As part of our collaboration with EURAM, we are pleased to offer reciprocal access to all of our workshops and labs as part of our Professional Development Workshop day. All EURAM participants are able to participate in ASAC workshops, and all ASAC participants are able to participate in EURAM workshops.
LAB 1 – Organizational Profitability, Industry 4.0, and Meeting the UN Sustainable Goals
(Research Lab)
Tuesday June 15th, 10:00am–11:30am
Organizer: Hamid H. Kazeroony (Ph.D.), Walden University
Description:
Reshaping capitalism to remain sustainable requires reorganization to adapt to the UN sustainability goals by adjusting to Society 5.0 and industry 4.0. To remain sustainable, capitalism must account for the blurring of lines between physical, digital and biological spheres, continual disruptive innovations, while reimagining its operation within society 5.0. This Lab will address (1) how society 5.0 challenges capitalism while offering new perspectives for its sustainability, (2) how industry 4.0. disruptive innovations afford capitalism’s new ways of operating sustainably, and (3) how it should organize itself to remain profitable. The LAB provides a bridge for a constructive dialogue between academics and practitioners for putting the theories into practice.
Panelists:
Hamid H. Kazeroony is a human resource professional, certified SPHR, and SHRM-SCP. He earned his BA and MA in political science from California State University Pomona and Fullerton. He earned his MBA in International Management and his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix, Arizona. He is a Senior Contributing Faculty at Walden University, Ph.D. Program, USA, Appointed Extraordinary Professor at NW University, S. Africa, Chair of Gender and Diversity in Organization, EURAM. His research reflects his interest in how production and diversity methods impact organizational leaders, institutions, values, and ethics, as manifested in his recent editorial contributions to a wide range of academic books and journals. He is a reviewer at the Africa Journal of Management, EURAM, and AOM conferences.
Meiko Murayama earned her Ph.D. from the University of Surrey, UK, on urban regeneration and tourism in England. She teaches business at the University of Reading, UK, and regularly conducts research and teaching at Akita International University, Japan, as a visiting researcher. She has published a on wide range of topics, including blended learning and gamification in business education using ICT, revitalization through tourism development in rural and urban areas, and recently on cruise tourism in Japan. She has taught various subjects, including marketing, business principles, tourism management, ethical tourism planning in Japan and the UK as an associate professor and senior lecturer. She emphasizes ethics and sustainability in all her teaching.
Aneta Aleksander PhD, assistant professor at the Silesian University of Technology, Poland, Faculty of Organization and Management, V-ce Editor-in-Chief of Organization and Management Scientific Quarterly. Her scientific area is international management and marketing, organizational identity, innovations management, internationalization of SMEs, leadership, and Industry 4.0. She is a member of the Academy of Management and a business expert in the Enterprise Europe Network – one of the largest networks funded by European Commission to facilitate internationalization processes of SMEs. The author of a number of publications in the above-mentioned fields as well as the author of audits and numerous consultancy services and innovation audits for companies
LAB 2 – Teleworking and Wellness, Work Organization and Work/Life Balance
(Lab for Practitioners)
Tuesday June 15th, 8:00am–9:30am
Organizer: Gilles Dupuis (Ph.D.), University of Quebec at Montreal
Description:
The Covid-19 pandemic brought forth two aspects of society’s daily life: quality of life and remote working. This LAB will focus on tools that may help improve employees’ quality of life during remote working periods. The mental and physical dimensions will be addressed via easy yoga postures on a chair and the work/life balance via adapted strategies of work organization.
Panelists:
Julie Banville plays various roles in the corporate health and wellness industry. She is a rehabilitation consultant, a Yoga therapist, author, and entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of ZEN&CO., a firm offering tailor-made corporate programs across Canada. She is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and the Académie des naturopathes et naturothérapeutes du Canada.
Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay is a specialist in human resource management, economics, and sociology of work. She holds a PhD in economics from the University of Paris-I – Sorbonne and a post-graduate DEA in sociology of work. She is full professor at Université TÉLUQ (Université du Québec). Two important topics of her research interests are Work-Family-Life Balance and Parental Leave.
Gilles Dupuis, PhD, is a full professor at the department of psychology, UQAM. He is a specialist in health psychology, methodology/statistics and in evaluation of Quality of life and Quality of work life. He is the author of the Quality-of-life systemic inventory (QLSI) and co-author of the Quality of work life systemic inventory (QWLSI): http://qualitedevie.lepsyq.ca/. He is also a yoga teacher.
