Back to School - Haskayne School of Business - University of Calgary

Ken McKinnon, BComm ’80, has built an interesting,
rewarding and highly successful career
around two simple words: Get involved.
Alumni Profile
There’s No Debate About the Value of Getting Involved
The self-described “entrepreneurial lawyer
who became a businessman” — and the 2007
recipient of the Haskayne School of Business
Management Alumni Excellence (MAX) Award
— learned early in his University of Calgary days
that pursuing opportunity, rather than waiting
for it to come knocking, yielded the greatest
returns.
“The value of a university education is more
than what’s taught in class,” he says. “Going
to university ‘to get an education’ probably only
helps you land your first job. You need more. If
you get involved, you develop a certain mentality
that carries through to business practice.”
As a Haskayne student, McKinnon was Vice-
President of AIESEC, Co-Chair of the Business
Day Group and a member of the Progressive
Conservative Club. He was on the School’s first
two Intercollegiate Business Competition (ICBC)
debating teams, helping bring home the U of
C’s first ICBC gold medal (today, the U of C has
won more gold medals than any Canadian university).
He went on to Queen’s University in
Kingston, Ont., earning his law degree in 1983.
Returning to Calgary, he chose to forego a
position with a major law firm that served large
clients in favour of getting involved with the
little guys — the engaging creative thinkers and
risk takers who were transforming dreams into
viable businesses. As a lawyer who understands
what entrepreneurs need, he has helped countless
companies get off to a good start.
“I’ve been fortunate to be involved in many
success stories,” McKinnon says with obvious
respect for his clients. “I’m the behindthe-scenes
guy who helps make it work.” He
has played an important role in the growth of
companies like the cutting-edge, internationally
known interactive marketing company Critical
Mass (where he started as its seventh employee
and is now Vice-President, Legal Affairs and
General Counsel) and world-leading sport sunglasses
company Sundog Eyewear (where he is
currently a partner). As a certified corporate
director holding the ICD.D designation, he is
also a director of companies such as Petrobank
Energy and Resources Ltd., Petrominerals Ltd.,
Savaria Corporation and Quorum Information
Technologies Inc.
The close connection McKinnon forged with
Haskayne as a student grew alongside his career.
As a business law lecturer, he brought his work
experiences into the classroom, providing students
with practical insight into the entrepreneur’s
world. He was also coaching and judging
the ICBC debating team, which he sees as a
key to his own success and integral to students’
future success.
“Students who participate in ICBC events
typically do extremely well in school and in business,”
he says. “It gives you the ability to listen,
think and react, and to do it quickly. Those will
be crucial skills throughout your business career.
You also build camaraderie with your teammates
and competitors from other universities. I still
have valued colleagues, friends and mentors
from my time as a student.”
Haskayne, too, reaps the rewards of a stronger
international profile, garnering interest from prospective
top students and faculty who want to be
part of a highly competitive and winning School.
Although no longer directly involved with the
ICBC debating team, McKinnon is passionate
about Haskayne’s continued ICBC involvement.
The drive has taken on an entrepreneurial air
of its own. In 2006, he launched a fundraising
campaign to create an endowment to ensure
ICBC teams have access to top faculty coaches
and mentors necessary for students to maintain
their winning ways. The Dr. Bob Schulz
Business Case Sustainability Endowment —
named after well-known “Dr. Bob,” who devoted
countless hours of personal time to the ICBC
teams over a span of more than 30 years — has
already raised $600,000. McKinnon has his
sights set on $1 million.
“Getting involved” doesn’t end there. A firm
believer in the value of the bonds Haskayne
builds among students, between students and
alumni and with the business community,
McKinnon continues to find ways to contribute
to his alma mater. He is the incoming President
of the Haskayne School of Business Alumni
Chapter Board of Directors, serves on the
School’s Dean’s Management Advisory Council
and is a member of the University of Calgary
Senate.
McKinnon’s observation that “university education
is more than going to school — it’s about
getting involved” speaks directly to how students
can get the most out of their educational experience.
It’s obvious, however, that for him “getting
involved” are guiding words relevant well
beyond graduation.
Photo by Marnie Burkhart
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