Newsletter Issue No. 9 March 2012
Inside this issue: Where are they Now
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Entrepreneur in Residence
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CEL Students’ Special Achievements Meet Our Mentors Meet our Mentors cont’d
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Doing Business In China
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Book Report
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Business Plan Workshop
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Contract Law
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OWIMA
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Book Report
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Hult Global Case Challenge
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Contact Information
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Happy spring everyone! 2012 has started off very well for CEL and I am happy to be back after having completed a six month appointment as Acting Dean of the Faculty of Law. I would be seriously remiss if I didn't publicly thank my Co-Director, Francine Schlosser, our IP Director, Wissam Aoun, our Program Manager, Nicole Sleiman and our Experiential Learning Assistant, Jeanne Deslippe– our core CEL team – for their gracious and unstinting willingness to fill in for me and to pick up whatever slack may have resulted from my absence. I am very fortunate to be working with such a supportive and dedicated group of people. PROF. MYRA TAWFIK CEL has grown and expanded this term as we reach more milestones in our Business of DIRECTOR (LAW) Innovation Program (BIP). Thanks to Nicole's skill and hard work, we have successfully launched our Mentoring Program, an initiative that is proving to be very rewarding and productive for both mentors and mentees. Nicole has more to say about this program in this newsletter but I would like to offer kudos to her for what she's been able to accomplish in a very short period of time.
As part of the BIP, we have continued to provide legal and business support to students in capstone courses in English, Music and Engineering. The experience has been gratifying for all of those involved and the inter-disciplinary exchange has been especially rewarding. Shortly, we will have completed one full academic cycle of this capstone initiative and are now in a position to plan for and improve on this program for next year’s group. We are also hoping to expand our inter-disciplinary activities to include other interested Faculties and Departments on campus. In step with this and as a result of Jeanne's initiative and efforts, we have developed a more comprehensive client intake process. Having a better understanding of the client's needs and interests from the outset will be of great value to us as we expand our services. In February, Francine, Wissam and I were awarded a knowledge-synthesis grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to determine best practices in relation to the commercialization of student innovation on University campuses. Some of the most inventive and creative ideas originate with our graduate and undergraduate students. The extent to which Universities provide commercialization resources and support to these innovators may well determine the measure of their entrepreneurial success. Our findings will include a comprehensive review and analysis of the Intellectual Property (IP) Policies of all Universities in Canada with a particular emphasis on those that specifically include student innovators within their mandate. The results of our findings will dovetail nicely with the objectives of the BIP, the most important of which is to stimulate student entrepreneurship in IP or innovationintensive disciplines. Our Research Assistants, Nick Dunn and Tim Harmar, have been providing exceptional research support and our final report will be presented during the annual meeting of the Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities at the end of May.
As always, we would like to thank the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) for providing funding for the BIP. CEL is one of 9 funded institutions/centres through the OCE - Experiential Learning Program (ELP). In March, Francine, Nicole and I attended an OCE meeting at McMaster University. It was a great forum to network and exchange ideas with the other ELP-funded institutions. These meetings will continue at regular intervals and we look forward to developing closer ties with our colleagues across Ontario. I hope that you enjoy this latest edition of our newsletter. As always, thank you to Jeanne for it is she who initiates the newsletter process, determines layout and format, provides general informational content and gently prods its contributors along until it's complete.
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IF YOU ASK ME... By Paul Foster, Entrepreneur-in-Residence By Caia Wojnarowicz, J.D. Candidate 2012
Where Are They Now
PAM ALBERT is a Human Resources Specialist at Citco (Canada) Inc.
CHRIS BAILLARGEON is a Senior Consultant at Tier One Executive Search.
ANDY DUQUETTE is at Cost of Gas, Finance at Union Gas.
