Retaining Global Talent

Dr. Eva Klein joined the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary in January 2008 as a professor of Human Resources and Organizational Dynamics and Organizational Behaviour Executive in Residence.  She teaches Leadership and Interpersonal Behaviour, Organizational Change and Compensation Management to undergraduate, graduate and executive audiences.  Before coming to Haskayne, she was a Teaching Fellow at the London Business School for six years, where she taught in executive development programs for such clients as Kone Elevators, Nokia China, China Mobile and Deloitte and Touche. Prior to moving to the UK, she implemented a wide range of organisational change initiatives at the senior management level for many corporations, including Investors Group of Canada, CSX as well as several US and Canadian banks.  She also served as Vice president of HR at Sanyo Canada Inc. for seven years, a position that provided her with the opportunity to design and implement a variety of compensation, performance, succession planning, stress management and work-life balance programs. In addition to her various teaching and professional corporate experiences, Dr. Klein has worked as an executive coach for over two decades and is well-versed in the application of numerous psychometric evaluation and personality profiling instruments.

Dr. Klein’s current research interests include identifying the characteristics of late bloomers, (i.e. those who succeed later in their careers).  She is also interested in talent management, specifically with respect to the obstacles impeding professional women’s re-entry as well as the obstacles preventing the integration of professional immigrants.

Dr. Klein is an associate of the Center for Creative Leadership as well as a member of the International Network of Executive Women, American Psychological Association and British Psychological Society.  She holds a B.Sc. (Honours Mathematics), M.Sc. (Mathematical Statistics) from McGill University, M.A. (Psycholinguistics) from Stanford University and a Ph.D. (in Clinical Psychology) from Rutgers University. She has been licensed to practise Psychology in the states of New York and New Jersey, Ontario, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Franco Rizzuti is the President of the Graduate Students Association, and, in this role, he has gotten to know many, many students—both undergraduate and graduate—faculty and staff on campus, as well as many other external members of the University of Calgary community. What many people don’t know about Franco is that he is studying for his Master’s degree in Higher Education leadership through the Faculty of Education.  Franco recently sat down to talk with us about his program, his research, and his ties to the Faculty of Education.

Jim Dinning is a home grown Albertan. He grew up in Calgary, where he attended Elbow Park and Rideau Park schools and graduated from Western Canada High School in 1970. He went on to Queen’s University, where he earned two degrees: a bachelor of commerce and a master’s in public administration.

Dinning's career spans both government and business. Following graduation, he worked in Alberta's public service, rising to become the government's youngest deputy minister in Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs in 1984.

First elected to the Alberta Legislative Assembly for Calgary Shaw in 1986, Dinning was re-elected twice thereafter. During his 11 years in office, he served in a number of cabinet portfolios, notably as minister of education and provincial treasurer. 

Dinning retired from elected life in 1997 and began his business career as a senior executive with TransAlta until 2004. Today, he is chair of Western Financial Group, Liquor Stores NA Ltd and Export Development Canada. As well, Dinning serves as director of a number of public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations. He was previously the volunteer chairman of the Calgary Health Region and is currently chairman of the Canada West Foundation. 

In recognition of his community service, Dinning was awarded an honourary doctor of laws degree from the University of Calgary in 2002. In June of 2010, he was elected the 12th chancellor of the University of Calgary. 

Jim Dinning calls himself a very lucky man because of his marriage to Evelyn Main. He's a proud father of four 'interesting' children, especially as they bring reality to his belief that “we want our kids to be good but bad enough to be interesting.” He's known to dote on his two infant grandchildren and seriously hopes they'll graduate some day from the University of Calgary. 

As Vice President of Commerical Financial and Energy Services at the Royal Bank of Canada, Roger Straathof leads one of the largest commercial banking centres in Canada and is also the executive champion for the energy services industry in Canada. The centre is a leader in revenue growth, new business development and in the use of innovative finance structures and cash management services. After joining RBC in Calgary in the energy banking business in 1982, Roger has worked in Toronto, Frankfurt, London UK and Vancouver in senior corporate banking roles, risk management, leadership roles and as executive assistant of the Chairman of the Royal Bank of Canada.

His community involvement over the years include Board Member ofVertigo Theatres, Chair of the Parent Council of the Westmount Charter School, President of the Royal Toastmasters Club in Vancouver, and most recently a part of the Advisory Board of the New Immigrant Program, a Haskayne School of Business and RBC initiative.

Roger is a landed immigrant from the Netherlands with a Bachelors of Economics from the University of Rotterdamand a MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.

Greg Weadick was elected to his first term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lethbridge-West on March 3, 2008. On February 18, 2011, Mr. Weadick was appointed Minister of Advanced Education and Technology and a member of the Cabinet Policy Committee on the Economy.

Previously, Mr. Weadick served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. He has also served on the following committees:

• Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services
• Standing Committee on the Economy
• Standing Committee on Public Accounts

He has deep roots in Lethbridge, being the fourth generation of his family to call the city home. He was among some of the first students at the University of Lethbridge’s new west side campus, earning his bachelor of science in 1976 before beginning his career as a certified irrigation design consultant. He has also owned and operated several successful small businesses in Lethbridge and is currently president of Frontier Irrigation Ltd. and co-owner of Yardworks and Tileworks.

Mr. Weadick was first elected to Lethbridge city council in 1991 and continued to serve for nine years. As a member of council he helped guide the city’s pay-as-you-go strategy that put the city on firm financial ground. Mr. Weadick also served on provincial task forces on police funding and air transportation while on council.

