Engineering & Management Program

Salman Bawa

 ENGNMGT 2AA3 Instructor

Email: bawask@mcmaster.ca

Glen Crossley

 ENGNMGT 4A03 Instructor

Email: crosslg@mcmaster.ca

Lisa Vespi

 ENGNMGT 5B03 Instructor

Email: 

Adam Vespi

 ENGNMGT 2AA3 Instructor

ENGNMGT 5B03 Instructor

Email: vespia@mcmaster.ca

In the fast-paced Wireless industry, Scott is working to launch his third start-up to disrupt the $30B market for used Smartphones and create an efficient Mobile Marketplace (Cellbie.com).  In his previous start-up with mce Systems from Israel, as an investor and head of Business / Partner Development, Scott was instrumental in landing major contracts with Bell Canada, Rogers, Telefonica, EverythingEverywhere and Dixons Carphone.

Scott has also leveraged his breadth into a successful career in a start-up in the food industry which was successfully sold in 2009 to Heinz. Scott was Chief Operating Officer at Arthur’s Fresh which was in the Healthy Food business, manufacturing and distributing Healthy Fruit Smoothies nationally to Loblaw’s, Metro, Costco, Wal-Mart and thru channels into schools and hospitals. 

Prior to joining Arthur’s Fresh in 2007, Scott held various executive positions with Nortel Networks in Atlanta, Georgia; Ottawa and Brampton, Ontario. In Nortel, Scott was prime in Product Management, Product Marketing, Business development, and sales in a variety of divisions from Access to Optical to Carrier Ethernet. 

Scott holds a Masters of Business Administration from McMaster University as well as an Electrical Engineering & Management bachelors’ degree from McMaster University. 

Scott and his family now live in Oakville, Ontario.

Christine Ermarkaryan is based in Oakville, Ontario, and has over 30 years of experience in industry using her Chemical Engineering & Management degree along with her MBA, both from McMaster.  Prior to working as an independent Research Funding Consultant and Audit Recovery Specialist for over 20 years, Christine was a Project Manager with the Industrial Division at Zenon Environmental/GE Water and now Suez, a global leader in water treatment equipment and membrane design. Prior to this, Christine was a Project Engineer at Ecodyne Limited focusing mainly on water treatment as well as the development of an in-house IT system. In addition, Christine also has several years of experience as a Technical Writer and Technical Support Advisor both for the water treatment industry and the power generation industry from her years at Ontario Hydro.

As of 2000, Christine runs her own consulting business securing research and development government funding claims for clients in a diverse array of industries; including those involved with water treatment, steel, power generation (geothermal, nuclear, solar), textiles, electrical cable manufacturing, software, plastics, chemical supply, automotive, sound attenuation, tool and dye manufacturing, lighting systems, and food processing.  She has experience with NGEN, IRAP, SR&ED, and the Research Tax Credit (RTC) program in the United States.  She prides herself on an outstanding record of funding and audit successes with utmost efficiency.

Christine is a P.Eng., with a degree in Chemical Engineering & Management (1990), and an MBA, both from McMaster University.  She most recently served as a member of the McMaster Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board and was named one of the 150 Top Alumni of McMaster Engineering.

Michelle George is Vice President of Engineering for Enbridge Gas Inc. and a member of Enbridge’s Executive Leadership Team. 

In her role as VP of Engineering, Michelle is accountable for all engineering design, control, and integrity functions to enable the safe and reliable operations of the utility’s system. She also has accountability for the asset management function as well as the design and execution of the utility’s Integrated Management System. 

Michelle has been with Enbridge for over 23 years and has held roles in engineering and construction, field operations, and centralized support functions in Ontario and Texas. 

Michelle is active in the energy industry – she is a member of the Board of Directors for the Chicago-based Gas Technology Institute's Operations Technology Development group; a member of the Natural Gas Advisory Council for the Ontario Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA); and a member of the American Gas Association's Managing Committee. 

Michelle is a Professional Engineer and graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering & Management. She lives in Aurora, Ontario with her husband and her two kids. 

Regional Director, Customer & Logistics Services (CLS), Johnson & Johnson

As Regional Director for Canada, Paul has leadership responsibility for all customer service, logistics, distribution, and transportation functions across all three J&J business sectors.  These include Consumer Products, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceuticals. He is a member of the J&J Canadian Leadership team for both the Medical Devices and Consumer businesses.