GEOFFREY MARR is a Corporate Finance Lawyer at Aird & Berlis LLP
If you ask me, it’s never been a better time to be a small business owner. Many of us have always known that small business is the backbone of the economy. It’s great to see the support also strong at all levels of government. Start-ups can easily find accelerators and incubators for support. It’s refreshing to see the local development commission focusing specifically on retention and expansion of existing businesses as much as attracting new business and supporting the start-ups. The banks, credit unions and other suppliers to small businesses are on board too. Small businesses tend to “dig in” to the community, providing stable employment and lots of support for local projects. They are less likely to pick up and move out of town. At the University of Windsor, there is a great and growing entrepreneurial vibe, and it’s not just in the business school. Arts, Science, Law and Business are collaborating in the spirit of creativity and innovation. At the Centre for Enterprise and Law there is a solid and growing foundation of intellectual property knowledge and experience. In the last few months as Entrepreneur in Residence, I have learned that there is much more to learn. Despite a lot of efforts, I have observed that there is still work required to get the word out and fill the communication gap. I continue to come across passionate and energetic people working on one project completely unaware of another similarly passionate group working on a similar project. The common observation is “ We didn’t know that other group existed!”. I strongly support the efforts, past and present, to break down the silos and open up the conversation between business, all levels of government, the University and the College. Success is so much easier when we can share in the same efforts, collaborate across all the players and leverage our united strengths. In closing I would like to thank Dr. Francine Schlosser, Prof. Myra Tawfik, Prof. Wissam Aoun, Dean Allan Conway, and Dean Camille Cameron for the wonderful opportunity to learn and grow among the bright young minds at C.E.L.
http://thebusinesstherapist.com/blog/
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CEL STUDENTS’ SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS
CEL Graduate TYLER McKINLEY has put his entrepreneurial knowledge to good use in the development of SKILLSWEEP.COM, Canada’s first centralized search engine for skills. SkillSweep.com is a new, unique and innovative website for job searching, wherein individuals post the skills they can offer, and the employer can search them according to their needs by accessing individuals profiles and contact information. Profiles can also be linked to social networking sites. We congratulate Tyler and wish him much success.
CEL Student ALYSSA ATKINS was singled out for special recognition recently in her appearance with the Odette Debate Team at Stanford University. The Odette team squared off against more than thirty teams from universities across the United States. Victorious in half of their debates against competitors from NYU, MIT, and Chicago, amongst others, the Odette team also received two citations at the competition. In the Novice Teams, Alyssa and Andrew Moukled came in 5th overall. In the Novice Speakers, Alyssa came in 4th overall. Currently, Odette is the only Canadian team admitted to this exclusively Ivy League American Debate Circuit.
After completing her Hon. BComm this spring, CEL Grad, EMILIE CUSHMAN has been accepted into The Next 36 program. The rigorous selection process had each candidate undergo thirteen interviews with Canadian industry leaders. The Next 36 program brings 36 top students from across Canada to live in Toronto and participate in an accelerated entrepreneurial program, held at the University of Toronto. Throughout the program, students are put into teams of 4 and are given CEO level mentors and up to $50,000 to start a high technology business. Emilie will be travelling to San Francisco to work with a team and develop their new platform moving forward. While working on her degree, she was a tour de force with her numerous club activities, designed to promote both the Odette School of Business and entrepreneurship, and to serve the Windsor community. Some of Emilie’s activities include: President of SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise), for academic year 2011/2012, where she developed the Youthrive program with local high schools ,and in partnership with the WFCU, as well as several other worthwhile community initiatives; she is also Vice President of Philanthropy for the Commerce Society where she organized various community events; Emilie was a member of the Odette team which competed at the Hult Global Case Challenge; she was the inaugural Vice President of External Affairs and Public Relations for OWIMA, the Odette Women in Management Association and she now serves as the Senior Representative. This association performs research on the successes of Women in Management and promotes avenues for young women entrepreneurs to develop a strong network in the community. Recently, Emilie won the 20120 Woman Leader of Tomorrow Award for Central Canada from Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship, at its regional exposition in March, in Toronto. We could write much, much more about Emilie’s contributions to the Odette Business School, to her fellow students, and to the Windsor community, but suffice it to say that Emilie Cushman is exceptional young woman.
