice-President, Partner Demand Acceleration, Global Partner Marketing, SAP

Stephen Graham has held various leadership roles over the course of his 30-year technology industry career. In his current position with technology giant SAP, he leads a team focused on developing programs and resources that help the company’s ecosystem of more than 22,000 partners maximize sales and marketing impact in the cloud. Prior to joining SAP, Graham spent more than 14 years leading a global practice with technology industry analyst firm IDC, where he delivered keynote addresses and advised leaders around the world, working with technology companies of all sizes. After living with his family in Silicon Valley for more than a decade, he recently moved back to the east coast to re-connect with family and friends.

Patty Kim (BBA '94)

Senior Advisor, Market Intelligence, Kyndryl

Patty Kim has worked in the technology sector for more than two decades, helping clients gain a deeper understanding of their markets, customers and competitors. She works closely with stakeholders across strategy, product and marketing to shape business priorities and drive better outcomes through data-driven insights. She is actively involved in her children’s school community, having served on several committees including the parent–teacher association executive board. She graduated from the Lazaridis School with a BBA with Math Option.

Lynda Ting (BBA '96)

Lynda Ting has more than 20 years of mergers and acquisitions, strategy, business development, and investment experience in the cloud and technology sectors. Currently, Ting leads business development at a robotics startup and prior to that, she led corporate development at Velo3D. Previously, Ting was vice-president of corporate development and strategy at GE Digital where she built and led the team responsible for all aspects of mergers and acquisitions, integration, strategic partnerships, and venture investment. Prior to GE, Ting held strategy and partnership roles at Microsoft in Silicon Valley. She was an early member of the team that developed what is now a multi-billion-dollar partner revenue stream for Microsoft’s cloud business. Ting also has several years of M&A experience at Deutsche Securities and venture capital experience at Jefferson Partners, an early-stage technology VC firm.

TORONTO

Dennis Mitchell (BBA ’98)

CEO & CIO, Starlight Capital

Dennis Mitchell joined Starlight Capital in March 2018 as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. He has more than 20 years of experience in the investment industry and has held executive positions with Sprott Asset Management, serving as Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio anager. At Sentry Investments he was executive Vice-President and Chief Investment Officer. Mitchell received the Brendan Wood International Canadian Top Gun Award in 2009, 2010, and 2011 and the Brendan Wood International 2012 Canadian Top Gun Team Leader Award. He also received the Afroglobal Television Excellence Award for Enterprise in 2020 and the Black Business and Professionals Association’s Harry Jerome President’s Award in 2021. Mitchell holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Business Valuator designations and earned an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University and a BBA from the Lazaridis School. Mitchell currently sits on the Board of the Toronto Foundation and is Co-Founder and Director of the Black Opportunity Fund.

WATERLOO

Melinda Beswetherick (BBA ’03)

Vice-President, Financial Planning & Analysis, Economical Insurance

As Vice-President, Financial Planning & Analysis at Economical Insurance, Melinda Beswetherick is responsible for organization-wide planning and forecasting, partnering with the business in measuring and monitoring performance, financial support and governance for the organization’s strategic initiatives, and providing a financial lens on trade-offs and decisions regarding the use of the organization’s resources. Beswetherick has focused her career on business partnership and bringing a finance perspective to collaborative problem-solving and decision-making. She has gained a breadth of perspectives and experience working across different industries including P&C insurance, industrial automation, technology and public accounting. Beswetherick received her BBA (co-op) degree from the Lazaridis School and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Simon Chan (MBA ’01)

Vice-President, Talent, Academy & Future of Work, Communitech

Simon Chan is Vice-President, Talent, Academy and Future of Work at Communitech, which is a private-public innovation hub in Waterloo Region that supports a community of 1,600 companies from startups, to scale-ups to large global players. He is responsible for the leadership of the Talent and Communitech Academy teams who support talent attraction and learning and development programs and events for Communitech companies. He also leads the development of a Future of Work and Learning strategy for a coalition of multi-stakeholder partners in Waterloo Region to build a community of practice to help future proof organizations. Prior to joining Communitech, Chan worked in the financial services industry for 20 years and gained a diverse background in banking, investment management, and group pension/benefits in a variety of senior positions in strategy, product, business development, operations, and project management.

Margaret Clarke (MBA ’13)

Director, People Partner, Cloud Security, Google

Margaret Clarke is the human resources leader for Google's Cloud Security organization. She has more than 15 years of global human resources experience in both the tech and finance sectors with a focus on organizational design, workforce planning and talent management. Prior to Google, Clarke was Human Resource Business Partner Director at Intuit and previous to that she worked at Manulife Financial (John Hancock) where she supported Product, Engineering, Sales and Marketing leaders. Clarke holds a Bachelor of Arts & Business from the University of Waterloo and an MBA with a specialization in strategic management from the Lazaridis School.

Olga Pawluczyk (MBA ’07)

CEO, P&P Optica

Olga Pawluczyk is the co-founder and CEO of P&P Optica (PPO). PPO’s mission is to help food producers make safer, higher quality food while addressing one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions: food waste. Pawluczyk is an expert in medical imaging, with a technical background in systems engineering and deep knowledge of the science of spectroscopy. Under the leadership of Pawluczyk and her co-founder, her father, PPO launched in 2004 as a research company focused on developing high-end spectrometers. She assumed full leadership of the company in 2010 and has grown the company from a research-driven organization to focus on commercialization across different industries, including oil and gas, space exploration, medical applications. Pawluczyk pivoted the company over the past six years to focus exclusively on building quality and safety solutions for the food processing industry. She is driven by the opportunity to combine emerging hardware and software technologies to significantly improve the nutritional quality, safety, and sustainability of our food. Pawluczyk has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering from the University of Waterloo, a Master of Science degree in Medical Biophysics from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from the Lazaridis School.

A listing of all Dean’s Advisory Council members and more information can be found here.