MBA students lead with purpose at 2026 MBA Responsible Leadership Challenge

The group of MBA students from the Ted Rogers School of Management had the opportunity to strengthen their skills in responsible leadership through a case competition generously funded by Zabeen Hirji (external link, opens in new window) , Founder, Purposeful Third Act, and former CHRO, RBC.

The second annual MBA Responsible Leadership Challenge at the Ted Rogers School was held on September 18, 2026, with incoming 31 Ted Rogers MBA students participating. Students presented in front of senior industry leaders, with winning teams receiving cash prizes and funds to donate to non-profit organizations. 

Valuable learning opportunity

Hirji, a Ted Rogers School supporter and Chancellor at Trent University, first established the MBA Responsible Leadership Challenge in 2024 at Simon Fraser University Beedie School of Business as part of her “Purposeful Third Act.” The inaugural MBA Responsible Leadership Challenge at the Ted Rogers School took place last year.

The focus of the challenge is responsible leadership: an approach grounded in ethics, accountability and a commitment to creating long-term value for a wide range of stakeholders – employees, customers, communities, the environment and shareholders. It provides emerging and early career leaders with experiential learning to explore the complexities of responsible leadership through real-world scenarios that demand strategic thinking, stakeholder orientation, empathy and courage.

The MBA Responsible Leadership Challenge strongly aligns with the Ted Rogers School’s vision to be globally recognized for education that shapes the world of business and develops principled leaders, and Dean Cynthia Holmes was on hand to kick-off the day's event. 

“What I love about the MBA Responsible Leadership Challenge is how it gives our students the opportunity to think and act as responsible, purpose-driven leaders from day one,” says Dr. Al Goss, Ted Rogers MBA Program Director. “This year’s case challenged our incoming cohort to navigate complex strategic and ethical decisions under pressure.”

“We’re incredibly grateful to Zabeen Hirji for making this transformative experience possible,” he adds. “It’s a fantastic way to launch our students’ MBA journey, and if today was any indication, the best is yet to come.” 

Case competition

This year’s case created for the Ted Rogers MBA Responsible Leadership Challenge, called “Leading the Future: Redesigning Knowledge Work with AI and Human Intelligence,” asked students to think about how generative AI is changing the way we work, particularly in knowledge-based roles. It examined how AI can augment, rather than simply replace people, and what this means for managers, knowledge workers and future leaders. The case also explored some of the opportunities and challenges that come with AI, including productivity, changing roles and skills, trust, privacy, ethics and the need for human oversight. 

Students were then asked to take these ideas a step further by choosing a knowledge-based role and reimagining how AI could improve the work, while still maintaining the human elements that are critical to creativity, collaboration, good judgment and trust. The challenge was ultimately about thinking beyond what AI can do, and considering how leaders can use it responsibly and in a way that makes work better.

Students worked collaboratively in teams to put together their case, with the support from a coach (a graduating Ted Rogers MBA student). Their presentations were judged by a faculty member and alumni for the first round, and by senior industry executives during the final round.

The top three teams at the Ted Rogers MBA Responsible Leadership Challenge were:

• 1st place ($1,500):
  Students: Nicholas Moustakas, Ria Kunkulol, Klaudio Koci, Pichasinee Manasuth
  Coach: Rob Butts (graduating Fall 2026)

• 2nd place ($1,000):
  Students: Avarza Porbemani, Brendan Hall, Darshan Shah
  Coach: Olesia Demediuk (graduating Fall 2026)

• 3rd place ($500):
  Students: Tamim Rahman, Eva Contractor, Kossi Avochinou, Taher Quazi
  Coach: Jonathan Ghazal (graduating Fall 2026)

In addition to the prize money, the top three teams were given $1,000 each to donate to a not-for-profit organization from a short-list. The first and second place teams donated to Indigenous Youth Roots, and the third place team donated to Second Harvest. Hirji will make donations to the selected organizations separately.

"Celebrating first place alongside my team was an amazing way to begin my MBA journey at TMU,” says MBA student Nicholas Moustakas. “What made the day especially meaningful was coming together as a cohort and seeing just how many people are invested in our success.” 

“From the faculty to the alumni coaches and judges, the industry leaders and Zabeen Hirji, so many incredible people gave their time to make this experience possible,” he explains. “I left proud of what my team accomplished and excited to keep learning alongside my fellow students.”

Judges and awards celebration

The preliminary round judges for the competition were Ted Rogers MBA graduates Naveed Tagari (’23), Ashwin Sinha (’18), Christian Legare (’24), Lindsay Ellis (’13), Nisha Patil (’25), Nick Asquini (’18), Evgenii Ostanin (’19), Kirk Smith (’16) and Angelica Martin (’25).

The final rounds judges included Teri Dennis-David (Chief People and Inclusion Officer, MLSE), Anuj Chandarana (Head of HR, Google Canada) and Benoit Hardy-Vallée (Director, Human Capital, Deloitte).

The Awards Ceremony for the case competition was hosted at Deloitte’s Head offices. At the evening reception, attendees heard from Charmain Wong, Managing Partner at Deloitte Canada and Ted Rogers MBA Advisory Council Member, and Alexandra Wilkinson, Senior Manager, Purpose & Sustainability, Everyday Purpose Lead.