A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE SAUDER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT UBCFALL/WINTER 2014 • VOLUME 34 • NO 2
THE CREATIVITY ISSUETHE CREATIVITY ISSUE
A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE SAUDER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT UBCFALL 2014 • VOLUME 34 • NO 2
Creating value
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1VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Cole Nakatani, BCom 2011.
In memoriam: Peter Lusztig, BCom 1954, Dean Emeritus.
ALUMNI STORIES
37
45
Viewpoints from the Dean
Sauder Index
Newsworthy
Insider Information
Actuals
Earning Interest
Class Notes
Reunions
Points of View
IN EVERY ISSUE
2
3
4
6
8
33
38
46
48
The democratization of creativityMore and more companies are turning to crowdsourcing to
solve problems and develop products. Is business as simple
as asking people what they think?
16
The playdough resuméCreativity: CEOs demand it, but are businesses geared to
help employees develop creativity as a workplace skill?
21
facebook.com/SauderAlumni
Twitter.com/ViewpointsMag
twitter.com/ubcsauderschool
linkedin.com/company/sauder-
school-of-business-at-ubc
Mad wo/menThree Sauder alumni working in the “Mad Men” world of
advertising share their insight into the creative process
behind many big brand campaigns.
30
Alumni Centre to be named for Robert H. Lee
The $18.5 million facility will open in spring 2015 and will be
a resource and meeting place for UBC’s 300,000 alumni.
35
Cover photo by Mark Mushet. Photographed
on location at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Back cover, left to right: Liz Starbuck Greer,
Angèle Beausoleil, Pete Mitchell, Liz Newton,
Paul Cubbon. Front cover: Jenny Duff y,
Jordan Cash, Moura Quayle, Darren Dahl,
Jim Southcott.
Correction Incorrect information appeared on page 35 of
the Spring/Summer 2014 issue of Viewpoints.
The last three characters of the main headline
(meaning “and”) should have been removed, and
the translation should have read: “A sentence
meaning ‘It comes from the Ancestors’ in the
Musqueam dialect.” The Viewpoints team deeply
apologizes for this error, and any concern it may
have caused. The page has been corrected in the
online version of the magazine.
The creativity issue
“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great
creative people.” – LEO BURNETT, PROMINENT 20TH C. AD MAN
Does the study of creativity belong at a business school? For some readers, the idea may
be a stretch; for others, an obvious evolution. In this issue, we take a look at creativity and
curiosity, as the springboards to all that comes next in business.
12 COVER STORY Six ways creativity is changing business
2 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
Several articles in this issue touch
on the connection between creativity
and leadership. How can organizations
encourage creativity among their
employees? Part of the answer has to be
creating an environment that is open to
experimentation.
My favourite example of the
relationship between creativity and
leadership actually comes from a very
diff erent domain, namely music, and
specifi cally jazz.
The great jazz pianist and composer
Herbie Hancock recalled in a recent inter-
view (The Wall Street Journal, February 5,
2014) how Miles Davis fostered creativity
among the musicians in his 1967 quintet.
“This night was magical… we were
communicating almost telepathically,
playing ‘So What’…. Miles was playing and
building and building, and then I played
the wrong chord. It was so, so wrong. In
an instant, time stood still and I felt totally
shattered. Miles took a breath. And then
he played this phrase that made my chord
right. It didn’t seem possible. I still don’t
know how he did it. But Miles hadn’t heard
it as a wrong chord—he took it as an
unexpected chord. He didn’t judge what
I played.”
VIEWPOINTS FROM THE DEAN
UNIVERSITIES IN GENERAL, AND THE
Sauder School in particular, have been
involved in the creative process for many
years. After all, original research is a
deeply creative enterprise, since successful
researchers, faculty and students are
expected to contribute something
new to the body of human knowledge.
Contributions that are original or even
unexpected are generally considered to be
the most signifi cant. Originality is one of
the hallmarks of truly impactful scholarship;
impactful scholarship is fundamentally
creative.
Although creativity has long been part
of the research fabric of the school, its
explicit incorporation into the curriculum is
quite new. In the undergraduate program,
the MBA, the Masters of Management, and
even executive education, students are now
examining the role of creativity in value
creation, and exploring and developing
their own creative abilities. In the pages
that follow, you will hear stories of how
creativity has been incorporated in the
classroom, and stories of the impact that
this has had on students. You will also learn
about how classrooms in the school are
changing to support creative approaches to
problem solving.
Jazzed about creativityThis issue of Viewpoints focuses on creativity and its role in business
and business education. The creation of value is, of course, at the core
of business. However, emphasis on imagination and originality as
important elements of the process of value creation is relatively new. It
is only recently, for example, that we have begun to refer to advertising,
architecture, fashion, video game design and the performing arts as
“creative industries.” This is almost certainly a misnomer, since all
successful organizations are creative in some sense, but it does illustrate
that creativity seems to play a larger role in today’s knowledge economy
than it might have played in the past. Perhaps advances in information
technology, and the resulting ease of knowledge sharing, foster
imagination, originality and the creative process.
I like this story for a number of reasons.
It illustrates the genius and integrity of
two remarkable musicians. It also reminds
us that even the most accomplished
professionals will occasionally make
“mistakes.” Finally, it highlights one of the
salient challenges of leadership—learning
to listen to others and working to create an
environment that gives them the freedom to
bring their unique talents and ideas to the
common goals of the enterprise, whether
that is creating music or creating value.
I hope you enjoy this edition of
Viewpoints. Please stay in touch. ■
Sincerely,
Robert Helsley, DeanGROSVENOR PROFESSOR OF CITIES,
BUSINESS ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY
3VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
The Sauder IndexBY JENNIFER WAH
OUR MISSION FOR VIEWPOINTSViewpoints Magazine is designed to nurture dialogue and relationships with our alumni and friends by ensuring that you continue to enjoy the practical benefi ts of the school’s leading-edge business thinking. Viewpoints presents news, research and commentary that demonstrate the ability of our faculty and our graduates to defi ne the future of business and to open doors for those who are connected to the Sauder School of Business. Your thoughts about this mission are always welcome.
EDITORIALDale Griffi n EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Erica Smishek EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jennifer Wah MANAGING EDITOR
DESIGNBrandon Brind ART DIRECTOR | CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Deana De Ciccio ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR
Karen Cowl GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Leanne Romak GRAPHIC DESIGNER | ILLUSTRATOR
PRODUCTIONSpencer MacGillivray PRODUCTION MANAGER
Viewpoints Magazine is produced by Forwords
Communication Inc. and published by the Sauder
School of Business, University of British Columbia
2053 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Tel: 604-822-8555, Fax: 604-822-0592.
Viewpoints is published regularly for alumni and
friends of the Sauder School of Business.
We welcome the submission of ideas and articles
for possible publication in Viewpoints Magazine.
Email: [email protected]
For an online version of Viewpoints, visit
www.sauder.ubc.ca.
CHANGE OF ADDRESSSend change of address to Alumni Relations Offi ce,
fax: 604-822-0592 or email to [email protected]
©Copyright 2014, Sauder School of Business.
Editorial material contained in Viewpoints Magazine
may be freely reproduced provided credit is given.
ISSN 089-2388. Canada Post. Printed in Canada.
EDITORIAL BOARDDale Griffi n (Chair), with Katie Armitage, Sheila
Biggers, Andrew Riley, Erica Smishek, Jennifer Wah
and Bruce Wiesner
CONTRIBUTORSBrenda Bouw, Sue Bugos, Allan Jenkins, Chris Lane,
Spencer MacGillivray, Andrew Riley, Thiago Silva,
Erica Smishek, Jennifer Wah, Bethan Williams
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Most played instruments, worldwide, by lessons: Piano, guitar, drums
Countries with the highest musical instrument sales: US, Japan
Percentage of children under 17 worldwide who report never
having played an instrument: 15
Highest price paid for an original painting (Paul Cézanne’s The Card Players): $273 million
Buyer: State of Qatar
Most-admired living artist, according to a Vanity Fair poll of
100 art-world luminaries: German painter Gerhard Richter
Bestselling musical artists of all time: The Beatles,
Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson
Percentage of work time Google employees are required to devote to exploring their own ideas: 20
Notable developments as a result of Google’s approach:
Gmail, Google Reader
Year the term “hackathon” was fi rst used, in reference to programmers
dedicating time to play and explore coding: 1999
Top prize off ered at salesforce.com’s innovation hackathon at the “world’s
largest software event ever” in October, 2014: $1 million
Area of the brain previously believed to be solely responsible for creative thinking: Right
Number of areas now shown to be involved in creative thinking, according to
new research from Dartmouth College: 11
Ideal temperature and light factors to inspire creativity:
25° in natural light (vs. artifi cial light)
Value of richest literary prize in the world, the Nobel Prize for Literature: Currently about $1.25 million
Value of top CanLit prize, the Scotiabank Giller prize: $100,000
Percentage increase in Google searches about “knitting for
beginners” in 2013: 30
Percentage of US adults who feel “creating online” is
a part of our culture: 72
Sources: cio-today.com, wired.com, psychologytoday.com, buff erapp.com, wikipedia.org, vanityfair.com, bbc.com,
indigoboom.com, hbr.org
4 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
NEWSWORTHY SAUDER IN THE NEWS
Left to right: Russell Lundholm, Rafael Rogo, and Jenny Li Zhang.
Sauder prof. weighs in on pipeline politics
Leading news outlets from across Canada
sought comment from Associate Professor
Werner Antweiler about the federal
government's decision to approve the
Northern Gateway pipeline in mid-June.
“There are going to very substantial
delays on actually moving on this project,”
Antweiler told The Canadian Press. He was
quoted in the Financial Post, The Globe and
Mail and The Vancouver Sun. ■
Being early beats being better
The Harvard Business Review’s “Defend Your Research” column has Associate Professor
Marc-David Seidel and his co-author answering questions about their new study on fi rst-
mover advantage.
The Strategic Management Journal study shows leaders tend to pursue innovations, even
as complex as airplanes, based on early adoption by competitors instead of close scrutiny
of the technical merits—sometimes with deadly consequences.
“Business leaders tend to panic when new innovations are about to hit the market. They
scramble to buy an apparent early leader,” says Seidel. “Sometimes this results in inferior
products, but as we show in our study, in the airline industry there was loss of life.” ■
Research on foreign fi rms and corporate communications generates headlines
The farther companies are from the
United States, the harder they work to
communicate corporate performance,
according to a study co-authored by
Professor Russell Lundholm and Assistant
Professors Rafael Rogo and Jenny Li Zhang,
which was featured in top publications such as
Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg
Businessweek, and The Times of India.
The study, published in The Accounting
Review, fi nds that distance from the US
predicts how clear a foreign fi rm’s annual
report and earnings press releases will be.
“Our results suggest that foreign fi rms
are responding to a perceived reluctance on
the part of US investors to own them. They
are using simple language that is easy to
understand, and they are also off ering more
quantifi ed facts about their performance,”
says Lundholm. ■
5VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Analysis of NHL players generates global headlines
Professor James Brander pinpointed the optimal age for NHL players in a study that was
covered by leading publications and news sources across Canada and the United States,
including The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and the CBC.
The Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports study found that the performance of
forwards peaks between the ages of 27 and 28. Defencemen are best between 28 and 29,
and the performance of goaltenders varies little by age.
“While confi rming conventional wisdom that players peak in their late 20s, the study
proves it is wishful thinking for managers to expect a player in his mid-20s to continue
improving signifi cantly,” says Brander. “The vast majority of players are at 90 per cent of
their best by age 24, although there are a few late bloomers.” ■
Study on luxury brands makes international news
Snobby staff can boost high-end retail sales, according
to a study by Senior Associate Dean Darren Dahl,
which was featured in world-leading news outlets such
as BBC News, New York Magazine, TIME, CNN Money,
The Sydney Morning Herald, The Telegraph, GQ and The
Wall Street Journal.
The forthcoming Journal of Consumer Research study
reveals that consumers who get the brush-off at a high-
end retailer can become more willing to purchase and
wear pricey togs.
“It appears that snobbiness might actually be a
qualifi cation worth considering for luxury brands like
Louis Vuitton or Gucci,” says Dahl. “Our research
indicates they can end up having a similar eff ect to an
‘in-group’ in high school that others aspire to join.” ■
Research fi nding ostracism to be worse than harassment makes international news
Ostracism can be more damaging than bullying in the workplace,
according to a study by Professors Sandra Robinson and Jennifer
Berdahl that was profi led in Fast Company, New York Magazine,
the Daily Mail, The Times of India, Women’s Health and The Globe
and Mail.
While most people consider ostracism less harmful than
bullying, feeling excluded is signifi cantly more likely to lead to job
dissatisfaction, health problems and quitting, according to the
Organization Science study.
“We’ve been taught that ignoring someone is socially
preferable—if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say
anything at all,” says Robinson. “But ostracism actually leads
people to feel more helpless, like they’re not worthy of any
attention at all.” ■
6 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
Sauder prof. wins award for infl uential research on vengeance, justice and forgiveness
Sauder professor Karl Aquino has
won an award for the most infl uential
paper on workplace confl ict from
a leading international network of
business researchers.
The Academy of Management’s
confl ict management division chair,
William Bottom, says Aquino’s
paper was the “clear winner” among
the candidate articles.
Aquino and his co-authors
investigated diff erent responses to
being harmed at work, and found that in workplaces with strong
procedures to address wrongdoings, people tend more towards
forgiveness and reconciliation. ■
Sauder research director now president of Canada’s leading network for research administrators
The director of Sauder’s Offi ce of
Research Support Services, Frances
Chandler, is the new president
of the Canadian Association of
University Research Administrators,
the country’s leading network of her
peers.
CAURA also gave her an award
for distinguished service, for her
work in advancing the organization’s
goals of communicating and
facilitating cutting-edge research.
“My job is to help faculty members be successful in their
research,” says Chandler, who’s now in an even better position to
access information on funding bodies and journals, and represent
Sauder internationally. ■
Sauder breaks into top 50 in Financial Times ranking of executive education
Sauder Executive Education rates among the top 50 providers in
the world for open (available to all) programs, according to the
global 2014 executive education rankings by the Financial Times.
The school gained two places in the ranking, rising to 49th
globally for the quality of its courses off ered to management
professionals. Sauder is one of only six Canadian business
schools included in the ranking, and one of just two schools
west of Ontario. ■
SAUDER FACULTY INSIDER INFORMATION
Sauder’s Ch’nook program earns federal government award
Ch’nook’s inaugural Links to Learning workshop
earned praise from the Government of Canada
by winning a 2013-2014 Deputy Ministers’
Recognition Award for Collaboration and
Partnerships, presented in June to Miranda
Huron, Program Manager for Ch’nook’s Scholars
and Cousins initiatives.
Links to Learning 2013, the fi rst of an annual event presented
by Aboriginal Aff airs and Northern Development Canada in
partnership with Ch’nook, is a technical training forum for First
Nations economic development offi cers and land managers. ■
Karl Aquino
Frances Chandler
Sauder joins global network of leading business schools as only Canadian member
The Sauder School of Business
is the only Canadian member of
the Global Network for Advanced
Management (GNAM), a 27-school
partnership dedicated to integrating
international experience into
graduate business education.
MBA students at Sauder’s
Robert H. Lee Graduate School will
now have unprecedented access
to learning opportunities with
business schools around the world.
“Our partnership with GNAM off ers the Sauder School an
intriguing opportunity to contribute to and engage with a global
community dedicated to advancing an international approach to
business,” said Sauder’s Dean Robert Helsley. ■
Sauder a new partner in trailblazing program for corporate directors
Canada’s fi rst university-accredited training program for corporate
directors is coming to the Sauder School of Business in a new partner-
ship with national organization The Directors College. The fi rst courses
began this past summer through Executive Education at Sauder.
The Directors College’s Chartered Director program focuses on
practical governance issues, as well as the cultural and behavioural
aspects of good governance. Board members and senior executives
gain a deeper understanding of today’s best practices in corporate
governance, and earn a Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation
upon completion of the fi ve-module program.
