Two Ivey alumni – Sarah Landstreet, MBA ’13, and Denis Nagasaki, HBA ’11 – made The Globe and Mail’s 2022 Changemakers list, an annual celebration of emerging leaders who are reinventing how Canada does business.
And although they work in different industries, the pair shares a common goal – to make the lives of Canadians better. Landstreet does this through her company, Georgette Packaging, which offers sustainable packaging and helps businesses research environmental sustainability and cost. Nagasaki is Managing Director of Strategy & Client Success for Silicon Valley Bank Canada, a commercial bank that supports Canada’s innovation economy, including innovators in biotech and climate science.
Here’s a look at the Ivey alumni on the list.
Sarah Landstreet, MBA ’13
Sarah Landstreet is Founder and CEO of Georgette Packaging
Sarah Landstreet has an eclectic mix of career experiences. Trained as a mechanical engineer in Canada, she started her career in sustainability consulting in London, England. Noticing that North American bakeries were popular in the U.K., she started a cupcake bakery in Belfast, Ireland. She sold the company and returned to Canada a few years later and did her MBA at Ivey. Inspired by her bakery experience, she founded Georgette Packaging in 2013 to offer small- and medium-sized businesses affordable custom-designed packaging. Georgette Packaging has since grown into a highly profitable business that focuses on reducing the environmental impact of packaging.
Denis Nagasaki, HBA ’11
Denis Nagasaki is Managing Director, Strategy & Client Success, Silicon Valley Bank Canada
When California-based Silicon Valley Bank opened a Toronto branch in 2019, Denis Nagasaki was one of the three original Canadian employees. He has since helped grow the operation to 40 staff. Silicon Valley Bank Canada is now a sought-after financial partner for tech startups and supports big-name clients, including Shopify and KOHO. Prior to joining Silicon Valley Bank Canada, Nagasaki was a strategy consultant who advised executives and led cross-functional teams for a broad set of national and international clients spanning across payments, financial services, travel, exhibitions, services, and technology.
