A Magazine for Alumni and Friends
Jennifer Abols (MBA '03) was recently named executive director of the Goodman School of Mines at Laurentian University and president and CEO of Mining Innovation Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corp.
Will Alempijevic (BA '02) has been appointed the executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. Alempijevic previously held positions with the New York Racing Association.
Andrée Bourgon (DIPLBU '97) joined Grant Thornton LLP as a managing director. Bourgon possesses more than 20 years of insurance-sector experience. Most recently, she served as vice president for global strategy with Ascot, a property and casualty commercial specialty insurance startup.
Carinne Chambers-Saini (BBA '01), CEO and co-founder of Diva International Inc., received the Telus Trailblazer Award, part RBC’s Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. Chambers-Saini worked to develop a product called DivaCup, a reusable menstrual cup made of 100 per cent medical grade silicone.
Craig Crawford (BA '96) was inducted into the Waterloo Region Hall of Fame, which honours individuals and organizations for significant contributions to community. Crawford is the most decorated men’s fastpitch player in Waterloo Region history and considered among the best catchers and hitters of his era.
Danny Deep (BBA '92) has been named president of General Dynamics Land Systems. The Michigan-based business produces tracked and wheeled vehicles for the military sector. Deep was previously chief operating officer with the company.
Dan Filby (BA '89) was appointed chief executive officer of Universal Background Screening, an SNH Capital Partners portfolio company. Filby previously served as CEO of HighWire, a global provider of technology and services for publishers.
Mike Gregoire (BSc '88) has been appointed to the board of directors of Smartsheet. Gregoire, a Partner at Brighton Park Capital, possesses 25 years experience working in the technology industry.
Scott Gunter (BBA '86) has has been appointed CEO of insurance company AXA XL. Gunter previously served as a senior vice president with Chubb Group and division president, North America commercial insurance with Chubb Group.
Jenny Heijun Wills (MA '06, PhD '12) won the $60,000 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction for her book Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related. The book is a series of vignettes in which Wills describes reuniting with her birth family in Korea after being raised by a family in Canada.
Irina Hossu (MBA '08) joined The Flowr Corporation as the company’s chief financial officer. Most recently, Hossu served as vice president finance, corporate payments and emerging markets, with WEX, a global leader in financial technology solutions.
Greg Knox (BA '93) was hired as defensive backs coach with the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks. Knox was a 1991 Vanier Cup champion as a player with Laurier and went on to play for the Calgary Stampeders during an eight-year CFL career.
Jonathan Lansky (BBA '93) has been appointed to the board of directors of Legend Power Systems Inc., a global leader in onsite power management technology.
Midori Marsh (B.Mus. '17, Dipl. Opera '18) won first prize and the audience choice award at the Canadian Opera Company’s annual Ensemble Studio Competition, a national search for Canada’s top young opera singers.
Chris McQueen (MBA '03) has been named vice president, operations at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Most recently, McQueen built and led the management consulting firm Disruptive Ideology Inc.
Colleen Moorehead (BBA ’81) was honoured with a YWCA Toronto 2020 Women of Distinction award for corporate leadership. The awards are presented to leaders in their fields and steadfast champions for the rights of women and girls.
Wilhelm Nassau (BA '73, MA '81, Hon '91), the founding director of audio-visual resources at Laurier, was inducted into the Waterloo Region Hall of Fame, which honours individuals and organizations for significant contributions to community. Nassau began his career at the university in 1969.
Sean Rea (BA '18) published his first novel, The Don of Siracusa, a mafia crime-fiction thriller.
Anthony Rota (BA '83) was elected Speaker of the House of Commons. Rota, a Liberal MP, represents the northern Ontario riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004.
Jonathan Snoek (BBA '03) was recently awarded a Business in Vancouver Forty Under 40 award. The awards highlight the achievements of young entrepreneurs, executives and professionals. Snoek is a managing partner with Cascadia Strategy Consulting Partners Ltd.
Chris Van Vliet (BA '05) joined the crew of TNT's All Elite Wrestling as a backstage interviewer. Van Vliet was previously an entertainment reporter at WSVN, a FOX affiliate in Miami, Florida.
Alex Watson (BBA '19) reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania last September as part of a fundraising initiative that saw him raise more than $5,000 for mental health initiatives and resources at Laurier.
Krista Whittard (MSW '98) was one of 10 new justices of the peace appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in February. Whittard has been a manager with the Niagara Region Mental Health Program since 2011.