{"id":1794,"date":"2024-07-28T13:56:15","date_gmt":"2024-07-28T18:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/?page_id=1794"},"modified":"2025-10-02T20:56:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T01:56:01","slug":"excecutive-team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/excecutive-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Executive Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"Executive \n

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2025 \u2013 2026 Executive Team<\/h1>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Serena Chi<\/h3>\n

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Co-President\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Serena holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and TV Production from New York University.<\/p>\n

She spent seven years at Tencent, starting as a Business Development Manager investing in global equity opportunities in Hollywood films, before transitioning into a Senior Game Designer role, crafting narratives and shaping digital user experiences in AAA game titles.<\/p>\n

Ask her about updates on her internship and thoughts about consulting and tech strategy!<\/p>\n


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Miguel Guzman Guerra<\/h3>\n

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Co-President\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Miguel holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a major in Electronic Engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica del Peru<\/p>\n

Prior to Rotman, Miguel worked at Schneider Electric in regional leadership roles across South America, leading business strategy and digital transformation teams<\/p>\n

For his summer internship, Miguel is working as a Digital Demand Generation Leader at Schneider Electric, driving strategic marketing initiatives and business growth through data-driven and AI-enabled solutions.<\/p>\n

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Juan Miguel Salazar<\/h3>\n

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VP Finance<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Juan Miguel holds a Bachelor\u2019s degree of Accounting and Finance from Tec de Monterrey, Mexico.<\/p>\n

Prior to Rotman, Juan Miguel worked at Incode Technologies Inc as a Senior Controller, supporting Finance team with Revenue items (rev.rec, billing and collections) and Sales team by providing financial inputs for the new agreements.<\/p>\n

For his summer internship, Juan Miguel is working as a Business Intelligence Intern at Philip Morris, driving data insights, key trackers and reports for the Commercial and Development team.<\/p>\n

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Giovanni Zapata<\/h3>\n

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Giovanni holds a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de Lima.<\/p>\n

Before joining Rotman, Giovanni worked at Banco de Cr\u00e9dito BCP and BBVA as a Product Owner\/Manager, leading product development teams and driving digital transformation initiatives.<\/p>\n

For his summer internship, Giovanni is working as a Product Manager at CIBC Capital Markets, developing a Digital Currency Conversion Service for the POS channel.<\/p>\n

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Rafa Salud<\/h3>\n

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VP Impact & Operations<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Rafa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with minors in Business Management and Development Management from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Before Rotman, Rafa worked at AIA Philippines and Maya, gaining marketing, operations, and project\/ program management experience in leading financial services firms.<\/p>\n

For his summer internship, Rafa worked at Manulife as a Customer Experience & Digital Strategy Associate Intern, supporting data-driven decisions through customer insights, reporting, and platform optimization to improve experience and business performance.<\/p>\n

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Shalini Rathod<\/h3>\n

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Dir. Impact & Operations<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Shalini holds an undergraduate degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering. She has then spent years across global financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan, delivering cloud solutions that streamlined complex banking operations, by automating workflows and modernizing legacy processes.<\/p>\n

She is pursuing an MBA to combine product thinking and business acumen with her technical expertise.<\/p>\n

As a CSA MBA Intern at Microsoft, she supports enterprises in cloud transformation and building secure, scalable digital solutions, leveraging AI enablement to significantly improve productivity.<\/p>\n

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Gaby Lai<\/span><\/h3>\n

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VP Industry Relations<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Bachelor’s degree in economics from McGill University.<\/p>\n

Former luxury brand product marketer (LVMH) turned AI-driven B2B software product manager at Patsnap, a $1B+ unicorn helping global teams like Colgate-Palmolive and Bose drive innovation with dedicated AI solutions.<\/p>\n

Skilled at merging product management and marketing to ensure products are built and communicated for success.<\/p>\n

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Momin Daanish<\/h3>\n

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VP Industry Relations<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Momin completed a Bachelor\u2019s in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto, with research exchanges in Singapore and Germany.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s spent five years working in software engineering, most recently at Amazon and Verily (a healthtech company).<\/p>\n

He hopes to pivot into tech leadership roles after completing his MEMBA at Rotman.<\/p>\n

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Jokotola Ayinde<\/h3>\n

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VP Industry Relations<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Jokotola holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in accounting from Babcock University, Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Prior to Rotman, Jokotola worked in McKinsey & Company, leading the West African Finance Team across end-to-end accounting operations & strategic initiatives.<\/p>\n

For her summer internship, Jokotola is with the SAP value advisory team, leveraging her business knowledge to help customers understand and capture the value of implementing innovative business technology solutions.<\/p>\n

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Mohammad Downeck<\/h3>\n

VP Alumni Relations<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mohammad obtained his bachelor\u2019s degree at Georgia Tech in Industrial Engineering, with a concentration in Economic and Financial Systems.<\/p>\n

Prior to Rotman, Mohammad worked as a Consultant with the Technology and Strategy team at P3 Group in Detroit, MI. His focus was in the Electric Vehicle sector, working on technical procurement strategy for new battery products and market entry strategies for a range of clients, from startups to large automakers.<\/p>\n

For his summer internship, Mohammad worked as an Analyst at Davis Pier Consulting, where he tackled public sector challenges in healthcare service transformation through a human-centric lens.<\/p>\n

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Shreya Sreekumar<\/h3>\n

VP Experiential Learning<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Shreya earned her Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering, from VIT University in India.<\/p>\n

