Board of advisers
The Gustavson School of Business board of advisers (BOA) has been instrumental in shaping the school. It serves as a vehicle for communication and interaction between the school, the university and the business community. First established in 1990, by then chair David Black, President Black Press, our BOA act as ambassadors for the school, advise the dean and faculty on strategy, curriculum and programs and provide opportunities for, and assistance with, research, consulting and other projects.
Role of the board of advisers
- Participate in the development of the school's vision, strategic plans and goals.
- Provide advice, guidance and assistance in placing BCom and MBA students and graduates in careers and co-op positions.
- Provide guidance and assistance in enhancing or developing new programs, centers and initiatives, such as the undergraduate expansion initiative.
- Communicate the needs and requirements of the business community to ensure that our graduates develop the skills and knowledge required for success.
- Provide feedback on our degree programs and executive education as to their relevance to organizations of the future.
- Assist in building awareness of the school with employers, students, the community and government.
- Communicate, endorse and advocate our interests to external constituencies, such as the community, business and the local, provincial and federal government.
- Provide community contacts for programs such as mentors, integrated management exercises (IIME), speakers and faculty research.
- Provide advice and assistance in acquiring resources in the business community to support our vision and our promise.
- Participate in various campus activities including award ceremonies, student banquets, case competitions etc.
Executive council
- Mr. Lance Abercrombie
partner, Abercrombie and Associates Chartered Accountants - Mr. Bill Anderson
retired partner, KPMG - Dr. Ali Dastmalchian
dean, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business - Mr. Robin Dyke, Chair, Mentorship Committee
adjunct professor, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business - Ms. Pat Elemans
assistant dean, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business - Dr. A. R. Elangovan
professor and director of international programs, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business - Mr. Allan Gilchrist, Chair, Board of Advisers
retired CEO, Nokia Canada - Mr. Charles Hodgins, chair, Speakers Committee
CFO, VIH Aviation Group Ltd. - Mr. Stacy Kuiack
executive-in-residence, Gustavson School of Business - Mr. Steve Parkhill, Chair, Communications and Nominations Committees
president and COO, Rogers' Chocolates Ltd. - Mr. Simon Rose
director of talent, AviaWest Resorts, alumni representative and Commerce Students’ Society liaison - Mr. David Schneider, chair, Government Relations Committee
vice president and senior investment adviser, Wellington West Capital - Ms. Hilary E. Smith
former vice president for internet and communications, Nokia Corporation - Mr. Larry Sullivan
founder, Optimal Strategies - Dr. Ken Thornicroft
professor, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business - Ms. Sybil Verch
branch manager, vice president and investment advisor, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc.
Honourary members
- Mr. Clive Beddoe, co-founder and chairman of the board, WestJet
2008 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year honouree - Mr. David Black, president of Black Press Ltd.
founder of the board of advisers, 2007 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year honouree - Dr. Alex Campbell, Sr. OBC, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Thrifty Foods
2010 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year honouree - Mr. Brian Dyer, retired CFO of Custom House Global Foreign Exchange
- Mr. Robin Hall, President, Hall and Hall Associates Ltd.
- Mr. Jeff Mallett, former president and COO, Yahoo!
2004 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year honouree - Sir Terence Matthews, OBE, chair of Mitel Corporation and chair and founder of Wesley Clover
2009 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year honouree - Mr. Gwyn Morgan, retired executive vice chairman of Encana Corp.
2006 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year honouree - Mr. David Ritchie, chair and former CEO of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
2005 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year honouree - Dr. JR Shaw, OC, AOE, LLB, executive chair of Shaw Communications
2011 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year honouree - Mr. Cedric Steele, president of Cedric Steele & Associates
Members in Victoria
- *Mr. Lance Abercrombie, UVic BCom 1994, partner, Abercrombie and Associates Chartered Accountants
- *Mr. Bill Anderson, retired partner, KPMG
- Mr. Brad Babcook, business manager, Land Title and Survey Authority
- Mr. Reg Bird, board member, Premier's Technology Council BC
- Ms. Jane Butler McGregor, executive director, Victoria Conservatory of Music
- Mr. Lorne Campbell, owner, Campbell Blinds Ltd.
- Mr. Bruce Carter, CEO, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
- Mr. Rob Cooke, managing partner and co-founder, Focis Consulting Inc.
- Mr. Tim Cormode, founder and executive director, Power To Be Adventure Therapy Society
- Mr. Steven Dagg, business consultant
- Mr. James Darke, vice president, Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd.
- *Dr. Ali Dastmalchian, dean, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business
- Mr. Eric Donald, consultant, Canitalia Estates Ltd.
- Mr. Andrew Dooner, managing director, Pacific Carbon Trust
- *Mr. Robin Dyke, chair, Mentorship Committee
adjunct professor, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business - *Dr. A. R. Elangovan, professor, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business
- *Ms. Pat Elemans, assistant dean, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business
- *Mr. Allan Gilchrist, chair, Executive Council of the Board of Advisers , retired CEO, Nokia Canada
- Mr. Peter Gustavson, chair, Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Award Organizing Committee
president and CEO, Gustavson Capital Corporation - Mr. Daniel Hegg, UVic BCom 2006, Business Consultant
- *Mr. Charles Hodgins, chair, Speakers Committee
CFO, VIH Aviation Group Ltd. - Mr. Robert K. Jawl, principal, Jawl Properties Ltd.
