News

As the world slowly transitions back to in-person office environments, the newly appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Sun Life, Manjit Singh, (BA ’93, CPA, CFA), is excited to implement digital and people focused strategies to lead Sun Life beyond the global pandemic. The School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) caught up with the Waterloo alum to learn more about his career and where he sees the future of the financial services industry.

As the President and CEO of Sun Life, Kevin Strain (MAcc ‘90) brings close to thirty years of insurance industry experience to his new role. Strain spent much of those years with Sun Life in various finance and business roles to advance his career to eventually assume the responsibility of Sun Life’s leadership. The School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) caught up with the very busy President and CEO to chat about his career, how he hopes to lead Sun Life beyond the global pandemic, and why he chooses to give back to Waterloo to help build future talent.

With the start of the fall term, our community is getting ready to return to campus, and so it is a great time to be introduced (or re-introduced) to some of our faculty and staff. Candid, enlightening, serious, and not-so-serious, our Q&A series allows the personalities of the faculty and staff members who make up the School of Accounting and Finance community to shine.

This week, we interview David Ha (MAcc ’09), Professor and MAcc Co-Director, who has been with the School for ten years. Fun fact: At Grad Ball when Ha was a university student at Waterloo, he was voted by his class as most likely to become a professor one day—guess they were spot on in their assessment! 

A pair of Waterloo alumni are helping families deliver math in a fun and engaging way.

Prodigy Game, developed by two University of Waterloo Engineering grads, has filled the resource gap for building math skills and confidence, especially during the present school-year interruption due to COVID-19.

To celebrate Canadian Beer Day, we caught up with Phil Hipkiss (BAFM ’10, CPA, CA), the co-founder of Block Three Brewing Company in St. Jacobs, Ontario. In addition to the craft brewery, Hipkiss is also CFO and VP of Finance for the hearing aid manufacturer, WS Audiology.

Hop, hop, hurray! Cheers to another SAF Alumni Story.

For many, gone are the water cooler and lunchroom conversations that while mundane, were important in staying connected with colleagues. Workplace rituals we’ve long taken for granted have been removed by the pandemic. You would expect that these changes could be detrimental to every company’s culture, however, employees like Siddhi Purohit (MAcc’08) are currently very impressed with their employer’s culture and the values exhibited during the pandemic.

Boris Bong (MAcc ’94, MSc Finance (UK), CPA), like many of his peers completed co-op work terms in the field of accounting throughout his undergraduate career. After attaining his CPA designation, Bong sought a career path beyond accounting and pursued a Master of Science in Finance at the London Business School (UK). He then built his finance career by working in Canada, the UK and Hong Kong for EY, Barclays Capital, Prudential plc, Search Investment Group, and JP Morgan Asset Management. SAF caught up with our accomplished alum to learn more about his career path and his insights and observations of the financial industry in Asia, where he now resides.

Since we last caught up with Arthur Wang (BAFM, MAcc ’13) in 2019, his career hasn’t slowed down one bit. As an estate planning specialist at RBC Wealth Management Financial Services, Wang has been focussed on building and expanding his team, and on pursuing professional development opportunities. Most recently, he’s obtained his Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.

Two points Susan Uthayakumar (MAcc ’95) wants to make clear: Sustainability is not just a trend, and climate change is not an ‘if’ but a ‘when’. As president of the Global Sustainability Business Division at Schneider Electric, Uthayakumar advocates for diversity and green practices in business to not only save our environment but to stay relevant in the marketplace.

When running due diligence on transactions and tax planning on multi-million-dollar deals, what exists between Jocelyn Blanchet (MAcc '00) and Benjie Thomas (PDAcc '98) is a desire to deliver the best with a unique camaraderie and mutual trust.

However, it wasn’t always like that. They were once professional competitors, which began with their time at the University of Waterloo.