Prior to Rotman, she worked in fintech and consulting, most recently as Lead-Strategy at Freo, a Sequoia-funded fintech startup, where she drove revenue growth through strategic partnerships, go-to-market execution, and data-driven product adoption strategies. She also worked at ZS Associates, delivering digital transformation and marketing optimization initiatives for clients in the US market.<\/p>\n

For her summer MBA internship, Shreya is working as a Customer Success Account Manager at Microsoft, partnering with enterprise clients to drive business outcomes through AI adoption & strategic account planning. Shreya is excited to leverage her SaaS and consulting experience to foster connections between business and technology communities at BTA.<\/p>\n

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Prarthana Mukherjee<\/h3>\n

Dir. Experiential Learning<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Prarthana holds a Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology Engineering from Usha Mittal Institute of Technology, India.<\/p>\n

Prior to Rotman, Prarthana worked as an Automation Engineer at Barclays, driving process optimization and technology enablement initiatives across the organisation. She has a strong foundation in software engineering and a keen interest in digitalization.<\/p>\n

For her summer internship, Prarthana is part of the Technology Leadership Advancement Program at CIBC, working in the Office of the Chief Information Officer. She has led governance and strategic planning initiatives, developed data visualisation dashboards, and supported enterprise-wide AI transformation projects.<\/p>\n

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Prashant Shashikumar<\/h3>\n

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VP AI & Education\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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VP AI Strategy and Education for the Business Technology Association, currently interning in Partner Marketing while actively building and experimenting with AI tools and agents.<\/p>\n

Holds a Computer Science degree from Simon Fraser University and brings experience across consulting, fintech strategy, and tech entrepreneurship – including driving $130K+ in new project leads, shaping a $1.3B market entry roadmap, and co-founding a wearable tech startup.<\/p>\n

Aims to combine product vision, marketing expertise, and AI strategy enablement to drive growth and innovation in technology and SaaS firms, leading at the intersection of product, marketing, and AI-driven business impact.<\/p>\n

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Chris Rodrigues<\/h3>\n

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Dir. AI & Education\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Chris is an Electronics engineer from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, and loves thinking of new ways to use technology to address real-world challenges in practical, impactful ways.<\/p>\n

In his previous role as a Fintech PM, Chris developed digital solutions that streamlined traditionally slow and frustrating banking operations, building scalable platforms and improving client experience.<\/p>\n

Chris is looking forward to the BTA\u2019s learning initiatives as a chance to demystify technology and demonstrate how anyone can use it to tackle problems.<\/p>\n

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Ziwei (Jivana) Ding<\/h3>\n

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VP Marketing & Comm<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Jivana holds a Master\u2019s degree in Arabic Language and Studies from Beijing Foreign Studies University, China.<\/p>\n

She spent three years at TikTok as a Creative Strategy Manager, where she oversaw the creative supply chain for ByteDance\u2019s overseas products.<\/p>\n

In the summer, Jivana ventured into entrepreneurship by founding LEAP, an online marketplace designed to help newcomers buy and sell second-hand products quickly and securely. Currently in its MVP trial stage, think of it as the \u201cbeta stage\u201d, so any ideas, feedback, or collaboration chats are more than welcome!<\/p>\n

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\"Arielle <\/a><\/h3>\n

Arielle Ling Zhao<\/h3>\n

Dir. Marketing & Comm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arielle holds a STEM Bachelor of Science in Media & Communications from New York University.<\/p>\n

Prior to Rotman, Arielle worked for marketing firms like Ogilvy and M&C Saatchi, leading strategy, branding, and content execution on behalf of major clients; prior to that, she also accumulated experience in the financial headhunting and talent management space on Wall Street.<\/p>\n

In joining the BTA team, Arielle hopes to diversify her knowledge and experience in the tech sector, and help the Rotman community stay informed and ahead on dominant trends like AI taking over the workplace!<\/p>\n

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\"Melanie <\/a><\/h3>\n

Melanie He<\/h3>\n

Dir. Marketing & Comm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Melanie holds a Master\u2019s degree in communication from Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.<\/p>\n

Prior to Rotman MBA, Melanie worked as a marketing manager at Logitech, where she has developed specialities in communication and alliance marketing.<\/p>\n

She is looking forward to the BTA\u2019s learning initiatives as an opportunity to deepen her understanding of emerging tech trends and explore how they can shape future marketing strategies.<\/p>\n

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\"Wesley <\/a><\/h3>\n

Wesley Thompson<\/h3>\n

Dir. MMA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wesley holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Business Technology Management from Toronto Metropolitan University.<\/p>\n

Before Rotman, Wesley worked as a Product Manager at TELUS, scaling digital journeys on Koodo\u2019s eCommerce platform. Previously, he served as a Product Owner at Home Trust, where he drove digital banking initiatives including paperless adoption and multi-factor authentication.<\/p>\n

Recognized with Rotman\u2019s Dean\u2019s Scholar Award and the Vector Scholarship in Artificial Intelligence, Wesley brings a strong foundation in analytics, innovation, and leadership to the BTA.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 2025 \u2013 2026 Executive Team Serena Chi Co-President\u00a0 Serena holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and TV Production from New York University. She spent seven years… Read More »Executive Team<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":886,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"full-width","neve_meta_container":"contained","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"on","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"on","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1794","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/886"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1794"}],"version-history":[{"count":107,"href":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2801,"href":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1794\/revisions\/2801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.rotman.utoronto.ca\/bta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}