EQUIS is an important global standard that serves as a testament to the strength of the Faculty’s programs, students, professors, and staff. Very few first-time EQUIS applicants are awarded accreditation for five years. Desautels is now one of 142 top international schools in 39 countries accredited by the foundation. Management schools that are accredited by EQUIS demonstrate a high overall quality in all dimensions of their activities, as well as a high degree of internationalisation and close connections with the corporate world.

Accreditation was granted after more than one year of Faculty reporting and on-site audits from the EQUIS Peer Review Committee. The Committee commended Desautels for exceeding EQUIS standards in a number of areas related to internationalisation, student quality, research, programs, and corporate connections.

“Over the past years, the Desautels Faculty of Management has undergone a significant transformation, such as the redesign and creation of innovative international programs, the expansion of the professoriate, significant investments in career services, and major building renovations, just to name a few. Our students are truly among the very best in the world and our alumni continue to have a hugely positive influence in both business and society around the globe. We want to build on these strengths to become a top-10 business school in the world by 2020,” said Peter Todd, Dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management. “The strategic review process required by EQUIS has helped our Faculty solidify the objectives and strategies that will help us get there.”

The McGill HEC Montreal EMBA team is very proud of this achievement of McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management. This accreditation confirms, once again, the quality and reputation of both universities in the EMBA McGill and HEC Montreal partnership.

Indeed, HEC Montréal was the first business school in North America to receive the three most prestigious accreditations in its field: AACSB International, AMBA and EQUIS (obtained in 1999 and renewed in 2004 and 2010).

This ranking is based on various criteria such as the university teacher quality and the rigor of its selection process of candidates. The results of Desautels and HEC Montreal recognize the remarkable performance and success of the EMBA McGill – HEC Montreal two partner school.

2013 World Ranking (outside of Latin America)

1. Harvard Business School (United States)
2. Stanford Graduate School of Business (United States)
3. London Business School (United Kingdom)
4. IESE Business School (Spain)
5. IE Business School (Spain)
6. ESADE Business School (Spain)
7. Haas School of Business (United States)
8. HEC Paris (France)
9. IMD (Switzerland)
10. Kellogg School of Business (United States)
11. Tuck School of Business (United States)
12. Desautels Faculty of Management [McGill University] (Canada)
13. Manheim Business School (Germany)
14. Kenan-Flager Business School (United States)
15. Bath School of Management  (United Kingdom)
16. ESIC (Spain)
17. McCombs School of Business (United States)
18. Cranfield School of Management (United Kingdom)
19. Grenoble Graduate School of Business (France)
20. Mendoza College of Business (United States)
21. McDonough School of Business (United States)
22. U. Miami School of Business Administration (United States)
23. HEC Montréal (Canada)
24. Owen Graduate School of Management (United States)
25. EAE (Spain)

The McGill HEC Montreal EMBA Worldly Mindset, held last week in Argentina, is focused on managing context.  When you are in a new environment, how do you find out about how things work? How do you adjust? During the eight days of the module, we addressed topics such as globalization, management of international growth, cultural dimensions and international regulations. That was one level. But at least as important was the process angle: how to learn about a new environment.  Where to look for information. How to corroborate findings. What sources and connections to use. 

And just as importantly, the context in which the module took place: Argentina. That gave rise to a second theme for the week: how to manage in an uncertain environment.  Exchanging ideas and opinions with top managers of top companies gave the EMBA participants great insights into managing under uncertainty. Focus is key, and risk is not to be feared, it’s seen as an opportunity.  The class reflections on the last morning captured some of their key learnings for the week:

-          The things they saw on the ground in Argentina they could never have read about on the internet, or gotten through telephone calls – to really understand the context of a place, you need to be there to experience it for yourself;

-          It is important to seek multiple points of view;

-          It is important to keep an open mind and not to simply look for facts that support the conclusions you have already drawn;

-          We see things from our perspective; being worldly means being able to at least understand or appreciate other perspectives; it doesn’t mean you have to give up your own perspective, but you have to realize there is more than one way of looking at things;

-          You can learn from every interaction and every observation, as long as you are open to it.

