News

For this last week before we welcome the new year, we’re revisiting the inspirational stories of alums who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and skill with aplomb in navigating their careers to executive or C-suite levels. The pathways these alums and many others we’ve profiled over the past year have not been direct career routes, let alone the alum’s sole objective.

From LtoR: Prof. James Thompson, Yuqian L, Mark G (standing behind Yuqian), Ethan M, Brian L, Vivan G, Timothy Z, Derek T

For the week of December 13^th, we’re revisiting stories of alums who push boundaries and go above and beyond to extend diversity and inclusion for all. In this round-up are stories of alums who faced and surpassed adversity, alums who transcended their humble career goals, and alums who are leveraging untapped talent to even the playing field.

For the week of December 6^th, we’re revisiting stories to celebrate the powerful women who inspire and motivate through the leadership and actions they take. In this round-up are stories of SAF women who face and overcome challenges head-on; advocate for equity, inclusion, and sustainability; and have successfully balanced work and life, all while effectively pivoting and leading their teams and organizations through and beyond a global pandemic.

By: Janagan R.

This fourth-year University of Waterloo student has a passion for helping brands scale.

Work-life balance is no easy feat. Throw a full course load and a thriving business into the mix, and the equation gets even more complicated.

For the week of November 28^th, we’re revisiting the entrepreneurial alums with which we’ve had the pleasure of sharing their stories. In this round-up are stories of a beer mogul, a start-up instigator, a tech start-up magnate, visionaries of education, and a Dragon’s Den pitch winner.

As a Mathematics/Chartered Professional Accountancy student, Nitish Sharma (BMath '14) was part of the second team that led the development of the hEDGE Financial Services Conference. Hosted annually in the heart of Toronto's financial district, hEDGE offers University of Waterloo students a comprehensive look into both sell-side and buy-side finance through six pillars of capital markets: asset management, equity and debt research, investment banking, private equity, sales and trading, and venture capital. The brainchild of School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) students, the conference’s goal is to showcase the impressive finance talent that is present at SAF and to inform students about recruitment and networking opportunities. What is particularly inspiring about the large and successful conference is that it continues to be completely student-run to this day.

How hEDGE became one of Canada's leading student finance conferences

The hEDGE Financial Services Conference is a one-day event hosted annually at the heart of Toronto's financial district, offering keynote speakers, exclusive workshops and productive networking for aspiring finance professionals. It is one of Canada's leading student-organized undergraduate finance conferences.

Dr. Steve Fortin, (PhD '99, CPA, CA, ICD.D) took the helm in leading the School of Accounting and Finance on September 1st, 2018. Steve is an active researcher in the areas of financial instruments, hedge accounting, fair value measurement, related party disclosures, and audit quality. Steve's goal is to continue SAF's trajectory of success in leading the transformation of the professions through world-class research and experiential education.

Hear from Steve what he feels future accounting and finance professionals will need to be successful.

Adnan Khan (BAFM, MAcc '17), attributes his accounting and finance education in providing him with the foundation and confidence to launch a social endeavour, EduGate. A social start-up that is close to Adnan's heart, is one step in fulfilling his goal to improve the quality and accessibility of education around the world.

Hear how Adnan was able to use his accounting and finance foundation to launch his social endeavour.