Mentorship
Entrepreneurs in the Dobson Practicum will have access to the program’s mentors. Mentors are there to guide the entrepreneurs as they refine their business idea, building their business plan and pitch presentation for the $EED competition.
Meet the Dobson Mentors
Kamrul Hasan
Kamrul has over twelve years of working experience in the financial industry. He completed his Masters in Finance from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He also achieved the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation in 2016 and became a regular member of CFA Institute. He has worked in different areas of the finance industry. He started his career with Asset Liability Management Division of a commercial Bank, then he moved to project financing. Later he worked with corporate governance as Company Secretary of a bank and also in the capital market as Deputy Head of a brokerage company. He is currently an MBA Candidate of John Molson School of Business and working with CSBCB, a consulting bureau of JMSB serving the small businesses and start-ups of Montreal.
Danielle Ker
Danielle Ker has over twelve years of experience in both managing small businesses and developing strategic models. A calculated risk-taker, she has started several businesses over the years including a small business consulting practice where she gained experience working in various industries, including hospitality, fashion and international trade and most recently, a strategy and operations improvement consulting company in partnership with Carlos Vargas.
Danielle enjoys helping businesses address the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis and creating actionable solutions to help them achieve their objectives. With a passion for marketing and extensive experience developing business plans, financial forecasts and cash flow control tools, she is a trusted business advisor and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Danielle holds an MBA from the John Molson School of Business (JMSB) and was a lecturer at JMSB in the areas of entrepreneurship, strategy and organization theory.
Neal Kierans
Neal Kierans is a passionate marketer who keeps track of mega trends that will shape the future and disrupt the business paradigms of today. Having started his professional career as an Engineer, Neal now likes to monitor emerging technologies to assess their potential to create opportunities for Entrepreneurs, and bring value to their customers. Neal currently works at Bell for Small Business Markets, and also advises aspiring Entrepreneurs who are launching their businesses.
Neal has 12 years of experience in Engineering and Marketing across three continents. He holds a BEng in Mechatronic Engineering from Dublin City University, a MEng in Advanced Engineering from Dublin Institute of Technology and an MBA from John Molson School of Business.
David Sciacca
David is a serial entrepreneur with an incredibly versatile and accomplished background. He started his career in Investment Banking at CIBC World Markets where he focused on Mergers & Acquisitions in the Technology, Media & Telecom space. He then went on to launch Training Mobs, the first community based fitness marketplace in North America. After discovering his passion for fitness David spearheaded the CrossFit program and company wide operations at the Mansfield Athletic clubs. David is currently the Chief Operating Officer at LIFT Digital where he leads community engagement, the trainer echosystem and business development.
David holds an Honours degree in Finance from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University and is a regular lecturer in strategy and entrepreneurship at JMSB and McGill. David is also a mentor at Founder Institute and Founder Fuel in Montreal.
Tatiana Shchukina
Tatiana is a passionate and result-oriented professional with finance background and management consulting experience.
Developing her career in corporate finance, Tatiana has gained broad expertise in strategic financial management, financial analysis, modelling, and controlling. Her strong theoretical basis in the field supported by Master’s degree in Finance from Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation gave her opportunity to hold different finance positions including the Chief Financial Officer at the industrial equipment leasing company.
Following her curiosity to the other aspects of the business and entrepreneurship and her desire to take her career to a new level, Tatiana has successfully graduated from the MBA program at John Molson School of Business where she has complemented her well-developed skill set with strategy, operations and general management.
Working as a business consultant, Tatiana was helping startups and SMEs, building their corporate strategies, providing creative solutions to overcome challenges and improve operational efficiency. Her consulting experience revealed her passion to complex business problems and out-of-box thinking.
Currently, Tatiana leads Operations and Customer Service teams as the Manager of Operations and Administration at a privately held pharmaceutical company. She supervises a smooth day-to-day running of the business to support achieving the strategic goals of the company.
Alice Ying
Alice has over seven years of experience in audit, accounting, finance and advisory functions with a special focus in pharmaceutical, technology and financial industries from previously working at Deloitte and EY. Currently, Alice is an accounting manager at Clementia Pharmaceuticals Inc.
She is passionate about promoting entrepreneurship through helping startup companies meet their objectives and building relationships in the startup community. For the past five years, Alice has mentored and coached for over six organizations in Montreal with a focus to promote youth empowerment, leadership and entrepreneurship. She has facilitated workshops and presentations on revenue models, business model canvas, business plans and sessions on how to develop an effective pitch.
Alice holds the Chartered Professional Accounting (CPA auditor, CA) and the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designations. She also holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University, a Graduate Diploma in Public Accountancy from McGill University and an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto.