On March 14, 2025, members of the Desautels community gathered to celebrate the recipients of the 45th Desautels Management Achievement Awards. This ceremony was held at McGill鈥檚 Faculty Club, bringing the 51吃瓜网Desautels community together with members of Montreal鈥檚 local business community to highlight the significant contributions of four outstanding businesspeople selected by a committee of current students.
Founded in 1979 and organized by passionate BCom students, like this year鈥檚 co-executive directors Jeanne Coquerel and Mah茅 Parent茅 Benard, in addition to celebrating the accomplishments of this year鈥檚 honourees, the DMAAs provide students with the opportunity to engage with the business community.
Dean Yolande Chan opened the event with a few inspiring words, before handing it over to the DMAA team, who introduced the first award of the afternoon, the Desautels Young Inspiration Award, presented to Aaron Stern (BCom鈥�06), the Founder of Converium Capital, and Desautels International Advisory and Advancement Board (DIAAB) member Sharon Stern (BA鈥�07), President of Eastmore Management and Metro Investments.
The Young Inspiration Award rewards young leaders who have proven successful in their field despite their age.
鈥淚t鈥檚 such an incredible honour to be receiving this award today,鈥� said Sharon. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very grateful to all the students and the Faculty, and to everyone who voted for us for this.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 so touching for us,鈥� Aaron added. 鈥�51吃瓜网has been so instrumental for us in our careers and getting us to where we needed to be, helping us with shaping our network, our views, and so instrumental from the teachers, the community, so for us to be able to be recognized by our peers and by the next generation is incredibly touching and we hope that we can continue to shape the next generation through our advice and mentorship.鈥�
Following the presentation of the Young Inspiration Award, TC Transcontinental Executive Chair of the Board, Isabelle Marcoux, CM (BA鈥�91, BCL鈥�94) was honoured with a Desautels Management Achievement Award.
As Executive Chair of the Board, Isabelle Marcoux oversees the company's strategy and development, as well as the Media sector. She is also a champion of various programs, including community involvement, diversity and inclusion, and corporate social responsibility.
With industries rapidly changing, she highlighted three main characteristics that leaders should have: adaptability, resilience and a growth mindset.
鈥淲e need to adapt to changing environments,鈥� she said. 鈥�Resilience is learning from mistakes, getting back up when there are roadblocks and seeing the roadblocks as opportunities. Finally, and most importantly, a growth mindset. That means learning, that means being humble enough to want to learn, to grow, to always evolve.鈥�
To close out the awards portion of the luncheon, the DMAA committee presented Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO of the BDC with the Desautels Lifetime Achievement Award.
A businesswoman and diplomat, Isabelle Hudon has brought an ambitious and action-oriented vision to all of the organizations she has led. In addition to her duties at BDC, Isabelle is co-chair of the Ordre de Montr茅al鈥檚 Council and the co-founder of The A Effect. She previously served as the Personal Representative of the Prime Minister of Canada for La Francophonie and sat on the boards of directors of Hydro-Qu茅bec, Groupe Marcelle, Holt Renfrew and the Canada Council for the Arts.
鈥淚t feels special to know that a group of young people, or should I say, younger people, and probably too young to know me from real life experience, have found in my story the attributes worthy of such a recognition,鈥� she said when accepting the award.
As someone who did not benefit from the teaching of business school programs, she expressed her gratitude for this award presented to her by one of the world鈥檚 leading business schools, and the opportunity to share in this moment with those who have been by her side throughout her career.
鈥淭his award is an exceptional privilege,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ot only for what it represents, but also because it comes with this great gift of seeing seated right in front of me individuals who have each played important roles in my career.鈥�
She also emphasized the importance of curiosity and courage, two key attributes for aspiring leaders.
Wrapping up the event, there was a panel discussion where this year鈥檚 awardees shared defining moments in their careers and advice for future generations of leaders.
Isabelle Marcoux shared her experience joining the Weston Board of Directors at just 37, making her the youngest person, let alone woman, to sit on the board of a TSX60 company.
鈥淎t the time, Weston was a $35 billion company, and I was nowhere ready to join that board,鈥� she recalled. 鈥�You'll never be fully prepared for the roles that are offered to you, but you should take them on. You should have the confidence to learn on the job, because we can learn on the job. So, raise your hand, jump without a parachute, accept roles. This is how you grow.鈥�
Sharon Stern followed up, echoing this perspective with her own experience 鈥渏umping without a parachute,鈥� as she joined the board of a publicly traded company undergoing a massive restructuring.
鈥淚t was right up my alley, but I had never done it at the public company level,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚 was never in the media, and it was very, very scary. Aaron really pushed me out the door, and he said, 鈥榊ou do private, you do public, you learn it all, you figure it out.鈥欌��
They were ultimately successful in turning the company around, selling it for 100 per cent return to shareholders, and she looks back on this experience as a great privilege.
鈥淭o this day, it's one of my greatest accomplishments,鈥� she said. 鈥淚'm so grateful that I did that despite the fact that it was so terrifying at the time, and I will never say no again.鈥�
Aaron recounted a similar experience when at 28 years old, he was brought in as a distressed debt investor to help restructure the island of Puerto Rico鈥檚 debts. His team came in with consultants, some with experience working with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and while there was some receptivity, the proposed solution was also met with a lot of dissent.
鈥淲hat I realized in that process was there were so many stakeholders,鈥� he explained. 鈥淪o, we went back to the drawing board and basically took the time to understand what each of the stakeholders needed to get it done. It was an amazing sense of pride for me to be able to do something which involves so many stakeholders.鈥�
It also shaped his view on leadership, emphasizing the importance of taking the time to understand what each stakeholder needs and how a proposed solution can be made mutually beneficial for all parties.
鈥淚t's a lot easier to get something done when you have buy-in from many stakeholders than it is when you're trying to force something down on somebody or a group of individuals,鈥� he said.
For Isabelle Hudon, her experience in diplomacy, as Canadian Ambassador to France and Monaco under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, helped her to refine her skills in negotiation.
鈥淲orking in the financial sector, you cannot succeed without getting pretty good at negotiating,鈥� she said. 鈥淒iplomacy is all about influence, and it's all about words. It's all about ideas, and I had to negotiate on words, ideas, dreams or contradictions. When I came back to take the role at BDC, I presented myself in front of my new colleagues saying that I think I'm a better negotiator today than I was in 2017 because learning to be good at negotiating on words is nothing comparable to negotiating on numbers.鈥�
This event was made possible through the generous support of many individuals and corporate sponsors, including BDC, Chubb, TC Transcontinental, and 51吃瓜网 Advancement.
Desautels Management Achievement Awards (DMAA)
Every year, members of the 51吃瓜网Desautels community come together to celebrate the year鈥檚 recipients of the Desautels Management Achievement Awards (DMAA). This event is organized by 51吃瓜网Desautels undergraduate students to honour business leaders who have made a significant contribution to society, both through their success in business and their community involvement. The event also provides an opportunity for students to network with industry professionals.