The new partnership will give students greater regional choice,
fl exibility to complete the program at their own pace, and a
broader network of relationships. ■
Dean Robert Helsley
7VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Sauder prof. leads UN aviation conference
Sauder professor Tae Oum
addressed the world’s aviation
leaders in May at a global
conference in Montreal hosted by
the United Nations’ International
Civil Aviation Organization—the
only UN agency headquartered
in Canada.
In his keynote talk, Oum set
the agenda for the conference,
discussing pressing issues facing
the industry, such as sustainable
development and climate change, liberalizing international
agreements, and meeting consumer expectations.
Sauder professor Anming Zhang also spoke at the conference,
in a session devoted to exploring how to create greater effi ciency
in the transport of cargo. ■
Tae Oum
BCom student brings Arc Initiative’s knowledge exchange home to Rwanda
Jim Gilliland is President and CEO of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel. He has extensive investment
experience, acquired through his time at HSBC Asset Management/M.K. Wong & Associates in Vancouver
and Barclays Global Investors in San Francisco, in fi xed income markets in Canada and the United States.
Among his achievements, Gilliland has launched and managed a fi xed-income hedge fund; developed
platforms to manage risk; and created customized client solutions and liability-driven products. Gilliland is a
Chartered Financial Analyst and holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Sauder School of
Business (1993) and a Master in Financial Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. ■
Debra Hewson is President and CEO of Odlum Brown Limited, a full-service investment fi rm. She has earned
a reputation for her vision, passion and dedication as a leader in the business community for more than 30
years. In 2010, she was recognized as one of BC’s 100 Women of Infl uence by The Vancouver Sun. Hewson
has also been involved in the broader community as a board member of St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation. In
2012, she received the British Columbia Community Achievement Award and a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond
Jubilee Medal. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia (1981) and is Industry
Director for the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. ■
Jonathan Kallner is Regional Managing Partner for the Greater Vancouver Area at KPMG. For more than
25 years he has provided audit services and business advice to clients in a variety of industries including
retail, distribution, technology, life-sciences and not-for-profi t. Kallner is a Chartered Accountant and holds
a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of British Columbia (1989). He is also a
member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, a school for director education and certifi cation. Outside of
offi ce hours, Kallner is a dedicated soccer coach at the grass-roots/youth level and serves on several boards
including schools, family services and community-based organizations. ■
First-year BCom student Arielle Uwonkunda took the Arc Initiative’s
name to heart by spearheading its expansion into her home country
of Rwanda.
The Arc Initiative, founded and led by Sauder lecturer Jeff Kroeker
and BCom alum Thato Makgolane, brings world-leading business
smarts to communities in developing countries, building leadership
and business management skills in a two-way exchange of knowledge.
The fi rst business skills workshop in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali,
drew a resoundingly positive response from the 45 entrepreneurs
in attendance, and from Rwanda’s fi nance minister, Claver Gatete,
a UBC alum, who was on hand to thank the team for their work. ■
Business leaders join Sauder’s Faculty Advisory Board
Sauder BCom student Arielle Uwonkunda (second from right) in Rwanda.
8 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
ACTUALS SEEN AND HEARD IN THE SAUDER WORLD
Entrepreneurship in Hong KongOn March 26, 2014, four panelists
from diff erent sectors shared their
experiences and entrepreneurial
journeys with over 50 alumni at the
“Entrepreneurship in Hong Kong: An
Inside Look” event, organized by the
Sauder Business Club of Hong Kong.
Attendees learned about the
entrepreneurial scene in Hong
Kong including the types of funding
available, the government’s role in
supporting businesses and the types of
deals seen in the region recently.
The event was held at the Café
Habitu at Lan Kwai Fong in Central
Hong Kong and featured the panelists
Charles Ng, Associate Director-
General, Invest Hong Kong; Jah Ying
Chung, Founder and Air Marshal,
Launchpilots; Casey Lau,
Co-founder and Executive Director,
StartupsHK and Community
Development Manager, APAC for
SoftLayer, an IBM company; and James
Giancotti, Co-founder, Bigcolors and
Partner, Excitin.
CEO Dinner in BeijingOn May 6, 2014, alumni in Beijing had
the opportunity to attend an exclusive
CEO Dinner with Paul Hollands,
BCom 1979, President and CEO of
A&W Food Services Canada Inc.,
one of Canada’s elite food service
companies. Hollands shared his
experiences as a business leader and
as a graduate of the Sauder School.
Twenty alumni attended this intimate
and interactive event hosted by the
Sauder Business Club of Beijing.
Dean’s presentation in Hong KongForty alumni had the opportunity
to learn more about what makes
cities economically sustainable and
successful at an exclusive event held
by the Sauder Business Club of Hong
Kong on May 6, 2014. Robert Helsley,
Dean of the Sauder School of Business
and the Grosvenor Professor of Cities,
Business Economics and Public Policy,
presented his “Successful Cities”
research to a sold-out audience.
Alumni Mentorship Program launch in VancouverThe Sauder Business Club of
Vancouver organized a special event to
mark the launch of the second cohort
of the Alumni Mentorship Program on
May 8, 2014.
Mentors and mentees learned
more about the program’s positive
impact on the past participants’
careers and personal development.
The program’s goal is to provide
an opportunity for Alumni mentees
to learn from experienced alumni
mentors. Through an application and
interview process managed
by Alumni Career Services, mentees
are paired with mentors based on
their personal and professional
development objectives.
The fi rst cohort of the Alumni
Mentorship Program in Calgary and
Toronto will be launched this fall.
Speed networking in TorontoThe Sauder Business Club of Toronto
organized its fi rst ever speed
networking event on June 26, 2014. It
was a great opportunity to connect with
a diverse group of established alumni
from diff erent graduating years who
work across various industries.
This intimate gathering stood
out from most networking events,
where it is common to see groups
of old acquaintances mingle and it
may be diffi cult to break into their
conversations. Instead, the organizers
structured the evening diff erently to
give attendees the opportunity to
speak with established alumni for three
minutes each to ensure maximum
interaction. Once the round of speed
networking ended, the fl oor was
opened to continue the conversations
that had started. ■
Sauder Business Clubs bring alumni together around the worldSAUDER’S NETWORK OF BUSINESS CLUBS ORGANIZE SOCIAL, BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENTS
AROUND THE WORLD TO SUPPORT THE ALUMNI COMMUNITY. DURING THE SPRING THE CLUBS HELD NUMEROUS
EVENTS TO CONNECT ALUMNI, FACULTY AND BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS FROM A WIDE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES.
MA
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MU
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9VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
SAUDER ALUMNI AND STUDENTS were treated to a talk by Steven
Levitt, co-author of best-selling
books Freakonomics and Super-
freakonomics, on June 9, 2014
when he was hosted by Sauder’s
Canaccord Learning Commons
Conversation Series at UBC
Robson Square.
A professor at the University of
Chicago’s Booth School of Business,
where he is director of the Becker
Center on Chicago Price Theory,
Levitt fi rst captured international attention when he used economic
principles to show a correlation between decreased crime rates
and the beginning of legalized abortion in the United States.
His talk to the packed room was irreverent and insightful, like
his books, but also full of valuable advice for business graduates.
There were inspirational moments, as the famed academic
discussed overcoming the odds by achieving success in economics
without being particularly good at math. He joked the one thing
an old teacher remembered him by was his abysmal ability with
numbers. To make up for his lack of talent, Levitt followed his
father—a leading expert on intestinal gas—by choosing topics
“so embarrassing and degrading that no self-respecting
economist would go near them.”
Levitt found his niche by applying economic principles in
uncharted territory far removed from traditional economics,
like the cheating strategies of sumo wrestlers and the fi scal
decision-making capacity of capuchin monkeys.
He talked about the importance of staying true to principles,
saying the day his consulting fi rm was fi red by their biggest client—
who had been too set in their ways to accept any criticism—was
the best day they ever had. He also discussed the importance
of being able to say ‘I don’t know’—the fi rst step in solving any
problem—in a business world where people do all they can to
pretend they know the answers.
Levitt advised the crowd to set aside emotion and moral
judgement when doing research, in order to be open to whatever
facts might be discovered. “Only if you really pull yourself out of
the moral part of it, can you see the world for what it is,” he said,
and that a moral compass should only be brought into play once
the facts are identifi ed.
Levitt was in Vancouver on a tour promoting his latest book,
Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Off er to Retrain
Your Brain. ■
Famed ‘freakonomist’ Steven Levitt speaks to Sauder alumni in Vancouver
Alumni enjoy their common Sauder bond at UBC Alumni WeekendTHE SAUDER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS WAS PLEASED TO welcome alumni back to the Henry Angus building on May 24,
2014, as part of UBC Alumni Weekend festivities.
Attendees and their families kicked-off the day with a
pancake breakfast served at the Big 4 Conference Centre and
had the opportunity to peruse old class photos and connect with
Sauder students, professors and staff , all while taking in the view
of the sea and mountains.
The recently renovated Henry Angus building was an attraction
on its own. Several alumni went on a tour of the new facilities for
the fi rst time and were pleasantly surprised by what they saw.
Old memories were shared across UBC’s campus as a whole
as attendees enjoyed several of Alumni Weekend’s more than 40
events, tours and attractions. ■
LAST APRIL WHEN HUNDREDS OF SAUDER STUDENTS WERE
wrapping up their classes and getting ready to receive their hard-
earned degrees, Bachelor of Commerce students still had one last
lecture to attend before the big day. As they settled in their seats
at the Middlefi eld Lecture Theatre on April 7, 2014, the excitement
was palpable.
They converged for one last time as students to hear Paul
Hollands’ (BCom 1979) inspirational story of success at the
Commerce Last Lecture event. He also shared his perspective on
how to leverage the Sauder experience to create positive change
for business and society.
Hollands is President and CEO of A&W Food Services of Canada
Inc. He joined the company in 1980 in an entry level marketing
position and went on to become President in 2002 and CEO in 2005.
He also chairs Sauder’s Faculty Advisory Board.
Throughout the lecture, students learned that the transition
from being a student to trailblazing a career in the real world can be
challenging. One of the keys to success in business is to never stop
learning. Another is to focus on making a diff erence in every role
you fi ll in an organization.
However, Hollands also noted that there is always a possibility
of failure. His advice is that failure should be embraced and turned
into a learning experience in order to ignite and propel future
endeavours.
At the end of the lecture students had the opportunity to
interact with the speaker and participate in a lively question and
answer session, followed by a champagne (or A&W root beer)
toast with mason jars, which they got to take home as a reminder
of this special day. ■
A&W CEO Paul Hollands gives departing BCom students some food for thought at the Commerce Last Lecture
10 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
ACTUALS SEEN AND HEARD IN THE SAUDER WORLD
SAUDER ALUMNI LIVING IN NEW YORK ATTENDED THE
annual Maple Leaf Ball on March 14, 2014. Organized by the
Canadian Association of New York (CANY), the event is an annual
black-tie gala dinner for the Canadian community in the Big Apple
in support of the CANY Foundation charities, including the Terry Fox
Run for Cancer Research.
Rupeela Gill, Manager of Business Clubs and Regional
Representatives, hosted alumni at the Sauder table and was
pleased to have the opportunity to connect with them.
“I was inspired by the success stories of our alumni. Each one
of them is making their mark in the New York business community,
and it was great to learn more about their endeavours at this
exceptional CANY event,” she said.
The Sauder connection runs deep within the Canadian
community in the city. Dean Keyworth (MBA 2000), a hedge
fund banker who has been living in New York since 2001, is the
association’s president and has found in CANY a means to give
back to the community.
“Charitable events are at the heart of what we do,” he said and
added that “at the same time, it has been great to remain so connected
to Sauder and my fellow alumni in the network in New York.”
This year’s festivities were held at the Mandarin Oriental hotel
in Manhattan. It honoured Douglas Coupland, Vancouver-based
author and visual artist, and Kenneth Taylor, former Canadian
Ambassador to Iran. ■
Sauder alumni in New York connect at Canadian charity event
Left to right: Dean Keyworth (MBA 2000), president, Canadian Association of New York, Rupeela Gill, Manager, Business Clubs & Regional Representatives, Sauder School of Business.
A congregation for the history books
ON MAY 28, 2014, MORE THAN ONE thousand graduates joined Sauder’s alumni
community, the largest number of Sauder students
to have ever graduated in a single day. After the
UBC congregation ceremonies, the new alumni
gathered at the Henry Angus Building for three
exclusive receptions held throughout the day.
During the events, new alumni learned more
about the services available to graduates, entered
a draw for an iPad Mini and celebrated this
important milestone with friends and family over
drinks and snacks. ■
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11VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
THE 6TH ANNUAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP LUNCHEON,hosted by Sauder’s W. Maurice Young Centre for
Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Research, drew more
than a hundred business leaders to celebrate entrepreneurial
ventures emerging from the University of British Columbia.
Held in downtown Vancouver in May, this year’s event
gave the business community a unique opportunity to
experience the broad range of ventures that have been
founded and developed with the support of the Sauder
School of Business.
The event, which included remarks by Robert Helsley,
Dean, Sauder School of Business and Grosvenor Professor of
Cities and Professor Lorne Whitehead, UBC’s Special Advisor
on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Research, showcased six
student teams who pitched their enterprises to the audience
and identifi ed areas where audience members could get
involved to take their start-ups to the next level.
An impressive range of ventures took to the stage
including:
Blue Perch: Described as LinkedIn meets Tinder, this
job-fi nding app employs sophisticated algorithms to allow
users to swipe their way to the perfect job.
Extem: With a mandate to shift bioscience research from
animal to human stem cells, Extem is pioneering methods to
accelerate the production of human stem cells to enhance
accessibility and give practitioners what they need to
advance medical science.
Santé West: The company’s high-performance
rehabilitation leg brace moderates weight-bearing to reduce
an athlete’s recovery time.
MetaMixis: Using proprietary methods to customize and
manipulate DNA, MetaMixis creates processes that allow
companies to synthesize chemicals using microbes, allowing
them to move away from expensive petrochemicals.
Leader Innovation: Using electrocoagulation technology,
the company is developing a service for the natural gas sector
to treat water contaminated by hydraulic fracturing and
signifi cantly reduce associated economic and environmental
impacts.
BlueBird Snow: The company’s AvyStick allows users to
perform immediate avalanche assessments and share the
data and results to a wider network of users.
Thanks to new initiatives Sauder has recently introduced
to support entrepreneurship training at the school and across
campus, these businesses are coming to life before their
founders even graduate. In his speech, Dean Helsley noted
Vancouver’s business community celebrates young entrepreneurs at UBC
a number of new initiatives spearheaded by Sauder that are
helping entrepreneurship fl ourish on campus, including:
• A reimagined MBA program that includes the new
Innovation and Entrepreneurship career track, a stream
of study that equips students with the training and
network they need to launch successful new enterprises
or bring innovation to existing companies.
• The launch of Entrepreneurship 101, a new
undergraduate course taught by Sauder that, for the
fi rst time, provides training in new venture creation
to students UBC-wide, from music to mathematics,
business to biology.
• New hands-on training in partnership with
entrepreneurship@UBC, including the Lean Launch Pad
Program that provides applied learning for students
from across campus on how to validate the business
feasibility of technology-based ideas.
• The launch of an entrepreneurship specialization in
Sauder’s undergraduate program in September 2014,
which is already generating signifi cant buzz among
students.
“We are being entrepreneurial in the way we are pursuing
and creating entrepreneurship training at the University
of British Columbia,” said Dean Helsley. “We’re scaling
it to meet demand and fi nding ways to have the greatest
impact.” ■
12 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
Six ways
is changing businessCreativity
We are no more, or less, creative than we’ve always been. We are, however, wearing the
creative label these days. Creativity is the new black—or indigo or fuschia—and everyone is
sporting it! Those in business understand the fi ne and inseparable line between ideas and
action, creativity and innovation. Here, we’ve chosen to focus on the creative foundation,
and six ways it is changing business.
dream.
where many Sauder students bring their ideas to life, including Jordan Cash, founder of Cartems Donuterie, building on an idea that came to him in a
such as crowdsourcing, now being used by companies like LEGO, and researched by Sauder profs. including Darren Dahl.
where the most valuable resumés are those that show us new ways to mold the same clay.
13VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
where many alumni are looking at creative industries through a new lens.
where Sauder’s d.studio serves as an example of creating space to colour outside the lines.
where we need to learn how to doodle again, and learn to create workplace cultures that leave room for interpretation.
14 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
expected the course work to be more
about number crunching and deal-making
techniques, as opposed to studies on how
to unleash his creative side.
“It was in the classroom that I
learned to foster my ideas and
to push them forward,” says
Cash.
One course in
particular that inspired
him was called
Cultivating Creativity in
Business, taught back
then by Darren Dahl,
a professor at Sauder’s
Marketing and Behavioural
Science Division.
Today, the course has been
picked up by adjunct professor Jim
Southcott, a long-time marketing and
advertising executive who is now a partner
at Southcott Strategy, with a specialty in
areas such as creativity and innovation
leadership.
Creativity in the business classroom: a perfect fi tSouthcott took over the course two years
ago, believing strongly that creativity is
more important now than ever before in
business. He also believes a classroom of
business students is the perfect place to
foster creativity.
“CEOs today are really focused on
building a creative culture,” says Southcott.
“No CEO would walk into a Sauder MBA
class and say ‘We’re looking for less
creativity.’ There’s a real thirst for it.”
He cites a 2010 IBM Global CEO study
that found creativity was the most crucial
THIS IS A TRUE STORY ABOUT HOW
an MBA grad came up with an idea for a
gourmet doughnut business. It might sound
like fi ction, but it isn’t.
Jordan Cash was living in
South Korea in 2002 when
he had a dream that he
owned a doughnut
shop called
Cartems, a word
with no meaning
or particular
signifi cance—at
least not at the time.
He woke up and
immediately wrote down
the idea, then let it sit in
the back of his mind for nearly
a decade as he cycled through
a number of professions, from sales to
teaching to day trading.
A well-rounded idea Then, in 2011, Cash completed his MBA
at UBC’s Sauder School of Business.
Just months later he opened Cartems
Donuterie, a modern doughnut shop in
downtown Vancouver.
Cash credits his Sauder experience, in
particular the coursework that allowed him
to unlock his creative side, for helping turn
his Cartems dream into a reality.
“Sauder was a testing ground and a
place to assess whether this idea I had
swirling around in my head was viable,”
says Cash, whose MBA focus was on
marketing and entrepreneurship.
It was an unexpected result for Cash
who, before attending Sauder, had pictured
MBA school as much more staid. He
The myth of creativitySauder students learn that creativity isn’t something you’re born with; it’s a practice that can be cultivated inside the classroom—and out
BY BRENDA BOUW
factor for future success of companies.
Among the 1,500 CEOs interviewed
across 60 countries and 33 industries,
creativity was cited one of the best ways to
navigate an increasingly complex business
environment. Forbes Magazine summarized
the article with a headline that stated:
“Creativity Is The New Black.”
Maybe she’s born with it?The challenge for educators such as
Southcott is convincing students from
varying backgrounds that they are
creative. Creativity is not something
you’re born with or develop only as a child,
Southcott says.
“Some students are skeptical at fi rst,”
he says. “They think, ‘Why do I need this
course?’ Plus, so much creativity has been
hammered out of them over the years that
they aren’t sure how to fi nd it.”
Southcott tries to reassure them that
all humans are creative, but tapping into
it often requires discipline. The “Eureka!”
moments are few and far between.
“Creativity is about pushing people
out of their comfort zone to a place
they’ve once been, but maybe pushed
away,” he says.
Southcott usually starts his course by
talking to students about these creativity
myths and getting them to start writing a
journal. He then tries to get students out of
the classroom, observing the campus and
world around them, and reporting back on
how that might infl uence their ideas and
thinking.
Some of his lessons include creative
examples from popular culture, including
Netfl ix programs such as Orange is the
IN THE CLASSROOM
15VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014 15
New Black, where the main character, in
prison for the fi rst time, designs fl ip-fl ops
out of maxi pads. He also talks about
how DuPont came up with a current line
of paint—by getting its team to imagine
they’re the walls. It was that exercise
that lead to the company coming up with
paints that are both beautiful in colour and
protect the surface from the elements,
says Southcott.
At the end of the course, students are
asked to do a creative project. Southcott
asks them to pursue something creative
that they’ve wanted do, but were perhaps
too afraid to try.
The results have been wide-ranging:
students have written songs, developed
smartphone apps, created new food
recipes... the list goes on.
“A big part of it is developing the
confi dence that you can think creatively,”
says Southcott.
For many, it’s the last chance to test
their creative side in a classroom before
entering (or returning to) the business
world. “In a perfect world, creativity
would never leave the curriculum after
kindergarten,” adds Southcott.
Think diff erentSauder MBA student Eli Berenbeim took
Southcott’s course in the fall of 2013 and
says it has taught him to think diff erently
about ideas, and his potential in the
business world.
“One of the biggest key takeaways for
me was that, fi rst and foremost, creativity
is something you can develop,” says
Berenbeim. “I had this preconception that
there are creative people and non-creative
people.”
He also learned that creativity is like a
muscle that works better when it’s trained.
“You may not become as reputed
an innovator as Steve Jobs, but you can
still develop creativity and serve as an
innovator for your organization in your
own right,” he says. “It has a lot to do
with repetition, putting yourself in a
creative space. It’s not about waiting for
an epiphany—there is a regimen to be
followed.”
Berenbeim’s creative space is the time
he spends each morning walking his dog.
“It’s about making creativity part of my
routine and taking time to refl ect,” he says.
“It sounds simple, but it takes discipline.” ■
Jordan Cash’s experience at Sauder unlocked a creative streak that resulted in the launch of a successful donuterie.
Putting on your thinking hat
In his course, Cultivating Creativity in
Business, Sauder adjunct professor
Jim Southcott teaches some of the
methods developed by Dr. Edward
de Bono, regarded as a world-leading
authority in the fi eld of creative think-
ing. In particular, Dr. de Bono is known
for identifying six distinct directions
in which the brain can be challenged.
They are outlined in his book, Six
Thinking Hats®, each of which are as-
signed a colour. The coloured hats are
used as metaphors for each direction.
They are, as presented on the de Bono
Group website:
The White Hat calls for
information known or needed. “The
facts, just the facts.”
The Yellow Hat symbolizes
brightness and optimism. Under this
hat you explore the positives and
probe for value and benefi t.
The Black Hat is judgment—the
devil’s advocate or why something
may not work. Spot the diffi culties
and dangers; where things might go
wrong. Probably the most powerful
and useful of the Hats but a problem
if overused.
The Red Hat signifi es feelings,
hunches and intuition. When using
this hat you can express emotions
and feelings and share fears, likes,
dislikes, loves, and hates.
The Green Hat focuses
on creativity: the possibilities,
alternatives, and new ideas. It’s an
opportunity to express new concepts
and new perceptions.
The Blue Hat is used to manage
the thinking process. It’s the control
mechanism that ensures the Six
Thinking Hats® guidelines are
observed. ■
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16 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
IN RESEARCH
The democratization of creativity“Crowdsourcing is the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefi ned, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.” —Jeff Howe, Wired, June 2006
BY ALLAN JENKINS
better products and processes. But it is only
in the past decade that the technology has
developed that lets organisations instantly
and constantly receive and use information
from consumers and widely-spread staff .
And according to Darren Dahl, Senior
Associate Dean, Faculty and Research, at
Sauder, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal
of Consumer Research, it is only recently
that organizations are seeing real benefi ts
to opening up their innovation game and
empowering consumers to be part of the
equation.
Consumers are thrilled.
“We humans fi nd deep satisfaction
in being creative,” says Dahl. “And there
are lots of ways to do that, anything from
crafting to solving an engineering problem
to playing a game. Creativity comes to life
in many diff erent ways, but we humans just
love it.”
So when companies give us the chance
to be creative for a brand we are passionate
about, we leap at it, says Dahl.
“When Starbucks or LEGO gives you
that opportunity, it makes you feel good.
Why? Not only because you are giving
back to a brand you care about, but you are
also exercising that muscle that you used
when you were a little super-creative kid,
only now you can do it in a more grown-up
context.”
However, managing crowdsourcing
is a challenge, says Dahl, and companies
wrestle with making it an effi cient part of
the innovation process. They also need to
fi gure out how to ensure crowdsourcing
actually gives the crowd what it wants.
THREADLESS IS A T-SHIRT COMPANY—but not just a t-shirt company. It is also
a crowdsourcing success whose quirky,
artistic—and not inexpensive—designs are
sought out by hipsters and mainstreamers
around the globe. So much so that every
design sells out after a limited run, netting
the lean, closely-held company revenues of
more than US$30 million a year.
Churning out dozens of catchy designs
a year would normally require a team of
talented designers and a great deal of
internal debate about what might or might
not sell.
But Threadless has no designers on
staff , nor does it decide which t-shirts will
be off ered. It relies entirely on the “crowd”
—its 2.4 million customers—to do that.
The company receives thousands of
designs from eager contributors, and it
sorts them by asking consumers to vote
on each design. Few designs are approved
by the user base, but those that are go into
production. Successful designers receive
$2,500 in cash and gift certifi cates, and the
pleasure of seeing their name printed on
the shirt’s tag.
By limiting its print runs and removing
even popular designs on a regular basis,
Threadless is able to create strong demand
and high margins for its shirts—so much so
that it never has unsold stock. All because
it puts crowdsourcing at the centre of its
business model.
Ask the crowd what it thinksCompanies have long solicited the opinions
of consumers and employees to develop
Dahl notes that crowdsourcing is not
the best choice in the luxury-goods market,
for example.
“In those situations, you are excited to
buy something because it was designed
by Yves-Saint Laurent or someone else of
incredibly great taste. You are buying into
the prestige and the dream,” says Dahl.
“You are not as excited to buy something
by Fred down the street because there is no
prestige or luxury in Fred.”
Crowdsourcing across the business modelDahl notes that companies can use
crowdsourcing across a spectrum,
according to their needs. Some, such as
Threadless, make it the centre of their
business model, while others use the crowd
to simply engage with customers.
“In the advertising space, you can point
to Frito-Lay and the consumers who have
done ads for the Super Bowl,” says Dahl.
“They have been doing that for eight or nine
years. They get incredible participation and
incredible play on that, and it has been very
successful.”
“LEGO has also been very successful in
terms of involving the crowd,” adds Dahl,
who says LEGO’s crowdsourcing of ideas
from consumers, and acting on them, is at
least partly responsible for the company’s
turnaround.
“You can use consumers across the
innovation spectrum, from generating
ideas, to helping manage what gets
produced, to deciding how it gets
produced,” notes Dahl.
17VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
In fact, crowdsourcing is being used to
“crowdfund” projects before there is even
a tangible product. Many start-ups, artists
and just people with an idea are turning to
“crowdfunding” sites to raise funds to get
their projects moving.
At Kickstarter, people seeking funding
set up projects on the site, describe
what they want to do (and why they are
qualifi ed) and ask the crowd to pledge
contributions to meet a minimum funding
level, ranging from a few dollars to many
thousands. If the goal is met, the pledges
are automatically collected and the project
starts. If not, no funds are raised.
Any number of contributors can help
fund a project, and they are often recognized
for their support. For example, a writer
might off er a signed copy of a book to a
$50 backer, and fi ve signed copies and an
acknowledgement in the book to a $250
contributor. Crowdsourcing can continue
throughout the project, asking for, and
rewarding, contributor input and advice as
the project rolls out.
Using the crowd to solve problems large and smallNot all companies use crowdsourcing for
funding and marketing. Some are turning to
crowdsourcing to solve diffi cult problems
while others use it to carry out exceedingly
tedious tasks.
An example is InnoCentive, an open
innovation company, which uses the
crowd to solve diffi cult or even seemingly
intractable problems for its clients.
Companies and non-profi ts commission
InnoCentive to off er major “challenges”
or “problems” that anyone can attempt to
meet or solve. By off ering the challenge to
the crowd, InnoCentive clients are, in fact,
outsourcing major R&D, engineering, or
programming.
The challenges are tough, but the
rewards are big. One current InnoCentive
challenge is to fi nd “innovative approaches
to establishing new intestinal carcinoid and
pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor cell lines
from primary tumors that grow slowly in
vivo and to publicize new methods as well
as availability of the new cell lines for broad,
unrestricted use.”
The reward? US$300,000 if the
challenge is met by April 2015.
Another challenge on InnoCentive
is from the US Transportation Security
Agency (TSA), the body responsible for
travel security in the United States. TSA is
looking for ways to handle bags according to
a passenger’s screening designation, which
would let TSA sort and process bags more
effi ciently. TSA is willing to pay
US$15,000 for the solution.
General Mills, the food-
processing company, uses
its open innovation platform,
the General Mills Worldwide
Innovation Network (G-WIN),
to fi nd new products, better
packaging and better processes.
Recent G-WIN challenges
included a search for better
nitrogen fertilizer technologies
to promote sustainable
agriculture, and better ways to
incorporate whole grains into
wheat-based baked goods.
At the other end of the
spectrum, the carrying out of
tedious and low-paid tasks,
some businesses turn to
the Amazon Mechanical Turk. Touted by
Amazon as “artifi cial artifi cial intelligence,”
the Mechanical Turk lets companies
outsource routine, repetitive mental tasks
that, unfortunately, cannot be done with
computing power alone.
At any time, about 3,000 projects are
available, some with thousands of “human
interaction tasks” to be completed. Recent
tasks included extracting 46,000 sales
receipt data points at US$ 0.02 per receipt,
to transcribing a two-hour interview for
US$76.50. Despite the low pay, companies
fi nd takers for most of the projects
presented.
The new tool in the boxNone of this surprises Dahl.
“Companies will fall across the
spectrum [of crowdsourcing],” says Dahl.
“They will diff er, and they should, in how
they use it, depending on their business
model and what they produce.”
Dahl points to Google and Apple as
examples of the diff erence.
“Google likes to talk to the consumer,
whereas Apple likes to observe the
consumer. That is just diff erent business
models, and that is fi ne. But crowdsourcing
is now another option, and it wasn’t 10
years ago.” ■
Sauder professor Darren Dahl developed and launched many of the school’s courses focused on creativity.
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18 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
nuances of deals we do with people and
the fi nancing that we’ve had to work our
way through over the years. It’s also helped
us to expand our business model. Instead
of just renting out facilities to others,
we’re now starting production of our
own fi lm and television projects. It’s one
thing to launch a show—it’s another to be
successful and make money at it.
What’s the most creative project you’ve taken on recently and what inspired you?We are shooting our fi rst reality show called
Guardian Angels, which revolves around
helicopter work. We were inspired to do our
own production by the years of servicing
other clients for productions such as X-Men
2 and X-Men 3, to name just a couple of
examples. Our team has learned a lot from
those experiences, and decided it was
time to take some risks and get into the
production side of the business ourselves.
How do you see creativity changing your profession in the future?The nature of creativity in the visual world
is changing dramatically with the advent of
YouTube and the fact that all markets have
been fragmented. Creativity remains the
same, because it’s always about a story.
However, the way that it’s paid for and
delivered is changing dramatically. That
has and will continue to change the fi lm
and television industry. The impact of the
creative economy is also increasing. For
people who want to get into the creative
economy, the mixture of business and
creativity is the way to go. ■
PETE MITCHELL IS PRESIDENT AND
Chief Operating Offi cer of Vancouver Film
Studios group. He graduated in 1989 with
an MBA from Sauder.
How did your time at UBC/Sauder help to shape your creativity?My time at UBC was spent primarily
in quantitative analysis, which set the
foundation for my ability to be creative. You
need to have that underpinning to be both
creative and eff ective in business. If you’re
creative without a business approach, you
can end up spinning your wheels.