LAB 3 – Perspectives of entrepreneurial support in the academic environment
(Lab for Practitioners)
Tuesday June 15th, 11:00am–12:30pm
Organizer: Michel Grenier, Director of the Entrepreneurship Center, ESG, UQAM
Description:
Our panel will be looking into the eco-system generating and supporting businesses with some origin or ties with the university and its various faculties.
Panelists:
Catherine Lavigne-Pelletier is the co-founder of NeuroMotrix (https://neuromotrix.com/en/). She holds a Master’s degree in Kinanthropology with a focus on aging and an MBA in Science and Engineering. NeuroMotrix is the gold standard in physical activity adapted to the needs of people living with neurological disorders. NeuroMotrix believes that everyone should enjoy life to the fullest and aims to make it possible for everyone to feel better both physically and mentally. Neither illness nor age should ever prevent people from enjoying the overall benefits of physical activity.
Gladimy Telus coordinated fund attribution to finance businesses in Saint-Laurent. He was also investment and portfolio manager for public funding in PME MTL network for the City of Montreal. He also was coach to several Coop initiatives and private startups. Mr. Telus also acts as trustee on several boards from community organizations to public Health services institutions and public radio. With more than 10 years of public fund management in the entrepreneurial eco-system, he is currently a continuing education professor in colleges as well in the Management department of ESG UQAM.
Andrew Lockead. Currently CEO and co-founder of Stay22, Andrew is a serial entrepreneur in the travel and entertainment industry. He is passionate about creating products that solve problems and thrives on revolutionizing the event industry. Stay22 is a location-based and interactive map that helps event-goers and travelers to book accommodations and travel experiences for specific destinations and events. Stay22 recently won the 2019 Disruptor Award at the Ticketing Business Forum and made it to the Hot 25 Startups 2019 of Phocuswire.
Karl Lavallée-Rodrigue is the founder of Invictus Gloves, a company he set-up in 2016 to meet the growing need of athletes to express their own identity while maximizing their performance with premium custom gloves. Invictus Gloves is in good position to become the number one sports glove brand for athletes.
Michel Grenier. Entrepreneur, seasoned business leader, speaker, coach and mentor, Michel Grenier heads the ESG UQAM Entrepreneurship Centre since 2005. He also teaches SME Management and growth as well as New Business Ventures in the EMBA program of ESG UQAM. In addition to teaching a variety of business and management courses, Michel is Master Coach for the school’s Business Games.
LAB 4 – ESG investing-the New Normal
(Lab for Practitioners)
Tuesday June 15th, 10:00am–11:30am
Organizer: Professor Michel Librowicz, PhD., Department of Strategy, Social and Environmental Responsibility, ESG-UQAM
Description:
Virtually non-existent in the 21st century, the integration of ESG criteria has become widespread over the last decade, to the point of becoming almost unavoidable in recent years. The current pandemic has amplified this trend, which is becoming the “new normal”. Indeed, the awareness of social and environmental inequalities by various stakeholders around the world is bringing ESG issues to the forefront of all investments, whether they are individual, corporate, or even governmental. The integration of ESG criteria is now taking a new form and becoming THE NORM.
To discuss this change, this lab invited key players from three stock exchanges – Canada, Morocco, and Poland – as well as an academic researcher who has been studying this type of investments for decades. They will debate past, present and future developments in sustainable finance. Panelists will address questions such as:
- How have ESG performance metrics evolved and how can these measures be compared?
- How attractive is the demand by foreign investors for companies demonstrating outstanding ESG performance?
- Do individuals, companies, and governments have different approaches to ESG screening?
- What does the research tell us about the financial performance of investments that have incorporated ESG criteria?
Panelists:
Dr. Marek Dietl is the CEO of GPW (Warsaw Stock Exchange) and the economic adviser to the President of Poland. He has spent almost 20 years in the consulting and venture capital industries. He has also been a non-executive board member of more than 25 organizations.
Dr. Dietl frequently undertakes community and academic activities. He used to serve as a mediator at the arbitration court of Financial Supervision Commission and adviser to the President of Energy Regulation Office. Marek Dietl is also an assistant professor at the SGH-Warsaw School of Economics.
Dr. Tarik Senhaji is the General Manager of the Casablanca Stock Exchange.
He is a graduate of the École Polytechnique de Paris and the Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Economique (ENSAE) in Paris. He began his career as a financial manager at the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) in Washington DC. He then held various management positions in London related to capital markets at Société Générale, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Calyon CIB and Natixis CIB.