CEL Student FABIO COSTANTE - along with UWindsor alumni Gary Kalaci and Denny Timm is being recognized for his professional and personal achievements as a finalist in the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce’s new Rising Star award. All of the nominees for the Rising Star award demonstrate a proven commitment to our community through outstanding scholarship and achievements, and exemplary leadership and community involvement. Fabio has earned an Hon. B.Comm, an MBA, and is currently working on a J.D. degree. He has received numerous scholarships throughout his university career. Some of Fabio’s other achievements are: He began the community blog ourwestend.com,; was a founding member of SIFE; has published a book on entrepreneurship; does consulting work with small businesses and entrepreneurs; and co-chaired Pathway To Potential’s Windsor/Essex County’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The winner of the Rising Star award will be announced at the Business Excellence Awards dinner in the spring.
CEL Graduate ANDRE CAPALDI will complete his term as President of the University of Windsor Student Alliance at the end of April. “It was such an honour to serve as student body President. It has allowed me to represent students and work on a variety of projects to improve student life on campus.” said Andre. We wish Andre every success in his career.
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MEET OUR MENTORS Nicole Sleiman, CEL Program Manager A new semester means new programs at the CEL! We have officially launched our Business of Innovation Mentoring Program, offered to student entrepreneurs and recent graduates. Following our Mentoring Forum held in November 2011, we have connected our mentees with local entrepreneurs who, for four months, offer their guidance to the entrepreneurs in order to meet their business milestones. This term, mentees include a musical band, a media company, a new tourism website and a company focused on energy audits.
We are extremely grateful to the following mentors for their generosity in mentoring young entrepreneurs. TOM LUCIER is co-owner of Phog Lounge which was voted the Best Live Music Venue in Canada, in 2009. Tom created the first paid blogger position in Windsor in 2010 by starting and maintaining the Downtown WO Blog (www.downtownwo.ca) for the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association. Using video, audio, photo, and print, Tom utilizes rich media in all of his projects, building online communities around his events and businesses. He is also a freelance writer for The Windsor Star, CBC Radio One (Windsor), CBC Radio One (Spark - National), and has held speaking engagements at the University of Windsor. As well, Tom hosts various exploratory cultural walks and trips in Windsor and Detroit.
PAUL FOSTER, C.A. is the Founder and CEO of The Business Therapist®, an online resource, coach and advisor for personal and business growth. He also serves in the capacity of Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the Odette School of Business and the Centre for Enterprise & Law. For Paul’s complete profile, please visit our web-site at http://www.uwindsor.ca/cel/entrepreneur-in-residence
SHELLEY FELLOWS is one of the founders of Radix Controls, a Windsor based company which designs and delivers advanced technological solutions to provide control of quality efficient and traceability to manufacturers in North America. Shelley is an MBA graduate of the University of Windsor. Ms. Fellows is Vice-President of Operations, and part of the management team which has lead Radix Controls to be recognized as: one of Profit magazine’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies in Canada; one of Microsoft’s rapid growth independent software vendors; and winner of the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce Innovation award. Shelley is President of the Board for Workforce Windsor Essex and a member of the Board of the Windsor Essex Economic Development Corporation.
