Entrepreneurship: An alumni discussion

Vanessa Bannerman brings to the table her unique and vast expertise in the business of fashion.

She is responsible for the scientific and commercial approach Christie Brown —  a Ghanaian-based luxury women's fashion brand that aims to satisfy the stylish urge of the woman seeking a true taste of neo-African culture — applies to its business model.

Born and raised in Ghana, Vanessa moved to Canada when she was 17 years old and attended Concordia’s John Molson School of Business where she majored in Finance with a minor in Marketing.

Vanessa has more than 10 years of experience in retail and productmanagement and development. Before her current position, she worked as a fashion buyer and product manager in Montreal at Reitmans Canada Ltd.

A tri-lingual linguistics graduate, Petrona Jacqueline Joseph was the first Black Woman to ever work for the prestigious Bentley Motors brand in Montreal.

Petrona has also worked with brands like BMW, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Range Rover but it was her passion for writing and oration that opened numerous doors for her, namely as Vice President of Marketing for Montreal Caribbean Fashion Week, Honorary Delegate in the Film Festival Views of the World, Ambassador for BMW Canada and working with numerous fashion designers. She has also worked alongside the Mega Shopping Destination Premium Outlets Montreal, where she created countless marketing campaigns, proving her strength in strategic marketing.

In 2016, while approached by Breakfast Television, she took the risk and purchased air-time from the power-house Rogers Communications, which made television more accessible to local Montreal Designers. With hard work and infused passion, her fashion segment was the number one in online views on the Breakfast Television platform, a success that continues to follow her today.

By the time he completed his BComm in accounting at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business, Alexander Sinora had sold his first small marketing agency. Currently, he is a management consultant at Mckinsey & Co. He is also a research assistant at McGill University in entrepreneurship & social innovation.

Ever involved in his community, he sits on an advisory board as a federal policy advisor at the Black Canadian Youth Approach within the Heritage Department. Furthermore, he started a community project called MTLGiveback, where he enables the youth to be active in their community. He also hosts a podcast called "Les Généralistes."