Board of Directors & Committee Members

The Young Associates is a prominent group of Manitoba’s young leaders. The Board of Directors and the Committee members are comprised of professionals, entrepreneurs, and future leaders in Manitoba’s business community and the Asper School of Business.

Joshua Zaporzan

Chair
Owner & President
Audax Ventures

Corinne Gusnoski

Vice-Chair
Business Development Manager
New Media

Connor Egan

School Relations Committee Chair
Client Services Associate
Wellington-Altus Private Wealth

Stephanie Kalo

Recruitment Committee Chair
Senior Accountant
KPMG

Matthew Thomson

IGNITE Committee Chair
Strategic Sourcing Business Analyst
NFI Group

Felipe Garcia

Engagement Committee Chair
Head of Partnerships
Small Screen Inc.

Melani Fernando

President
Commerce Students’ Association

Leah Inglis

Financial Advisor
Lawton Partners Wealth Management

Michael Juce

President & CEO
Manitoba Hotel Association

Kondwelani Kalinda

Associate Investment Advisor
Endeavor Wealth Management

Ty Kushnir

Commercial Account Manager
RBC Royal Bank

Adam Nepon

Founder
MBA Consulting & Co

Andrew Proven

Senior Corporate Financial Reporting Analyst
Bird Construction

Sophie Touchette

Senior Business Advisor
CIBC

Celyna Yu

Lawyer
Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP

Committees

The Associates Liaisons

Joshua Zaporzan and Corinne Gusnoski

Objective: To maintain and enhance the communication and relationship between the Associates and the Young Associates, as well as to identify value that can be added to both organizations.

School Relations

Chair: Connor Egan

Committee: Alyssa Baker, Dr. Robert Biscontri, Fiona Dunn, Melani Fernando (CSA), Stephanie Kalo, Tony Quach, Lisa Wang

Objective: To work with the Asper School of Business to identify areas requiring financial and non-financial support and then organizing YA resources to support these areas.

Engagement

Chairs: Felipe Garcia

Committee: Sophie Touchette, Adam Nepon, Kondwelani Kalinda, Kaylee Klaprat, and Ty Kushnir

Objective: To develop and execute events aimed at improving our member’s exposure to, and understanding of, business trends within the Manitoba economy for professional development. Events include the popular Executive Board Room Series and Professional Development/Learning Series. The committee also aims to develop and execute events aimed at enhancing the networking and social aspects of YA.

Membership

Chair: Stephanie Kalo

Committee: Kevin Burns, Jai Gandhi, Corinne Gusnoski, Leah Inglis, Michael Juce, Stephanie Kalo, Michael Knysh, Marlee McMillan

Objective: To develop and execute strategies to attract new members as well as engage and retain the existing YA members. Events include New Member Nights. To develop and execute strategies aimed at building internal/external awareness, greater understanding, and support of the YA and its mandate.

Nominating & Governance

Chair: Joshua Zaporzan

Committee: Corinne Gusnoski, Matthew Thomson, and Celyna Yu

Objective: Ensures that the organization conforms to the principles of corporate governance, ensure guidelines are adopted, disclosed and applied including board composition, director responsibilities, orientation of new board members and succession planning.

IGNITE

Chair: Matthew Thomson

Vice Chair: Connor Egan

Committee: Melani Fernando (CSA), Esfir Goncharova, Leilani Kagan, Kondwelani Kalinda, Ryan Leech, and Joshua Zaporzan

Objective: To plan and execute the Young Associates’ signature annual event welcoming new to Asper students to the Manitoba business community and recognizing an outstanding business leader who has contributed to the local community.