Celebrating the achievements of Ted Rogers School alumni
Congratulations to the winners of Ted Rogers School of Management’s 2021 Alumni Achievement Awards who have succeeded as business leaders, entrepreneurs and volunteers in a number of industries, and are making a difference in our community and beyond.
The 5th Annual Alumni Achievement Awards were presented at a virtual event held on September 28, 2021. While last year’s ceremony was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school did not want to go another year without recognizing the alumni who continue to support and engage with the Ted Rogers School community.
This year’s ceremony celebrated our Distinguished Professional Advisor Emeritus, Wayne McFarlane, by awarding him with the Honorary Alumnus Award. McFarlane is behind the creation of many of our school’s programs, including the Business Career Hub, the Top 200 program and both the SAF Advisory Committee and the MBA Advisory Council. And now he is an official member of the Ted Rogers School alumni!
A total of 14 awards were given out at the online event. Here is a list of this year’s winners:
Honorary Alumnus Award
Wayne McFarlane - Distinguished Professional Advisor Emeritus
This award recognizes the support and contributions of an industry professional to the Ted Rogers School, recognizing some of the key non-Ted Rogers School graduates and external supporters who have been instrumental in supporting the growth of the school’s development of our community through their time and talent.
Trailblazer Award
Juanita Dickson (HTM, 1997) - President and CFO, Gusto 54 Restaurant Group
This award recognizes the important contributions of an alumnus or alumna who have achieved outstanding success in the professional field and are leading the development of the next generation of diverse leaders to drive Canadian Business forward in future years.
Volunteer Leadership Award
Anthony Vercillo (Accounting, 2000) - Senior Manager, BDO Canada
This award recognizes alumni who have contributed significantly to the Ted Rogers School as volunteers over a sustained period. The recipients have enriched the lives of others through their time, talent and involvement with school-related causes outside of their career responsibilities.
Entrepreneurship Award
Noura Sakkijha (MBA, 2012), CEO and Co-Founder, Mejuri
This award recognizes an individual who has achieved outstanding entrepreneurial success. Social ventures and not-for-profits are also considered.
Top 10 of the Last 10
This award recognizes 10 Ted Rogers School alumni who graduated in the past 10 years and who have excelled in their careers, leadership, community or in service to the Ted Rogers School.
*Please note, because the award ceremony was cancelled last year, we included alumni who had graduated from the years 2009-2020.
- Chris Jones (Law & Business, 2014) - Founder, Cannabis Xpress
- David Kwok (Marketing Management, 2015) - Associate Director, YSpace at York University
- Michael Sadowski (HTM, 2013) - General Manager of Global PR & Communications, Intrepid Travel
- Sandy Yong (HTM, 2009) - Author and Content Product Manager, Bell Canada
- Ayesha Kirmani (GMS, 2018) - Senior Management Consultant, CGI
- Rahul Kashyap (Accounting, 2014) - CEO & Founder, Hashtag Homes Real Estate Inc
- George Amoh (HTM, 2019) - ESG Associate, qb. Consulting
- Nunzio Presta (Entrepreneurship, 2012) - CEO & Founder, Buy and Sell a Business
- Navita Verma (Law & Business, 2019) - Founder, Nuleena
- Alexander Gasenko (EMS, 2017) - Managing Partner, Office Manager & Broker, Home Realty Inc.