How do you apply that in your current profession?My business involves renting out fi lm
and television production facilities to
major studios. The creative part is in the
The business of creativitySauder graduates are using their skills across creative industries such as music, dance and fi lm to help shape the future of business behind the arts. Viewpoints checked in with fi ve alumni to fi nd out how the business of creativity is changing in their industries.
BY BRENDA BOUW
BONN SMITH IS PRESIDENT AND
co-founder of New Music Channel, as well
as a singer/songwriter and professional
fi lm and television actor. He graduated
from Sauder in 2012 with a Bachelor of
Commerce degree, with a marketing focus.
How did your time at UBC/Sauder help to shape your creativity?UBC surrounded me with unique
individuals. The campus pulses with
interesting characters, from a variety of
backgrounds and walks of life. It didn’t
take me long to realize there was much
to learn from my peers’ (and professors’)
experiences and personalities. I was quick
to befriend as many as possible! I had my
business buddies, my musical friends,
party friends, lazy-day friends, cramming-
for-exams friends and everything in
IN BUSINESS
Selfi e: Bonn Smith, BCom 2012,New Music Channel.
Selfi e: Pete Mitchell, MBA 1989, Vancouver Film Studios group.
19VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
between. It is important to branch out and
see who’s out there; this mindset leads
down a colourful and exciting path. It also
comes in handy to have varied opinions to
leverage when making important decisions
like “full-time musician or full-time
accountant?”
How do you apply that in your current profession?It is apparent to me now that business
is all about relationships and teamwork.
My university years gave me hands-on
experience in dealing with diff erent types
of people, problems and timelines—all of
which directly correlate to the “real world.”
It takes the hands of many to truly create
something of worth, and one cannot rally
a team to create said worth without the
ability to empathize and connect deeply
with others. University is a great place to
practice the art of connecting.
What’s the most creative project you’ve taken on recently and what inspired you?I recently started my own television
network, New Music Channel, with
the aim of exposing top independent
musicians to a nation-wide audience.
After graduating from Sauder, I released
an album, titled Secret Lives, and spent a
year working as an independent musician,
quickly realizing how diffi cult it is to make
it as an artist in today’s market—so I set
out to create a new market. The channel
is on track to air in the near future; it will
be the fi rst network of its kind and I am
ecstatic to see all my hard work come
to fruition.
How do you see creativity changing your profession in the future?I don’t see creativity changing my
profession in the future. Instead, I see it
guiding my profession, every step of the
way. Being creatively stimulated is the
most fulfi lling and worthwhile part of
my day. I cannot imagine a career that
doesn’t allow me to think outside
boxes and step over lines—where’s the
excitement in that? ■
JENNY DUFFY IS THE OWNER OF Jenny Duff y Dance Services, which
off ers choreography, dance lessons
and coaching. She is also the
choreographer for the BC Lions
Felions Dance Team, and the
artistic director of Endangered
Dance Co., which is based out
of Harbour Dance Centre in
Vancouver. Duff y graduated
from Sauder in 2004 with
a Bachelor of Commerce
degree.
How did your time at UBC/Sauder help to shape your creativity?As a Sauder student, I learned that some
of the world’s greatest innovations were
created when someone saw opportunity,
where others had only seen failure. Coca-
Cola, originally invented as a treatment
for patients with morphine addiction, is a
great example of this. As a professional
choreographer, when faced with a
challenge I always ask myself, “How can
I use this to my advantage? Is there a
feasible workaround that can be reached?”
I have learned to be adaptable and search
for unconventional solutions in the face of
adversity. I just love the cross between the
two worlds of arts and business.
How do you apply that in your current profession?When working with dancers on a television
set, the conditions are often changing. The
amount of space you have to work with,
props on set, costuming, and special eff ects
are often not exactly as you expected them
to be. So I constantly have to be prepared
to modify choreography to meet the needs
of the client.
What’s the most creative project you’ve taken on recently and what inspired you?Right now I am working on the music and
choreography for the Grey Cup routine,
which will be performed by the BC Lions
Felions Dance Team at the 102nd Grey
Cup Cheer Extravaganza in Vancouver, BC
this November. The routine will be nearly
eight minutes long, showcase a variety of
dance styles including jazz, hip hop and
acrobatics, and will explore the concept of
the BC Lions as the “winning machine” that
has earned them the moniker of the Best in
the West.
How do you see creativity changing your profession in the future?As the dance industry moves towards
greater fusion, for example contemporary
jazz, lyrical hip hop, Afro-Cuban jazz,
etc., I think choreographers are going to
need to use their creativity to create new
and exciting styles while still respecting
tradition. ■
PETER LEITCH IS PRESIDENT OF FILM company North Shore Studios/Mammoth
Studios and Chair of the Motion Picture
Production Industry Association of BC.
He graduated from Sauder in 1979 with a
Bachelor of Commerce degree.
How did your time at UBC/Sauder help to shape your creativity?My business degree helped me get into a
creative industry. It was very unexpected,
but even creative industries need fi nance
people. While I have been engaged in the
fi nance side for a portion of my career, I’ve
also been involved in government policy,
which has impacted the fi lm and television
Selfi e: Jenny Duff y, BCom 2004, Jenny Duff y Dance Services.
20 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
industry. The skills I learned at UBC
were very helpful from an administration
standpoint, but also for problem solving
and meeting and negotiating with diff erent
levels of government.
How do you apply that in your current profession?I work in a creative industry, but I’m not
an actor or performer or in front of the
camera or building the sets. That said,
my job does require me to fi nd creative
solutions to business problems that may
arise. That’s is a diff erent type of creativity,
but also important for its own purposes.
Part of my role also includes marketing
British Columbia as a fi lm and television
production destination.
What’s the most creative project you’ve taken on recently and what inspired you?We’re in the infrastructure business, so
building studios and expanding upon that is
always a creative process. We also need to
make sure that we keep up to date with the
technology that helps to advance creativity
in this business. Our clients are our inspira-
tion as we build facilities to accommodate
their needs, which are diff erent from 25
years ago when we started out.
How do you see creativity changing your profession in the future?Film and television is an extremely
competitive business, and the technology is
constantly changing. We need to be on top
of these changes. At the end of the day, it’s
about storytelling. All of the ideas that go
into keeping this industry moving forward
are in someone’s head, so the creative
talent we develop—and how we help tell
those stories—will determine how this
industry changes in the future. ■
TOM DOBRZANSKI IS A PIANIST WITH
the indie rock band The Zolas, as well
as a producer, engineer, composer and
founder of Monarch Studios. He graduated
from Sauder in 2005 with a Bachelor
of Commerce degree, with a focus on
accounting and fi nance.
How did your time at UBC/Sauder help to shape your creativity?Sometimes pursuits into creative industries
present a more ambiguous career path than
traditional professions. The foundation from
my Sauder education made it easier to do
what at the time seemed like the bigger
risk, knowing there was always a traditional
business job waiting for me if I didn’t end
up fi nding a path in music. While doing my
degree I also attended a technical school
to study sound engineering and started a
small recording studio business. When I
graduated in 2005, my small studio was
already booked up for months ahead of time,
so I decided to put off applying for jobs and
focus on building that business.
How do you apply that in your current profession?By 2010, I had come to the realization
that being a music producer/studio
owner was not a temporary departure,
and actually “what I do.” It was time to
go all in, and take a big leap to expand
the studio and launch my new business,
Monarch Studios. At a time when the
music industry was changing, album
sales and album recording budgets were
shrinking, and big studios around the
world were closing, my intuition was
telling me that Vancouver was missing a
mid-size professional recording facility.
Having the fi nancial background from
Sauder allowed me to model diff erent
scenarios, create fi nancial forecasts, and
confi rm my intuition that the business
would work.
What’s the most creative project you’ve taken on recently and what inspired you?The most creative project I’ve taken on was
designing and building the new studio. It
was incredibly complicated and required
a lot of creativity and balancing. I needed
to balance the mathematical side of the
physics of sound, marry that design with
the city requirements for permitting and
building codes, choose the right mix of
modern and vintage recording equipment,
and create an aesthetic that would be
unique and inspiring to musicians.
How do you see creativity changing your profession in the future?As modern music is evolving, the producer
and engineer are becoming an increasingly
important part of the sound of a band. It’s
all about creating combinations of sound
that people haven’t heard before. As a
result, bands are leaning on the engineers
who have more technical know-how on
manipulating audio to help shape their
sound. To be successful going forward
requires a unique mix of having a wild
creative vision for something new, an
appetite for being analytical, and the
technical skill to make it happen. ■
Selfi e: Tom Dobrzanski, BCom 2005, Monarch Studios.
Selfi e: Peter Leitch, BCom 1979, North Shore Studios/Mammoth Studios.
21VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Paul Cubbon, lecturer in
marketing and behavioural science at
the Sauder School of Business, says
“[We] learn to play safe.”
”We might be very creative, in
our private lives, as musicians or
poets or cooks or whatever, but
at work we play it safe because
we have seen people fi red or
reprimanded or not get bonuses
because they didn’t just do what
they were told.” According to Cubbon,
while CEOs may wish for creativity, the
incentives in corporations are often not
aligned to reward creativity.
Fuzzy pictures not allowedCubbon points out that managers “often
want you to be creative, but not in a random
way, and only on focused areas.”
Cubbon’s colleague at Sauder, Darren
Dahl, Senior Associate Dean, Faculty and
Research, in a 2011 paper published in
the Journal of Marketing, said that no one
right way exists for a company to foster
creativity. Dahl and colleagues found that
companies were “all over the map” when it
came to inculcating a creative culture.
Dahl and his colleagues did fi nd
corporate creativity benefi ts from both
training programs and incentive programs.
However, they found organizations
successfully used diff erent forms of
programs.
“The incentive can be cash, but
does not have to be,” says Dahl. “There
just needs to be some awareness and
acknowledgement to tell people creativity
is valued and rewarded, whether through
social recognition, monetary recognition or
whatever.”
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN KINDERGARTEN and grade 1, we started to colour inside
the lines, and random LEGO contraptions
started to take on more structure. While
stern Mrs. Jones handed out gold stars
for better crayon management, and our
parents were happy to not need to ask
what it was they were looking at, there is
an unfortunate edge to this turning point in
our lives: it generally signals the end of the
kind of creative thinking the business world
will later crave.
And, although schools are now placing
an increased value on creativity in the
curriculum, those alumni long past the
recess-and-assembly stage of life would do
well to act on the data presented by many
credible sources.
In an oft-cited study by IBM, creativity
was listed as the most important leadership
quality, according to CEOs. And this wasn’t
just in North America; these fi ndings were
announced after interviewing more than
1,500 senior managers in 60 countries.
Creativity was prized by 60% of the CEOs
interviewed, ahead of integrity and global
thinking.
Enter the Conceptual AgeIn discussing his book, Drive, zeitgeist
author Daniel Pink argues that “the
Industrial Age gave way to the Information
Age—the age of left brain, white collar
workers doing relatively routine work—
and that has given way to the Conceptual
Age—the age of right brain workers
doing non-routine work.”
So the question every person in
business needs to ask is, How well
equipped am I, or my organization, for
the Conceptual Age?
The playdough resuméCreativity as a workplace skill
BY ALLAN JENKINS AND JENNIFER WAH
But Cubbon, who believes creativity,
innovation and entrepreneurship are
inextricably linked, encourages companies
to give people permission to rediscover their
creative selves. Certainly companies known
for service that feels fresh and authentic
off er high rewards for creativity. The airline
industry off ers many examples of creativity
at work: Delta Airlines won awards for their
approach to boosting call centre satisfaction
by off ering revenue sharing to call centre
employees, and anyone who has fl own
WestJet or Southwest Airlines experiences
fi rsthand a culture shift based on creative
problem solving.
According to Cubbon, if the creative
process matters to a company, leaders
must make space for it. You cannot simply
tack it on to a job.
Stop. Then start.“Everybody’s lives are full,” says Cubbon. ”So
if it matters, it is about stopping doing some
things and starting doing others.”
Some companies frame it internally
as professional development so that
employees are focused on being given an
opportunity to develop professionally and
enhance their job satisfaction.
IN THE WORKPLACE
Professor Paul Cubbon is focused on creatvity as a foundation for innovation.
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Sauder courses help students focus creativity on resultsSauder’s focus on creativity in its
curriculum has shifted signifi cantly over
the past few years. In 2002, Dahl, an
expert on creative crowdsourcing himself,
was approached by a UBC engineering
prof. about a class on creativity, and the
school’s much-admired New Venture
Design course was born. Off ered at both
the undergraduate and graduate level, the
course not only attracts students from all
of UBC’s faculties, but also the interest
of management consulting fi rms such as
McKinsey, who have recruited from class
alumni for the fastest-growing area of their
business—creative problem solving in
business.
More than a decade
later, a suite of courses and
content are fi rmly
entrenched in
the way the school
prepares graduates for
a business world that
values this skill at the
top of the list. ■
For those looking to bring creativity into their
business, Sauder professor Paul Cubbon and
others off er a few practical solutions:
• Hold a workshop or brainstorming session where you provide people with inspiration, some specifi c creative tools, and a clear challenge or outcome. Silicon Valley-based Ideo can lay claim to
some very innovative products, including
Apple’s fi rst mouse. Rather than waiting
for good ideas to pop into their heads
formalized, idea-generation exercises
are “practically a religion,” says one
creativity author.
• Frame challenges or opportunities diff erently at work. Ask “What if?” consider role playing, provocation (rejecting a truism) or disruption. In his course work, Dahl cites an example
of disruption: “elBulli was a famous
restaurant in Barcelona, Spain. Chef Ferran
Adria was always seeking new ways to
come up with innovative dishes, such
as a 35-course meal and other one-of-
a-kind tasting experiences. From his
innovative approach, elBulli became the
highest-ranking restaurant in the world
for two consecutive years, yet it didn’t
make money. The notion behind the
restaurant was purely creative: to deliver
an experience like no other and at that it
succeeded. elBulli closed in 2011, simply
because the owner had been there,
done that and wanted to try something
diff erent.” Fittingly, the space will reopen
as a creativity centre this year.
• Consider a physical workplace reorganization to increase places where people can bump into one another, or exchange creative thoughts. In one infamous example, apparently
the Cambridge University mathematics
department has white boards
in the toilet stalls. At Swedish
telecommunications giant Ericsson,
a technology-free “green room” has
been set aside for contemplation and
refl ection, a crucial element gone
missing from too-busy days. ■
OPENIDEO IS AN OPEN-INNOVATION platform that relies on crowdsourcing to try
to solve social problems. Sponsors, such as
the Clinton Global Initiative, the European
Commission, and Amnesty International,
present challenges and invite the world to
brainstorm ideas for solutions. Anyone can
participate. The crowd develops research and
ideas, then refi nes the ideas, winnowing them
down to the most innovative.
OpenIDEO off ers these tips to its
brainstormers on openidea.com, but they are
applicable to any brainstorming process.
1. Defer judgment Creative spaces don’t judge … You never
know where a good idea is going to come
from … make everyone feel like they can
say the idea on their mind and allow
others to build on it. This still means we
pose questions and provocations so that
the ideas can get to a better place.
2. Encourage wild ideas Wild ideas often give rise to creative leaps.
In thinking about ideas that are wacky or
out there, we tend to think about what we
really want without … constraints. We say
embrace the most out-of-the-box notions
and build build build...
3. Build on the ideas of others Being positive and building on the ideas of
others takes some skill. In conversation,
we try to use and instead of but...
4. Stay focused on the topic Keep the discussion on target, otherwise
you can diverge beyond the scope of what
you’re trying to design for.
5. One conversation at a time Of course on OpenIDEO, there’s lots of
conversations happening at once, which
is great! Always think about the challenge
topic and how this could apply.
6. Be visual We love visual ideas as the images make
them memorable. In live brainstorms, we
use coloured markers to write on Post-its
that are put on a wall. Nothing gets an
idea across faster than drawing it. Doesn’t
matter how terrible of a sketcher you are!
It’s all about the idea behind your sketch.