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JOHN HARVEY has coached, educated and motivated close to three thousand small and medium business enterprises, corporations, government agencies, organizations, and communities, in Ontario and Newfoundland, over 35 years, during careers in Media Management and Financial Management., A Certified Marketer, John is also a graduate of the Investment Fund Institute of Canada and The Pacific Institute of Excellence. He has been awarded National Recognition by the Dominion Command of the Royal Canadian Legion and is a member of the Quarter Century Club of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. John has managed his own Financial Planning Practice in two provinces, and has been a Financial Advisor and Investment Representative, Consultant and Associate with Investors Group in Windsor. He serves as a mentor with the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, and is a member of WETech Alliance. LOUISE SAAD is a hands-on, multi-unit owner and franchisee trainer who has grown with Quiznos Sub over the last five years. She is the President of Marketing Depot Inc., a consulting firm for Small Businesses. Her sixteen years of Business Management experience is supported by her Bachelor of Commerce degree, with strengths in Marketing and Operations. Throughout her career, she has found a true passion and calling for the development of Business Models, and is looking forward to working with, and for, entrepreneurs while sharing her ideas to build the dream.
PETER GEORGE has been an entrepreneur his entire working career with a concentration & emphasis in sales and marketing. In January of 2010, he and his partners have been building and developing Renewable Solar Energy projects in the Micro Fit category in the Province of Ontario. This is being done though Green Energy and Green Economy Act. These projects, once completed in Spring of 2012 will be in excess of 11 Mega Watts. Peter is a graduate of the University of Windsor and resides in Lakeshore.
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DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA CEL SEMINAR By Nicole Sleiman, CEL Program Manager
On February 29th, 2012, the CEL hosted a Doing Business in China seminar at the Downtown Windsor Business Accelerator. The event consisted of three guest speakers (featured below) who spent time doing business in China and were able to bring their real-life experiences to the forum. With an audience of 40, the event proved to be a great success, boasting a very effective networking session that followed. Look out for more CEL events like this in the future! Shaoye Dai Shaoye Dai is a 3rd year student in the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Law and will begin articling in August, 2012, in the China Group of a national firm. Previously, Shaoye was the in-house lawyer at China Construction Bank for two years. Prior to that, he worked on the China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Fujian project for four years. Shaoye Dai is the Board Director of the Chinese Association of Greater Windsor.
Henry Lau Henry Law is the owner of asset management company Henry Holdings Inc. since 1999, and, since 2007, owner of Far East Pioneer Technology Inc, a company for high tech product sales, marketing and communication support. Henry is an Advisor and the Committee Chairperson of the International Relations Committee in supporting the communication for the City of Windsor Government, since 2003. He is a former board member and former President of the Essex County Chinese-Canadian Association (2000 -2008).
Tony Mao Tony Mao is the founder of the private consulting firm KM International Canada, specializing in strategic international expansion since 2008. He is the former General Manager of Isaac Technologies, overseeing North American operations and outsourcing to Asian countries. As well, Tony is the founder of Huaye International Auto World, one of the first international automobile dealership chains in south China. He is an International Business sessional lecturer at the Odette School of Business, where he also received his MBA.
In case you missed it - you can stream the seminar from the CEL website! www.uwindsor.ca/cel
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BOOK REPORT: FIXING THE GAME, by Roger Martin Review By Jeff Burton, Hon. BComm Candidate 2012 Fixing the Game by Roger Martin is a book that contrasts the current operation of financial markets with those of the National Football League. The book critically analyzes the problems in today’s financial markets due to the focus that is currently placed on the expectations market by CEO’s. The fact that most CEO’s are being compensated through stock options, which are distributed for free, gives them the incentive to take unnecessary risks and endanger the real value of the firm in which shareholders believe they are investing . Furthermore, CEO’s are pressured by analysts to meet expectations with uncanny precision by taking steps such as moving revenues and expenses to the current or future quarters, because the effect of missing these expectations can send stock prices (and CEO stock options) tumbling in value. The NFL however doesn’t focus on expectations; they care more about the interests of the fans and putting a product on the field that brings parity to the game. Throughout history the commissioners of the league have tweaked the rules when they see that the game’s equilibrium has shifted too much to either the offense or defense. Martin says that regulatory authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission must step in like the commissioners of the NFL to bring parity back to the stock market and shift the focus back to the real market (the consumers). Martin praises firms such as Johnson and Johnson for always putting the customer first and knowing that real value will be created if the company can continue to produce products that customers want. Overall, Fixing the Game is a must read for any business student or fan of the National Football League. Martin presents the material in simplistic terms and explains financial concepts in detail. However, experts in the field will see value in the perspectives and ideas outlined in Fixing the Game. In conclusion, I enjoyed this book due to its thoroughly articulate presentation of financial concepts and improvements that can be made to the financial markets by drawing on the ideas successfully instituted by the National Football League.