Dr. Tarik Senhaji has accumulated more than 23 years of experience in the financial sector in the Moroccan and international markets. Prior to his appointment as General Manager of the Casablanca Stock Exchange, he was General Manager of Ithmar Capital, Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement and President of Société Marocaine d’Ingénierie Touristique.
Mr. Luc Fortin is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montréal Exchange (MX) and Global Head of Trading, TMX Group. His key responsibilities include leading growth in TMX’s equities, derivatives, and fixed income trading businesses and delivering a world-class experience to our global client base. In 2021, his mandate expanded to include oversight and strategic direction of CDCC and CDS, TMX’s post-trade businesses and crucial components of Canada’s capital markets infrastructure.
Mr. Fortin joined MX as Managing Director, Derivatives Trading in June 2016, following a 25-year career in Canada’s capital markets industry leading client-facing teams in fixed income and derivatives. Prior to joining MX, he served as Managing Director, Canadian Head of the Institutional Client Group at HSBC (Canada). In this role, Mr. Fortin led HSBC’s institutional client-facing businesses in rates and credit, derivatives, foreign exchange and money markets across Canada. Prior to HSBC, he held senior leadership positions at TD Bank and TD Securities. Mr. Fortin is a graduate of the TD Securities Leadership program at Ivey Business School and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Ottawa. He has served as Board Chair of CANMarket Data and was an Investment Industry Association of Canada board member from 2006-2010.
Bouchra Mzali, Ph.D., CFA is a senior professor at ESG-Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada) and head of the African Chair of Innovation and Sustainable Management at University Mohammed VI (Morocco). She is also a researcher at the Chair on Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development at ESG-UQAM and at the International Academy of the Interdisciplinary Research Centers (AICRI). Holder of a Ph.D. in finance and of a CFA, she has supervised numerous Ph.D. and master’s students in Canada, Europe, and North Africa. She has developed various international collaborations, including her previous students. She co-published numerous academic papers, book chapters and articles. She organized and participated in numerous scientific international conferences, where some of their work received awards and recognition (Canadian Award: ASAC: in 2005, 2006 and 2011; the SAB Trophy for Sustainable Finance: in 2013).
In 2018, with her co-authors, she received the award for best research in finance granted by Finance Montreal (IFD-Principles for Responsible Investment: United Nations, Canada). Also in 2018, her paper (in co-authorship) was selected by the Journal of Business Ethics as one of the seven publications that will mark research for the next decade. She is also involved in executive training in many countries, including Algeria, Cameroon, China, Guinea, Malaysia, and Morocco, Poland, and Vietnam.
Marie-France Turcotte, Ph.D., is a professor of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the School of Management Sciences of the Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG, UQAM). She has been teaching CSR for the past 25 years. She is also the director of the French-speaking office of the Réseau entreprise et développement durable (REDD) since its inception. REDD works to mobilize scientific knowledge among decision-makers in organizations (https://redd.nbs.net/). She is actively engaged in research in the fields of CSR and ESG investments. She has obtained several grants and research contracts since the beginning of her career. As an author or co-author, she has published nearly one hundred texts – articles in scientific journals, book chapters and conference proceedings. She recently published a CSR guide for business managers. This guide includes a CSR diagnostic tool and practical examples.
Michel Librowicz holds an MBA from Columbia University, New York, and a Ph.D. from the Université de Paris 1 – Sorbonne, Paris. He has been teaching at the École des Sciences de la gestion of the University of Quebec in Montreal (ESG-UQAM) since 1975. In 1984, he established the academic unit in International Business at the ESG- UQAM. In 1995, he was elected Director of the Philippe-Pariseault Chair for training in Agro-food Market Globalization, a position he held until June 2010. Professor Librowicz is co-founder and current Canadian Director of the Canadian Executive MBA program (CEMBA) at the Warsaw School of Economics, the oldest economics and business school in Poland. The CEMBA program has been ranked among the top three Executive MBA programs in the Republic of Poland.
Besides teaching international business at the ESG-UQAM, he also taught in the Executive MBA program established by UQAM in China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Mexico, Peru, and Poland.
During the period 1987-1997, Professor Librowicz was Chairman of the Board of the Quebec Chamber of Commerce Association (Association des Maisons de Commerce du Québec). He currently holds the position of President of the Canada-Poland Chamber of Commerce in Montreal.