7. Go for quantity Aim for as many new ideas as possible.
In a good session, up to 100 ideas are
generated in 60 minutes. Crank the ideas
out quickly. ■
Seven brainstorming tips from OpenIDEO
22 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
23VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Let’s talk about itIn fact, a growing body of research suggests
that creativity is now one of the most
important qualities in a leader and crucial
for companies to remain competitive.
“Creativity has become something
that people can talk about in a business
and leadership context,” says Liz Starbuck
Greer, Director of Marketing & Business
Development, Executive Education, at
THE ABILITY TO TRANSFORM a traditional idea into something
new—whether it’s a product
that becomes a best-selling
brand or a subtle tweak within
an organization that improves
how it operates—is what propels
business and the economy
forward.
Still, creativity’s contribution
to the bottom line isn’t
always obvious. Especially
during tougher economic
times, more emphasis may
be placed on execution over
allowing employees time and
space to stand back and try to
approach products or problems
diff erently.
But thanks to innovation and
constantly changing technology,
not to mention some well-
known success stories such as
Apple and Google, creativity
continues to gain credibility in
the corporate world.
Why more leaders are looking for ways to tap into their creative potentialCreativity is a key ingredient for success in business
BY BRENDA BOUW
UBC’s Sauder School
of Business. “We’ve
seen a real increase in
organizations that are
willing and able to talk
about creativity as a core
skill.”
It’s not just in the
technology space either,
where the results of
creativity often receive the
most attention. Creativity
and creative problem
solving are increasingly
being recognized as a
requirement in a wide
range of industries,
from fi nancial services
and manufacturing to
government and Crown
corporations.
To help cultivate
creativity, more business
leaders are trying to create
a corporate culture that
inspires employees to
come up with new and
innovative ways to do their jobs and run the
operation.
Many are starting by fi rst trying to
unlock their own creative potential.
“Leaders are looking to become creative
role models,” says Elizabeth Newton, a
registered psychologist and faculty member
in Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Sauder.
“They are looking for new ways to inspire
and support innovation in their staff . If a
IN LEADERSHIP
Liz Starbuck Greer champions creativity in Sauder’s Executive Education program.
“Creativity has become something that people can talk about in a business and leadership context. We’ve seen a real increase in organizations that are willing and able to talk about creativity as a
core skill.”– LIZ STARBUCK GREER
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leader is seen as a pencil pusher or a suit,
he or she will also have a hard time gaining
the trust of highly creative employees.”
Newton teaches a two-day, interactive
course called Creativity and Innovation for
Business, through Executive Education,
which helps managers explore their
creative style and help bring it out in others
in the workplace.
It’s seen as a step in the right
direction, given studies that show
many workers don’t believe creativity
is in their job description.
Wanted: productivity and creativityIn 2012, Adobe released the “State of
Create” global study that showed eight in
10 people felt that unlocking creativity was
critical to economic growth. However,
75 per cent of those surveyed felt they were
under pressure to be productive, rather
than creative at work.
What’s more, only 39 per cent of
the 5,000 respondents from the US,
Europe and Japan described themselves
as being creative.
Newton says it’s a common
misconception in society that only
some people are creative. There’s also a
misunderstanding that creativity relates
only to artistic pursuits such as drawing,
painting or playing music.
“Creativity is a mindset. It is not about
some narrowly defi ned set of outcomes,”
she says.
It’s a stereotype Newton and other
Sauder faculty are trying to break through
their creativity and leadership courses.
“There is creativity at every step in the
innovation chain—from generating and
refi ning the idea to testing products and
processes, bringing new off erings to market
and staying current after that fi rst big
success,” Newton says.
Her course helps to show leaders that
creativity comes in diff erent forms and from
various people across all divisions, not just
the marketing or advertising departments,
for example.
“It’s about redefi ning and tapping into
creativity, for everyone,” she says. “We also
consider the context in which people are
creating—team, organization and market.
What are the organization forces that
stifl e and encourage creativity and how
can leaders maximize innovation in their
particular working environment.”
How to succeed in businessAt Sauder, the faculty believes there is a
spectrum of creativity, all of which can have
a positive impact on business.
“To our clients, creativity is about
fi nding alternative solutions to problems,
new ways to build their business, and to
deliver value to their clients,” says Starbuck
Greer. “There is an understanding that
companies that have embraced creativity
and innovation have been more successful.”
Many leaders who enroll in Sauder’s
creativity courses are looking for ways to do
things diff erently.
“They are trying to fi nd some kind of
competitive advantage in their marketplace.
That’s where creativity comes in.”
More companies are trying to embed
creativity across the workforce, not just in
the corner offi ce, embracing the idea that
anyone within the organization can be a
creative leader.
Luova: Found in translation“Part of the challenge is to fi nd your
creative champions and leverage them,
wherever they are in the organization,” says
Starbuck Greer.
Elizabeth Newton, a registered psychologist and faculty member in Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Sauder.
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“Leaders who empower all their people
to be creative will benefi t far more than
those who try to limit creativity to a certain
function or level in the organization,” says
Harri Sivula, the CEO at Finland-based
hotel and restaurant chain Restel Ltd. Like
Sivula, executives from around the world
are signing up for Sauder’s creativity in
leadership courses.
Sivula enrolled in Sauder’s one-week
Strategy and Innovation course in the
summer of 2013, looking for a diff erent
perspective from Canada on innovation
and a refresher on strategic thinking and
formats.
From the course, and discussions
with other executives who participated,
Sivula says he picked up a more global
perspective on creativity in business.
Since then, Sivula has applied some of that
thinking to his own company, including in
development work and improving customer
service across the company’s 49 hotels and
240 restaurants in Finland.
He was also reminded in the Sauder
course that all people have a creative side,
which comes out in diff erent ways. It’s up
to leaders to help foster that creativity,
Sivula says.
“There is a lot of potential in all people.
It’s only a question of which level and how
to get it out in a productive way to our own
business and lives,” he says. “It’s a question
of where do you learn and get new ideas
and thoughts?”
For Sivula, it’s often when travelling, on
holiday, or while playing sports.
“Just getting away from workplace and
home” can do wonders for creativity, he
says.
His advice to others seeking to express
their creativity: “Get out there!” ■
“Some people come in with the idea that they are creative or not creative, or they fear that they’ve become seen as suits and want
to change that image.”– LIZ NEWTON
The creative context
Drawing from diff erent creativity and innovation philosophies and research, Sauder
faculty member Elizabeth Newton has pulled out four common threads:
1. There is a world of ideas out there waiting to be connected
2. Individuals need to be cognitively and emotionally open to seeing and building
new connections
3. People need to have access to the relevant expertise to fi nesse the idea
4. The environment in which people are thinking and doing needs to allow for
their creative process
The state of create
In 2012, software giant Adobe commissioned a study looking at global creativity. It
surveyed 1,000 people in each of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany,
France and Japan and found there was a “global creativity gap.” Below are some of
the key fi ndings from that survey:
8 IN 10 PEOPLE FEEL THAT UNLOCKING CREATIVITY
IS CRITICAL TO ECONOMIC GROWTH
TWO-THIRDS OF RESPONDENTS
FEEL CREATIVITY IS VALUABLE
TO SOCIETY
PEOPLE SPEND AN AVERAGE
OF ONLY 25% OF THEIR TIME
CREATING AT WORK
75% OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY ARE UNDER PRESSURE
TO BE PRODUCTIVE RATHER THAN CREATIVE AT WORK
ONLY 1 IN 4 PEOPLE BELIEVE THEY ARE LIVING UP
TO THEIR CREATIVE POTENTIAL
25%
75%
25%67%
26 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
-answer problems. The Sauder School,
and other leading global academic
institutions such as Stanford University
and the Copenhagen Business School,
have established transformative learning
experiences to bring the practice into
business education.
Transforming business models“The d.studio is about
kindling a passion in
students to get out
there and change the
way we do business,”
says Quayle. “It’s
about looking at
the business world
in a diff erent way and
bringing the designer
mindset into how we ask
questions, how we fi nd solutions. It’s very
much student-based and very collaborative
in its spirit and essence.”
As someone who has brought her own
education and professional background in
urban design and landscape architecture
to bear on a variety of leadership positions
(she is British Columbia’s former deputy
minister of advanced education, research
and innovation, and former dean of the
UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems,
for example), Quayle brought the d.studio
to life at Sauder in 2010 because of her
profound belief that business students,
and business people in general, have
the greatest capacity to change the way
MOST PEOPLE WOULD AGREE THAT innovation requires creativity. But
increasingly, many would say it also
demands critical thinking, collaboration
and human values.
All these elements come together in
the strategic design process, an emergent
business discipline that
can lead to original and
often unexpected
ideas and solutions.
“Strategic design
is a way of expanding
your world view
and how you think
about and address
complex problems,”
says Professor Moura
Quayle, who teaches
Design Strategies for
Business Innovation through
the d.studio at the Sauder School of
Business. “To think we can use the same
tools we used a decade ago just isn’t
realistic.”
Once the domain of designers
producing products or services, strategic
design is increasingly being used by
business to help solve systemic challenges
and wicked, diffi cult-to-defi ne, no- “right”
Designing business to change the worldAt Sauder’s d.studio, the challenge is to think diff erently in full
BY ERICA SMISHEK
we operate as a society, with respect to
achieving a low to zero carbon economy.
“With the d.studio we strive to inspire
students to transform business models to
keep businesses alert and responsive to
their customer needs, to improve service
delivery and business processes to better
serve customers, and to build eff ective
organizations to serve society,” she explains.
Real. Life. Experience.Sauder’s d.studio is an interdisciplinary
and action-focused experiential learning
initiative and environment where students
create business value founded in real-world
problems, opportunities and contexts.
Students get direct contact with local,
national and international business,
government, and not-for-profi t clients that
have included Climate Smart Business, Arts
Umbrella, Concert Properties, Pacifi c Press
and Lululemon.
Through experimentation with various
tools, processes and activities, individual
and teams defi ne, research, ideate,
prototype, choose, implement and learn.
Students come away with a new and critical
component to enrich their business toolkits
as well as a better understanding of how
human-centred strategic design (which
starts with the people for whom others
are designing and want to aff ect with their
solution) can be used, particularly to foster
business innovation, sustainability and
change leadership.
“I really appreciated the collaborative
process,” says Daniel Draper, a BCom 2014
IN THINKING
“The d.studio is about kindling a passion in students to get out there and change the way we do
business.”– MOURA QUAYLE
27VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
graduate who specialized in fi nance. He
was part of the project team tasked with
growing Lululemon’s men’s line.
“Right from the start, we spent a lot
of time discussing ideas, brainstorming,
having productive arguments, and sharing
personal experience and perspectives. It
was particularly valuable because there
didn’t have to be an immediate outcome or
solution. We all wanted to make the most
of the process and could’ve landed on a
variety of outcomes. I learned techniques
and activities that will be useful in any
circumstance.”
Alexandra Lam, a BCom student
entering her fi nal year of studies, says the
course was one of the most enriching and
unconventional learning experiences she
has ever had.
Dialogue to design“Almost everyone in the class was a ‘type
A’ leader. Sometimes ideas clashed. But
we had the chance to listen to each other,
share ideas, and give each other really
constructive feedback,” Lam explains. “It
makes me aware not only as a business
student but also a future business person
of how I need to engage with a team, how
we can learn to reach for the potential in
ideas and work through barriers, and learn
to be comfortable with the grey, with the
not knowing how to do something, with the
uncertainty.
“Anyone who wants to be a powerful,
infl uential business leader should take this
course,” she says.
Quayle notes that the
strategic design process and
studio environment need to
be designed for each unique
project, problem, opportunity
or organization.
“It is strongly guided by its
co-creative nature, by having
all the stakeholders in the
room,” she says. “This means
comfort with ambiguity and
not really knowing precisely
where the process is going, or
where it is going to take us.
This is hard for people who like
‘right and wrong’ or ‘correct or
incorrect’ answers.”
While it is a tremendous
tool, she says it won’t always
be the appropriate one.
“Sometimes strategic
design isn’t the right
methodology. It really
depends on the problem
and the context. For some
simple endeavours, you
want a simpler method. And you have to
be prepared for failure—and for starting
again.”
Quayle, in a sense, is also starting
again. Recently named director of UBC’s
Liu Institute for Global Issues, she will
remain a professor at Sauder and hopes to
bridge gaps between policy and business
by strengthening the bond between the Liu
Institute and the Sauder School. She plans
to increase the business community’s voice
and engagement in policy work going on at
the Liu Institute, and envisions a d.studio at
Liu for teaching policy and tackling policy
problems. ■
For Moura Quayle, the key creative canvas is the mind (in this case, colleague Jim Southcott’s) and the thoughts it holds.
At Sauder’s d.studio, individuals and teams defi ne, research, ideate, prototype, choose, implement and learn through experimentation.
action research studioin strategic design
To learn more about the d.studio
visit www.dstudio.ubc.ca or contact
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28 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
marketing (program promotion; stakeholder
needs and segmentation) to facilities
(creating a more engaging lobby space).
The organization is now evaluating
and implementing some of the ideas
fi rst presented by the students. Pacey
also notices a diff erence in employee
engagement for those who were part of the
studio practice.
“I am seeing on an everyday basis
and hearing comments from people that
reinforce for me how useful and important
a learning experience it was,” says Pacey.
“The penny has dropped for many of them,
and I sense it could be a real turning point
in the culture of the organization.”
Clients acknowledge that for
newcomers to the process, strategic design
can be quite abstract.
ANGÈLE BEAUSOLEIL NEVER MET A complex problem she didn’t like to tackle.
“‘What’s the problem?’ We don’t
like that question. Everyone sees
‘opportunities.’ We’ve grown to dislike
and distrust problems—we associate
them with negativity. We have had three
generations of leaders who say ‘don’t
bring me your problems—bring me
solutions,’” Beausoleil explains.
Having spent the last two decades
working with digital agencies, technology
companies and brands to ensure
companies are well positioned for the
future, the admitted “right/left brain
thinker” has turned her attention to
doctoral studies at UBC, researching the
innovation process and teaching Design
Strategies for Business Innovation through
the d.studio at the Sauder School.
“We need a safe, neutral space for
learning, a space to explore and identify
the right problems. The solutions are
the easy part—you will have more than
enough. What you will discover is that you
have to explore the many small problems
that lie beneath the big messy ones—
these are the ones you have to focus on,”
she explains.
Beausoleil brings the strategic design
process to industry by engaging partners
in the classroom to work with students
on real world business challenges and
delivering workshops to executives in
Vancouver and around the world.
Getting past “can’t”She says the framework developed by
Sauder’s d.studio is particularly eff ective
for creating both opportunities and clarity
when the way forward is not obvious or
when the system is simply stuck. Industry
partners agree it’s a compelling and
generative approach.
“Even though we’re a creative
organization, we still needed help in
thinking in diff erent ways about what we
were doing,” said Lucille Pacey, President
and CEO of Arts Umbrella, a Vancouver-
based not-for-profi t arts education centre
for children and youth ages two to 19. “We
had to get past the ‘we can’t do this’ way of
thinking and get to ‘what would it look like
if we did this?’ approach.”
Beausoleil conducted two workshops
with key staff and board members. Arts
Umbrella also worked with students over
a semester to examine challenges from
Sauder PhD candidate Angèle Beausoleil mixes mediums both at work and play.
“We had to get past the ‘we can’t do this’ way of thinking and get to ‘what would it look like if we
did this?’”– LUCILLE PACEY
PRESIDENT & CEO, ARTS UMBRELLA
Have you got the right problem?
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29VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
MORE THAN 40 BUDDING “DESIGN
thinkers” gathered at the Vancouver
offi ce of Briteweb, a communications,
branding and digital strategy agency, on
June 25 to learn more about the strategic
design process. Hosted in partnership
with Sauder’s d.studio, the event was
led by Briteweb’s strategist
Marica Rizzo (BCom 2010)
and creative director
Samantha Langdorf,
and included
Sauder students
and alumni, and
other business
and community
members.
