Sobey professors share knowledge during COVID-19 crisis

Sobey School of Business faculty have been actively engaging with the policy community and journalists in order to explore the ramifications of the current circumstances and the effect on business.

Dr. Ramesh Venkat of the David Sobey Centre has made a few appearances now on the Retail Insider Podcast, most recently on June 1, accompanied by Mark Innes, to talk about the Rise Again Retail virtual executive education program. 

Dr. Claudia De Fuentes, a Sobey School Management professor, co-authored a piece with Dr. Jahan Ara Peerally of HEC Montreal for the Canadian Science Policy Centre, called "The pandemic will not invalidate business and management degrees, to the contrary."

Dr. Yigit Aydede spoke with Global News about his team's recently funded pandemic research, which uses machine learning and analytics to understand the environmental factors that affect spread. 

Dr. Ellen Farrell is a panelist at the Atlantic Summit 2020 Public Policy Forum, "Pivot to Prosperity", virtually presented June 2 and 9th. Also on the bill are alumnae Annika Voltan, PhD and Cassandra Dorrington, Executive MBA. 

Dr. Claudia De Fuentes coauthored an opinion piece for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization: COVID-19: A wake up call for research and industrial capacity-building. https://iap.unido.org/articles/covid19-wake-call-research-and-industrial-capacity-building

Sobey's PhD Canada Research Chair in International Finance and Competitiveness Mohammad Rahaman offered his thoughts on the economics of the COVID-19 pandemic on May 4, 2020. 

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On Friday, April 17, Management Science professor Dr. Michael Zhang appeared on the Sheldon MacLeod Show to discuss supply chain challenges during the pandemic, including the supply of PPE.

On Thursday, April 9, Economics professor Dr. Ather Akbari spoke with Sheldon MacLeod on the topic of the economy and the effects of COVID19.

On Friday, April 3, Claudia De Fuentes spoke on the Sheldon MacLeod Show on News 95.7 on how important innovation is for businesses responding to challenging circumstances such as those surrounding the COVID19 outbreak.

On Thursday, April 2, Accounting professor Matthew Boland spoke with CBC’s Information Morning’s Portia Clarke on how businesses like airlines are coping in terms of liquidity and cash flow during COVID19 restrictions.

Featured
Integrating Consumer Behavior into Your Marketing Strategy During the Pandemic - Dr. Ethan Pancer (Webinar)

Join Dr. Ethan Pancer of the Sobey School of Business as he discusses how organizations can integrate consumer behaviour into their marketing strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Pancer is joined by moderator John Sime BComm'08.

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Stayers and leavers: new SMU research looks closely at immigration in Nova Scotia

Who immigrates to Nova Scotia, who stays, leaves, and why is the focus of a recently released report from Dr. Ather Akbari, a professor with Saint Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business.

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Revitalizing SMEs through Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics (Webinar)

Nowadays, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are dealing with big data using their limited resources. This webinar discusses the challenges and available IT solutions of big data for SME. It also presents guidelines for strategic use of data and technologies in SME.

Join Dr. Hai Wang and moderator Stephen Moore as they explore business intelligence and big data analytics to revitalize SMEs during the global pandemic.

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The Future of Work: How AI & Robotics are Shaping and Reshaping Work Processes (Webinar)

Join moderator, Jessica Severeyns MBA'20 and expert, Dr. Wendy Carroll as they explore the future of work, and how AI & robotics are reshaping the world as we know.

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Nonprofit Governance During COVID 19 Questions Boards Should be Asking - Panel Discussion (Webinar)

Join a panel of Sobey School of Business faculty, Dr. Patricia Bradshaw, Dr. Rahman Khokhar & Dr. Margaret McKee, as they discuss nonprofit governance during COVID-19. They discuss the top 10 questions that boards should be asking during this time. This talk is moderated by Karn Nichols, Manager of Graduate Career Services.

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Retirement Savings and the COVID-19 Pandemic (Webinar)

Join Dr. Ashraf Al Zaman of the Sobey School of Business, and moderator Wendy Brookhouse BComm'91 EMBA'02 as they discuss retirement savings and what you can do during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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What Machine Learning Can Tell Us About the Post-Pandemic Labour Market (Webinar)

Dr. Yigit Aydede of the Sobey School of Business is joined by moderator, Breagh Matheson MBA’18 to discuss machine learning and the post-pandemic labour market.

