 "Photo: Tyrone Clemons")
The National Black MBA Association, Inc. (NBMBAA) has expanded its organization with the addition of its first international interim chapter in Toronto.
"We are very pleased with the momentum that the Toronto chapter has built to date across Canada," Damon Knights, President of the Toronto chapter, said in a press release. "We are excited that the National Black MBA Association will have the honor to open the market."
Officially launched on August 21, the new Toronto chapter opened trading at the Toronto Stock Exchange at the TSX Broadcast Centre to celebrate the event.
Supporting the new chapter are Canada's most notable corporations and business schools. Members of the chapter's advisory board include Kevin Warren, CEO of Xerox Canada, John Peoples, President and General Manager of SC Johnson Canada and Ranji Persad, President of NCR Canada.
Schools lending support are the Schulich School of Business, the Rotman School of Management, the Richard Ivey School of Business and the Ted Rogers School of Management.
According to Knights, the purpose of the Canadian chapter is to increase the economic and intellectual wealth of black Canadians.
"Studies by Catalyst and the Conference Board of Canada indicate that there is still a need to increase diversity in Corporate Canada," Knights said. "It's great to see our vision resonating with the corporate and academic communities."
Excited for the future, the professional membership organization already has set high goals for its newest chapter.
"We are targeting to host the NBMBAA annual conference in the near future, which would bring over 12,000 professionals, recruiters and students to the greater Toronto area, making it North America's largest development, recruiting and networking event for black professionals," Ivan Francis, Toronto chapter's Vice President of Strategy and Marketing, said.
"We are also in the process of rolling out our Leaders of Tomorrow program, which will focus on providing mentoring to at risk youth."
According to the Toronto chapter's mission statement, the recently developed chapter plans to "increase the number of successful blacks in Canadian businesses by providing innovative community programs to stimulate intellectual and economic growth, building partnerships with key stakeholders who help facilitate this growth and increasing awareness in graduate management education programs and career opportunities."
The Toronto chapter's long-term goal is to grow Canadian chapters nationwide.
NBMBAA is a nonprofit organization of MBAs, business professionals, entrepreneurs and MBA students.
Founded in 1970, NBMBAA has nearly 8,000 members and represents more than 95,000 MBA graduates in 43 chapters across the United States and Canada.
The group prides on connecting individuals, companies and business schools through education, career, leadership, entrepreneurship and lifestyle.
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