“The strategic
design process allows
me to be my strategic
self and my creative ‘out
of the box’ self. We need to
nurture both sides of our brains,” says
Rizzo. “We want to hire more people who
think this way. It’s defi nitely an asset.”
In an interactive session, participants
worked with partners to create a solution
to a specifi c challenge—Design a Solution
for your Partner to Adopt Solar Energy.
They conducted in-depth interviews with
their partners, surveyed industry experts in
the room, and did some rapid research by
text messaging fi ve friends. Following the
ideation session, the Briteweb offi ce was
covered in Post-it notes with ideas ranging
from overseas investment structures,
through coff ee shop incentive programs for
charging laptops using solar, to business
models for basement suite dwellers to sell
solar energy to their parents upstairs.
“I think that expanding my knowledge
in business and strategic thinking will be a
great benefi t in my work,” says participant
Katie Mah, a graduate of Emily
Carr University of Art
and Design who now
works at Arc’teryx,
an outerwear and
apparel design and
manufacturing
company. “The
greater the
context you have
on a problem, the
lesser your chances
of designing based on
assumption, and the more
attentive you’ll be to the users’
needs. Then, the rest of the process
is art—creating something that is elegant,
beautiful and enjoyable to use.”
Mike Cancilla, a biomedical engineer and
co-founder of Arbutus Medical, sees the
strategic design process as a way to foster
his business and social innovation skills.
“I will continue to be aware that there
are multiple ways to approach a problem,
and stepping out of the ‘engineering’ box
is a great way to inspire creativity. During
the workshop I felt free to be creative and
dream up things that I might have not done
otherwise.” ■
“It’s tough for some business people
to see the impact of these creative
approaches,” says Marisol Cruz Aguirre,
who guides Strategic Management
and Corporate Legal Aff airs at TechBA
Vancouver. “But once they dig deeper,
there are lots of methodologies and tools
that can ignite business development and
product development.”
From a diff erent angleTechBA Vancouver, formerly a business
acceleration program of Mexico’s Secretary
of Economy and the US-Mexico Foundation
for Science, has now evolved into an
integrated services offi ce that assists in
the international expansion of small- and
medium-sized technology-based Mexican
companies. They provide managerial
and technological resources as well as
facilitate access to dynamic global markets
and highly entrepreneurial business
ecosystems. With locations in eight cities
around the world, including Vancouver,
TechBA turned to Beausoleil to deliver
d.studio workshops in Mexico for three
digital media companies.
“They started to visualize their
vision and goals in a very diff erent way,
considering every aspect of their team
and diff erent perspectives,” says Federico
Goroztieta, CEO of TechBA Vancouver.
“The companies now feel they need
to learn more,” he continues. “They are
very interested in following up and having
another session with the d.studio in order
to cultivate and grow their skills. They
are generating this new knowledge into
something very practical for innovation. It
is quite transforming.”
Interested in learning more about the
d.studio? Visit dstudio.ubc.ca or contact
Taking d.studio to the people
30 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
RONNA CHISHOLM, BCOM 1989 (Finance, PMF), is the President and Co-
founder of Dossier, a Vancouver-based
design company specializing for more
than two decades in brand and innovation
services. Working with entrepreneurial
minded corporate clients and start-
ups, their brand creations number in
the hundreds and include Mike’s Hard
Lemonade, Naked Grape Wines, Coast
Capital, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods and several
smaller food and beverage companies.
RICK HART, BCOM 1991 (MARKETING), is the Director of Brand & Marketing
Communications at UBC. With more
than 20 years experience in advertising/
marketing including six years as senior
vice-president and director of strategy with
MacLaren McCann Vancouver, Rick has
worked on numerous strategic enterprises
requiring innovation and imagination,
including Hyundai, Labatt, Vancity and BC
Children’s Hospital.
MIKE PARKER, BCOM 1994 (MARKETING), is the Global Chief Digital Offi cer of
McCann WorldGroup, the world’s largest
advertising and communications company.
Mike lives in the Silicon Valley in California,
and works to bring together technology,
innovation and creativity for the agency’s
clients including Nestle, L’Oreal, Coke,
MasterCard and Microsoft. Mike got his
start in advertising at Palmer Jarvis DDB in
Vancouver where he became President of
Tribal DDB Canada and later for the US.
The enduring creative genius of advertising slogans from the 1960s like Coke’s “It’s the Real Thing” and “The Best Part of Wakin’ Up Is Folgers in Your Cup” has become part of our common consciousness in large part thanks to the compelling characters of TV’s Mad Men set in that era. Today, as it was then, creativity is all important in the billion dollar advertising/marketing industry, and a Sauder education has laid the foundation for many of the best and brightest in that profession. To learn more about creativity and how successful executives tap in to it, Viewpoints spoke with some Sauder alumni who are leaders in the fi eld.
Inventing inspiration: how seeds of creativity are planted and encouraged to grow
Mad wo/menBY SUE BUGOS
Who was your biggest creative infl uence and why?MP: Early in my career at DDB, I had the
chance to work with legendary creative
leader Keith Reinhart, who was CEO of the
agency and wrote the famous “two all beef
patties…” song for McDonald’s. He was truly
an inspiring creative leader. Keith has an
amazing ability to connect with people on a
very human level which, if we are going to
make a diff erence with our work, is exactly
what we need to remember every day.
RC: Milton Wong, a mentor in fi nance to
me was surprisingly also one of my biggest
creative infl uences. Milton was greatly
infl uenced early in his career by Edward
de Bono, the “father of lateral thinking.”
Milton saw things others did not see and
thought radically diff erently than most in
the fi nance industry. Early in my career,
his belief in the importance of creativity
in business was a huge infl uence and
encouragement to me.
“ Creativity takes courage.”
Henri Matisse, artist
31VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
When you are facing a creative dilemma, where do you do your best thinking? How does this place inspire you?RC: When I’m at the gym or after a
workout; where I’m away from email,
getting oxygen to the brain and breathing.
RH: When I’m walking. It doesn’t really
matter where as just the process of moving
helps me think.
MP: I’ve been fortunate to work at
some agencies with very creative work
environments, but I always do my best
thinking outside of the offi ce. These days
I’m into road biking and do good thinking
when I’m in the saddle. Our family cabin
on the Sunshine Coast is also a place
where I get inspired and do my “bigger
picture” thinking.
What natural talent are you most proud of possessing?RC: I’ve always easily embraced
diff erences, and this is so critical for
collaboration and the creative process.
RH: According to StrengthsFinder I am
a strategic thinker and that fi ts with my
career path to date.
MP: I work hard on being a good
listener. In the business world, everyone
is quick to talk, show their ideas, and
try to score points, but real success in
the communications business starts by
listening—to what consumers want, to
what our clients are trying to achieve.
Only then can you have something
valuable to say.
“ Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.”
Dr. Seuss, writer
“ You came here because we do this better than you, and part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are.”
Mad Men’s Don Draper,
on managing creative people
Where do your daydreams usually take you?
RH: Daydreams show what is possible.
In advertising and marketing generally,
there are so many deadlines and so many
details to track it can be hard to fi nd the
free time to think freely and in the abstract.
When you can let your mind wander, it can
really do wonders. In fact, some of the
most creative people I have worked with
spend a good part of their day staring out
the window.
MIKE PARKERBCOM 1994
32 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
When you are at your creative best, what contributes to that inspired state?RH: Two extremes—either in a group
setting where I am helping to build ideas
through collaboration or completely on my
own with no noise or distractions.
MP: It’s when I am able to push away all of
the day to day stresses or preoccupations
of life and let my mind be free. I think you
also need to remove the fear of failure and
be willing to ask “what if?”
The television show Mad Men has had an impact on how people view creative industries lately and it seems like everyone watches the show. Which character do you most identify with and why?RC: I have to admit that I identify somewhat
with both Lane and Joan; Joan particularly
in how she has expressed at times feeling
like the only responsible adult in the room.
Play is important in the creative process,
as is the non-linear process. So this can
produce tension in business—but it’s
this tension inherent in operating at the
intersection of creativity and commerce
that is essential for innovation.
What tools for being creative did you learn at Sauder that you use now?RH: Commercial creativity (vs. fi ne art)
needs to be rooted in typical business
constructs such as goals, objectives and
strategies. The framework for strategic
thinking was ingrained in me during my
time at Sauder.
MP: Creativity is a team sport. In agency life
you need to collaborate with copywriters,
designers, strategists, technologists and
producers to solve client challenges and
get ideas made. At Sauder, I learned some
good lessons on working in teams and on
collaborative projects that have been truly
helpful in my career.
When you think of the most creative person you know, what three words would you use to describe him/her? RH: Visionary. Driven. Obsessive.
MP: Interesting. Wise. Fearless. ■
“ Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
Scott Adams, cartoonist
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
Albert Einstein, physicist
“ That’s the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.”
Ray Bradbury, writer
RICK HARTBCOM 1991
RONNA CHISHOLMBCOM 1989
33VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Earning InterestBY ALLAN JENKINS
Five most creative Canadian cities
Seven tools and apps to spark ideas
Richard Florida is an author, professor and urban studies specialist who believes cities require a “creative class” to reach their full potential. According to Florida, the Canadian “creative class” numbers more than fi ve million people, or about 30% of the workforce. However, the creative class is unevenly distributed: here is Florida’s ranking of Canada’s most creative cities according to his Creativity Index Score.
1 Ottawa-Gatineau (87 points)
T2 Vancouver and Victoria (83 points)
4 Montréal(82 points)
5 Québec City(81 points)
MindMeister (mind mapping; Android, iOS): Lets you create mind maps to plan projects, manage meetings and sketch business plans. MindMeister mind maps can be shared, collaboratively edited, and exported to Word, PowerPoint and PDF.
iMindMap (mind mapping; Windows, Mac, Android, iOS): Created by Tony Buzan, the inventor of mind maps. Lets users brainstorm, plan, organize and present mind maps. Pricey, but rich in features.
Idea Sketch (mind mapping; Windows, iOS, Windows Phone): A basic but easy-to-use app. Quickly convert concept maps, fl ow charts, or mind maps to outlines, or vice versa.
Brushes (drawing, painting; iOS): Reportedly used by David Hockney, Brushes gives you a basic paintbox of colours, brushes and layers, and also lets you record each brush stroke. Designed exclusively for iOS; paintings can be seamlessly transferred between iPhone and iPad.
Notability (note taking; Mac, iOS): Take notes while synching the notes to audio recordings of the meeting. Notes can include text, drawings, imported documents and web pages, all time-stamped against the recording. Notes can be shared on the cloud and exported to various formats.
Brainsparker (brainstorming; iOS): Brainsparker appeals to your right brain by letting you pick a card from a deck of 52 (more available with the paid version). Each card has a simple image or question (what does your heart say?) aimed at sparking new trains of thought. The app can be set to “spark” you at least once a day.
The Brainstormer (brainstorming; iOS): Another right-brain tool, addictively tactile, aimed at combining a plot, a subject and a setting or style, the Brainstormer tries to prompt the elusive moment of inspiration for writers, painters, or any kind of creative endeavour.
34 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
Designing for Growth: A design thinking tool
kit for managers
by Jeanne Liedtka and
Tim Ogilvie (2011)
A guide to understanding the
ability to turn abstract ideas
into practical applications for
maximal business growth.
Where Good Ideas Come From
by Steven Johnson (2011)
Ordinary things—the pencil,
fl ushing toilets, the battery—
seem perfectly obvious. But what
brilliant thought sparked their
invention?
101 Design Methods: A Structured approach
for driving Innovation in your organization by Vijay Kumar (2012)
The practice of creating new
products, services and customer
experiences as a science, rather
than an art.
Everything is Obvious: How common sense
fails us by Duncan J. Watts (2012)
Creativity needs to be properly
framed to be useful.
The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler (1964)
Koestler believes we are our
most creative when we suspend
rational thought.
The Ten Faces of Innovation
by Tom Kelley (2005)
IDEO’s strategies for defeating
the devil’s advocate and driving
creativity throughout your
organization. (See page 20
in this issue of Viewpoints for
brainstorming tips from IDEO.)
The Creative Habit: Learn it and use it
for lifeby Twyla Tharp (2005)
Lessons from the celebrated
dancer/choreographer on how
to infuse creativity in your
day-to-day life.
The Opposable Mind: Winning through
integrative thinkingby Roger Martin (2009)
Don’t blindly follow the advice
of successful leaders. Instead,
try to understand how they
think.
Design Driven Innovation: Changing
the rules of competition by radically innovating what things meanby Roberto Verganti (2009)
How to create innovations that
customers do not expect, but
that they eventually love.
Nine books on creativityAs recommended by Sauder faculty Paul Cubbon, Darren Dahl and Moura Quayle, sorted by publication date
Eight top toysJust in time for Christmas last year, one sales and marketing blog, Blitz Lead Manager, listed the top-selling toys of all time. Not surprisingly, most involve creative play, which we now know to be an essential activity for grownups of all ages.
1 Barbie While sales of Barbie dolls have declined in recent years, with more
than one billion dolls living their make-believe lives, worldwide, this
50-year-old popular culture icon has been a leader in creative play.
2 The yo-yo While the concept of the yo-yo dates back 2,500 years, in the US,
their commercial popularity began after the Yo-Yo Manufacturing
Company in Santa Barbara, California, began producing millions of
yo-yos a year. “Walk the dog,” anyone?
3 Easy-Bake Oven There is no mid-life crisis in sight for this get-creative-in-the-
kitchen toy. Launched a half century ago, a reported 30 million
Easy-Bake Ovens have been sold.
4 Radio Flyer While a wagon might be more about careening than creativity,
one need only picture the decked out, modifi ed wagons of one’s
childhood to know they are both. And hey, 100 million wagons on
gravel hills everywhere can’t be wrong.
5 Transformers A worthy leftover from the 1980s? With more than $2 billion in profi ts
from just three live-action fi lms alone, not to mention the immensely
popular toy line, Transformers are the most current entry on this list.
6 G.I. Joe With somewhere around 10 million a year sold, this male military
action fi gure featured 21 moving parts when it was fi rst launched in
1964 as foot-high soldier. Reduced to half its size in the 1980s, the
product has held its own in creative doll play.
7 Hot Wheels These classic die-cast toys from Mattel were introduced in 1968,
4 billion cars, 11,000 variations and more than 800 models ago.
Apparently, the average child between the ages of fi ve and 15
owns about 41 cars. Racetracks not included.
8 LEGO “Everything is awesome,” must be how the LEGO folks feel this
year, with The LEGO Movie grossing $468 million at box offi ces
worldwide; surely evidence of the staying power of the endlessly
interlocking brick toy. Named for the Danish phrase “leg godt” (“play
well”), LEGO has produced more than 400 billion blocks and almost
as many structures. According to TIME Magazine, just six blocks can
be combined in 102,981,500 ways.
35VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
A home for UBC graduates
The Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre
A NEW $18.5-MILLION ALUMNI CENTRE WILL OPEN AT THE University of British Columbia in spring 2015 named in honour
of Robert H. Lee, a prominent member of the Sauder School of
Business community whose leadership and support led to the
naming of the Robert H. Lee Graduate School.
Located at the centre of UBC’s Vancouver campus, the naming
of the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre honours the many contributions
the BC business leader and philanthropist has made to the life
of the university. The centre will serve as a resource for UBC’s
300,000 alumni, providing a welcoming place to network, meet
with students, and participate in intellectual, cultural and social
programs.
“My experiences as a commerce student laid the foundation
for my career. I feel privileged to have been able to give back to
my university,” says Lee, who is the Founder & Chairman of The
Prospero Group, a leading Canadian real estate company. “My
family and I are deeply grateful for this honour. I hope that other
alumni and friends will understand the importance of UBC to
future generations, and will fi nd ways to support this university
and its students.”
36 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
The building will include a centre for
innovation, a large celebration venue,
classrooms, social spaces and high-tech
meeting rooms, plus a café and library.
“The Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre will
become the heart of campus,” said immediate
past UBC President Stephen Toope at the
time of the announcement. “When we fi rst
imagined its creation, Bob was the obvious
person to name it after. He brings people
together, and we thought that was the perfect
symbol for the alumni centre.”