LAB 5 – Vocational Training (TVET) and Youth Employability after the Covid-19 crisis
(Lab for Practitioners)
Tuesday June 15th, 9:00am–10:30am
Organizer: Youssef Sadik, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco
Description:
This LAB presents examples of public policies related to vocational training and youth employability in the world. It analyzes the challenges, strategies and issues that characterize this sector, its main success indicators and limitations, especially after the Covid-19 crisis. The panelists adopt the approach developed by ICMEAS (London), a center for strategic studies of development indicators in Middle East and African countries for the economic, social and educational sectors. They propose a new vision of growth and sustainable development that are of particular importance to southern countries, which are oriented towards the social value and equal opportunity. They also discuss various assessment approaches based on sectoral studies and reports on TVET, education, social economy and social innovation, digital transformation, etc.
Panelists:
Youssef Sadik is a Professor at Mohammed V University and an Associate-Director of International Center for Middle East and African Studies (ICMEAS-London). He is a Research Associate affiliated to various research units of the University of Quebec in Montréal (UQAM), Paris-Dauphine, UQTR, Laurentian University (Ontario), University of Montréal (UdeM).
Sadik served as an alumna of the UNESCO-UNEVOC TVET Leadership Program. He is also an expert on youth employability in the Moroccan Parliament, a consultant for USAID, and a team leader of the study titled “Employability of Youth in Morocco”. Furthermore, he assumed the role of an advisor to the Moroccan Head of Government between 2010 and 2012.
Dr. Cordelia Mason is an Associate Professor and the Director of University Kuala Lumpur Business School (Yayasan Unikl; https://www.unikl.edu.my/dvteam/cordelia-mason/). She is also an Associate Fellow of Malaysian Institute of Management (AFMIM), a member of Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB), Board of Examiners, Honorary Associate Director of Sejahtera Leadership Initiative, Vice-President of Malaysian Association of Applied Linguistics (MAAL), a technical research advisor for AKPK, a Senior Researcher at the MyRIVET (Malaysia Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training), an active member of the International Women’s Federation of Commerce and Industry, and an alumna of the UNESCO-UNEVOC TVET Leadership Program.
Cordelia is a Senior trainer and consultant in the areas of education (curriculum and assessment), ethics, innovation, leadership, strategy, case writing and social entrepreneurship. She has also undertaken international advisory roles in the areas of TVET curriculum development. Her current research interest is in greening TVET and social innovation. A self-professed informal knowledge-broker, Cordelia enjoys exploring the meanings of life across geographical, social and economic boundaries using the lenses of strategic management, technological advancement, innovation and social entrepreneurship. She is deeply inspired by the diverse social missions which have been emerging strongly across industries and improved involvement of businesses with sustainable initiatives. As such, she has taken on a new role as a pro-bono advisor to a few social business start-ups.
Zheng Gangqiang (Tony) is Director of External Affairs office at the Zhejiang Technical Institute of Economics in the People’s Republic of China.
In his position, Prof. Zheng’s tasks include collaborating and communicating with partners, developing research projects, and overseeing staff training abroad. He has organized many international activities on TVET, including a UNESCO-APEID Meeting on Entrepreneurship Education, an International Seminar on E-commerce Training, an International Seminar on the Training of Applied Talents for New Economy, and an International Training Program on Technopreneurship, E-commerce and Pedagogy Concepts. He also presented at the 14th International Conference: “Lifelong Learning: Continuous Education for Sustainable Development” (Russia) and many other international conferences on the topics related TVET.
Prof. Zheng has extensive working experience, as a teacher and regarding curricula development in TVET. Recently, he has contributed to a research study in collaboration with the UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning on the inclusion of green competencies in the recognition of prior learning.
Soufiane Aguid is an expert in International Center for Middle East and African Studies (ICMEAS). He obtained a PhD in Project Management from Mohamed V University in Rabat. After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, he joined the SKEMA Business School in Lille, in which he prepared a Master’s degree in Project, Program Management and Business Development. Soufiane worked for many years as a consultant in several public organizations.
He serves as a part-time Professor in the School of Law in Rabat. He is the author of many academic articles on project management in the public sector published in leading research journals.
Soufiane’s teaching includes courses in Management, Project Management, Developing Business Skills and Institutional Communication.
Karen Moore. Head of Quality Enhancement at North West Regional College (NWRC) North West Regional College’s, Karen Moore has been named Inspirational Educator of the Year at the Derry Journal People of the Year Awards. Karen Moore has worked as a Lecturer, Curriculum Manager, Head of Student Services, Project Manager, and Head of Department at the college.
