Smith celebrates in Calgary

Calgary, AB—Smith school pride was well represented in Calgary last week as part of #SmithYYC, a series of events honouring the school’s 20th year in Alberta.

Current students, parents, alumni and members of the business community celebrated the Smith network in Alberta during the week.

A highlight was the Queen’s Venture Network (QVN) Calgary launch. A platform for ideation, innovation and collaboration supported through the Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing (QCBV), QVN Calgary aims to ignite the passion needed to diversify Alberta’s economy and realize the creative potential of the West.

“It is my belief that, with enough people, we have the power to create momentum and create movement. With over 200 people attending the Calgary chapter launch, we have started something great,” said JP Shearer, Associate Director of QCVB.

The evening featured remarks from QVN Calgary Chair Sarah Clark, as well as a fireside chat with Canadian Olympian Jessica Zelinka hosted by Elspeth Murray, Director of QCBV and a professor of entrepreneurship. Stephen Smith closed the evening with a story from his own entrepreneurial journey.

“At this stage in my career, I am very thankful to help celebrate entrepreneurs and innovators across Canada,” Stephen said. He thanked those in attendance for supporting one another and for building the venture network in Calgary.

Calgary represents the second location for QVN, which launched in 2015 in Toronto. Expansion across the country has long been planned, and JP said the large group that attended the Calgary launch showed that city was the right market to enter.

“QVN Calgary will complement a very strong ecosystem in Alberta and increase the odds of entrepreneurial success,” JP said.

Other #SmithYYC events: 

- There was a packed ballroom at the Sheraton Suites Calgary Eau Claire for a full day of executive education. Elspeth Murray, who is also a professor of strategy and the Associate Dean of MBA and Masters Programs at Smith, led a discussion on creating more agile and resilient organizations. Joining Elspeth were Queen's alumni Rob Bennett, EVP, ATB Financial; Dino DeLuca, COO TriWest Capital Investment; and Phil Klassen, global tourism consultant. Olympic speed skater Denny Morrison was the lunchtime keynote, and Professor Stephen Thomas closed the day with a talk to demystify machine learning for a business audience.

- One-hundred and eighty people attended an all-alumni event at the Trolley5 Brewpub, where they had the opportunity to network, re-connect with classmates and make new friends. Attendees commented that they were pleasantly surprised by the large alumni network in Calgary.

- An intimate meet-and-greet was hosted by the Queen’s Commerce program. Over 20 parents of current students had the opportunity to meet Dean David Saunders and to learn about the various supports available on campus for students.

“It was fantastic for Smith to be met with such a warm reception in Calgary. There were many familiar faces from the school’s global network in attendance, as well as many new friends,” Elspeth said.