Concordia University of Edmonton announces Business Advisory Council
EDMONTON, Alberta — Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) is proud to announce its new Business Advisory Council (BAC), a group of prominent business leaders from a cross-section of regional economic sectors.
The CUE BAC will enhance CUE’s capacity to strategically respond to the ever evolving post-secondary environment and the needs of our students, faculty, institutional partners and broader community. The BAC will provide strategic advice and sector-specific insights to ensure that our university planning processes and strategic efforts align the university with market trends and developments.
“To best equip our students with the skills and tools they need to be successful beyond their post-secondary education, we need to be well-connected with industry, on top of market trends and ready to react accordingly. I’m confident that this group of industry leaders will help us adapt in ways that will best serve our students and our partners,” says Dr. Tim Loreman, President and Vice-Chancellor of CUE.
“We are proud to bring together such a well-respected and insightful group of professionals. The insights and guidance that this committee will provide will undoubtedly set us on a strong, strategic path forward that will position Concordia University of Edmonton as a university where our students receive an exceptional education that is well connected to the needs of industry,” says Dr. Bob Murray, Vice-President of Planning and University Relations at CUE.
The CUE BAC will hold its inaugural meeting in September.
The CUE BAC is made up of the following members:
- Adam Rozenhart
- Adam Sweet
- Ardyce Kouri
- Dr. John McCoy
- Leanne C. Krawchuk
- Malcolm Bruce
- Mariesa Fett
- Margaret Bateman
- Reg Joseph
Their professional biographies are available below.
Adam Rozenhart
Adam Rozenhart is a communications strategist with over 17 years of experience in marketing and communications strategy, planning and execution. He cut his teeth in digital communications as the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of OilersNation.com before moving into the agency world, where he developed and executed award-winning digital marketing and communications strategies for dozens of clients across Alberta—including ICE District, Creative Door, Alberta Health, the Office of Traffic Safety, the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies & Services—for Calder Bateman Communications and DDB Canada. He’s worked on numerous political campaigns, and assumed a communications leadership role on the successful Don Iveson for Mayor campaign in 2013, and the Amarjeet Sohi for Mayor campaign in 2021. As the co-owner of Adverb Communications, Adam helps organizations better tell their stories to the right audiences, on the right channels at the right time.
Adam Sweet
Adam Sweet is the Director for Western Canada with Clean Prosperity, a Canadian climate policy organization focused on investment attraction and low-carbon economic growth. Adam joined Clean Prosperity from the Government of Alberta, where he helped establish Canada’s first ESG Secretariat as its Executive Director, ESG Coordination and Integration. Prior to this, Adam led the Government Relations team at the University of Alberta and held various roles with local economic development, consulting, and business organizations, and also led a local strategic advisory firm focused on helping private and non-profit organizations develop and implement new growth strategies rooted in the concepts of shared value creation.
Adam spent many years in Ottawa working on Parliament Hill, including in Canada’s Environment Minister’s Office in 2011-13. Prior to that, he spent time in Canada’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., and served nearly two years on the ground in Afghanistan deployed with the Canadian Government.
Ardyce Kouri
A Partner in the Leaders International Edmonton office and a key member of the team since 2004, Ardyce is known for her outstanding commitment to clients. She has brought her comprehensive HR knowledge and business experience to search assignments in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
Prior to joining the firm, Ardyce worked in both Toronto and Prague as the National President for AIESEC Canada, and in recruitment for the ING Group’s Czech Republic office. Ardyce holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Alberta and a Master’s degree from Royal Roads University. She is an active member of the community and is a member of the Business Advisory Committee for Edmonton Global.
John McCoy
Dr. John McCoy is the founder and Executive Director of the Organization for the Prevention of Violence (OPV) which delivers violence prevention programming and evidence-based research in Western Canada. He has extensive post-secondary experience having acted as an instructor and Adjunct for nine years at the University of Alberta. John is a Senior Research Affiliate at the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security & Society (TSAS) and has more than fifty publications including op-eds, policy papers, academic articles, and books on the subjects of violent extremism, hate crime, terrorism and integration.
John is currently an Adjunct at Ontario Tech University. In his capacity as Executive Director he has represented the OPV at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Strong Cities Network, G20 and at United Nations High-Level Conferences of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States.
