The Schulich School of Business has announced the creation of the George Weston Ltd. Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains. The new centre, made possible by significant support from George Weston Ltd., will become a global leader in management education and research related to supply chain management, and a hub for industry outreach and collaboration.
“Supply chains are the heart of Canada’s economy and provide the food, medication, and other items Canadians need by connecting communities from coast to coast to coast,” said Galen Weston, chairman and CEO of George Weston Ltd.
“We are delighted to partner with the Schulich School of Business to deepen our country’s expertise and develop sustainable supply chains that will contribute to a stronger, more resilient Canada,” he added.
Schulich Professor David Johnson will be the Centre's inaugural director (image: Gordon Hawkins)
The centre's inaugural director will be Professor David Johnson, who is the program director of Schulich's Master of Supply Chain Management Program. Johnson's research focuses on innovation and collaboration in the management of sustainable supply networks, healthcare systems and industrial health and safety.
Building on Schulich’s unique Master of Supply Chain Management (MSCM) program and George Weston Ltd.’s world-class expertise in sustainable supply chains, the centre will play a fundamental role in creating the strong and sustainable supply chains increasingly needed in a post-pandemic world. Schulich Interim Dean Detlev Zwick said the new centre “will become a leading global hub of research in a sector that is vital to our social and economic well-being.”
“At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing challenges related to the flow of goods and services, the George Weston Ltd. Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains will create new opportunities to grow and support inclusive, prosperous and healthy economies and communities,” said York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton. “We are grateful to be partnering with industry leaders like George Weston Ltd., who share York’s commitment to driving positive change in Canada and the world through innovation.”
The partnership between Schulich and George Weston Ltd. resulted from Schulich’s Leading Change Campaign, which concluded in June 2020. Leading Change was the School’s most comprehensive and ambitious fundraising and alumni engagement campaign to date. Under the leadership of Dean Emeritus Dezsö J. Horváth and the Leading Change Campaign Cabinet, the campaign raised more than $65 million.
For more information, visit https://schulich.yorku.ca/faculty-research/george-weston/.