Lee has served on the UBC Board
of Governors and as Chancellor of
the University. One of his greatest
contributions was envisioning and
establishing the UBC Properties Trust of
which he served as chairman for more
than 20 years. The Trust was among the
fi rst in Canada to build market housing
on university land to fund its endowment,
which supports teaching, research and
community engagement. UBC Properties
Trust has added more than $850 million in
value to the university endowment.
The Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre is a
collaboration between UBC and alumni
UBC. It is a priority project for UBC’s start
an evolution campaign, the most ambitious
fundraising and alumni engagement
DONOR NEWS
campaign in Canadian history.
“I can’t think of a more appropriate and
deserving person to honour in this way
than Bob Lee,” said Judy Rogers, Member
at Large, Board of Directors, alumni UBC.
“The depth and duration of his involvement
in the aff airs of his university—and that of
his family—are remarkable to say the least.
The results of his eff orts will be evident for
the generations of alumni to come.”
ABOUT ROBERT H. LEE, CM, OBC, BCOM 1956, LLD 1996Born and raised in Vancouver, Robert
Lee graduated from UBC in 1956 with a
Bachelor of Commerce degree. He also met
his wife Lily (BSN 1956) at UBC. He co-
founded Wall Financial Corp. in 1966 before
setting off on his own to found the Prospero
Group in 1979, where he now serves as
chairman. He has built a strong real estate
presence in western Canada and the US,
including extensive real estate holdings in
the Lower Mainland.
Lee has not only left a mark on his home
city of Vancouver through a remarkable
career in real estate, but he has also set the
bar for community involvement through his
tireless commitment to numerous boards
and foundations.
He joined the UBC Board of Governors
in 1984 and served as chancellor from 1993
to 1996. He founded UBC Properties Trust
in 1988, served as chairman until 2011 and
is now chairman emeritus. He was chair of
the UBC Foundation and a member of the
Leadership Committee for UBC’s World
of Opportunity campaign. He received an
honorary degree from UBC in 1996 and was
appointed honorary chair of the current
start an evolution campaign. He was also
instrumental in creating the Robert. H. Lee
Graduate School at the Sauder School of
Business in 2006.
Lee’s four children (Carol, BCom 1981;
Derek, BCom 1982; Leslie, BCom 1984;
and Graham, BCom 1987) and his son-and
daughters-in-law all graduated from UBC.
There are nine alumni in his immediate
family, and three of his grandchildren are
currently enrolled at UBC.
ABOUT THE ROBERT H. LEE ALUMNI CENTREConstruction of the 3,870 square-metre
facility is underway at the corner of
University Blvd. and East Mall, next to the
new Student Union Building. The architects
are Hughes Condon Marler Architects
(Vancouver) and Kuwabara Payne
McKenna Blumberg (Toronto).
The Centre will feature:• A new centre for innovation that will be
the home for entrepreneurship@UBC
• Two multi-purpose classrooms
designed for academic and intellectual
programming for alumni
• High-tech boardrooms for the UBC Board
of Governors and the Alumni Association
Board of Directors
• A 300-person celebration space for
alumni and community events
• Interactive storytelling elements will
show the global impact of UBC alumni
and donors
• A café and library on the main fl oor for
informal networking ■
Family Legacy Series Sauder’s Business Families Centre will honour the Robert H. Lee
family of Vancouver at its Family Legacy Series gala event on
February 26, 2015 at the Hotel Vancouver. Philanthropist and
real estate developer Robert H. Lee is recognized as a signifi cant
contributor to the local community, and the event will explore
the genesis of his philanthropic values and how they have been
passed to the next generation. Contact Mischa.Ragona@sauder.
ubc.ca for sponsorship opportunities.
The Family Legacy Series has been running for 12 years and is now a signature event
in the Vancouver business community. Last year, the Family Legacy Series honoured the
remarkable success story of the Graham Family, founders and owners of Graymont Ltd.,
the second largest producer of chemical lime in North America. ■
MA
RT
IN D
EE
37VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Business motto or philosophy: Know thyself and lead by example.
In business today, it’s important to… Build your resilience and increase your
capacity to adapt to change. This requires
a growth mindset where you take full
responsibility for your success or failure
and follow through on the belief that hard
work is the foundation for moving forward.
Most valuable thing learned since graduation: Mindfulness and neurobiology. This combo
has been a total game changer as it enables
me to eff ectively manage my energy levels
throughout my day and ensures that I can
consistently perform at my best.
Eureka moment: This past year I was asked by a close
mentor, “What do you do for joy?” I was
stumped by that question because I didn’t
have an answer. I was always working on
something. Now I make time for joy as
often as I can.
Biggest risk you’ve ever taken: Starting my own business after graduation
rather than taking a job. I have always had
an appetite for risk so the decision seemed
somewhat natural at the time, despite the
leap into the unknown.
Greatest achievement to date: Every time I hear a student or mentee has
an “aha” moment due to my direct support
or guidance, especially when I see them
take action on those insights.
Alter ego:Yoda. A few friends have called me an “old
soul.” I think it comes from my appreciation
for deep thought and wisdom.
Greatest extravagance: My breakfast smoothie. I buy the best
ingredients I can fi nd, and it’s worth every
penny.
Person you admire most and why (living or historical fi gure): The late Daniel Inouye, US Senator, Medal
of Honor recipient. Daniel was a part of
the 442nd US Infantry in WWII comprised
mostly of Japanese American citizens.
While they fought, their families were in
American internment camps. The 442nd
US infantry was the most decorated unit
in US military history. I’m continuously
inspired by Daniel’s story as he acted with
unimaginable courage and bravery despite
all odds.
Trait you admire most in others: I’m going to share two as they are
connected like time and space: integrity
and authenticity. And a bonus—deep
compassion for self and others.
Talent you would most like to have: Being able to run extremely long distances.
I was given the gift of fl at feet.
Last book you couldn’t put down: Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.
Most listened to: I love electronic dance music. Bonn Smith is
my favourite local artist.
Gadget of choice: My meditation mat and my phone.
Your best-kept secret (what most people don’t know about you): I can consistently solve a Rubik’s Cube in
less than two minutes.
Favourite journey: I completed a Vipassana 10-day silent
meditation. It was one of the most
challenging journeys that I have ever
experienced and by far the most fulfi lling.
Where will you be in 10 years? I will be building a business that solves
a problem I deeply care about with an
amazing team of purpose-driven people. I
will be facilitating learning experiences that
empower participants to transform their
own mindsets from fi xed to growth.
Cole Nakatani Degree and Grad Year: BCom 2011, Marketing and SustainabilityCurrent home city: Vancouver, BC.Sauder volunteer role: JDC West CoachProfessional ID: Entrepreneur, Ideahack Creative
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Global Network feature? Contact us at [email protected]
and we’ll be in touch.
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DIRECTORY: Exclusively yours! Login, update
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Sauder Alumni Global Network
38 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
CLASS NOTES
Trade and Commerce, Ottawa; Director,
Multilateral Projects and Programs, Aid and
Development Division, Economic Bureau,
Dept. of Foreign Aff airs, Ottawa; Offi cer,
Asia, International Programs, Dept. of
Finance, Ottawa; Offi cer, NGO Multilateral
Programs, Canadian International
Development Agency, Ottawa; Analyst &
Reporter, computer-produced statistics,
Sask. Govt. Insurance Offi ce, Regina;
Economist, Dept. of Public Health, Govt.
of Saskatchewan, Regina; Analyst and
Adviser, industrial stocks and bonds,
Gairdner & Company Investment Brokers,
Toronto.
More personal activities include:
Marriage (1956) to James MacNicol (UBC
BCom 1955, Western MBA 1956), two sons
and daughters—daughter and son twins in
1958, a daughter in 1959 and a son in 1960.
Marriage (1980) to Gordon Keys
(BASc 1950 U of Toronto, MASc 1952 U of
Toronto).
Retired in 1988 and moved to Salt
Spring Island, BC.
Finally, for health reasons, moved to
Sidney, BC (on Vancouver Island) in 2010.
Bertrand Dusausoy, MBA 1971
Still remember Opening day in 1970, with
Greenpeace Festival.
Helen Keys, BCom 1956
It is hard to believe 58 years have passed
since our graduation, though I have been
retired for the past 26 of those years. I
retired as a Canadian Trade Commissioner
(employed by the Dept. of Foreign Aff airs)
following many years in public service with
various Ottawa departments.
My varied career frequently took me
abroad to diverse locations to undertake
interesting and varied assignments. For
example—representing Canada at meetings
of the World Bank, other development
banks, the International Monetary Fund,
OECD in Seoul, Manila, Kyoto or Paris; six
weeks in La Paz, Bolivia pursuing contracts
for Canadian companies to provide
upgrading of several airports and provision
of aircraft; evaluating NGO literacy
and health care projects in small rural
villages in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan;
accompanying Federal Minsters on
diplomatic visits to Beijing, Rome, Tokyo.
My career included, in reverse order:
Director, Asia Business Development
Program. Asia-Pacifi c Foundation
(secondment); Director, China Trade,
Alberta Trade Department (secondment);
Commercial Counsellor, Canadian
Embassy, Beijing; Director, Review and
Development of a new Fishing Industry
Policy and Program (including regulations),
Government of New Zealand; Director,
Review and Development of New
Customs Import & Export Operations,
Government of New Zealand (on Executive
Interchange); Offi cer, Asian Projects, Offi ce
of Overseas Projects, Dept. of Industry,
1970s
1950s
Dear alumni,From Vancouver to Hong Kong and from London to Karachi, the Sauder community
includes more than 36,000 alumni in 77 countries. Our alumni hold a piece of the
school’s history as well as its future.
So tell us your story, and share your news. We want to hear from you! Whether
you just got the job of your dreams or are still fi nding your way, took a trip around the
world or have been enjoying the comforts of home, got married or became a parent—
fi ll us in on your family and career, accomplishments and interests. We want to hear
from you, and see your photos.
We’ll print your news in the Class Notes section of Viewpoints Magazine, which is
consistently ranked as one of the most popular segments of our publication. Through
the Class Notes, you can share your story with your fellow alumni and current
students, reconnect with old classmates, and stay connected as a vital part of the
Sauder community.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
Viewpoints Magazine
39VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Lyall Knott, BCom 1971
In April 2014, I was appointed a Member of
the Advisory Board to the Canada Institute
of The Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars. The Institute was
founded in 2001 to increase awareness and
knowledge about Canada and Canada-US
relations among US policy makers and
opinion leaders. The Institute is dedicated
exclusively to exploring emerging policy
issues between Canada and the US. The
Wilson Center was chartered by Congress
as the offi cial memorial to President
Woodrow Wilson.
I am a senior partner of Clark Wilson
LLP and the Honorary Captain of the
Canadian Fleet Pacifi c, Royal Canadian
Navy. I served as a Canadian Commissioner
on the International Joint Commission from
2009 to 2013.
Rosalie Tung, MBA 1974, PhD 1977
I am the President-elect of the Academy
of International Business, the largest
association of professors of international
business. Previously, I served as president
of the Academy of Management, the
largest association of professors of
management from around the world.
John Clark, BCom 1979
I am pleased to announce that I am
celebrating 20 years as President of Pacifi c
Spirit Investment Management Inc.,
Vancouver’s premier wealth management
fi rm. Along with the Pacifi c Spirit team,
I help our high net worth client families
achieve their fi nancial goals through
comprehensive planning and portfolio
management.
Ken Lassesen, MSc (Business
Administration) 1981
Joining Avalara.com, a world leader in
sales tax calculation, as the principal
software engineer for their core off ering.
Alternatively, welcoming Maurice, Angie
and Winston—a pack of corgis to the family.
Anne Wicks , BCom 1978, MSc (Business
Administration) 1982
I am now a spiritual director and retreat
leader. I have also co-facilitated pilgrimages
with high school students in both New York
and Mexico.
I have served in ministry leadership at
St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Richmond
for the past 25 years and am currently on
staff , serving as the director of ministry
with senior adults.
I am a life-long learner and my current
focus of study, with St. Francis Xavier
University, is the integration of new
cosmology with Christian theology and
spirituality.
I have been married to Mike (BA
1965) for 38 years, and we have two adult
children and one granddaughter. Our son
David graduated from UBC in 2008.
My interests include reading, cooking,
contemplative photography, health &
fi tness, embodied prayer and spending
relaxing summers at Kootenay Lake.
1980s
SHARE YOUR NEWSClass Notes are easier than ever
to submit. Simply fi ll out the online form at www.sauder.ubc.
ca/alumni/classnotes
40 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
CLASS NOTES
SHARE YOUR NEWSClass Notes are easier than ever
to submit. Simply fi ll out the online form at www.sauder.ubc.
ca/alumni/classnotes
Margaret Buttner, BCom 1983
In August I joined the Vancouver Public
Library Foundation as associate director of
development. I am very excited about this
opportunity to combine my love of books
with my professional career.
Lindsay Ryerson, MBA 1985
I am now working in downtown Vancouver
as President and CEO of Contigo Systems,
a location-based information service
provider. I welcome hearing from any of
my classmates.
Anjili Bahadoorsingh, BCom 1990
After 15 years at the national law fi rm
of Heenan Blaikie LLP, I joined Terra Law
Corporation in 2013, a new commercial real
estate law fi rm in Vancouver, to continue
my practice in banking, real estate and
corporate/commercial law.
Edward Pereira, BCom 1990
After starting up and leading the
information security and audit departments
at Intrawest and then Lululemon, it was
time to change things up, leverage those
eight years of frontline experience in cyber
and information security, and venture out
to start up my own information security
and risk practice. And that I did in the fall of
2013! Year one has exceeded expectations
on so many fronts, and am very much
reveling in the change!
I also fi nished my one-year term as
President at ISACA Vancouver and enjoyed
being one of the founders of BC’s fi rst
public information security and privacy
awareness campaign back on February 6,
2014. Looking forward to contributing to
an even bigger and better event this
coming February.
I am also enjoying coaching my son’s
U11 select soccer team at Cliff Avenue
United Football Club, and being part of
that club as age coordinator, and as board
member.
Recently, my wife and I were very proud
to learn that our daughter would graduate
from her French immersion elementary
school with the highest academic award
and as co-valedictorian.
Looking forward to many more years
as an independent information risk
consultant and being able to contribute
more volunteer time to my profession
and to my community!
David Power, BCom 1990
I work in the Corporate Treasury at
RBC and this year I was pleased that my
funding and capital team was able to design
and launch the new forms of preferred
shares this past January, and subordinated
debt in July. These newly designed
instruments now comply with Basel III
and have set the precedent for all bank
hybrid capital issuance in Canada under
the Basel III regime.
1990s
41VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Stephen Chun Pong Kwok, MBA 1993
I was recently awarded the medal of honour
by the chief executive of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region, as published
in the Government Gazette on July 1, 2014,
in recognition of my contribution to the
promotion of sustainable development of
small and medium enterprises in Hong
Kong. I have also been the President of
the Hong Kong Small and Medium
Enterprises Association since July 2010
and have been active in advising the
government on policies and legislation
that aff ect the small and medium business
community in Hong Kong.
Connie Linder, BA 1989, MBA 1993
This past year my team and I have
successfully relaunched our search
directory, greenpagesdirectory.net, which
is the leading source for sustainable
purchasing and healthier living. Our goal is
to help make decision-making for healthier
personal and professional procurement
more accessible.
Alexa Loo Goosen, BCom 1994
Four years after competing in the 2010
Winter Olympics here in Vancouver in the
parallel giant slalom snowboard event, I
have hung up the snowboard. My husband
and I are the proud parents of two boys:
Louie 2 1/2 and Sacha 1. I am loving being
a mom and I am loving my new business—
Alexa Loo Coaching: Providing Gold Medal
Coaching in Business and Sport. I am
excited to have found a way to combine
my Chartered Professional Accountant
(CPA, CA) designation with the mental
high performance aspect of Olympic
competition.
