As generous supporters of the Lazaridis School, Laurier alumni Aidan and Lisa Curtis (Tracey) have provided essential support for Laurier’s marketing area, establishing a teaching fellowship in experiential marketing. Their gift also supported construction of Lazaridis Hall. In recognition of this support, a student study room located on the third floor of Lazaridis Hall is named the Tracey & Curtis ’91 Room in their honour.

Aidan Tracey ’91 is the chief executive officer of sgsco, a global leader in package production and related marketing services for Fortune 500 companies in the consumer packaged goods industry. Aidan has extensive experience helping marketers combine traditional mass media with experiential, digital, PR, social media, and retail marketing to reach consumers. Prior to becoming CEO of sgsco, Aidan was the CEO and driving force behind the growth of Mosaic Experiential Marketing, which in 2016 was named one of the top 25 marketing agencies in the world by Ad Age.

Aidan’s leadership began at Laurier, where he served as Vice Chair of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union for three years during his undergraduate years.

Lisa Curtis (Tracey) ’91 completed her business degree at Laurier and moved on to complete a Law Degree at the University of Western Ontario. Lisa’s combined skills in both business and law allowed her to build a very successful career at the prestigious Bay street law firm Fasken Martineau, where she specialized in corporate competition law. After spending many years in legal circles, Lisa focused on raising her family and recently has been helping with the growth of tech start-up in Toronto.

In support of the Building Canada’s Best Business School campaign, Alan and Susan Quarry partnered with Quarry Integrated Communications to generously support the continued growth of the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, and the bulding of its new home, Lazaridis Hall.

In recognition of this support, a student study breakout room located on the third floor of Lazaridis Hall is named The Quarry Room in their honour.

As Chairman and Chief Learning Officer at Quarry Integrated Communications, Alan Quarry is a recognized communications professional. For many years, Alan has been involved as a teacher, mentor, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, member of the Entrepreneurship Advisory Council, the Dean's Advisory Council and the Building Canada's Best Business School campaign cabinet. His generosity in sharing his passion and expertise in marketing and communications has benefited many students of our university, as well as other institutions of higher learning in Waterloo Region and around the world.

BMO Financial Group supported entrepreneurship and global education initiatives for students at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics with a gift of $1.25 million to our Building Canada’s Best Business School Campaign.

BMO Financial Group’s donation funds a professorship in entrepreneurship that supports curriculum, program development and research in entrepreneurship across all faculties at Laurier, fostering entrepreneurial behaviour in all students. The gift also supports students involved in international exchange programs, as well as providing 210 academic scholarships and grants.

BMO Financial Group and Laurier have enjoyed a long-standing partnership. Hundreds of Laurier graduates have built exceptional careers at BMO, including President and CEO of BMO Financial Group Bill Downe and several executives. BMO Financial Group also employs more than 50 Laurier students in co-op work terms.

CN –Canadian National Railway Company—is a true backbone of the economy. The company transports more than $250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods across a rail network spanning Canada and mid America.

In June 2015, CN donated $500,000 to assist research and education programs in Supply Chain Management in the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics.

CN’s donation supports the CN Fellow in Supply Chain Management. Michael Haughton, the first CN Fellow, is responsible for teaching, curriculum development, research and outreach (through an annual conference, co-op/intern placements and speaker engagements) in supply chain management. He also serves as liaison and consultant to CN on current issues, enabling closer partnership on research activities and trends between CN, researchers and students. Along with Michael, CN managers also work with instructors and researchers to provide an industry perspective, and the company helps to organize annual conferences attended by international experts.

The Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA Ontario) has a deep relationship with the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, both in its current form as CPA Ontario and through its founding organizations, the Certified Management Accountants of Ontario (CMA Ontario) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO).

Together, the three organizations have supported student awards, special events, competitions, research, academic program development and learning and study spaces within the Lazaridis School.

CPA Ontario serves and supports more than 85,000 members and 23,000 students, ensuring members meet the highest standards of integrity and expertise. Members work in public accounting, business, finance, government, not-for-profits and academia.

