Inspired: Recipients of Ivey’s Top Alumni Awards for 2015

Each year, the Ivey Alumni Network presents awards to deserving individuals at Homecoming. The Ivey Distinguished Service Award recognizes exceptional Ivey graduates who have made “substantial and sustained” contributions to the School and society, and who reflect the values of the Ivey community. This past year, Andy Chisholm, MBA ’85, Alexa Nick, MBA ’95, and Rob Staffen, HBA ’80, MBA ’02, received this accolade. The Ivey Alumni Faculty Service Award celebrates an outstanding teacher-scholar who has touched the lives of many students and who supports and promotes the Alumni Network. Professor Gerard Seijts received the prestigious award in 2015. Intouch sat down with all four recipients to learn more about them.

Inspired by Perseverance: Alexa Nick, MBA ’95 (Pictured Below Left)

• Career: Consultant, Founder of myPractice, and Partner at BottomLine Group
• Alumni Activities: Member of Ivey Entrepreneurship Council, 2008 to present; Chair of Voice of Alumni Committee, Ivey Alumni Network, 2008 to 2011; and much more
• Bucket List: Visiting remote areas of the world where she can see the stars at night; travelling more in Canada
• Words of Wisdom: “Build self-awareness about your strengths and go toward them. Don’t let anyone say you can’t do it.”
• The Future for Ivey: “Ivey should play to its strengths as Canada’s premier business school. It needs to focus on where it is on the world stage without being distracted from where its core strength is.”

When she was 25 years old, Alexa Nick’s mother escaped from communist Hungary and made a new life in Montreal. She met and married Nick’s father, but he died of leukemia 10 years later, leaving her with three toddlers. “My mother instilled in me a sense of grit and independence,” Nick says. “In the face of adversity, I know that I will never encounter the kind of hardship she did, so I count my blessings and keep on reaching for the stars.”

After graduation, Nick spent 10 years as a consultant with A.T. Kearney. When her daughter was born, she left the company and joined a friend who was running a small business. During her three years there, she developed the idea for myPractice. It provides business people with the opportunity to “deliberately” practice soft skills in a safe environment and receive targeted coaching. Launched in 2007 in New York, myPractice is now part of BottomLine Group. “I’m passionate about myPractice,” Nick says. “When you’re passionate about something, you have to go for it and challenge yourself—you’ll never know your own strengths until you do.”

Inspired by Adversity: Rob Staffen, HBA ’80, MBA ’02 (Pictured Above Right)

• Career: A “serial entrepreneur” involved in 16 different businesses, beginning with the grocery stores established by his father
• Alumni Activities: Case competition judge; speaker in class; Ring Ceremony volunteer; and much more
• Bucket List: “Living in the moment; spoiling the amazing woman I have known for more than 42 years; mentoring young people; and giving back to our communities.”
• Words of Wisdom: “Do things you love to do in life. Find a career you are passionate about. It’s not always about the money.”
• The Future for Ivey: “Ivey has an incredible opportunity to attract leaders of the future from all over the world. We can teach them about ethics, leadership and entrepreneurship, and they can, with help from others, lead this world to be a better place.”

Rob Staffen’s grandfather remortgaged his house so that Staffen’s father could buy a small bankrupt grocery store. It was the beginning of a string of successful businesses.

Staffen would have been happy to go straight into the growing family enterprise from high school, but his father persuaded him to attend Ivey. “The deal was, if I worked weekends, he would pay me while I was going to school,” says Staffen. Years later, he went back to complete his MBA, becoming a valuable member of the Ivey hockey team in his mid-40s.

At the age of 55, Staffen suffered a traumatic brain injury while cycling in California. Buoyed by a naturally positive attitude, he fought his way back. “The experience helped me realize what’s really important in life—family, friends, giving back, treating others well,” he says. Staffen and his family launched the Brain & Mind Matters Community Fund which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support community programs in mental health and brain injury.

