People

Academic Director

Angèle Beausoleil, PhD, MA, BAA

Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream -- Business Design and Innovation

Degrees:

• PhD in Innovation Pedagogy, University of British Columbia
• MA in Interdisciplinary Studies (Innovation Intermediaries Studies), University of British Columbia 
• BAA in Communication Design and Commerce, Ryerson University

Personal website: https://businessdesigntoolkit.wordpress.com

Dr. Angèle Beausoleil is a 'pracademic' who teaches design methodologies for business innovation and leads field research inside organizations on innovation process design, navigation and management. A former communications designer, senior strategist and innovation lab executive, she applies her 25 years of business experience to crafting high impact teaching and student-centred learning experiences. At Rotman, Dr. Beausoleil is evolving the Business Design major for MBAs as a recognized and distinct specialization in human-centred design and business innovation. She has worked on corporate brands such as Starbucks, McDonalds, Sony, The Gap, Telus, and global initiatives such as the 2010 Winter Olympics and the Society of Digital Innovators (SoDA). Prior to Rotman, she taught at UBC's Sauder School of Business and remains a visiting lecturer of Applied Innovation at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Dr. Beausoleil is Canada's first PhD to focus on innovation literacy (innovative leadership) using design processes and methods.

Associate Director

Andrew Seepersad, MBA

Andrew is a Rotman MBA grad who specialized in Business Design and holds a certificate in Learning Experience Design at UofT’s OISE. He has been working closely with Dr. Beausoleil on researching and developing the Business Design pedagogy, as well as the adoption of Business Design as a practice, across multiple classes within the Rotman ecosystem and through customized industry engagements. Individually, he has consulted on a number of Business Design related projects including engagements with Scotiabank, a large social impact organization in Brazil and Canadian Stage.

Prior to Rotman, Andrew worked over a decade at a large multinational corporation, building extensive experience in Corporate Strategy, Planning, Financial Management and Partner Relations Management. In addition, he was actively involved in theatre, having founded and led a successful theatre company.

Learning Experience Designer

Anjana Dattani, MBA

Anjana designs learner experiences and co-facilitates delivery of Business Design courses for Corporate Executives, MBAs and Undergraduate students. In addition to this, she leads projects related to innovation pedagogy research and applying Business Design to organizational challenges.

Anjana brings experience leading end-to-end ecommerce businesses before completing an MBA at Rotman, with a double major in Healthcare Management and Business Design. Reach out to have a conversation about Business Design facilitation, research and application.

Business Designer in Residence

Iskandar Gadirzade, MBA

Industry Advisory Group

Rotman appointed Industry practitioners advise on centre activities and act as key resources for MBA students.

Co-Chair: Delaine Hampton, EIR
Co-chair Professor David Soberman
Advisor - Anthropology: Emma Aiken-Klar, EIR
Advisor - Management: Chris Ferguson
Advisor - Entrepreneurship: Richard Blundell
Advisor - Systems: Alex Ryan, EIR
Advisor - Student Affairs: Erin Tsutsumoto

Faculty Affiliates

Rotman faculty who teach Business Design and Business Design related courses. Affiliates also act as subject matter experts to our applied projects.

Professor Nouman Ashraf, OBHRM
Professor Bill McEvily, Strategy
Professor Sarah Kaplan, Strategy, GATE
Professor Dilip Soman, Marketing, BEAR

For general inquiries, contact us: businessdesign@rotman.utoronto.ca