Prior to this role, Paul served as Director of the J&J CLS NA Strategy and Portfolio Management and Director of Customer Logistics for the J&J Consumer Canadian business.

Paul joined Johnson & Johnson in 2010 from Procter and Gamble where worked for 12 years in a variety across Manufacturing, Distribution, Customer Logistics, and Sales. Paul has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering & Management degree, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from McMaster University.  

Paul is known for his strategic thinking, engaging leadership style, and his ability to lead teams to achieve outstanding performance in collaboration with internal partners and external customers. He lives in Toronto with his wife and three beautiful daughters.

Senior Director, Business Services Implementation, Loblaw Companies Limited

Iris has over 20 years of experience in leading transformational change. She started her career in management consulting with Accenture after graduating from Engineering & Management. Following that, she became a Six Sigma Black Belt at Maple Leaf Foods, learning the methodology and leading continuous improvement initiatives. This led to a move into Director level positions leading strategic and transformational initiatives at Maple Leaf Foods, before moving on to Indigo Books to grow a Continuous Improvement capability from grassroots. 

Iris spent four years at Manulife Investment Management leading a team of continuous improvement & Lean Six Sigma experts, driving transformation, standardization, and process automation in the Finance and Investment Operations areas. She built this team from grassroots and led them in driving a new culture of process thinking for Manulife Investment Management.

As the lead of Business Services Implementation at Loblaw Companies Limited, Iris is spearheading a number of initiatives in the Finance Transformation space, including the further development of an existing Enterprise Business Services practice.

Iris received her Bachelors of Chemical Engineering & Management from McMaster University in 1997.

Mazen is the president of Origin and Cause and specializes in fire investigation, electrical and electronic failures, product liability, and alarm system analysis. With over 28 years of experience in the industry, he has performed over 3000 fire, product liability, and alarm system investigations.

Mazen is a licensed professional engineer and designated consulting engineer and is qualified as an expert witness in civil and criminal courts in three provinces. He is also certified at two levels by the Canadian Alarm and Security Association as an alarm technician.

Mazen has a Bachelor of Electrical & Computer Engineering degree from McMaster University.

Susan Kilburn is currently Chief Operating Officer at LightPoint Financial Technology. She has over 25 years of leadership experience. Her roles have spanned many industries, with a focus on process optimization, business/IT alignment, and large-scale business transformation. Prior to joining LightPoint, Susan was working as an independent consultant, providing executive guidance to organizations on complex change management initiatives. Other roles that Susan has held include Vice President, Solution Management at Rogers Communications, and Vice President, IT Engagement Services at Symcor. Susan currently serves as Vice-Chair on the Burlington Hydro Board of Directors, and Chair of their Governance and Risk Committee. 

Susan graduated from Engineering Physics & Management in 1992. She lives in Burlington with her husband Mike and their son Damon.

Marlene Lenarduzzi is a financial services executive leader in Risk Management and Banking. She most recently served as Chief Risk Officer for BMO Ireland supporting the bank’s Brexit-related expansion. Previously, Marlene led the Model Validation enterprise risk function for BMO Financial Group, accountable for the assessment and validation of models, including the evaluation and management of enterprise model risk.  

Her previous roles include Vice-President North American Business Services for BMO Financial Group, supporting the Canadian and US Personal and Commercial Bank accountable for delivering customer-centric fraud management and authentication experiences to BMO’s Personal and Commercial customers across North America 

Ms. Lenarduzzi also held the role of Vice-President Canadian Consumer Credit Risk Enterprise Risk & Portfolio Management, BMO Financial Group, and was accountable for the appropriate risk oversight and ensuring regulatory compliance for P&C’s consumer segment. 

Ms. Lenarduzzi began her career with BMO in 1998 working in analytics for credit cards. She progressed to more senior credit risk analytics roles at another Financial Institution and rejoined BMO in 2007 as part of the Consumer Portfolio Management Group within P&C Risk where she was accountable for improving in Basel II Risk Quantification and Validation, and automated loan decisioning processes. 

Holding a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, a Master of Applied Science (Chemical Engineering), and an MBA, coupled with over 20 years of banking experience, Ms. Lenarduzzi has a unique combination of technical skills and business acumen and a proven track record in delivering change. 

Rob has grown Oakville Enterprises and its family of businesses to become a leading energy and infrastructure services organization throughout Ontario and beyond. Through 12 operating brands, OEC operates a dynamic portfolio of synergistic businesses specializing in Electricity Distribution, Infrastructure Services, Energy Services, and Generation.