Business of Innovation Program Workshop By Tanya Nikolic, Hon. BComm Candidate 2012 On March 15, 2012, the Centre for Enterprise and Law put on an incredible Business of Innovation Program workshop at the McPherson Lounge in Alumni Hall. With over 40 attendees ranging from student entrepreneurs to recent graduates, student presenters covered topics on entrepreneurship on campus, an overview of intellectual property, as well as tips on financing your business. We also had several great guest speakers that presented on local funding opportunities. The guest speakers were Kaitlyn Metz from Workforce Windsor/Essex, Dr. Francine Schlosser from Centre for Enterprise and Law, Sabrina DeMarco from the Windsor/Essex Small Business Enterprise Centre, Irek Kusmieczyk from WEtech Alliance, and Steve Colbert and Jessie Maggard from the Ontario Centre of Excellence.
The Business Plan Competition Six applicants submitted business plans in the competition. CEL has selected the business plan of Liquid Wild to be entered in the Discovery 2012 Business Plan Competition, sponsored by the Ontario Centre of Excellence, where-in a start-up business has a chance to win $25,000. University of Windsor (CEL) is one of nine universities funded by the OCE’s Experiential Learning Program, eligible to participate in the OCE ELP Discovery Competition (http://www.ocediscovery.com/competitions2012.aspx). The entrepreneurs with the best business plan from each university will travel to Toronto on May 14th to present their start-up business plans at the Toronto Convention Centre. CEL wishes the best of luck to the Liquid Wild team.
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PRINCIPLES OF CONTRACT LAW By Fabio Costante, J.D. (Candidate 2013), M.B.A., Hon.BComm.
I bet you that there is a good chance that you made a contract with someone today. Contracts happen everyday, all the time, whether you know it or not. So what is a contract, you may ask? Simply put, a contract is an agreement between two or more parties, made orally or in writing, where a party gives something in return for something from the other party. By its plain language, it seems pretty straightforward and I am confident that you can think of a contract that you made sometime today, if not this week, with someone else. The question thus becomes: if your contract were to be brought before a court, would it be legally enforceable? There are several elements that must be met for a contract to be legally binding, and this oftentimes makes what seems as a straightforward proposition, a complex, sometimes very litigious area of law, particularly business law. A contract requires a “meeting of the minds” of the parties on all essential matters relating to it, also known as consensus ad idem. However, rather than trying to find the real subjective intention of each party, the courts have generally applied the dispassionate and objective test of the reasonable man. This objective standard permeates throughout contract law and is something to keep in mind as we go through the essential elements of a contract. Another important factor to keep in mind is that a contract can be manifested into a written form or it can simply be a verbal contract between two or more parties; thus, it does not have to be in writing for it to be legally binding. The first element of a contract is an “offer.” This is the first step in creating a contract. An offer can be negotiated or revoked prior to an acceptance. An offer means one person's signification to another of his or her willingness to enter into a legally binding agreement with that other person on certain terms. The objective standard of a reasonable person applies when evaluating words and conduct to assess the existence of contractual intent. An offer, however, without acceptance is not a contract and therefore not legally enforceable. This leads us to the second element: “acceptance.” Acceptance can be either implied or expressed. An implied acceptance is denoted primarily by the party’s conduct. Alternatively, it can be expressed through a party’s words or a seal/signature on the written contract. Once the acceptance is made the contract must be fulfilled by the parties. If a party does not hold their end of the bargain, then the other party can seek legal action for the completion or breach of the contract. Finally, an acceptance must be one in which a reasonable person apprised of the circumstances could confidently understand to be an acceptance of the offer. The third element of a contract is “consideration.” This means that each contracting party must exchange something of value, in the sense that the act or promise of one party must be "bought" or "bargained for" by the act or promise of the other. Each party must get something from the contract, i.e money, property (car, house), rights to occupy (leases), services, etc. Consideration is set by the parties but the court can intervene if it is unreasonable. And like the other elements, there is no contract without consideration. Lastly, the courts will look at other important issues such as the capacity of the party to contract; that is, being at least 18 years old (in Ontario), being free from mental disability, understanding the terms of the agreement, etc. Moreover, the courts will further determine if both parties contracted in good-faith and if the contract was unconscionable, so much so that it “shocks the conscience” of the court. In such a case, a contract may meet all of the elements aforementioned but still not be legally enforceable because its gross unfairness outweighs its mere technical formalities in the court’s pursuit of justice.
