By Rachel Doherty
The School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) hosted an unforgettable evening celebrating achievement, leadership and the vibrant future of our community. With over 100 guests in attendance — including donors, alumni, students and faculty — the event was a powerful reflection of what we can achieve together.
The evening had a through-line that everyone in the room felt. Troy Maxwell, receiving the 2025 Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award, has spent decades advocating for SAF from inside some of Canada's most influential financial institutions. Adnan Khan, receiving the 2025 Leader to Watch Award, was a member of the 2016 CFA Research Challenge global championship team — the first Canadians ever to win — and returned this year as an alumni mentor to a new team that claimed the title again in Hong Kong. That team's captain, Jei Raman Gnaneswaran, took the stage to share what the win meant.
Honouring Troy Maxwell with the 2025 SAF Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award
We were proud to present the 2025 SAF Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award to Troy Maxwell (MAcc '89), Chief Operating Officer of RBC US. From first-generation university student to one of Canada's most senior banking executives, Troy's journey reflects the very best of what a SAF education can set in motion.
As part of the evening's recognition, Maxwell was presented with a framed print from art commissioned by SAF from Cayuga Woodland artist Kyle Joedicke — the artist behind the University of Waterloo's Indigenous Warriors logo. The Thunderbird panel, chosen for its symbolism of protection and community, reflects Troy's decades of support for this School.
Honouring Adnan Khan with the 2025 SAF Leader to Watch Award
The evening also honoured Adnan Khan (MAcc '17) with the 2025 SAF Leader to Watch Award. Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Viva, Khan has built a company on a simple but powerful belief: talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. A former SAF Fellowship recipient, he continues to give back to the community that shaped him.
A historic win at the CFA Institute Research Challenge
It was one of the most celebrated moments of the evening — earlier this month in Hong Kong, a SAF team claimed the global title at the CFA Institute Research Challenge for the third time, with wins in 2016, 2024 and now 2026. Competing against more than 8,000 students from 1,200 universities across 160 markets, the team cemented Waterloo's place as Canada's only ever global champion.
Thank you for your support
Evenings like this remind us what the SAF community is capable of. Thank you to everyone who was with us — your presence, your generosity and your belief in what SAF can be means everything.