CPA’s ongoing support has helped the Lazaridis School to build one of Canada’s premier accounting programs. The program is among the largest accounting programs in Canada with 34 faculty and lecturers. Students have earned more gold medals than any other university in Canada over 20+ years in the UFE (now CFE).

Christie is a global visual, audio and collaboration solutions company offering diverse solutions for business, entertainment and industry. The company employs over 1,500 people globally and has installed over 100,000 projection solutions for a variety of industries, worldwide. Christie engineering and manufacturing is headquartered in Kitchener.

Christie is a powerhouse of innovation and continues to break new ground in film-to-digital cinema conversion, digital displays and Christie MicroTiles®, projection mapping, immersive audio, presentation and collaboration, laser projection and much more.

This beautiful digital donor recognition wall is composed of Christie MicroTiles®, generously donated by Christie.

Gerry Remers, former Christie Canada President & COO, said “Christie is pleased to be associated with the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics Donor Wall. The focus of the School’s Lazaridis Institute is to help educate and train leaders combining both a solid technology understanding as well as the knowledge of how to help companies scale up through stronger global sales and marketing. As a technology company competing on the world stage, we at Christie believe this type of leader and education is precisely what Canadian companies need.”

During the Building Canada’s Best Business School campaign, the Class of ’66—the first official graduating class of the School of Business and Economics—demonstrated extraordinary leadership, committing to an ambitious goal to raise donations for the Lazaridis School. Championed by alumni John Schram and Joe Watson, alumni joined together to be part of the historic campaign. In recognition of this support, the terrace located on the fourth floor of Lazaridis Hall is named the Class of ’66 Terrace in their honour.

Alumnus John Schram said, “I’m helping Build Canada’s Best Business School because I wish to continue to give back to a great business school that gave me an outstanding start to my business career. I want to ensure Laurier’s School of Business and Economics continues to stay competitive and provide its students with the same excellent opportunity it gave me.”

As alumni, members of the class of ’66 understand the value of a Laurier degree. They are examples of how Laurier inspires lives of leadership and purpose.

“Our years at Laurier changed the lives of most of the class of '66 and led to many lifelong friendships,” says alumni Joe Watson, “seeing the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics grow to one of the best in the country makes us all proud to have been part of the first graduating class.”

Craig Langdon '96 is President and Co-Chief Investment Officer at Deans Night Capital Management Ltd., one of Canada's leading investment firms. Craig is also CEO and director of Deans Knight Income Corporation, a publicly traded company investing in high yield bonds.

As an enthusiastic and dedicated alumnus, Craig has served on Laurier's Campaign Cabinet to Build Canada's Best Business School. Craig led a campaign amongst the class of ’96, encouraging his fellow graduates to give back to the school.

“I’m helping Build Canada’s Best Business School because my four years at Laurier helped build the foundation for what my life is today. I built a network of friends, experienced immense personal growth and developed skills I use in business and life every day. Laurier gave me an opportunity, and its mission is to do the same for generations to come. We all benefited from Laurier, now it’s our turn to give back,” he said.

His service and generous donation make Craig an excellent role model for Laurier's next generation of business leaders. In recognition of this support, a student study breakout room located on the fourth floor of Lazaridis Hall is named the Craig Langdon Room in his honour.

The Graham Munro Charitable Foundation announced a donation of $500,000 to Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. The gift, announced Oct. 22, will advance research and education in supply chain management.

“This is a game changer for Laurier and businesses in our region,” said Deborah MacLatchy, Laurier president and vice-chancellor. “With this support, Laurier and the Graham Munro Charitable Foundation will cultivate the next generation of leaders in supply chain management.”

The donation will name the M-O (Maritime-Ontario Freight Lines Limited) director at Laurier’s Centre for Supply Chain Management, a role that will foster awareness of the supply chain management profession among students and build strong, mutually beneficial relationships with industry to support teaching excellence and research.

“The field of supply chain management is changing at a rapid pace and requires fresh talent, innovation and a competitive edge to keep the economy growing,” said Doug Munro, president, Maritime-Ontario Freight Lines Limited. “Partnering with Laurier to provide students with the best education for career success is a win-win for everyone. We are excited to help students break into their professions with their best foot forward and invigorate industry with the sharpest and best-trained minds.”