- Mr. Eric Jordan, founder, PureEdge Solutions
- Mr. John Juricic, founder, JBLJ Holdings
- Ms. Christiane Kokko, president, Christiane K Management
- *Mr. Stacy Kuiack, executive-in-residence, Gustavson School of Business
- Mr. Ted Lattimore, CEO, Carmanah Technologies Corporation
- Ms. Goldie Luong, UVic MBA 2005, manager, Residential Assessment & Information Management Business Systems
Vancouver Island Health Authority - Mr. Owen Matthews, executive vice president, Wesley Clover
- Mr. Dan Parker, president, Parker Johnston Industries Ltd.
- *Mr. Steve Parkhill, chair, Communications and Membership Committees
president and CEO, Rogers' Chocolates - Mr. Keith Reed, Partner, Reed Pope LLP
- *Mr. Simon Rose, UVic MBA 2006, director of Talent, Aviawest Resorts
- *Mr. David Schneider, chair, Government Relations Committee
vice president and senior investment adviser, Wellington West Capital - Mr. Jason Scriven, advertising and sales manager, Times Colonist
- Mr. Andrew Shortreid, BCom 2001, president and managing director, Aventine Management Group
- Mr. Tom Siemens, vice president for regional banking, RBC Royal Bank
- *Ms. Hilary E. Smith, former vice president for internet & communications, Nokia Corporation
- Ms. Kathryn Stolle, president, Total Spa Concepts
- Mr. Ulrich Stolle, president, Stolle Services Ltd.
- *Mr. Larry Sullivan, founder, Optimal Strategies
- Mr. Bill Thomson, executive vice president for western operations group, Sierra Systems Consultants Inc.
- *Dr. Ken Thornicroft , professor, University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business
- Ms. Patricia Trottier, former executive for investor relations and corporate communications in the oil and gas field
- Mr. Ron Turner, corporate director and former executive vice president, TransCanada Corporation
- Ms. Sybil Verch, UVic BCom 1997, branch manager, vice president and investment advisor, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc
- Mr. Matthew Watson, business consultant
- Mr. Dale Wershler, business management advisor
- Mr. Lorne Whyte, retired CEO, Tourism Victoria
* Also members of the Executive Council
Members in Vancouver
- Ms. Janet Bonaguro, UVic MBA 2004, senior manager, Meyers Norris Penny (MNP) LLP
- Ms. Catherine Dorazio, UVic BCom 1999, vice president and investment counselor, Connor, Clark & Lunn Private Capital Ltd.
- Mr. Keith Cross, managing director and president, RLG International
- Ms. Joanne Gassman, senior vice president, BC & Yukon, BMO
- Mr. Matthew Hall, retired CEO, food and beverage division, Nestle UK, executive-in-residence, Gustavson School of Business
- Mr. Mark Patterson, UVic BCom 2000, partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
- Mr. Iraj Pourian, former president and CEO, Sierra Systems Consultants Inc.
- Mr. Mike Tan, UVic BCom 2006, founder and CEO, TeamPages Inc.
- Ms. Heidi Worthington, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, BCAA
International members
- Mr. Alan Cheung, director, Libra CPA Limited, Hong Kong
- Mr. Roccos Cosmatos, senior marketing professional, Romania
- Mr. Frank Duan, MBA 2006, associate director and department head, CB Richard Ellis Property Consultants Ltd., China
- Mr. Richard Flury, retired chief executive of gas and power, BP plc, USA
- Mr. Felix Fong, consultant, Aruili Fong & Ng, Hong Kong
- Mr. Anatolijus Fouracre, BCom 2000, lead service delivery manager, HP Advanced Solutions, Spain
- Jeffrey Harris, UVic MBA 1995, principal, IGPS, USA
- Mr. John Jarvis, former president and CEO, Mitel, UK
- Dr. Mansour Javidan, professor and director, The Garvin School of International Management, Thunderbird School of Global Management, USA
- Ms. Kenzie Kwong, partner, Leader's Quest , Hong Kong
- Mr. James Lee, executive director and CFO, Maxdo Group Limited, China
- Mr. N. Narasimhan, business consultant, Singapore
- Mr. Jawahar Vadivelu, chairman, Cameo Corporate Ltd., India
- Ms. Jane Zhu, UVic MBA 2006, general manager, DragonPass Consulting, China
Peter Bjorn Gustavson, BCom (Hons.) FCA
Peter B. Gustavson, President and CEO of Gustavson Capital Corporation began his entrepreneurial career at a young age selling discarded wire hangers to friends and neighbours at the age of six.
He grew up in Winnipeg, earning an honours Bachelor of Commerce degree specializing in accounting and marketing from the University of Manitoba. Following graduation, he obtained a chartered accountant designation and set up his own accounting firm in Winnipeg. Almost 10 years later, he sold the company and moved to Tsawwassen, BC, where he anticipated an early retirement.
On one of his many visits to Victoria, he noticed the renovation to Victoria's historic Custom House, and the idea to create Custom House Currency Exchange was born. While he intended it as a part-time job, Custom House was a phenomenal success, growing to offices in seven countries, more than 650 employees and more than 40,000 customers in just 17 years.
Honoured many times for his leadership in business, Peter Gustavson was awarded the title of Fellow by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC in 2005. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Vancouver Island Business Excellence Awards in 2005 and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2002.
Peter Gustavson is a tireless advocate for entrepreneurship and a good friend to the Faculty of Business. He joined their advisory board in 2003 and was the inspiration for its Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
In October 2010, in recognition of his vision and generosity, the University of Victoria renamed the Faculty of Business to the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business.