Previous roles at Toronto Hydro, Earth Energy, Management Consulting, OZZ Energy Solutions and Horizon Utilities have contributed to Rob’s broad range of expertise in leading and growing organizations.  

Community and industry participation includes the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Energy Association, Board of Directors of the Canadian Electricity Association, Vice-Chair of the GridSmartCity Board of Directors, former Board of Directors of United Way Oakville, and 2015 Chair of the United Way Oakville Campaign Cabinet, Board of Advisors for the Entripy Group, and member of the McMaster Engineering and Management Industrial Advisory Council.  Under his leadership, OEC was the proud recipient of the Ontario Energy Association’s 2017 Company of the Year Award.  Rob was also honoured to receive the 2018 Leader of the Year Award from Electricity Human Resources Canada.

He is a professional engineer, with a degree in Electrical Engineering & Management, and an MBA, both from McMaster University.

Mr. Magyarody retired as CEO of the Ontario Medical Association. He sat as the OMA Representative on the Board of OntarioMD Inc as well as the Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare. He continues as a Governor of the Ontario Medical Foundation. 

Previous to that he was Executive Director and CEO of the Ontario Dental Association for over 14 years. Prior to the ODA, he was the Executive Director, Corporate Affairs and Admin at the Ontario Medical Association for over 7 years. 

He is a senior executive with over 38 years of management experience in health care association management, financial services sector (Commercial Union), and manufacturing (aerospace - McDonnell Douglas).

He has been a board member on For-Profit as well as Not for Profit Boards over the last 20 years. This includes AccertaClaim Servicorp Inc. (Shareholder rep, Audit Com. and HR Com.) and Centric Health Corp. (Chair of Nominating and Corporate Gov Com., Audit Com, HR Com.).

He has a Bachelors's Degree in Mechanical Engineering & Management, and a Master of Business Administration, both from McMaster University. 

CEO, Deeplite

Deeplite is a Canadian AI software company dedicated to enabling AI everywhere. Deeplite uses AI to automatically make other AI models faster, smaller, and more energy-efficient creating highly compact, high-performance deep neural networks for deployment on edge devices such as cameras, sensors, drones, phones, and vehicles.  Deeplite was recently named to the CB Insights AI100 list of the world’s most promising and innovative private artificial intelligence startups.

Nick is a serial entrepreneur, an accomplished CEO, senior Enterprise Technology executive, Outside Director, and Advisor delivering successful outcomes through leadership, integrity, innovation, and empowerment for over 20 years. Prior to Deeplite Nick was cofounder and CEO of several successful Canadian tech companies including Messagepoint, Prinova Software, and Prinova Technologies. 

Nick leverages extensive experience in corporate governance, formulating and executing cross-functional strategic plans, developing go-to-market strategies including product, marketing, and sales. A revenue-driven executive focused on growing and scaling companies whether organic or externally funded.

Nick earned his Bachelor of Engineering & Management in Mechanical Engineering from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and was recently honored by McMaster’s Engineering Faculty as being one of their Top 150 Distinguished Alumni for the role they’ve played in shaping Canada and the world. 

CEO, Datec Coating Corporation and Managing Partner, Trellis Capital Corp.

As Managing Partner at the Toronto-based venture capital company, Trellis Capital, Dominic provides hands-on operational support to portfolio companies. He is currently CEO of Datec Coating Corporation, a material technologies company. Under his leadership, Datec has grown from the pre-commercial stage to have a strong roster of blue-chip customers.

Dominic has extensive board experience and is currently a Director on the Board of several companies including Datec, Volante Systems, iS5 Communications, Teraspan, and the Hamilton Innovation Factory.

Previously, Dominic was Investment Director at BDC Venture Capital and General Manager of GE Industrial Systems Canada.  He has also taught venture capital at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business.

Dominic is a graduate of McMaster Mechanical Engineering & Management (’92) and holds a Master of Business Administration from The Schulich School of Business.

Recognized as a dynamic team leader with a proven track record of creating innovative business solutions, Adam has more than 15 years of product management experience and leading large teams to growth in the loyalty, insurance, and financial services industries.

Adam is currently the Associate Vice President of Insurance & Services at Canadian Tire Bank and a Sessional Instructor of innovation and marketing at McMaster University.

Adam has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering & Management degree (2008), and a Master of Business Administration (2017) degree from McMaster University.