Rotman School's Impact Consulting Group Provides Low-Cost Strategic Solutions for New and Growing Businesses

TORONTO, June 5, 2002 -- Businesses seeking professional consulting services may not know that they can come to the University of Toronto's Joseph L. Rotman School of Management for first-rate solutions. The Impact Consulting Group is a team of Rotman MBA students who offer clients a range of professional services including market research, business planning, corporate strategy, and business process improvement.

"The Impact consultants are ideal for entrepreneurs developing or refining business plans as well as established firms looking to quickly transform innovations and ideas into concrete business ventures," says Rotman Professor Joe Martin, the former managing partner Deloitte Consulting [Canada] who currently serves as faculty advisor to Impact. "They offer the type of top-level services that give organizations a competitive advantage."

In addition to access to proprietary research, usually only available from top-tier consulting firms, and support from the Rotman School's faculty, Impact's resources include consultants with diverse skills and experiences. This year's team is no exception. They include:

Darin Ahing spent seven years practicing as a commercial/corporate lawyer before joining Impact. During this time he counselled numerous clients -- from start-ups to multinationals -- on a wide range of strategy and operational issues. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Physics from the University of Waterloo and a Law degree from the University of Windsor.

Ayman Chouaib received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from The American Lebanese University. Prior to pursuing his MBA, Ayman was regional sales manager of Royal Phillips Electronics, responsible for 12 major markets in the Middle East. He then used this experience to launch and operate a wireless products distributing company focused on the region.

D'Arcy Finley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History, a Bachelor of Education from Queen's University, and a Master of Arts from the University of California. Prior to coming to Toronto, D'Arcy spent five years working as an information technology consultant, school teacher, and entrepreneur in Vancouver.

Robert Geller has worked in progressively senior positions in the marketing field since obtaining a degree in Administrative and Commercial Studies at The University of Western Ontario. He developed award-winning direct marketing campaigns for wireless, financial services, and shipping industry clients at OgilvyOne before working as a senior account manager at DoubleClick/Flonetwork.

The University of Toronto's Joseph L. Rotman School of Management offers leading-edge research and degree programs, including the prestigious Rotman MBA, the Rotman Part-Time MBA, the One Year MBA for Executives, a first-rate Doctoral Program, the distinctive Master of Management & Professional Accounting program, the undergraduate Commerce program in partnership with the Faculty of Arts and Science, combined programs with the University of Toronto faculties of Law, Engineering and Nursing, and an innovative series of Executive Programs tailored to the current needs of businesses and individual managers.

-30- 

For more information or to arrange an interview with Alan Webber: 

Ken McGuffin  
Media Relations Officer  
Rotman School of Management 
Voice:  (416) 946-3818  
Fax:   (416) 978-1373 
E-mail:  mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca  

Greer Hozack, MBA’99 
Co-chair Unilever Speaker Series 
Rotman School of Management 
Voice: (416) 538-3886 
E-mail: Greer_Hozack@embanet.com