-          Looking at another country can help you see your own country more objectively

-          The project they did throughout the week help make their learnings more concrete as they were applying their learnings to something specific;

The week was packed with a variety of activities, to ensure a wide range of perspectives and experiences.  The class, in small groups, met with leading Argentine companies such as Ternium, Globant and Peñaflor, on the same day they met with a series of Argentine entrepreneurs. They discussed the business landscape with Canadian Trade Commissioners as well as with Canadian companies doing business in Argentina, such as Goldcorp, BlackBerry and Agrium.  They investigated politics and the Argentine identity with important academics, and they visited a “Comedor” (soup kitchen) that takes care of 150 poor children with funding from the profits of a local recycling cooperative. And they tested their own abilities to network as they organized their own meetings in support of their team projects.  They had an informal dinner with locals of all types: executives, retirees, students.  And they tested their cross-cultural negotiation skills in a workshop with Argentine EMBAs and a Colombian facilitator.  Over the course of the week, the class met with close to 150 different people, always with the opportunity to ask questions, observe, and learn.  We look forward to the Impact Papers everyone will write to round out the module. What learnings from the week will they employ in their organizations, and how will they do so?  There’s no doubt that this experience will shape how they approach new contexts and new environments in the future.

The French Ambassador to Canada, Philippe Zeller, highlighted the great success of the French Chamber of Commerce after only one year of existence, and acknowledged that it is mainly due to “the will, the ambition and the wisdom of the Board and of the Chamber’s President, Solange Strom, and the performance of its Executive Director, Melanie Grenier.”

The McGill HEC Montreal EMBA team congratulates the French Chamber of Commerce in Toronto for its accomplishments in this first year and wishes much success to the organization and to its president, an McGill HEC Montreal Executive MBA alumni (2012), Solange Strom.

See the full article in Le Métropolitain.

Photo: From left to right: Xavier Pietri (Chairman of Dalkia Canada), Solange Strom (President of the French Chamber of Commerce in Toronto), Pelous (Vice-President and CEO of Air France) and Philippe Zeller (France Ambassador in Canada)

On May 15, 2013, The Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) has announced the appointment of Sophie Galaise as new Chief Executive Officer.

We would like to highlight the terrific success of Sophie Galaise who graduated from McGill HEC Montreal EMBA program in 2012. In announcing her appointment, Greg Wanchap, Chair of the QSO, explained that her experience as Executive Director of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and her excellent reputation on the international scene, made her the best person to overcome QSO’s new challenges.

Sophie, the EMBA McGill HEC Montreal family wish you lots of success in your new position and a great time in Australia!

Read the official press release

Read the Arts Hub

The McGill HEC Montreal EMBA team is very happy to share this good news!

Florin, we truly wish you lots of success in this new challenge!

The McGill-HEC EMBA class recently shared breakfast and a session of morning reflections with the International Advisory Board of the Desautels Faculty of Management (the McGill half of the EMBA McGill-HEC), and both groups found the exchange refreshing and worthwhile.

Each year, the program invites a prominent business person to take on the role of ‘Executive Patron’ of the class. The current patron is Robert Swidler, Chairman of Egon Zehnder Canada.  Mr. Swidler, understanding the importance of connection between the program and the business community, decided that his mid-year update with the class should be shared with his fellow members of the Desautels Advisory Board, and they were introduced to the morning reflections that are a hallmark of the program.  Everyone was asked to reflect, individually, on something good that had happened in their businesses in the last week, and what made it happen.  Then, they discussed in small groups, composed of both EMBAs and Advisory Board members, and finally, in a plenary session general conclusions we’re shared.  The importance of people, cooperation, sharing and teamwork surfaced as common drivers of the good things happening in their businesses.

It was a new process for the advisory board members, but one they really appreciated.  Eliot Lifson, CEO of Peerless, remarked: “I’ve learned something new today. I’m going to continue these morning reflections”, and Bob Swidler suggested making the combined breakfast an annual event.  The EMBAs were equally appreciative of the opportunity to share ideas and philosophies informally with important members of the business community.

The patron and the advisory board breakfast are just two examples of how the program lives its mission of relevance to the business community.

Past patrons include Monique F. Leroux, President and CEO of the Desjardins Group, Paul Desmarais Jr, Chairman and co-CEO of Power Corporation, Thierry Vandal, CEO of Hydro Québec and Serge Godin, founder and Executive Chairman of CGI.

The EMBA class is working with three startup companies throughout the course of the year.  Their objective: make an effective pitch to a panel of Venture Capitalists on behalf of the startup they are working with.  This project gives the class the opportunity to apply their learnings to a real life situation, and it provides the startups with fresh sets of eyes to look at their business models and other challenges.

Last week they spent a day focused on venture capital, and pitching to VCs. They met with John Elton, a partner in iNovia Capital, and Austin Hill, a successful entrepreneur and angel investor.  The core of John Elton’s message was that potential venture capital investors want to know:

• Why you
• Why this idea
• Why now

He underlined that VCs are more interested in the idea, the progress and the people than in how smooth the pitch is.  Time is a scarce resource for entrepreneurs, and he counsels always choosing the tradeoff that will bring you more customers rather than the one that will perfect the pitch.

Austin Hill dropped the class right into the action.  In teams of 10, they were given a business idea, and had 10 minutes to develop their first pitch.  An amazing amount of creativity and collaboration was unleashed as a result of a strict deadline and a bit of rivalry.  Next step, 20 minutes to develop a slide presentation with a twist. No one fired up their computers. Rather, they used index cards to sketch out their ideas and their pitch. Limiting technology once again opened the creative floodgates, and ensured that they focused on the idea and the message, rather than how to make it pretty.

The teams will make their final pitches to a venture capital panel during the Catalytic Mindset Module in August.  The class is working with Taste Filter, Sweetiq, and World Wide Hearing.  The new business challenge is an example of how the program integrates theory and practice, and looks at businesses holistically.

Here is a part of Joey’s letter thanking her EMBA colleagues:

Dear Family,

I wanted to say how incredibly grateful and touched I am
for what you did this past module.

Today we will be depositing $615.00 dollars in the ONEXONE bank for
the breakfast program for our First Nations Breakfast program. I don’t really
know what to say other than I am honored to be part of this group.

This morning I met with someone who asked me what I had learned so far in
the EMBA program, I answered simply that I was on a journey of self-discovery and
awareness with people who were bringing so much to my life. If there is one thing
we can all count on in the future is that our network will always be there for all
of us and we can never replace that, ever.

[…]I can tell you that every dollar will feed one of our kids a wholesome
breakfast and that means more than you can ever imagine.

Thank you again.

What can I say; other than it is so nice to discover that you can
still learn and share and grow at any age and any experience

Joey

The EMBA team is always very proud to discover the projects that cohorts develop to help and engage with different foundations (click here to learn about the 2012 cohort’s projects). This kind of project unites the group as René Massicotte (EMBA 2014) said about this ONEXONE fundraising:

“We are pleased to have contributed to the ONEXONE First Nations Breakfast program. We should support each other. We are stronger together than we are alone!”

Once again, congratulations to the “Milestone” class for their fundraising.

The McGill HEC Montréal EMBA team would like to congratulate Francine Laurin on her promotion to Associate Vice-President for the TD Waterhouse Centre, Direct Investment (Discount Brokerage). Francine is a 2011 EMBA graduate.

We share her excitement about this new challenge and wish her lots of success in this new role.

This is Francine’s second promotion since graduating from the McGill HEC EMBA. Her career is a great example of the progress, challenges and successes that are part of our graduates’ path!