She was the mastermind behind the E2E (Education to Employment) festival at Ebrington, the first of its kind in the region, a free event designed to inspire local people in the North West to make the connection from Education to Employability.
During her time as Head of Training and Skills at NWRC, Karen also oversaw the implementation of two hugely successful academies in Welding and Dry-Lining, aimed at addressing challenges faced by employers in accessing skilled workers locally, while also creating education and long-term employment opportunities for young people in the North West.
In recent years, Karen travelled to Abu Dhabi to support NWRC Joinery student Cameron Nutt, Department of Training and Skills when he competed in the Worldskills Finals, widely regarded as the Olympics of Skills.
In 2019, she also attended the 2-week UNESCO UNEVOC Leadership training programme in Germany.
LAB 6 – Management practices in a context of emancipatory social innovation. Insights and reflections from the French Quebec experience
(Lab for Practitioners)
Tuesday June 15th, 10:00am–11:30am
Organizers:
Martine Vezina (Ph.D.), Associate professor, HEC Montreal, researcher affiliated to CRISES (Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales (CRISES)/ Research Center on Social Innovations. Section “Organisations sociales et collectives”
Marc Lachapelle, Lecturer, HEC Montréal, Concordia University and Saint-Paul University.
Description:
Can management practices be transformative of society? Under what conditions? Looking for some clues that may help to answer these questions, this workshop will focus on management models in the context of emancipatory practices of social innovation. The practical applications of social and environmental justice within social and collective organizations invite us to revisit and reconceptualize management models, theories and tools. We will discuss various issues pulled from real-life situations and develop practical and theoretical proposals rooted in the research developed at CRISES. The Center for research on social innovations (Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales, CRISES) is a Research Group funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FQRSC). It brings together around a hundred researchers whose work focuses on social innovations and social transformations. The Centre’s current scientific program (2020-2027) targets the contribution of social innovations to social and environmental justice in four areas: social policies and practices, territories and living environments, social and collective organizations and, and finally, work and employment.
Panelists:
Martine Vezina is associate professor in the management department at HEC Montreal. She teaches management in the areas of social and collective economy, social innovation and strategic change management. She is interested in better understanding social and collective organisations from the perspective of their management specificities at different stages of their development from a resources-based perspective. She is interested in social innovation processes adopted by large institutionalised organisations involved in the social economy. Her recent research interest is at the crossroads of social economy organisations and circular economy, trying to build bridges between socially and technically oriented innovations. She is member of CRISES (Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales et la transformation sociale), CIRIEC-Canada and TIESS (Territoires innovants en économie sociale et solidaire).
Marc D. Lachapelle is a lecturer in social innovation and sociology of the organizations at HEC Montréal, Concordia and Saint-Paul University. His main interests are in management of alternative organizations and social innovation. Moreover, he works as a researcher at the CRITS on subject related to research and pedagogical engaged practices He is actually pursuing his Ph.D. on organization paradoxes in alternative organizations at ESG-UQAM.
Others: Three panelists will be selected among field practitioners to stimulate discussion with the audience around “real-life cases”.
LAB 7 – Towards sustainable, intelligent and smart buildings: some research results of the Ivanhoé Cambridge Chair in Real Estate, ESG UQAM
(Research Lab)
Tuesday June 15th, 11:30am–1:00pm
Organizer: Andrée De Serres (Ph.D.), ESG UQAM
Description:
The evolution of scientific and empirical knowledge in terms of sustainable, intelligent and smart building management has made it possible to initiate a real transformation of real estate management and investment. Some results of our research will be presented to demonstrate the advancement of knowledge leading to better management of the social, economic and social impacts generated on humans by the buildings in which they live, play, work, eat and shop.
Panelists:
Andrée De Serres, PhD, is full Professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, School of Management. She holds the Ivanhoé Cambridge Chair in Real Estate at ESG UQAM since 2011 and is director of the Observatoire et centre de valorisation des innovations en immobilier (OCVI).
Hélène Sicotte, PhD, is full Professor, at Université du Québec à Montréal, School of Management (ESG UQAM), and associate researcher with Ivanhoé Cambridge Chair in Real Estate, ESG UQAM. She is director of Advanced Study Programs in Project Management, ESG UQAM, and also a researcher at UQAM Chair in Project Management.
