Bruno Silvestre has undoubtedly left the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba in better shape than he found it.
After nearly five years at the helm as dean, the long-time academic and supply chain expert is moving to British Columbia to lead the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, effective this September.
“It was a difficult decision for me. It has been such a great experience here, engaging with this amazing community. Winnipeg is a privileged town to have so many committed people,” he says. “This opportunity came and there are family decisions behind it. I’m sad and excited at the same time.”
During his time at Asper, which also included nearly one year as acting dean, he oversaw a vast array of improvements, not the least of which is the 28 per cent growth of student enrolment across programs over the last five years. (An acting dean is expected to be named during the summer, followed by a global search with a new dean to be announced in 2027.)
That growing enrolment and ongoing high demand has prompted the Asper School to take action. It is raising funds for the projected $40-million project.
“This new building is going to be transformational, to bring the school to the next level but it’s also going to boost the economy of the province. It’s not only about jobs but ideas and entrepreneurs that come out of the Asper School,” Silvestre says.
The current home, the Drake Centre, will continue on, primarily as the site for the growing Bachelor of Commerce program. There’s no denying that the nearly 40-year-old building is bursting at the seams. In 2025, a record-high of more than 850 new students were accepted at the school. And 16 per cent of the new students identified as having Indigenous ancestry, making it the school’s largest-ever cohort of Indigenous business students.
In fact, Indigenous students made up seven per cent of the Asper School’s student population during the last academic year, including 97 who were enrolled in the Indigenous Business Education Partners program. These numbers grew by about 21 per cent from the previous year and show no signs of slowing down.
Silvestre is particularly proud of the school’s growing commitment to the Indigenous community as he believes strongly that economic reconciliation is everybody’s responsibility. He says Asper is “very committed” to offering pathways for Indigenous youth to a business degree, both undergraduate and graduate.
“We have been identifying and removing systemic barriers for Indigenous youth for the last five years. We are happy to advance our reconciliation pathway and really help Indigenous youth to do business, if that’s the career they want to pursue,” he says.
Silvestre says First Nations, Métis and Inuit people need to have a seat at the negotiating table so they can participate in business decisions that will impact not just Manitoba but Canada.
“The Asper School can really be an effective partner and open up the international business world to Indigenous youth and entrepreneurs alike, so they can make decisions empowered with knowledge and expertise,” he says. “It’s one step at a time. There is resistance, we can’t deny it. But as we graduate more students and engage more with First Nations, these barriers are going to come down. The new generation is much more open to that because they are growing with these elements already in place and these discussions are happening more openly. In the past, we didn’t have that.”
Last May, the Asper School launched its new five-year strategic plan, entitled, Building Community, Inspiring Innovation. The mission is to keep a community mindset while conducting business because connections are Asper’s biggest assets and service to the community fuels innovation.
The plan has three pillars — empowering learners, advancing research excellence and expanding meaningful engagement, all of which are designed to drive prosperity, positive societal impact and economic well-being here and around the world. So much of what the Asper School does is facilitated by The Associates of the Asper School of Business, a group of nearly 400 senior executives who drive the Manitoba economy forward but who have been giving back to the business school for more than four decades.
“I have worked in multiple business schools across the globe and I’ve never seen anything like that,” he says.
Right behind them are the Young Associates, the under-40 version of The Associates, with about 200 business leaders with strong connections to the Asper School.
Silvestre says the school is preparing its students to excel in the national and international arenas, particularly through its co-op program, which places nearly 300 students at more than 100 local and national businesses. Another 100 students spent a semester abroad last year through its international exchange program, which features partnerships with 65 business schools in 35 countries. At the same time, 65 students from around the world spent a term at Asper.
“We take international experience and international learning very seriously,” he says.
Case competitions used to be ad hoc events at Asper but in the last few years, they have become a regular part of the curriculum. In fact, about 400 students every year represent the Asper School and the UM in case competitions all over the world. Silvestre is particularly quick to note that Asper students won the John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition, the biggest and most prestigious event of its kind, for the first time last year in Montreal.
“That represents the calibre of the education we are providing here and also the calibre of students we are graduating here,” he says.
The feeling appears to be mutual. A recent survey of Asper School graduates found 91 per cent of them felt that their experience and degree met or exceeded their expectations.
“These students want the best. They know what a good education is. But we’re not happy with 91 per cent. We want to push to 95 to 98 per cent,” he says.
While many well-established members of the Winnipeg business community have had decades-long relationships with the Asper School, Silvestre says there is always room for more.
“There are so many opportunities (for business leaders). They can hire co-op students, they can become members of The Associates, they can be guest speakers in our classrooms and they can coach our teams in case competitions to represent the Asper School. There are multiple ways they can share their expertise with our students and give back, as well,” he says. “Ultimately, it’s all about the students and supporting the next generation of leaders who are coming out of the Asper School of Business who will lead this province.”