Leanne C. Krawchuk
Leanne C. Krawchuk, KC, is a partner in the Dentons Edmonton office and the National Leader of Dentons Canada’s Corporate group, as well as a member of the Firm’s National Management Committee. She is also a member of the Dentons Canada Mining Group Advisory Committee. Leanne’s M&A practice involves providing advice to clients on mergers, acquisitions and sale transactions, including plans of arrangement, reverse takeovers, reorganizations and amalgamations. Leanne is also routinely involved in the negotiation and drafting of commercial agreements relating to the establishment of joint ventures and other strategic partnerships, unanimous shareholder agreements, construction contracts, procurement contracts and long term supply, offtake and purchase agreements. Leanne represents clients in the mining, construction, rail, engineering, energy, and technology industries.
Malcolm Bruce
Malcolm Bruce is the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of Edmonton Global, a regional economic development corporation driving growth and investment in the Edmonton region. Its purpose is to radically transform and grow the economy of the region through attracting and retaining business investment. In his work, Malcolm brings together the regional strengths and networks of its 15 regional municipality partners to seize on the potential of emerging markets.
Malcolm has a strong history of leadership in the Edmonton region. Prior to his current role, Malcolm was the CEO of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board where he oversaw the smooth transition of the Board membership, leadership and mandate. Malcolm has also enjoyed a long career in progressively senior leadership positions within the Canadian Military.
His skills in leadership, strategic planning and organizational change have been sought out to support the strategic planning and operations on many large complex issues, including the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2013 floods in Southern Alberta.
Mariesa Fett
Mariesa Fett, CPA, CA, CRMA, ABCP, ICD.D is a Partner in MNP’s Edmonton office where she leads the Enterprise Risk Services Team of over 175 people across the country. Mariesa has more than 25 years of experience providing corporate governance, enterprise risk management, business process and controls improvement and internal audit solutions with a focus on the public sector. Prior to joining MNP in September 2008, Mariesa was a Director with PwC overseeing the delivery of Risk Management and internal audit services in Edmonton.
Margaret Bateman
Margaret was a co-founder of the communications consulting firm Calder Bateman Communications. She is a leader in her field, managing a wide range of public policy issues and consultations in healthcare, education, economic development, justice, municipal affairs and the environment.
Margaret has developed strategies for a number of engagements with Albertans on complex and controversial issues, for example, on property rights, on the future of health care delivery in Alberta (notably, just after the province’s health regions were merged into Alberta Health Services), as well as with Alberta’s physicians on primary care delivery models (a joint project of the Alberta Medical Association, Alberta Health and AHS).
Margaret worked in the Alberta government in various roles for 15 years. She served as Vice President of the Alberta Housing Corporation and was appointed Managing Director of Alberta’s Public Affairs Bureau responsible for the Government of Alberta’s public affairs functions across 26 departments.
Reg Joseph
Reg Joseph has 25 years’ experience spanning the health, IT, and investment sectors. He’s no stranger to the start-up world having worked directly with 4 Alberta-based startups, two at C-level positions. Reg served as an equity analyst in the United States at what is now called Leerink Partners, a top tier boutique investment bank focused exclusively on life sciences. At the investment bank, his focus was on companies that had industry changing technology platforms, which at that time included molecular diagnostics tools and next generation sequencing.
Currently, Reg serves as the CEO of Health Cities where he and his team are focused on creating innovation streams in healthcare so that companies can test, validate, and scale their solutions in Alberta keeping them headquartered here, while they expand to global markets. On the community side, he currently serves as a public member on the Board of Governors at MacEwan University and is the incoming chair of their strategy committee. He also serves as the Chair of Board for BioTalent Canada and ELIXR Simulations.
Media Contacts:
- Zachary Flynn, Communications Specialist
C: 780-920-8910 E: media@concordia.ab.ca
About Concordia University of Edmonton
Concordia University of Edmonton is a students’ university, offering more than 50 undergraduate majors, concentrations and minors, 4 master’s degree programs, and 1 doctorate degree program, in addition to several after-degree programs, graduate and undergraduate certificates and diplomas, and continuing education programs. In and out of our classrooms and lecture halls, we translate what we learn into extraordinary hands-on experiences. Our ultimate goal has not changed since 1921: to be more than students and professors, to create a community of active citizens, of good and honourable people. For more information, visit www.concordia.ab.ca.