Celebrating 20 years of the BDO Future Leaders Challenge at the Lazaridis School

The atmosphere is electric as nearly 550 first-year Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) students flow into Lazaridis Hall on a sunny Saturday in late March, on point in business formal.

While upper-years study and chat on the margins of the hall, BDO Future Leaders Challenge participants, made up of students from BU121: Critical Thinking and Communications Skills, gather in an excited group outside the auditorium. They are here to watch the six finalist teams make their pitch to a panel of judges made up of BDO Canada Partners, Laurier staff and former Challenge winners – and they are also hoping to impress a BDO recruiter.

This is a vibrant ecosystem where young talent meets established industry in a partnership characteristic of the Lazaridis School of Business & Economic’s focus on experiential learning and future-readiness.

2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the BDO Future Leaders Challenge at the Lazaridis School.

Created by BDO partners and Lazaridis School instructors, and sponsored by BDO, the competition requires students to apply critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity to tackle current, complex business issues facing Canadian industries.

This year, the complex issue at hand is how enterprise businesses could make progress on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals.

In response to this prompt, the 2026 BDO Future Leaders Challenge winning team, students Analisa Ariganello, Amar Badwal, Bosco Ho, Lucy Liu and Ryan Reed, proposed a way to convert food waste into premium pet food.

Runners up offered solutions including converting to drone use to survey for oil and replant trees; creating mycelium medical packaging; upcycling textile scraps from mills to fashion schools; adopting a hybrid insulation approach in the prefabricated home construction industry; and improving wastewater processing for seasoning, condiment and sauce producers.

In the audience watching the presentations is Laura Beth Wilson (BBA ’12), who was on the winning team in 2008.

Wilson credits BDO challenge with building her confidence and changing the trajectory of her career. As a dancer with an arts focus, she was drawn to the BBA program (with a Marketing specialization) but was not feeling confident and even considered dropping out.

“I was wondering if maybe I wasn’t cut out for business; it was a major learning curve,” she says. “I wondered if I should pursue a dance career – it was where I was most comfortable. But the BDO New Venture Challenge (as it was called then) is one of the reasons I stayed. You become so invested in your team and your idea – it becomes so real to you.”

Wilson describes the challenge as one of the most memorable and proudest experiences she has had in her life.

“I learned so much about how to work with other students, to adapt and collaborate,” she says. “We learned how to build a strategy, do research and analysis, bring together all the pieces to showcase the idea. It takes you out of books and into the real world very fast.”

“I’m super grateful for the learnings, for the relationships that I built, during the BDO New Venture Challenge,” says Wilson. “To be a part of this legacy of the 20th anniversary is really amazing.”

As the judges deliberate on the 2026 presentations, the students, now with a palpable sense of accomplishment threaded with nervous anticipation for the final results, have the opportunity to chat with BDO representatives and pick up some branded items.

Thirty minutes later, back in the auditorium, there are opportunities for thank-yous to staff, instructional assistants, BDO representatives and judges, and reflection on the amazing presentations.

This is a special year – the 20th anniversary is celebrated, but there is also a bittersweet goodbye, as BDO Partner, Future Leaders Challenge co-creator and Laurier alumnus Tim Sothern (BBA '90) has announced his retirement. Amid warm applause, he shares his pride in the talent he has helped to nurture over the decades and his hopes for these Future Leaders.

“The work you’re doing and the skills you’re showing in the first year of university is an amazing thing,” he says. “The ability to progress and build on that over the next three years is going to serve you very well in the workforce. Be very proud of yourself, we’re proud of you and we’re proud to do more together with Laurier – it's great to be home!”

It’s no surprise that Laurier feels like home for Sothern – 20 years is a long time to be a part of something so powerful that students like Wilson describe it as one of the most memorable moments of their lives; to watch generations of talent blossom; and to guide and direct a key philanthropic initiative.

The BDO Future Leaders Challenge reflects the long-standing relationship between BDO and the Lazaridis School, with the shared purpose of mentorship, innovation and the development of future-ready business leaders.

“Assignments create obligations, but competitions spark motivation,” says Leanne Hagarty, BU 121 course coordinator. “For 20 years, BDO has understood the power of immersive and competitive learning experiences for BBA students. We are deeply grateful to partner with such a generous and forward-looking company, and thrilled that so many of our students find co-op and career positions with this phenomenal organization. We look forward to working with BDO on future Challenges.”

Now is the moment everyone has been waiting for – the announcement of winners and runners up. While pride and experience are what most students are working for in this competition, BDO generously supports high-value prizes: each finalist receives a $400 scholarship from BDO, with the third-place winner receiving $600 each, second place $800 and first place $1,000.

A big cheer goes up for each finalist announced, demonstrating a truly golden spirit of collaboration and teamwork among the students. Lazaridis School students break the stereotype of cutthroat business school culture; the vibe here is to bring everything you have to your competition, but also to bring your peers with you, so that everyone grows together.

“Prior to this challenge, I was not confident in my ability to present,” says Liu, a member of the winning team. “However, with the help of my group members, I learned how to project my voice and use body language to emphasize my ideas.”

“Working with such a great group made [the win] even more meaningful, and it was a great opportunity to apply the concepts we learned in class to a real ESG challenge,” says Reed, Liu’s teammate. “Thank you to BDO for supporting this challenge and giving us such a great opportunity.”

For Kyle Murray, dean of the Lazaridis School, experiential education that brings students together to learn industry skills and build relationships is core to the Lazaridis School’s curriculum.

“It simply can’t happen without the support of donors and partners like BDO,” says Murray. “This kind of partnership looks as natural as a great pitch – but like a great pitch, behind the scenes, there is a lot of hard work, strategic thinking and thoughtful relationship building. We’re fortunate to have a great partner in BDO and the results show in these exceptional students! We love to celebrate these wins!”

The Lazaridis School is celebrating for another reason, too – 2026 marks their 60th anniversary. Events are already happening and will continue throughout the year to bring students, faculty, alumni, staff and community together to recognize a 60-year success story. Learn more about Lazaridis School’s 60th anniversary activities.