Toronto – Seven graduates from degree programs at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management were included among the 500 most influential business leaders who had an impact on their communities, industries and the economy in British Columbia according to a list published by BIV, a Vancouver-based business news outlet.
Kathy Butler, MBA’96, Head of Capital Markets, B.C., CIBC, was selected to the Banking category. She has been with the bank for more than 25 years. Since 2003, Butler has also been a partner with Social Venture Partners, which engages in socially driven venture philanthropy.
David Garofalo, BCom’88, Chairman and CEO of Gold Royalty Corp. was selected to the Mining category. He is also Chairman and CEO of the Marshall Precious Metals Fund and chair of the board of Great Panther Mining Ltd. Garofalo was recognized as the Northern Miner’s Mining Person of the Year for 2012. His work as a CEO and CFO has been recognized with numerous national and international awards.
Ian Gillespie, MBA’86, Founder of Westbank, was selected to the Residential Development and Investment category. The firm’s projects include the redevelopment of Woodward’s, Shangri-La Vancouver and Toronto, Fairmont Pacific Rim, Telus Garden and Telus Sky, Vancouver House and Alberni by Kengo Kuma.
Peter Guo, MBA’95, B.C. Leader, Enterprise Risk Services, MNP, was included in the Accounting category. With 25 years of experience, he provides risk management, consulting and assurance services to private and public organizations. Prior to joining MNP, Guo was a partner at a Big Four firm, where he led the firm’s systems and process assurance and controls practice in B.C.
Maya Lange, MBA’04, Vice President, Global Marketing, Destination BC, was selected to the CMOs category. She has more than 20 years of leadership experience across a wide range of public- and private-sector organizations. At Destination BC, she leads marketing efforts in 14 domestic and international markets to drive over 22 million trips to and within B.C. annually.
Ryan Spong, MBA’03, Co-Founder, Foodee, was included in the Chefs and Restaurateurs category. Once a tech start-up, Foodee now serves over 4,000 corporate clients in 15 major North American cities through more than 700 owner-operated restaurant partners. The company was acquired by Sodexo in July 2021. Spong is a co-founder of Tacofino and Superbaba, and a director at the Presidents Group.
Bruce Munro Wright, B’Com’83, Chair of the Vancouver Art Gallery Foundation, was named to the Arts category. He is a recently retired lawyer, and was managing partner of the West Coast office of Goodmans LLP (later MLT Aikins LLP) from 1996 to 2018. He is past chair of the Vancouver Art Gallery and of the Vancouver Opera and is president of the Pride in Art Society.
The leaders were selected by BIV after evaluating a wide range of factors, including achievement within an organization or sector, professional contributions, peer recognition, awards and other recognitions, board appointments, community and political engagement, philanthropy and non-profit work, among others. The BIV 500 is online.
The Rotman School of Management is part of the University of Toronto, a global centre of research and teaching excellence at the heart of Canada’s commercial capital. Rotman is a catalyst for transformative learning, insights and public engagement, bringing together diverse views and initiatives around a defining purpose: to create value for business and society. 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
Voice: 416.946.3818
E-mail: mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca