Toronto – Four distinguished alumni and one faculty member from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management will be honoured this evening at the Rotman Alumni Awards Dinner on October 22. The dinner will mark the 20th anniversary of Joseph Rotman’s first gift to the School, highlighting the exceptional growth and influence that the School has achieved and the enduring impact of his generosity, vision and leadership.
The dinner is also the launch event for Reunite@Rotman, the School’s inaugural premier alumni weekend taking place from October 22 to 24 which is bringing together graduates, faculty, staff, and students for lectures, fireside chats and social activities.
“We’re very pleased to honour this group of exceptional individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their professional and personal endevours,” says Dean Tiff Macklem, who will host the dinner. “These individuals have demonstrated visionary leadership and support to the Rotman School community.”
Receiving The Catalyst Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is Daniel Debow, JD/MBA’00, an entrepreneur and angel investor. The award is presented to a member of the alumni community for exceptional achievements in the areas of business innovation, entrepreneurship and new thinking. He was the co-founder and co-CEO of Rypple, which was acquired by salesforce.com in 2011 and rebranded as Salesforce Work.com, a social performance management platform. At Salesforce, Debow was SVP, Emerging Technology, responsible for developing and launching new wearable solutions from concept to mainstream adoption. Prior to Rypple, Daniel was on the founding team of Workbrain, a workforce management software company. Daniel led Workbrain’s sale to Infor in 2007. In 2015, he was recognized as Canada's Angel Investor of the Year. He is a Founding Partner of the Creative Destruction Lab at the Rotman School.
Johann Koss, EMBA '04 is receiving The Impact Award for Global Leadership, which is presented to a member of the alumni community who has demonstrated global leadership excellence and achieved significant international business success. Koss is an internationally recognized social entrepreneur who has been widely acknowledged for his work in promoting the use of sport and play as a tool for positive childhood development. He founded Right To Play in 2000, dedicating himself to growing it into an influential international non-government organization and a leader in the Sport for Development and Peace movement. Koss has received a number of awards for his philanthropic service and leadership. Most recently, he received the Order of Canada from the Governor General, which recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Before founding Right To Play, Koss was an Olympic speed skater and is considered to be one of the greatest winter Olympians of all time. In 1994, he made world headlines when he won three gold medals in the Lillehammer Olympic Games, in his home country of Norway.
Mark Wiseman, LLB/MBA '96, President & Chief Executive Officer, CPP Investment Board, is the recipient of The Excellence Award for Financial Management and Good Governance. The award is presented to a member of the alumni community who has been an industry leader in championing sound financial management and governance as a cornerstone to organizational and national prosperity. Wiseman is responsible for leading the CPP Investment Board and its investment activities. He joined the CPP Investment Board in June 2005 as the organization’s Senior Vice-President, Private Investments. He was later named Executive Vice-President, Investments, responsible for managing all of the investment activities of the CPP Investment Board – Public Market Investments, Private Investments and Real Estate Investments. In 2006, he was named to Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. He is a Board member for the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG) and serves on the board of several not-for-profit organizations, including the Capital Markets Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and Right to Play International. He is the United Way Toronto Campaign Chair for 2015. He is also a past Chairman of Youth Without Shelter, an emergency shelter for homeless youth.
Daisy Ho, MBA '90, is the recipient of The Rotman Community Champion Award which is presented to a member of the alumni community who has displayed outstanding leadership, vision and commitment to the Rotman School community. She is currently Deputy Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Shun Tak Holdings Limited. She joined the Group in 1994 and was appointed an executive director of the Company that year. She became the Group’s deputy managing director and chief financial officer in 1999. Ms. Daisy Ho is a member of the executive committee, remuneration committee and nomination committee of the Company and a director of a number of the Company’s subsidiaries. In addition to participating in the Group’s strategic planning and development, Ms. Daisy Ho is also responsible for the Group’s overall financial activities, as well as property development, sales and investments. She is currently a member of the School’s Dean’s Advisory Board.
Tiziana Casciaro, an associate professor of organizational behaviour and human resource management at the Rotman School, is the recipient of The Advancement Award for Faculty. The award is presented to a deserving faculty member who has applied a bold ambition to scholarship and business education, has been a driving force in advancing the mission of the School, and is a champion of student and alumni engagement across the worldwide Rotman community. Her award-winning research examines social-psychological mechanisms responsible for the formation and evolution of social networks within and between organizations, and their impact on individual and collective performance. She has won numerous teaching awards in Rotman programs. Her work has appeared in top academic journals in management, including the Administrative Science Quarterly and Management Science, as well as in the Harvard Business Review. She has served as an advisor to corporations and firms in the United States and Canada.
Heading the evening as emcees will be Adjunct Prof. Richard Nesbitt, MBA’85, President and CEO, Global Risk Institute for Financial Services; and, Joanna Rotenberg, JD/MBA’01, Head Personal Wealth Management, BMO Financial Group.
Award presenters include:
- Melinda Rogers, MBA '97, Founder, Rogers Venture Partners and Vice Chair, Control Trust, Rogers Communications
- John Cassaday, MBA '81, Corporate Director and Retired President and Chief Executive Officer, Corus Entertainment Inc.;
- Victor Dodig, BCom '88, President and Chief Executive Officer, CIBC;
- John H. Watson, BCom '66, MBA '67, President, Fairbank Investment Management Limited, and;
- William Downe, MBA '78, Chief Executive Officer, BMO Financial Group.
The Rotman School of Management is located in the heart of Canada’s commercial and cultural capital and is part of the University of Toronto, one of the world’s top 20 research universities. The Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables our graduates to tackle today’s global business challenges. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.
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For more information:
Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto
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E-mail mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca
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