Norman Musengimana, MMIE, says that after completing his degree at Smith, he participated in the Queen’s Innovation Centre Summer Initiative, where he further developed his business, BizSkills Academy, a virtual startup school with curated entrepreneurial programs and virtual workspace. “This year has started on a very high note,” he says. “I spent most of the month of March in Nairobi, Kenya, introducing our entrepreneurial platform to colleges and universities as well as to the ministry of education. We now have 15 colleges and universities in Kenya ready to partner with BizSkills Academy to help pilot our work.”
Alumni Notes
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Omid Oujani, EMBAA, died on Feb. 26 at age 50. Omid spent the past 10 years working as a project manager
and strategic partnership lead with Chevron. He is survived by his wife, Roya, parents and three sisters.
Published in: Fall 2021
Orley Pacheco, EMBAA, was recently honoured by the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) with the Top Leader Under 40 Award. Orley is a wealth manager at ARS Capital Advisors in New York. He served with the United States Marine Corps and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Orley is a volunteer with ALPFA and with the Financial Planning Association. He says that he lives in New York City with his beloved Maggie and their daughter, Maia. orleypacheco.com
Published in: Fall 2020
Li-Han Ruth Huang, EMBA, tells us that since graduating from Smith she has gotten married, moved into a new home and received a work promotion. Most recently she got a new puppy, a Maltipoo named Boba.
Published in: Fall 2021
Harjaap Singh Makkar, BCom’18 and his sister, Suhavi Makkar, AMBA’20, have launched Zonado (zonado.com), a nationwide network for commercial real estate sellers, buyers and tenants. Harjaap says the idea struck when the two found their realtor father struggling to find commercial investment opportunities for his clients. “Zonado is now being used across the country by hundreds of users and hosts over $1 billion worth of exclusive commercial real estate opportunities.”
Published in: Spring 2022
Max White, BCom, writes that he’s now working full time in music. He plays in the underground Montreal rock bands Light Bulb Alley and the Count Ferrara. He also co-founded the psychedelic blues punk duo, the White Brothers Band, with his brother Jackson. They made their debut at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto in July 2018. Max says he’s working on a number of new projects including the White Brothers Band’s debut album, and Light Bulb Alley’s third LP. In addition to these records, he contributed sounds for the soon-to-be released Netflix series V-Wars.
Published in: Winter 2019
Tyler Willox, EMBA, joined ISM Canada as vice-president of public sector. ISM is a subsidiary of IBM that provides technology-based solutions to business problems for the public sector. Tyler is based in Regina and says he looks forward to “bringing Saskatchewan ingenuity, work ethic and fully managed services to ISM customers across Canada.”
Published in: Spring 2021
2017
Vir C. Advani, MBA, has started a new role with RBC Capital Markets after completing the RBC Enterprise Leadership Development Program. He is now vice-president, portfolio management with the asset-based lending team, part of the global credit division of RBC Capital Markets.
Published in: Summer 2019
Vir C. Advani, MBA, tells us that he and his wife, Chloe, were blessed with a baby boy Sept. 21, 2018. “Aden K. Advani came into this world weighing a whopping 9 lbs., 6oz. Both Aden and Mommy are doing well. Dad, on the other hand, hasn't slept in a month!” he says.
Published in: Winter 2019
Leo Bailey, AMBA, shares that he became the full-time diversity and inclusion director at Interac Corp. in
April. He also became a member of the 2021-2022 Queen’s Black Alumni Chapter executive team, taking on
the role of VP of finance, sponsorship and fundraising.
Published in: Fall 2021