DeGroote partners with Canada’s prestigious National Business Book Award
The National Business Book Award jury is chaired by Peter Mansbridge, and includes Leonard Waverman, dean of the DeGroote School of Business.
The DeGroote School of Business is a new partner for the 2018 National Business Book Award, Canada’s most prestigious award for business writing.
DeGroote and the Toronto Region Board of Trade are now supporting partners, while The Globe and Mail and The Walrus are media partners. Joining long-time presenting partner BMO Financial Group is national business law firm Bennett Jones. The winner of the $30,000 prize will be revealed Oct. 2 during the award ceremony in Toronto.
As Canada’s leader in recognizing Canadian business writing for more than 33 years, the National Business Book Award is awarded to authors who present groundbreaking perspectives on Canadian business issues. The nominees are judged according to originality, writing excellence, analysis, depth of research, and relevance.
Gordon Pitts, DeGroote’s own Business Writer in Residence, received the prize in 2009 for his book Stampede! The Rise of the West and Canada’s New Power Elite, published by Key Porter Books. The book imagines a future for Canada where Alberta is the corporate and cultural kingpin, Ontario is on the ropes and Quebec is almost irrelevant. Before joining DeGroote, Pitts was a business reporter at The Globe and Mail from 1992 to 2013.
“We are grateful to long-time presenting partner BMO Financial Group for continuing to support exceptional Canadian business writing,” says Mary Ann Freedman, president of Freedman & Associates Inc., which has managed the National Business Book Award for more than 30 years.
“We extend this gratitude to Bennett Jones for joining BMO in presenting the award and helping shape the Canadian business-leadership landscape.”
The National Business Book Award jury is chaired by Peter Mansbridge, former anchor of CBC’s The National, and includes DeGroote Dean Leonard Waverman, among others. Mansbridge and actor Cynthia Dale received honorary degrees from McMaster during the DeGroote School of Business’ spring convocation in 2017.
“What makes the National Business Book Award incredibly fresh and relevant year after year is the dialogue it creates among business and literary leaders across Canada,” says Gino Scapillati, BCom ’81 and vice-chair of strategy and innovation at Bennett Jones. Scapillati received DeGroote’s Wayne C. Fox Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.
“As advisers, our lawyers have a shared intellectual curiosity with the business community for innovative and thought-provoking perspectives,” Scapillati says. “We look forward to celebrating the authors whose stories inspire and enlighten.”
The award highlights the issues, trends and analysis that the nominees bring to the table as they provide unparalleled value to Canada’s business environment, says Catherine Roche, head of marketing and strategy at BMO Financial Group. “BMO is proud to continue our long-time support for Canada’s business writers,” says “Canada has great business writers who have a global perspective.
The National Business Book Award has consistently been a leader in spotting current and future Canadian and global business issues. Fake news, transformative technology, consumerism, the rise of social media, and blockchain are just a few of the topics covered over the history of the award. Winners — academics, journalists and business people — have always told the stories that demand to be heard.
Last year’s recipient was Daniel J. Levitin, whose book A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age, explores how in a world of “fake news” we can distinguish misinformation and outright lies from reliable information.
