Dr. Bruno Silvestre will be stepping down from role as Dean of the Asper School of Business September 1, 2026.
With gratitude for his service to the university community, the I.H. Asper School of Business announces that Dr. Bruno Silvestre will be stepping down from his role as Dean and CPA Chair in Business Leadership at the I.H. Asper School of Business, effective September 1, 2026.
Dr. Silvestre will be relocating to Victoria to take up the position of Dean of the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria.
“It has made me incredibly proud to serve as Dean of the Asper School of Business during this critical time of progress,” said Dr. Silvestre. “I’m thankful for the supportive Asper community of faculty, staff, and students, as well as our countless partners in the Manitoba Business Community, who have each been essential in the advancement of business education in Manitoba.”
Dr. Silvestre joined the University of Manitoba in 2016 and served in multiple leadership roles within the Asper School. In addition to his appointment as Professor in Supply Chain Management, he has held positions as Associate Dean, Professional Graduate Programs & Strategic Partnerships, and Director of the Transport Institute.
As Director of the Transport Institute, Dr. Silvestre led the development of a unique-in-Canada Master of Supply Chain Management and Logistics (MSCM) program which continues to attract students to study with unprecedented access to Winnipeg’s rapidly growing supply chain industry.
Dr. Silvestre was appointed acting Dean in October 2021 and Dean in July 2022. During his tenure, Dr. Silvestre advanced Asper’s globally renowned position to “keep community in business” by expanding the School’s focus on experiential learning, research excellence, and meaningful engagement.
Under his leadership, enrolment in the Asper School of Business grew significantly. Over the 2025-2026 academic year, the Asper School trained over 2,500 unique undergraduate and graduate students, as well as close to 1,900 students from other UM faculties, representing growth of over 28% in the last 5 years. Additionally, new pathways for Indigenous students to study business were opened with a 21.4% yearly growth in the number of Indigenous business students at the Asper School in 2025.
In 2025, a record-high of more than 850 new Asper students were accepted to the School. In the Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) program alone, 16% of the new Asper students identified as having Indigenous ancestry, making it the School’s largest incoming cohort of Indigenous business students in history.
To meet the growing student demand and enhance the student experience, Dr. Silvestre strengthened existing experiential learning opportunities while expanding global ones.
In 2022, in partnership with the Associates of the Asper School of Business, Dr. Silvestre led the establishment of the Price Student-Managed Investment Fund (PSMIF). This opportunity allows Asper finance students use real-world funds to gain hands-on investment experience.
Thanks to a lead gift from business icon Gerry Price [BSc/70, MSc/72, LLD/17] and a fundraising effort in conjunction with the Associates of the Asper School of Business, the fund has reached $4.4 million in assets this year, 4% of which returns to the Asper School in the form of investments in the students’ learning experience.
Over 2025 in Asper’s co-op program, accredited by CEWIL Canada and the largest program of its kind in Manitoba, nearly 300 students received real-world mentorship and paid work experience at over 100 employers.
Dr. Silvestre significantly grew the School’s global commitment to case competitions. In the 2025-2026 academic year, 330 undergraduate and graduate students participated in 37 competitions, and connected students with 379 industry volunteers and Asper alumni who acted as their coaches and mentors.
He also oversaw the expansion of the International Exchange Program to more than 65 partner institutions in over 30 countries. In 2025, nearly 100 Asper students travelled abroad to gain a global perspective on business.
As a result, 91% of the 2025 graduates indicated that their experience at the Asper School met or exceeded their expectations.
Under Dr. Silvestre’s leadership, the Asper School advanced research infrastructure with the establishment of two new research centres: the Behavioural Management Research Centre (which includes the state-of-the-art David Dreman Behavioural Lab), and the Chiu Centre for Business Serving Community. These centres are hubs for innovative and impactful research in management and human behaviour, and for the power of business to do good for society, respectively.
As a result of the strengthened research support (including faculty travel support, internal research grants, and expansion of the PhD program) and enhanced research culture in the last 5 years, Asper School researchers have thrived. The active number of research chairs and professorships grew 121% from 19 in 2021 to 42 in 2025.
Citations of the research developed at the Asper School grew from 8,200 in 2021 to 13,100 in 2025, representing a growth of around 60% over the period. This is partially due to the increase in the quality of Asper School research, with publications in top outlets increasing from 37.5% in 2021 to 72.4% in 2025.
The Associates and the Young Associates of the Asper School of Business have become stronger than ever with a record-high membership number of nearly 600 business executives. Their partnership with the Asper School has continued to provide opportunities for Asper students to meaningfully connect to the larger Manitoba business community. For example, the networking event IGNITE, which welcomes first-year students to the business community, continued to grow year by year—welcoming 440 industry professionals and 410 students in 2025.
Dr. Silvestre led the Asper School to sign two historic memorandums of understanding with Indigenous organizations. The Asper School partnered with Norway House Cree Nation and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), to develop joint programs and initiatives aimed at creating employment and economic opportunities in business for Northern First Nations learners.
The Asper School also pledged to support the Wiitahnookiinitaw Tahshkayzing Entrepreneurship Centre (WTEC), led by Asper alum Kathleen BlueSky [MBA/15] through student-led business planning, mentorship, and training workshops.
In an effort to nurture sustainability values, the Asper School also signed an MoU with BizforClimate, an advocacy group with over 265 signatories, leveraging the power of the Manitoba business community to improve sustainability practices, policy, dialogue, and action. Additionally, the School became a signatory of the Principles of Responsible Management Education with the United Nations.
The organization Positive Impact Rating for Business Schools recently awarded Asper a “4” rating (out of a possible 5), signifying that Asper has a positive impact culture with visible results and progress on key stakeholders.
Each of these achievements led to the Asper School’s successful AACSB reaccreditation (a distinction earned by only the top 6% of business schools in the world) and progress toward additional international accreditations. With new memberships in EQUIS and AMBA-BGA, the Asper School of Business is on track to become a triple crown business school, an achievement that would rank the Asper School in the top 1% of business schools worldwide.
The Asper School has maintained strong relationships with alumni and the Manitoba business community, leading to 2025’s record-breaking fundraising total of $21.4 million in support of business education and research.
As the process to appoint an acting Dean and the planning for the search for the next Dean of the Asper School begins, the future of the School’s direction will continue to be driven by the five-year vision Dr. Silvestre presented in the Asper School of Business 2025-2030 strategic plan Building Community, Inspiring Innovation.
It takes human-centered teaching, genuine care for students, and innovative assignments that encourage critical thinking.
An Asper School researcher examines trust in the early stages of entrepreneurship for a top academic business journal
Daniel Eng has done it all at Asper — from exchange, to case competitions — and he's still pining for the next adventure.
Asper School MBA students conduct a cost-benefit analysis on converting diesel school buses to electric.