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Will there be a “Jobless Recovery” after COVID-19 in Canada? An examination of regional and demographic vulnerabilities (Webinar)

Dr. Ather Akbari of the Sobey School of Business is joined by moderator Dr. Mohammad Rahaman as he explores the possibility of a “Jobless Recovery” after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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Beyond Excel: Using Artificial Intelligence in Your Business (Webinar)

Dr. Matthew Boland is joined by moderator, Dr. Mohammad Rahaman as he explores the use of artificial intelligence within your business.

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Sobey professors share knowledge during COVID-19 crisis

Sobey School of Business faculty have been actively engaging with the policy community and journalists in order to explore the ramifications of the current circumstances and the effect on business.

Read More →

Executive-In-Residence

Ian Smith headshot.jpg

Ian D. Smith | Chief Executive Officer

Clearwater Seafoods Limited Partnership

Ian D. Smith is the Chief Executive Officer of Clearwater Seafoods.  Mr. Smith joined Clearwater in May 2010 and has over 33 years of international experience in the food and consumer products industry.  Prior to joining Clearwater, Mr. Smith held senior leadership positions at the Campbell Soup Company within Canada, the United States and China.  Prior to his time at Campbell’s, Mr. Smith held various marketing, sales and international business development positions with Allergan, Colgate-Palmolive and the Gillette Company.

Mr. Smith currently participates as a director on a number of boards and advisory councils focused on international trade and public policy including; The Business Council of Canada and the Asia Business Leaders Advisory Council of the Asia Pacific Foundation.  He is a graduate of McGill University (BA Economics, MBA), a former Captain in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve and currently serves as Honorary Colonel of 36 Canadian Engineer Regiment located in the Province of Nova Scotia.

Alumni-In-Residence

Wendy Luther | President and Chief Executive Officer

Halifax Partnership

Wendy Luther Proud Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University. EMBA’08

Wendy Luther is a leader in economic and export development, with vast experience promoting Nova Scotia and its assets globally. Halifax Partnership is Halifax’s public-private economic development

organization. Wendy joined as President & CEO in 2019. In 2023, Halifax

Partnership was honoured with four Excellence in Economic Development

Awards from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC)

including Gold for Economic Development Organization of the Year. Prior to joining Halifax Partnership, Wendy was President & CEO of EduNova, a co-operative association of public and private-sector education providers committed to promoting Nova Scotia’s knowledge economy internationally. Under her leadership, EduNova was honoured with the prestigious international PIEoneer Association of the Year Award in 2017. Earlier in her career, Wendy worked in export development with the Atlantic Canada World Trade Centre and Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI) where she led trade missions to over twenty countries and has mentored and advised hundreds of Nova Scotian exporters on how to be competitive in international markets. At NSBI, through her role as Nova Scotia’s first Private Sector Liaison Officer (PSLO), she was appointed by the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank to connect entrepreneurs and institutions to opportunities funded by International Financial Institutions. Wendy has served on and led numerous boards and committees including advisory boards for two private sector companies (Canada and U.S. based). Currently, Wendy serves on the Board of Directors and the Management Resources and Compensation Committee of Canadian-owned LED Roadway Lighting; the Board of Directors and as Vice Chair of the Governance Committee of Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization focused on increasing Canada’s innovation competitiveness; and is Membership Chair on the Executive Committee of the International Women's Forum (IWF) Atlantic Chapter. Born in Vancouver, Wendy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, and an MBA from Saint Mary’s University. She holds a Certified International Trade Professional designation (CITP) and is an alumna of the Caribbean Canada Emerging Leaders Dialogue and Royal Canadian Navy Canadian Leaders at Sea (CLaS) Program. In November 2023, she attained her ICD.D designation through the Institute of Corporate Directors, Director Education Program and is really geeking out on governance! In March 2023 Wendy was honoured with Atlantic Canada's 25 Most Powerful Women in Business award.