The purpose of this article is to provide you with a broad sense of contract law. It is by no means intended to be legal advice but more an educational awareness of this dynamic and important area of law. For legal advice on any contract matter, please contact a lawyer and always remember, although a verbal contract is binding in law, when forming a contract, parties are strongly encouraged to put everything in writing and be as detailed as possible to avoid any uncertainty. Canadian Encyclopedic Digest; Contracts; I — Basis of Contract; Consensus Ad Idem Canadian Encyclopedic Digest; Contracts; II — Formation of Contract — Offer and Acceptance Ibid Canadian Encyclopedic Digest; Contracts; III — Consideration for Contract
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OWIMA ACTIVITIES By Ashley Routliffe, Hon. BComm Candidate 2012 CEL and the Odette Women in Management Association (OWIMA) joined together to host the first “A Toast to Opportunities in Windsor” event. This event was held on January 24th of this year at the Downtown Windsor Business Accelerator. The event was open to all University of Windsor students from all faculties. Maureen Lucas, President of LucasWorks!, and Helga Reidel, Chief Administrative Officer of the City of Windsor, both from the Windsor-Essex community, were guest speakers at the event. Maureen and Helga gave different, yet equally knowledgeable, insight on how to achieve future career goals, illustrated by examples from their own careers and life experiences. Not only did they both give well-informed advice, they additionally gave students tools to explore different opportunities in Windsor-Essex County and to overcome the challenges that students will inevitably face. Before and after the keynote speeches, there was an opportunity to network with both Maureen and Helga, as wine and cheese were served. There was a great turn-out of attendees, the majority being business students. CEL and OWIMA would like to say a special thank you to the Downtown Windsor Business Accelerator for hosting the event at their new facility located on 720 Ouellette Avenue in the downtown core. Additionally, another thank you goes out to the Ontario Centres of Excellence for helping to support this event.
