Schulich School of Business

Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA student Alicia Hayakawa awarded the 2011 Franklin & Sasarman Simard Scholarship

Alicia Hayakawa came to Canada as a young, 18-year-old college graduate from the Philippines. Completing night courses while working full-time to help her family pay the bills, Alicia's continuous pursuit of education led her to various senior management roles in the private sector before she eventually started her own business. Today, Alicia is pursuing a Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA (EMBA) and was recently awarded the 2011 Franklin & Sasarman Simard Scholarship.

"I am honoured and touched to be selected as this year's recipient of the Franklin & Sasarman Simard Scholarship," said Alicia. "It has lifted my spirits to know there are great people such as Larry and Michael around who are helping those in need without expecting anything in return. My family and I are deeply moved by Larry and Michael's generous financial support."

Each year, donors Dr. Laurence "Larry" Franklin and his wife Mei Kwong, and Michael Sasarman and his wife Martine Simard Dupuy, present the Scholarship to a female Kellogg-Schulich EMBA student pursuing a career in the non-profit sector.

"Alicia is an exceptional woman working in the non-profit sector who benefits from this Scholarship in a real and meaningful way, making it possible for her to attend the program," said Mr. Sasarman. "Her professionalism, strong leadership acumen and perseverance will assure a bright future and I am thrilled that through our endowment we can be part of Alicia's professional journey."

Alicia migrated to Canada with her parents and two younger siblings from the Philippines after completing a Bachelor of Science degree at De La Salle University in Manila. She worked full-time while continuing to take evening courses in the field of IT.

In the past 20 years, Alicia's career has progressed to include management roles with organizations such as Royal Trust, Royal Bank Financial Group, TD Bank Financial Group, Bell Canada and the Ontario Government. Alicia is also an entrepreneur, starting her own independent consulting company, AHL Technical Services Inc., in December 1988. In 2000, she started working with the Ministry of Health as a consultant and, most recently, she has moved to the Ministry of Government Services.

"I felt a huge sense of fulfillment and satisfaction working with the Ministry of Health on a number of relevant projects that had a positive impact on the public," said Alicia. "As a mother with three young children and with aging parents and relatives, this influenced my decision to return to the public sector. I feel that the work I do, especially the projects that I'm involved in, will directly impact the people of Ontario and indirectly benefit my family."

Alicia decided to enrol in the Kellogg-Schulich program because of its reputation as a leading EMBA institution.

"The program is known for its academic rigor," said Alicia. "People recognize that students taking this intensive program have a strong drive to achieve great results and if I want to be the best, than I have to learn from the best."

She also entered the EMBA program with a desire to become a more well-rounded, effective and strong leader.

"I believe that my strong IT background and work experience combined with the prestige of the Kellogg-Schulich EMBA accreditation will exponentially propel my career to a more senior level position in any organization."

"Taking this program has its challenges but it has added significant value to the work I do in a short period of time," said Alicia. "It has provided me with great insights and relevant skills that that will benefit both my career and my family."

About the Franklin & Sasarman Simard Fund

The Franklin & Sasarman Simard Scholarship Endowment Fund was established in February 2008 by Larry Franklin, an Adjunct Professor who teaches in the Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA (EMBA) program, and Michael Sasarman, Director, Strategic Sourcing Business Partnering, Ericsson Canada Inc., a 2005 Kellogg-Schulich EMBA graduate. The C$10,000 Scholarship was made through the Morris S. Smith Foundation, of which Larry is a trustee.

The Franklin family and the Sasarman Simard family, through the establishment of this scholarship endowment, share a vision they wish to pass on to future generations of Kellogg-Schulich EMBA students that includes:

• a strong duty of respect and service towards individuals as well as local communities while embracing a global cultural context;
• promotion of equality in matters of gender, race and creed;
• resilience and perseverance through lifelong learning; and
• professionalism and entrepreneurship.

Previous winners of the Franklin & Sasarman Simard Scholarship include Nayla Ibrahim (EMBA '11), Manager, KM Products Unit, Ministry of Health & Long-term Care; Adarsh Mehta (EMBA '10), Development Director, Acciona Wind Energy Canada; and Sophie Moreau (EMBA' 09), Consultant, SM Consulting Services.

About Larry Franklin and Mei Kwong Franklin

Larry Franklin earned his MBA and Juris Doctor degrees from Stanford in 1976. He has worked in Hong Kong since 1981 as a lawyer and commercial banker at The First National Bank of Chicago (now JP Morgan Chase), as an investment banker at American International Group (AIG) and as a venture capitalist at Huchinson Whampoa (China) Ltd.

Mr. Franklin is an Adjunct Professor of Finance and Business Law at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), which is one of the Kellogg School of Management partner EMBA schools, as is the Schulich School of Business. He has taught numerous MBA and Executive MBA courses at some of the top business management schools around the globe, including Stanford, Chicago, MIT Sloan and Darden (U. Virginia). His course subjects include finance, venture, capital, business law and international strategy. He teaches a course in Business Strategies in the Asia Pacific Region at Kellogg-HKUST. He highly values his MBA education and is grateful for the opportunity to teach in the Kellogg-Schulich EMBA program. He has been a trustee of the Morris S. Smith Foundation since 1998.

Mei Kwong Franklin grew up in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar). She attended high school at St. Paul's Coeducational College in Hong Kong. She graduated from Mills College in Oakland, California with her BA in Sociology and Anthropology in 1970 and, after working three years in Hong Kong, she returned to California to gain her MBA from Stanford in 1975. She and Larry met at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and married in 1976. She has worked in several entrepreneurial ventures since then, including successfully manufacturing carpets in Tibet and lacquerware in Burma and selling these products around the world. She is currently Director of MBA Career Services at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology.

About Michael Sasarman and Martine Simard Dupuy

Michael Sasarman graduated from the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 2005 and earned his MASc in Electrical Engineering at the University of Ottawa.

Michael began his career as a senior software engineer in Ottawa at Bell-Northern Research Ltd. He has worked in Europe in senior management roles for Nortel Networks at various wireless network operations and teams, receiving recognition for significant contribution to projects in Oni Way (Portugal), Xfera (Spain) and O2 (Germany). Since 2007, he has worked for Ericsson Canada Inc., where he is currently the Director, Business Development and Strategic Sourcing.

Michael is on the board of the Kellogg-Schulich Alumni Association and volunteers his time as a mentor for Schulich's MBA program as well as York University's Electrical & Computer Engineering program.

Martine Simard Dupuy has worked extensively in international cooperation with Canada's largest non-government organization (NGO) managing bilateral large-scale projects involving women and micro-credit lending in West Africa and was instrumental in the development of the vision and strategic implementation of global cross-functional gender equity policies.