Tiff any Lee, BCom 1996
Time fl ies when you’re having fun and
when you’re a mom to two energetic and
playful little girls. Aside from my work as
a music theory specialist for accelerated
RCM courses, I’m also pursuing my
hobby of photography and now I’m just
two courses away from receiving my
certifi cation! Photography has always been
my passion, but it became a mission to
accelerate my skills after my fi rst daughter
was born. Here’s a photo of Alicia (now 5)
and Clarissa (2) from last October in their
ladybug and bumblebee costumes. Have
a happy autumn and take lots of photos
too! Keep in touch: mommymusicteacher@
gmail.com
Anne Lavack, PhD 1997
I have been appointed as Acting Associate
Dean in the School of Business and
Economics at Thompson Rivers University
in Kamloops.
Joyti Bharaj, BCom 2001
Western Canada Microsoft business
productivity specialist.
2000s
42 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
CLASS NOTES
Mark Nowostawski, BCom 2005
It’s been a turbulent year. My detour into air
traffi c controller training that started at the
end of 2012 ended in June, so it’s back into
the accounting world with renewed vigour.
Our two boys keep my wife and I motivated
and not taking the downs that life throws at
us too seriously.
Karmen Blackwood, DULE 1997,
MBA 2006
I moved from my previous role as a
director at the BC Council for International
Education to become Director of Continuing
Studies & Executive Education at Capilano
University in March 2013. I have rebranded
Continuing Education to Continuing Studies
and launched Executive Education at
Capilano University. We off er a range of
programming for learners of all ages though
Continuing Studies and open enrolment with
custom programs in all areas of business,
management and leadership through
Executive Education. I am also a director on
the Board of the North Vancouver Chamber
of Commerce (and the newly-appointed
chair of the membership committee),
and a Trustee of the York House School
Foundation. On the personal side, my
husband and I still live in Vancouver and
we continue to travel as much as possible!
I enjoy staying in touch and (re)connecting
with my friends/former classmates from
UBC. Please contact me if you would like
to reconnect!
Sally Kann, BCom 2007
The last two years have been professionally
and personally enriching for me. Last
year, I moved to Montreal to begin my
career in consulting and to work with a
top-notch team at Mercer. I attained the
Certifi ed Compensation Professional
(CCP) designation. I’ve travelled to China,
the UK, France, Spain, Israel, Jordan and
South Korea. Under the protection of the
United Nations Command, I visited the
Demilitarized Zone between North and
South Koreas and spent part of a day in
North Korea. None of this would have been
possible without many prayers throughout.
I’m grateful for the many occasions to
experience the Bible verse “... all things work
together for good to those who love God, to
those who are called according to His purpose.”
(Romans 8:28)
Ashley Palmer, BCom 2007
I’m taking a one-year sabbatical from
my position as an audit manager with
Ernst & Young, and am embarking on the
opportunity of a lifetime! At the beginning
of August I started a 10-month term
volunteering with Mercy Ships as an
accounting clerk. The organization operates
a hospital ship called the M/V Africa Mercy
that travels to diff erent countries on the
west coast of Africa. We provide medical aid
to those in need of treatment for everything
from cataract surgeries to repair of cleft lips
and palates. I met the ship in the Canary
Islands and was onboard for the voyage to
Cotonou, Benin, where we will be docked in
port for the duration of my volunteer term. I
expect it will be an incredible journey!
Matt Corker, BCom 2008
In June 2014 I held a launch party to
celebrate the release of my fi rst book: Getting
Over the Rainbow. After two years of writing,
editing and hustling, I was able to create
this collection of thoughts, situations and
perspectives that have allowed me to move
from a place of feeling alone and abnormal
to feeling loved and connected. It introduces
concepts like choice, responsibility and
forgiveness within the contexts of friendship,
family and dating for gay men. It was a labour
of love and I am so excited to fi nally be able
to share this with the world.
SHARE YOUR NEWSClass Notes are easier than ever
to submit. Simply fi ll out the online form at www.sauder.ubc.
ca/alumni/classnotes
43VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Warren Tardif, BCom 2008
2014 has had a lot of travel so far. I went to
visit my family in Spain and took a week to
venture into Morocco. When I got back I
was invited to give another conference in the
Caribbean. Now that I’m settled back in LA
I’m trying my best to juggle two jobs for two
diff erent startups. I only hope the year ends
as good at it started.
Peter Jones, MM 2009
I got laid off in January after passing the
UFE. I recently got a contract with EY in
their tax department. Through this contract
I was able to land a full-time job in tax at EY
starting in September. While waiting for this
to start, my wife and I went to Hong Kong,
Thailand and Vietnam for a month. What an
excellent trip that was.
Sean Toth, BCom 2009
This August I joined the legal department
at Palo Alto Networks, Inc. as corporate
counsel. I reside in San Jose, California and
enjoy surfi ng and biking.
Boris Remes, BCom 2010
It was a particularly exciting year! On May
1st I married Yuliya, the woman of my life.
Shortly after we bungee jumped in Whistler
with the entire family and threw The Great
Gatsby Party for friends on the weekend.
Career wise, everything is excellent. I
am working as an Assistant Director of
Admissions at a leading international
boarding school in Vancouver.
Parveen Shergill, BCom 2010
After graduating from business school I
moved on to pursue my goal of going to
law school. In May 2013 I graduated from
UBC Law. I’m currently clerking with the
Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench in
Regina for one year. After my clerkship I will
move back to BC to join a private law fi rm.
Most importantly, I married the love of my
life on June 14, 2013. We had a traditional
Sikh wedding ceremony with a full week of
festivities! We felt blessed to be surrounded
by our family and friends on the most
important day of our lives. We spent our
honeymoon in Europe, travelling through
Italy, France and Monaco. Feeling blessed
and looking forward to what lies ahead.
Esteban Dominguez Londono, BCom 2011
I went to the Brazil 2014 World Cup and
attended two Colombia games, one against
Japan and one against Uruguay. We won
both. An unforgettable experience!!!
2010s
44 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
CLASS NOTES
Terri Jonuk, EMBA 2011
I started in a new and exciting position
as regional manager, staffi ng services
for Northern Health in June 2014. I have
been with Northern Health since 2006.
I hold an Executive MBA in Health Care
Management through UBC and am
passionate for innovative approaches to
perform assessments and improve business
processes.
My previous positions include interim
manager, NI Staffi ng Services; manager,
project and business systems within
Workplace Health and Safety; and business
analyst and Northern Health lead for
patient-focused funding within fi nancial
planning and budgeting.
Bijan Ahmadian, MBA 2012
I started my own legal fi rm, Bijan Legal
Services, practicing in real estate and
corporate law, and have grown my client
base substantially since I moved downtown.
It’s been a great journey!
Nikita Arora, BCom 2014
Graduated from Sauder in May 2014
with a BCom in Finance and then moved
to Toronto to work as an analyst on the
trading fl oor of BMO Capital Markets. I
spent the vacation (after exams and before
starting work) travelling in London and
India where I went rafting in the Ganges,
bungee jumping and travelling in the
mountains.
Stefano Faedo, DULE 2014
I graduated from the DULE program at
UBC in May 2014. Before graduating
I was able to secure a job in the real
estate development industry. I’m proud
to say I work at one of BC’s largest
real estate development companies,
Solterra Development, as a development
coordinator. I fi nd my position very
demanding but satisfying!
Chris Neels, BCom 2014
In September I will be starting my career
at Deloitte Consulting in Toronto as a
business technology analyst. Over the
summer I had the opportunity to attend
SAP’s global conference in Orlando as
winner of their capital markets product
design competition. I have also gone
backpacking through Eastern Asia.
Contact usIs your information
missing or incorrect?
Just let us know by emailing
Become a Sauder School of Business alumni contact
Be a contact for the Sauder School of
Business and fellow alumni in your
city, country or region.
Help counsel prospective students,
advise new graduates, welcome summer
interns and arrange alumni events.
To volunteer, contact us today!
We can be reached at:
Tel: 604-822-6801Fax: 604-822-0592
e-mail: [email protected]
We always appreciate your feedback
on events and programs in support
of alumni activities.
a
45VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
The Sauder School of Business is sad
to announce that Dean Emeritus Peter
A. Lusztig died on January 26, 2014.
Peter Lusztig was an outstanding
professor, mentor and friend whose
life inspired and infl uenced many of
his colleagues and students as well as
members of the business community.
Born in Budapest in 1930, Peter
moved at a young age to Asia, where
his father practiced medicine in
Shanghai and Hong Kong. He came
to Vancouver in 1948 to attend
UBC, graduating with a Bachelor
of Commerce specializing in public
administration in 1954. Outside of
class, he was an active student as a
member of the Thunderbird swim
team and the Alma Mater Society
(AMS). After completing an MBA at
the University of Western Ontario in
1955, Peter began his career in fi nance
at the BC Electric Company (BC
Hydro). However, it wasn’t long before
he returned to his alma mater.
In 1957, Peter joined the Finance
Division at the UBC Faculty of
Commerce (now Sauder School).
Recruited by Professor Leslie Wong,
he taught for several years before
pursuing a doctorate in fi nance
at Stanford University. Once he
completed his PhD, Peter returned to
UBC as a professor and, in 1968, was
asked to chair the Finance Division.
Nine years later, in 1977, he was
named dean of the Faculty of
Commerce, a position he held until
1991. Peter continued teaching in the
Finance Division until his retirement
in 1995.
During his tenure, Peter helped
transform the Faculty of Commerce
into one of the top business schools
in the country. As dean, he was
instrumental in creating the Portfolio
Management Foundation program,
which provides undergraduate
students with real capital markets
experience; he assisted Shanghai Jiao
Tong University in launching business
courses alongside their engineering
curriculum; he helped raise funds for
MBA scholarships to attract more
women; he established the tradition
of named professorships and chairs
at UBC, and made fundraising to
cover salaries and research support
a priority—helping attract more
research-oriented faculty; and he
worked to develop an internationally
recognized PhD program. Under Peter’s
leadership, UBC joined the ranks of
the top research business schools in
the world.
Among Peter’s many
accomplishments is the establishment
of Canada’s fi rst business school
advisory council, a key component in
building bridges between the academic
and professional communities. Peter
felt strongly that faculty members
should contribute to their communities
and he practiced what he preached. In
the process, Peter made many friends
in the business community and sat on
numerous corporate and government
boards. His vision and engagement
had a powerful impact on many.
Following Peter’s passing in
January 2014, many of his friends and
colleagues sought a way to pay tribute
to his leadership. In recognition of
Peter’s passion for fi nancial education
as well as his tireless work to establish
a world-class PhD program at the
Sauder School of Business, the school
has created a fund to support doctoral
students in fi nance to celebrate and
honour Peter’s legacy. The Peter
Lusztig PhD Program in Finance will
ensure that Peter’s pioneering hard
work lives on through the eff orts of
UBC’s fi nance PhD students, our
future academic leaders. ■
Dean Emeritus Peter A. Lusztig
IN MEMORIAM
46 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
BCom 1984The BCom class of 1984 celebrated its
30-year reunion on May 23, 2014 at the
Big 4 Conference Centre. Seventy alumni
gathered to rekindle their friendships over
drinks and snacks, followed by a tour of
the renovated Henry Angus Building. The
event was organized by the class reunion
committee: Kelly Bourne, Wendy Christie,
Colleen Patrick, Yvonne Au Yeung, Andy
Shaw, Gina Holiday Jones, Leslie Lee and
Linda Kern.
MBA 1984
The UBC MBA Class of 1984 gathered for its 30-year anniversary on May 24, 2014 at the
Sauder School of Business and enjoyed a tour of Henry Angus Building. A small group of
alumni met again on Sunday, May 25, 2014 to conquer the Grouse Grind. Special thanks to
Sylvie Lefebvre, Janice Tye and Kathy Sainas for organizing the events.
AV
RIL
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PIN
OS
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ALP
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ISS
A C
HE
U
Reunions
47VIEWPOINTS FALL 2014
Upcoming reunionBCom 1965
The BCom class of 1965 is planning a 50-year reunion and would like to invite all
BCom 1965 alumni to join the celebration on Friday, October 2, 2015 at the Royal
Vancouver Yacht Club. The offi cial invitations will be sent in the spring of 2015;
in the meantime, please save the date. Robert Helsley, Dean, Sauder School of
Business and Grosvenor Professor of Cities, Business Economics and Public Policy
will be in attendance. Reunion committee: Byron Hender, Bill Earle, Robin Elliott, Jim
Evans, Dave Norton and Roy Rauser.
BCom 1994On July 5, 2014, alumni fl ew in from
the United Kingdom, United States and
Australia to join those in Vancouver to
celebrate their 20-year reunion. They
gathered at the Big 4 Conference Centre
for a lively celebration and ended the day
with a tour of the renovated Henry Angus
Building. Special thanks to Jason Mabee and
Ali Pejman for organizing the event.
AV
RIL
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PIN
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48 FALL 2014 VIEWPOINTS
POINTS OF VIEW
as a top research business school in the
world. He also personally connected with
students to help them think about their
future to create their life paths. I have
met many alumni who speak about the
impact Peter had on their lives. Sadly,
Peter passed away earlier this year,
but as a testament to the impact of his
diff erent-minded thinking, his friends and
colleagues are commemorating him with
the establishment of a fund to support
doctoral students in fi nance.
We should all take the lead of Prof.
Lusztig; use our creative energies to do
good, improve the world around us, and
impact the lives of others.
As always, if you have questions or
comments on this issue of Viewpoints, or
on anything related to you as a valued
alumna or alumnus, please don’t hesitate
to contact me. ■
There is some notion that creativity
is a new management concept; I have a
diff erent view. Creative thinking is what
drives social evolution and innovation
in our society. What sector has not
benefi ted from creative thinking? Refl ect
upon indoor plumbing, refrigeration, the
automobile, the telephone, the computer,
technical fabrics, vaccinations, children’s
toys, bicycles, theatre, fi lm; the list is
virtually endless. Our ability to create has
always been with us and always will be.
At the core of the Sauder School of
Business is creativity; creating new ideas
through research, cultivating graduates
who can solve problems, and pushing
innovations in pedagogy. This has been a
long tradition at the school.
The late Peter Lusztig is a former and
well-loved dean, whose creative thinking
literally helped form the Sauder School of
Business as we know it today.
Professor Lusztig pioneered the
launch of initiatives such as the Portfolio
Management Foundation program, and
a PhD program that put UBC on the map
Creativity, n: the use of imagination or original ideas
WHILE WE TEND TO THINK OF creative work as that which involves
artistic expression or play—common
outlets such as painting, music, dance
or cooking—I believe that if you have
the opportunity to think, you have the
opportunity to be creative.
Alumni tell me all the time that what
they are called upon to do, more than
anything else, is to problem-solve. This
facet of intellectual creativity shows up
in everyday business and innovation;
seeing problems and opportunities
before others, and fi nding solutions no
one else does, is only part of it. The heart
of good strategy—the ability to envision
a destination and map out how to get
there—requires creativity.
For myself, organizational design—
what feels like (but shouldn’t) the
luxury to map out a long-term vision for
our work in Development and Alumni
Engagement—gives me as much creative
satisfaction as the joy I get from painting
or plunking away at my beginner piano
lessons.
“We can’t solve problems by using the
same kind of thinking we used when
we created them,” said Albert Einstein,
perfectly describing my own sense of
the creative process.
Sheila BiggersASSOCIATE DEAN, DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT
604.822.0192
Save the Date
CELEBRATING THE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015 | HOTEL VANCOUVER THE FAMILY LEGACY SERIES 2015
FOR SPONSORSHIP & INQUIRIES CONTACT: [email protected], 604.827.4604
Limited individual tickets released November 15, 2014 at www.sauder.ubc.ca/ bfc
Robert H. Lee FamilyJOIN US FOR AN EVENING OF FINE DINING
AND INSIGHTFUL CONVERSATION
PM
40
06
37
21
THE CREATIVITY ISSUE
A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE SAUDER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT UBCFALL 2014 • VOLUME 34 • NO 2