During his 25-plus years of volunteer service in Lethbridge he helped found the Lethbridge Rotary Dragonboat Festival, which has gone on to become one of the most anticipated events of the year. He was the founding president of the Lethbridge Youth Foundation and 5th on 5th Youth Services, which has helped thousands of young people get their education back on track and become contributing members of society.

He also helped promote the city as chairman of the Economic Development, Agriculture & Tourism Committee and as a member of the Downtown LA Board. He has served on the Lethbridge & District Exhibition Board and the Lethbridge Senior Friendly Committee, the police commission, and is a longtime Rotarian. As a businessman Mr. Weadick has long been associated with the Lethbridge and District Chamber of Commerce, including several years as a director.

He and his wife, Joanne, also a former alderman, have been married over 30 years. Their two children, Josh and Lauren, both attend the University of Lethbridge.

Cheryl Knight, CEO Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada has 20+ years of experience in various human resources disciplines within a range of business settings across Canada.  Her experience includes positions within petroleum, financial, transportation and post-secondary education.

Cheryl regularly speaks at conferences and seminars to inform representatives of issues affecting the industry, and of the strategies and resources the Council is developing.

Cheryl participates in several committees across the country to establish priorities in worker attraction; access to and integration of immigrants; labour demand and forecasts; and inter-provincial migration and mobility. 

Robert Ferguson, Director of Operations at CIC Calgary. A Calgary native and graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979. He started his career with Citizenship and Immigration as a summer casual and has worked with the department for over 30 years. He has experience as an immigration officer, supervisor, and manager for both port of entry and inland operations. He is currently the Director of Operations at CIC Calgary and is responsible for managing the delivery of all CIC program areas (including Admissions, Settlement, Citizenship and Multiculturalism) for Calgary and southern Alberta.

Candice Juby, Immigration Officer with the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. In her role with the Calgary-based Temporary Foreign Worker Unit, she facilitates the entry of temporary foreign workers destined to Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut who are eligible for labour market opinion and work permit exemptions. She coordinates these efforts with federal and provincial partners and corporate stakeholders through their legal, immigration and HR representatives on a daily basis.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from the University of Calgary (2007) and is mid-way through a Master’s programme which focuses on international social policy. 

Bob Dhillon, President and CEO of Mainstreet Equity Corp., as well as the founder and largest shareholder. Mr. Dhillon has acquired, developed, redeveloped and divested every type of real estate. Mainstreet Equity Corporation is listed on the TSX, growing rapidly at a rate of 32%, and consists of almost 6000 apartment units across Canada from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Toronto.  Mr. Dhillon is also the Honorary Consul General for Belize in Canada. He owns a private 3,000 acre island in Belize that he is developing into a worldclass tourist resort, with first class hotels, luxury homes, golf courses casinos and high-end condominiums. 

Bob is also the owner of National Payments, a Mercantile Protection business involved with the financial services industry. National Payments provides exceptional point-of sale payment solutions for processing credit and debit card payments for businesses. 

Mr. Dhillon completed his MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in 1998. He currently sits on the Entrepreneur Advisory Council for the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Mike Shaikh, Director Provident Energy Ltd., is a fellow chartered accountant. Mr. Shaikh is also a director of Hawk Exploration Inc., a board member of the Canadian Association of Police, the Chartered Accountants' Education Foundation, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, Alberta Securities Commission, Calgary Parking Authority, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team and Honorary Investment Counsellor for Government of Pakistan. He is also the Chair of the Calgary Police Commission and the Vice Chair of Education Matters.

This conference is made possible through the support of the RBC Investing in New Canadians Program at the Haskayne School of Business.

Calgary -- A $1-million gift from RBC, through their charitable foundation, will help Haskayne School of Business researchers at the University of Calgary study how organizations can take full advantage of Calgary’s diverse working community.  The donation will be directed toward a new Investing in New Canadians program.  

"RBC believes that investing in new Canadians is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes business sense. It’s estimated that more than 80,000 Canadians with professional credentials are not recognized by industry simply because their credentials were earned outside of this country.  This is equal to billions of dollars in human resource waste annually," says Roger Straathof, vice president of commercial, RBC. "We are proud to be able to partner with the Haskayne School of Business on the Investing in New Canadians program to help combat this situation in an effort to build vibrant and thriving communities."

The Investing in New Canadians program will develop, promote and facilitate talent management programs to internationally qualified new Canadian professionals.  The fundamental intention is to assist immigrants with professional-level foreign credentials in gaining employment in their field of expertise.   

“This donation offers us the unique opportunity to look at the ingredients of a successful immigrant/employer relationship in a longitudinal study, including an evaluation of mentorship,” say Professor Eva Klein, lead researcher for the Investing in New Canadians program. “Our research will be very practical and focused on providing business solutions for professional immigrants and their potential employers.”

To help guide and inform the program the Haskayne School of Business has engaged an advisory panel made up of diverse stakeholders and industry leaders.  The panel includes Avik Dey (Remora Energy), Brian Felesky (Felesky Flynn LLP), Elsbeth Mehrer (Calgary Economic Development), Lois Mitchell (Rainmaker), Alyx Nanji (Haskayne, B.Comm. student and recent Avenue Top 40 under 40 winner) and Roger Straathoff (RBC).

"I'm very pleased to see the collaborative effort in this important initiative," says the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism. "Employers are key partners in ensuring a future of prosperity for new Canadians and the University of Calgary's leadership in this project will help the thousands of people who build their futures here in Calgary realize their true potential."

The University will partner with a number of Calgary organizations, including Bow Valley College, Alberta Talent Pool and the Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council (CRIEC), to look at the effectiveness of current mentorship and recruitment programs when it comes to including new immigrants in the Calgary workforce. The Investing in New Canadians program will launch in 2011.