Business conference educates and inspires PSB students

Nearly 250 students gathered at Sheridan’s Hazel McCallion Campus for the second annual Business Conference. The event was hosted by Sheridan’s Alumni department and the Pilon School of Business, and Sheridan’s business students took a leading role in the development and execution of the event.

Sponsored by RBC Future Launch, the afternoon conference aimed to educate, inspire and motivate Sheridan students by connecting them with business leaders from a variety of positions and industry sectors.

The day kicked off with a rousing keynote address from entrepreneur and international business speaker Sean Wise. From there, students had the opportunity to attend panel presentations and participate in networking boot camps, giving our business leaders of tomorrow the chance to learn about the local and broader business world.

Select PSB students participated in a round table networking session with business leaders, including alumni from Sheridan’s Business Hall of Fame.

See some highlights from the event below, and check out a gallery from the day on Sheridan Alumni’s Facebook Page.

Former Dragon’s Den advisor Sean Wise started the conference with a keynote that addressed the importance of entrepreneurs in today’s market. “Entrepreneurs are the new rock stars,” said Wise, referencing the celebrity culture of entrepreneurship. He encouraged students to follow their own entrepreneurial dreams, noting that there’s no reason for students to be afraid of start-up success.

RBC’s Joe Atallah, financial advisor, and AJ Grgorinic, commercial account manager, hosted a self-discovery session to help students reflect on their skills and guide them on using those skills to plan their career futures.

Brent Chaters (Interactive Multimedia ’00), managing director of digital customer and market transformation practice at Accenture, hosted a workshop centered on digital marketing branding.

Co-Founder of the Student Life Network Stephen Sills (Illustration ’07) shared branding lessons that would make future employers take notice.

A panel of alumni shared their journey to becoming successful entrepreneurs. Moderated by Renee Devereaux, Director, Entrepreneurship and Changemaking, the panel featured: Trina Boos (Advertising ’02), president and founder of Boost Agents; Leanne Dowdall (Illustration ’08), owner of Crafty Creatures; Shauna-Kay Jones (Software Development and Network Engineering ’15), founder of Motify; and Andrew Motta (Business Admin. Finance ’09), owner of Bacon Nation.

Moderated by Victoria Renton, Professor of Marketing, a panel of human resources professionals provided students with advice on how to transition from school to the workforce. Left to right: Nicole Brocklebank (Business Admin. Marketing ’09), senior talent acquisition specialist with TEKsystems; Aaron Pacheco (Business Admin. HR ’10), senior recruitment specialist with RBC Insurance; Melissa Thomas (HR Management ’14), human resources business partner at Rexall Pharmacy Group.