BOOK REPORT: Letters to My Daughters, By Fawzia Koofi Review by Alyssa Atkins, Hon. BComm Candidate 2012 Letters to My Daughters was a profoundly moving book about a woman’s perseverance and strength in a man’s world. Only minutes old, Fawzia was left outside in the blazing sun to be cooked to death because she was a girl. When Fawzia was very young her father was killed trying to stand up for the citizens of Afghanistan, something that would not be a foreign concept to Fawzia throughout the rest of her journey. Due to her father’s strong political views, her family quickly became hunted prey. Fawzia had a passion for education and dreamed of being a medical doctor. Fawzia was forced into a sheltered and oppressive cave behind her burka where her voice was muted and her identity concealed. Eventually the Taliban rule became so tyrannical that it was a risk for women to even leave the house. Eventually Fawzia become involved in politics where she could use her voice to speak out for all of those who had been muted by the ever tenacious Taliban. She risked her life so that others could salvage theirs. To me, Fawzia Koofi is the epitome of strength, not only demonstrating the issues women face in the world, but that anyone faces in a business; you can give up when you’re being hunted or you can persist. She perfectly exemplified that life cannot be defined by those around you, but only by your own beliefs and determination. Fawzia’s scars from her childhood made her strong; they branded her with the discrimination women faced at this time which ignited her to speak out for the women whose voices are muted. After losing the people closest to her, she remained strong because she had to. She is now running in the 2014 Afghanistan Presidential Election, although it may cost her her life. This book demonstrated the ability to break through the glass ceiling (that is not always so much glass) through persistence and being true to yourself. Fawzia never compromised her values and always stood up for what was right. This book outlines the qualitative aspects of an astute business person that are often lacking in today’s business world. I recommend this to anyone in business because Fawzia Koofi is the quintessence of what it means to be a trail-blazer. She is strong, persistent, and a loud voice for those who are violently and oppressively muted. This book holds value in more than just a feminist perspective. Fawzia exemplifies precisely how to defeat the many barriers that any entrepreneur or business person will face, which is that what you do when faced with obstacles defines what kind of entrepreneur you are. Fawzia’s life was saturated with obstacles, oppression, and people trying to silence her and put her where society thought she fit. However, she exuberantly broke out of that mold and let no man, woman, or government stop her from achieving what she set out to do. Fawzia Koofi is a leader, an incredible writer, a loving mother, a caring teacher, an inspiring politician, and a brilliant female activist.
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By Paul Schlosser, CEL Graduate, MBA Candidate 2012
Over reading week, a team of MBAs from The Odette School of Business travelled to San Francisco, California to compete in the HULT Global Case Challenge regional finals. This is a competition run in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and the Clinton Global Initiative at HULT International Business School that has student teams of five from universities around the world try to find solutions to social challenges such as energy, education, and housing in impoverished areas. There are regional finals in the 5 cities of London, Shanghai, Dubai, Boston and San Francisco with the winners of each city travelling to New York City to present their solution to Bill Clinton, among others. The winner of each stream receives $1 million to implement their initiative. Odette made it to the regional finals in San Francisco, competing against such schools as Yale, Stanford, Columbia and Michigan. CEL had three alumni on the team— Ben Iannetta, Emilie Cushman, and Paul Schlosser—who, along with team mates Brian Denneny and Ben Parent, competed in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, in the housing stream. Their solution to the global housing problem was a combination of centralizing financing operations, educating home owners on home ownership basics, as well as a "finance a family" loan program wherein families/individuals with disposable income make interest free loans to habitat families. The team made an impressive presentation on its idea to solve the global housing problem through Habitat for Humanity’s global network. The University of Windsor should be proud to take part in such a global competition that received over 4000 applications and competed among 300 schools worldwide. Hult will have to wait until next year to see what the students from the University of Windsor will come up with!
ODETTE’S HULT TEAM: Left to Right: Paul Schlosser, Emilie Cushman Brian Denneny Ben Parent Ben Iannetta
CENTRE FOR ENTERPRISE & LAW 360 Sunset Ave. Windsor, ON
For More Information on our programs, please go to: www.uwindsor.ca/cel www.uwindsor.ca/Odette www.uwindsor.ca/law LinkedIn: CEL Facebook: CEL UWindsor
Phone: (519) 253-3000 Ext. 4627 Fax: (519) 971-3684 Email: jdeslip@uwindsor.ca
We encourage alumni, clients and community partners to send us comments and suggestions, regarding our Newsletter, and to friend us on LinkedIn and Facebook. We would also like to hear from other readers. If you would like to become involved in our programs, whether as a client or as a mentor, please contact Mentors: Nicole Sleiman at nsleiman@uwindsor.ca Clients: Jeanne Deslippe at jdeslip@uwindsor.ca or at the phone number on the left. We will notify you of upcoming events and future programs on our website at www.uwindsor.ca/cel and in future newsletters.
Twitter: @celwindsor
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CEL CLASS OF WINTER 2012