In addition to the directorship, the donation will fuel incentive scholarships to attract national and international graduate students, and will also support the Lazaridis Supply Chain Association, a new student association that provides its members with experiential learning opportunities, applied research projects at industry companies, and connections to professional associations.

John Pollock served as Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University from March 2008 to October 2011. As the ceremonial head of the university, John, together with his wife Joyce, has been a strong ally of Laurier for many years. He and Joyce have contributed their time and financial support to many projects, including the Building Canada's Best Business School campaign.

The Pollock family's gift toward the construction of Lazaridis Hall was made through the John A. Pollock Family Fund at the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation.

In recognition of their gift, the Executive Boardroom located in the Dean’s Suite on the fourth floor of Lazaridis Hall is named the Pollock Famly Boardroom in their honour.

John is highly regarded within Waterloo Region for his tremendous success as President and CEO of Electrohome Ltd. from 1962 to 2009. He was the third-generation family member to run the company. Electrohome evolved from a manufacturer of phonographs, radios, furniture and televisions, to a maker of high-resolution projections systems, owner of media properties, including CKCO-TV, to a holding company. In 1999, the company’s projection system business was sold to Christie Digital—the manufacturer of the microtiles used in this wall.

In addition to his leadership as Chancellor, John has also served on the Building Canada’s Best Business School campaign cabinet, as an honorary member of the Lazaridis School Dean’s Advisory Council, as a member of the President’s Council of Advisors, and a past member of the Laurier Board of Governors.

KPMG is one of the leading accounting firms in the world. Across its global network the organization provides audit, tax, and advisory services. Clients include business corporations, not-for-profit organizations and governments and public sector agencies.

KPMG is a long-time partner of Wilfrid Laurier University and the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics. The firm has supported professorships, scholarships, buildings, competitions and meeting spaces. KPMG is also dedicated employer, hiring both graduates and co-op students.

On October 16, 2018, KPMG announced renewed support for Accounting at the Lazaridis School with a $250,000 donation.

KPMG’s gift will support several crucial areas in accounting: the continuation of two KPMG Fellowships put in place in 2011, and the addition of a third, which will allow Laurier to retain and recruit top talent, assist with professional and course development and support the KPMG Bootcamp. This innovative, popular workshop facilitated by KPMG representatives provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in a co-op position at any accounting firm.

It will also support a new annual event, KPMG Day, organized by Experiential Learning and Career Development at Laurier, which will provide students with career development workshops, information sessions and networking opportunities.

“Years before they choose their professions, our future leaders depend on the process of self-discovery and learning that academic programs like Laurier’s Lazaridis School of Business & Economics provide,” says Mary Jo Fedy, managing partner, KPMG LLP Waterloo office. “That’s why KPMG Foundation supports undergraduate and graduate business programs. Our firm's contribution is just one way we can help inspire young people to develop to their full potential.”

Through its generous support of our teaching and research activities, KPMG is having an important impact on both students and the accounting community.

In September 2015, Linamar Corporation donated $1 million to support the accounting program in the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics and establish the Linamar Centre for Accounting Education.

Linamar, which started as a one-man machine shop with founder Frank Hasenfratz working in the basement of his family’s home in Guelph, grew into a $4.2-billion firm with more than 19,500 employees in 48 manufacturing locations located around the world. It is a diversified global manufacturing company of highly engineered products powering vehicles, motion, work and lives.

Linamar’s donation funded a fellowship and scholarships to support and encourage accounting faculty and students. The fellowship supports a professor who is pursuing research in accounting. The fellow is also an instructor, educating students in the theoretical nuances and practical skills of the accounting field. The Linamar scholarships are granted annually to students who demonstrate leadership skills and strong academic performance.

“Laurier offers one of Canada’s premier accounting programs, and this investment from Linamar will encourage and support accounting faculty and students to further their knowledge and contributions to the accounting field,” said Micheál Kelly, dean of the Lazaridis School. “Linamar’s support will serve to attract and support top accounting faculty and students.”