2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala: Lino Saputo Jr. receives the top honour

Lino A. Saputo Jr. (BA 89), chairman of the board and CEO of Saputo Inc. and co-chair of the university’s $250-million Campaign for Concordia: Next Gen. Now, took home the top prize at the inaugural Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton – John Molson School of Business Person of the Year Awards gala on May 9.

Saputo was chosen as the 2019 Person of the Year. The annual award celebrates leaders who, through their vision and leadership, have brought their organization to a higher level.

More than 500 guests, including prominent members of the business community, gathered at the event at Montreal’s Windsor Station to honour Quebec’s corporate leaders. Local radio personalities Gregory Charles and Rebecca Makonnen hosted the evening.

“We are tremendously proud of this successful first edition,” says Anne-Marie Croteau, dean of the John Molson School of Business (JMSB).

“These awards are unique in that they help foster a better connection with the business community while inspiring the next generation of business leaders studying at JMSB to achieve their greatest potential.”

Launched in September, the awards are a joint initiative of JMSB and the Canadian accounting firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton (RCGT).

Designed to bring academia and industry together, they celebrate business people across the province who dare to do things differently and contribute to the development of Quebec.

The winners of the other three categories are:

• Eclipse – A leader in transforming a market or creating a new one:
  Dominic Gagnon, co-founder of Connect & Go
  
  
• Glocal – A leader who has created local jobs and contributed to the advancement of a Quebec-based company at the international level:
  Patrice Marin, co-founder of district m
  
  
• Instinct – A person responsible for an innovative and complex transaction that ensures the development and growth of a local leading-edge business:
  Marie-Claude Boisvert, partner with Clearspring Capital Partners

The members of the selection committee also elected to grant an honourable mention to Nathalie Lehoux, president of Pacini restaurants. The committee wished to recognize the fact that Lehoux is redefining what it means to be a leader.

JMSB accounting undergrads receive scholarships

The gala, an evening dedicated to the celebration of excellence, also highlighted four outstanding JMSB undergraduate accounting students. Victoria Cardillo, Alex Tzotzis, Karine Wong and Wenjing Zhou were each awarded a $5,000 scholarship funded by RCGT.

The scholarship recipients will participate in an “immersion in innovation” project, chaired by RCGT experts from Catallaxy, a subsidiary of the firm dedicated to blockchain technology, and Operio, another subsidiary specializing in cloud accounting.

“We must continue to educate young entrepreneurs and teach them how business plays a vital role not just in the economy but in society at large,” says Emilio B. Imbriglio (BComm 81, GrDip 82), RCGT president and CEO.

“We must carry on recognizing the talent of those who make Quebec shine in business. Congratulations to the finalists, the award winners and the young scholars.”

Learn more about the Person of the Year Awards and get details about the contest’s second edition, which will launch in the coming months.

Find out more about Concordia’s John Molson School of Business.