Graduates from six Ivey programs crossed the stage at Western University’s fall convocation this week, marking a major milestone and the start of their next chapter in a world shaped by rapid change.
The Fall Class of 2026 included 335 graduates: 185 HBA graduates, 61 Executive MBA (EMBA) graduates, 58 Master of Management in Analytics (MM-A) graduates, 22 Master of Science in Management (MSc) graduates, four MBA graduates, and five PhD graduates. In addition to convocation, Ivey recognized graduates at its Pledge and Awards ceremonies, and EMBA graduates also gathered for an awards reception at The Clubhouse at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Preparing to lead in a changing world
At the HBA Ivey Pledge and Awards Ceremony, Acting Dean Nicole Haggerty, HBA ’89, PhD ’04, told the graduates they were entering a world shaped by geopolitical realignment, artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, and a crisis of trust, and said Ivey had prepared them to lead through that complexity.
Haggerty reflected on her own HBA graduation 37 years ago, when the class numbered 150 students, and told the Class of 2026 they should be proud of what they had achieved in the classroom, in their clubs, and in their communities. She also urged them to take in the significance of the day with the family and friends who had supported them along the way.
“You know how to cut through the noise, weigh trade-offs, make decisions when information is incomplete, when the stakes are real,” she said.
Haggerty said uncertainty is not unique to this generation and that Ivey has long prepared its graduates to adapt, use good judgment, and act with confidence.
She also told the graduates not to leave learning behind. While generative AI can speed access to information, she said, it cannot replace human values or determine what is right in a given moment.
“That’s the enduring skill: how to learn, how to be willing to adapt, how to be willing to grow,” she said.
Haggerty also welcomed the graduates to the Ivey Alumni Network, now more than 36,000 members strong, and encouraged them to stay connected as mentors, speakers, judges, and ambassadors for future students.
She closed by reminding the graduates that convocation is not an end point, but the start of a lifelong relationship with learning.
“Today is not the end of something; it’s the beginning of a relationship you should have with learning for the rest of your life,” she said.
(Photo above) Nicole Haggerty speaking at the HBA Pledge and Awards Ceremony
At Western’s broader convocation ceremony, honorary degree recipient Mitch Frazer, managing partner of Mintz LLP and chancellor of Ontario Tech University, encouraged the graduates to stay curious and question accepted ways of doing things. He told the graduates they were entering “a world that will change in ways that none of us can fully predict."
“One of the most valuable questions I have asked throughout my career is one of the simplest ones, and that is, why?” he said. “Expertise tells us what we already know. Curiosity helps us discover what comes next.”
(Photo above) Honorary degree recipient Mitch Frazer addressing the graduates
Award winners and student and faculty honours
The celebrations also recognized student achievement across programs and included speeches from valedictorians Weina Chong (EMBA), Laurence Guyon (MSc), and Nidhi Manoj Kumar (MM-A).
Among this year’s graduating class, 33 students received Western University’s Global and Intercultural Engagement Honour (GIEH), which recognizes intercultural competence and global readiness.
*Program awards
- EMBA Valedictorian: Weina Chong;
- EMBA Gold Medalist: Weina Chong;
- EMBA Ivey Scholars: Weina Chong, Jason deVos, Benjamin Hatch, Michael Hinbest, Eric Mallory, Steven Wheeler and Jake Martin White;
- HBA: No valedictorian this term; gold medals and special awards were presented in June;
- MSc Valedictorian: Laurence Guyon;
- MM-A Valedictorian: Nidhi Manoj Kumar;
- MM-A Gold Medalist: Nidhi Manoj Kumar; and,
- MM-A Ivey Scholars: Cailin Craigen, Nidhi Manoj Kumar, Armin Sajjadian Moosavi, Smit Parikh, Osama Ramadan and Jensen Tait.
*HBA, MBA, and additional MSc student and teaching awards were presented at spring convocation.
Teaching awards
- EMBA: Mary Gillett, HBA ’82, MBA ’02; and,
- MM-A: Lauren Cipriano, HBA ’05.
Fall 2026 Global and Intercultural Engagement Honour (GIEH) recipients
CEMS: Jingyu Gu
MBA: Ishani Adityan, Dan Hicks, Artika Pahargarh and Kendall Zhang
HBA: Josh Brown, Andy Butler, Daniel D’Ambrosio, Pablo Gonzalez, Sarinah Goolam, Gabriella Grasby, Sophia Hartvikson, Coby Harvey, Anthony Hoang, Nathan Infanti, Siobhan Kelly, Jack Lederman, Stavros Liakakos, Rachel Mawuenyegah, Alexa Nasrallah, Erica Pais, David Pearson, Alice Peng, Aaron Pogrin, Julianna Rizzo, Nicole Rogers, Riley Sanders, Sherry Shu, Joe Sturino, Scarlett Wu, Julia Xu, Alec Yang and Noelle Young.
(Photo above) Graduates at an Ivey Pledge Ceremony