Staffen enjoys sharing his time, experience, insights and positive energy at Ivey. “I love connecting with students and alumni, so I continue to teach about entrepreneurship and help out with the Ivey Ring Ceremony. My family is so committed to Ivey that we now have six Ivey degrees with three incredible kids!”

Inspired by Team Work: Andy Chisholm, MBA ’85 (Pictured Below Right)

• Career: 30 years with Goldman Sachs & Company, currently Advisory Director 
• Alumni Activities: Member of Ivey Advisory Board, 2004 to present; member of the New Building Task Force; reunion campaign volunteer; speaker; and much more
• Bucket List: “I don’t have a bucket list but when opportunities arise, I try to find ways to say ‘yes,’ rather than delay.”
• Words of Wisdom: “Brains and instincts are critical, but there’s no substitute for effort, character and judgement.”
• The Future for Ivey: “I see the School developing some distinctive areas of expertise that will stand out among a crowded field internationally and become a magnet for future students, faculty, broad collaboration and financial resources.”

The weekly 48-hour reports were a big part of Andy Chisholm’s Ivey experience. The process of working together as a team, challenging and questioning one another, developing an approach, getting it down on paper, meeting the deadline and then “blowing off steam” together was formative, he says. “You quickly realize that there are a lot of smart people around who together produce better solutions than any individual. You also learn that intensity, pragmatism and focus are always needed.”

During 30 years with Goldman Sachs in New York and London, Chisholm held several leadership positions, including Head of the Global Financial Institutions Group and Senior Strategy Officer. Modest about his achievements, Chisholm says he’s proud that he earned respect and influence internationally, and was trusted for his character and judgement.

Despite the demands of his corporate career, Chisholm has worked hard for Ivey. “I don’t really see it as giving back—it’s more a continuation of involvement in a community that is tremendously worthy in its impact on education, business thought, and the lives of alumni. Continued involvement brings continued benefits.”

Inspired by Character: Gerard Seijts (Pictured Above Left)

• Career: Teacher and scholar; currently Executive Director, Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership
• Alumni Activities: Contacts alumni Chapters when travelling; presents to alumni groups; case writing, research and outreach activities
• Bucket List: See the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba “before they’re all gone;” visit Mount Everest base camp
• Words of Wisdom: “There’s a big difference between seeing opportunities and seizing opportunities. Keep your eyes open to the great things happening around you. Seize the inevitable opportunities to lead and grow as a person.”
• The Future for Ivey: “We have done important work in the area of leader character, and there’s more to be done. I’d like to accelerate the momentum by obtaining additional funding to recruit researchers, and develop great teaching materials and experiences that will help people see and feel the importance of character in leadership.”

Gerard Seijts was born and raised in Amsterdam.  As a PhD student in health education at the University of Maastricht, he had the opportunity to visit Canada and work with Dr. Gary Latham, one of the world’s leading researchers in goal-setting theory. Latham hired him as a research assistant, and Seijts ended up completing a PhD at the University of Toronto.  He started his teaching career at the University of Manitoba, and joined Ivey in 2000—something he calls “one of the best decisions I ever made.”

In the aftermath of the 2008 economic meltdown, Seijts and some of his Ivey colleagues began to focus their research on the role of leadership in the crisis. They developed a theory of leadership that encompasses three elements—competencies, commitment and character. Seijts says they have many years of research ahead, exploring the dimensions of leader character and the effects on individual and organizational performance. “Some academics measure themselves solely by the rigour of their research and I respect that,” he says. “I’m interested in doing research that matters to practitioners. It’s clear that our work on leader character is having an impact.”

Seijts is concerned that many people today don’t aspire to leadership, recognizing the challenges of leading in a complex and volatile environment. “We need to articulate that leadership can be incredibly rewarding,” he says. “At Ivey we also have to help set people up for success as leaders.”

Read award recipient bios or watch a video featuring interviews with the honorees.