Skip to main content

Alumni Notes

Submit your alumni note to Smith Magazine

Search past alumni notes in Smith Magazine

1987

James Duncan Sergeant, BCom, died on April 6 in Yellowknife at age 55. After graduating, James began a career in accounting in Kingston. He then moved to the Canadian North where he worked in Yellowknife, Fort Chipewyan, Alta., Wrigley and Fort Simpson, NWT. He retired after working for the Northwest Territories government. James is survived by his wife, Kathleen; siblings Tom and Jessica; and his extended family. 

Published in: Fall 2020

Walter Speckert, MBA, died on July 24 at age 60 from cancer. After graduating, Walter spent 25 years at the Bank of Canada. He was a devoted volunteer with Cystic Fibrosis Canada. He is survived by his wife, Mary-Judith; his children, Tom and Kaitlyn; brother Erwin; and his extended family members.

Published in: Fall 2020

1986

james_knowles_bcom
James Knowles (BCom) has begun a new life in corporate investor relations, after having spent many years in investment banking, followed by eight years at hedge funds and at an activist fund. In October, he joined Citigate Dewe Rogerson, one of the oldest financial PR firms in London, U.K., to advise clients regarding capital market and investor issues such as IPOs, M&A, activist engagements and financings.
Published in: Winter 2015
brian_lenahan_bcom
Brian Lenahan (BCom), currently Portfolio Director at TD Bank Group in Toronto, is pursuing a doctorate in Business Administration at Capella University in Minneapolis, Minn. His dissertation topic is ‘The Impact of Innovation Speed on Business Innovation Success’.
Published in: Winter 2014
Nick Petruzzella (MBA) has been elected to the Board of Directors of Ontario One Call (“Call before you dig”) and also appointed its Treasurer. He recently graduated with academic honours from the Certified Sommelier program at Niagara College. Nick is General Manager of Six Nations Natural Gas and lives in Burlington with his wife Lynn and daughter Olivia. Email: npetruz@cogeco.ca
Published in: Winter 2013
Otto Bauer (BCom), after years of toil in the big corporate world, has joined a startup life insurance company, Quantum Life, as Group CFO. Headquartered in Liechtenstein, Quantum sells life insurance of various types via partners in key European markets. Otto continues to live in Zurich, Switzerland.
Published in: Summer 2009
james_knowles,_bcom
James Knowles, BCom, has become a Partner with the Swiss pension and endowment advisory firm, Novarca. James (lower right in photo) lives with his family in Hampstead in London, England.
Published in: Winter 2018
Michael Bishop, MBA, BSc’81, continues to be a senior-level engineer with Fluor. Since February, he has been working on a project to develop a new refinery complex in Malaysia, and is now based in Manila as a member of one of the project execution teams. Being separated from his family in Calgary is difficult, but a trip home for two weeks at Christmas was being eagerly anticipated when Michael submitted his update.
Published in: Winter 2016
Jeffrey M.W. Brock (BCom) was surrounded by family when he succumbed to pancreatic cancer at his home in Orlando, FL, on Nov. 14, after a three-year battle. After attaining his MBA from IMEDE in Lausanne, Switzerland, he and his wife Margaret (Droumtsekas) moved from Toronto to Orlando, where he launched a diversified real estate services business that became a leading player in the central Florida market. In addition to Margaret, he is survived by their children Caley, Cooper and Megan, and his parents Anne and Bill Brock. Jeff and Margaret were very active volunteers and supporters of education in their community.
Published in: Summer 2012
Rob Hamilton (MBA) (hamilton.co@sympatico.ca) is General Manager of InterMune Canada Inc., a multinational biotechnology company focused on respiratory and fibrotic diseases. Its current major focus is on Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a severe, life-limiting and ultimately fatal respiratory illness.
Published in: Summer 2012