Ahlem Hajjem, PhD, is professor of marketing at Université du Québec à Montréal, School of Management (ESG UQAM), and associate researcher at Ivanhoé Cambridge Chair in Real Estate, ESG UQAM. Her research focuses on the multilevel analysis, big data mining and marketing intelligence.
Patrick Lecomte, PhD, is professor of real estate, Université du Québec à Montréal, School of Management (ESG UQAM). His research focuses on real estate and smart building.
Moderators:
Sylla Maldini, PhD student in business administration, Université du Québec à Montréal, School of Management (ESG UQAM).
Yanis Semsari, M.Sc. student, Maîtrise ès sciences de la gestion (M.Sc.), Université du Québec à Montréal, School of Management (ESG UQAM).
LAB 8 – The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on retailers and the changes in consumer behaviour
(Lab for Practitioners)
Tuesday June 15th, 8:00am–9:30am
Organizer: Camélia Dumitriu (Ph.D.). Department of Strategy and Social & environmental responsibility, ESG, UQÀM
Description:
This workshop will bring together academics and practitioners to explore, in an interactive session with panelists and participants, various topics that include – but are not limited to: (a) the challenges faced by retailers during a pandemic, (b) the lessons that grocery & food retailers have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic and their implications for theory building, (c) the development of new business practices aimed at responding to changes in consumer behavior and reduce the economic and psychological impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on workers and; (d) strategies for dealing with the recession and preparing for the recovery and beyond.
Panelists:
Bruno Ménard is the vice-president of IGA Louise Ménard. The Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) is the largest independent grocery chain in the world that was founded in 1926 to bring family owned, local grocery stores together under the IGA brand (https://www.iga.com/about), while at the same time, allowing them to meet the needs of their unique communities.
A lawyer and engineer by training, Bruno Ménard began his career at Borden Ladner Gervais, a large national law firm, where he practiced in commercial law with a specialty in entertainment, intellectual property and technology. He then acted as a legal counsel, director – commercial and legal affairs, vice-president – commercial and legal affairs, and executive producer for various companies in the audiovisual production industry (National Film Board, L’Équipe Spectra, Astral Television Networks in Toronto, Attraction Media, Productions La Fête, Jimmy Lee). He was also the founder of Films 2.0 and Upside Up Media Group.
In 2014, he returned to IGA Louise Ménard as vice-president. Today, he brings his extensive management experience to the benefit of the family business to ensure continuity and maintain the reputation of excellence that it has enjoyed in the food market for nearly 40 years.
Guillaume Néron-Grondin is an MBA graduate from HEC Montréal (2020). He has worked for Costco Wholesale Corp. (Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.) since 2010, and has taken many management positions since 2013. Costco Wholesale Corp. – a multinational corporation headquartered in the United States – operates membership warehouses (https://www.costco.ca/about-us.html). It is the 142nd largest public company in the world (Forbes’ Global 2000 List, 2020). It has been ranked 20th on Forbes’ list of the “World’s Best Employers 2020” and 79th on Forbes’ list of the “World’s Most Valuable Brands 2020.”
As an operation optimization specialist, Guillaume Néron-Grondin brings a strategic view to retail and management. Frontline intervenor through the COVID-19 pandemic, he has worked with one of the most sought after retailers during this difficult time, going from the first impulse buying wave until today. Guest lecturer for ESG-UQAM, he brings thoughtful insights from the industry to scholars on business strategy.
Camélia Dumitriu is a professor of Strategic Management and Risk & Crisis management at Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG, UQÀM) where she has been teaching corporate strategy and risk & crisis management since 2001. Before 2001, she was Full Professor of Management & Information Systems at Gh. Asachi Technical University (Iasi, Romania) and CEO of Moldavian Commodities Exchange. She holds a PhD in Management (Gh. Asachi University), a M.Sc. in ICT Engineering, and a Fast Track MBA with concentration in in Strategy (UQAM) and Decision-making Theory (McGill). Her research interests include corporate strategy and competitive advantage, multinational corporations, and “Enterprise Risk Management” (ERM). She has been visiting professor or invited guest at numerous European universities including Derby Business School (UK), Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Vienna University of Technology (Austria), University of Granada (Spain), Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies (Romania), and Warsaw School of Economics (Poland). She also has served as a management consultant to policy makers and numerous organizations worldwide, on topics related to her expertise.
Moderator: Rachid Moustaquim (Ph.D.). ESG, UQÀM (TBC)