Alumni Recognition Awards (ARA)

Vince Commisso is President & CEO of 9 Story Media Group, one of the industry’s leading creators, producers and distributors of top quality content for young audiences around the world. With facilities in Toronto, New York, Dublin, Manchester and Bali, the 9 Story family of companies has produced over 4,000 episodes of best-in-class kids and family programming.

Vince began his career in 1992 at Nelvana, where he rose through the ranks to become Supervising Producer, garnering one Emmy® and two Gemini® nominations. In 2002, he co-founded 9 Story Entertainment, an animation company that would utilize leading edge technologies to develop and produce compelling animated children’s content with international appeal. Since earning an Emmy® Award on the company’s very first show, Peep and the Big Wide World, 9 Story has gone on to earn countless other awards, including fourteen Emmy® Awards and two Oscar nominations.

Vince serves as Chair of the Audit and Governance Committees for The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) and as Chair of the trade-based advocacy association, Canadian Association of Content Exporters (CACE). He holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and was awarded the prestigious EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Entertainment and Media category in Ontario (2015).

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Tracey Pearce is an accomplished, award-winning media executive whose experience covers many facets of the industry. Grounded in law (having been a partner in a major firm and then in General Counsel roles), Pearce transitioned to a variety of operational roles, most recently as President, Bell Media, Distribution and Pay, responsible for the subscription revenue portfolio, digital product, corporate strategy and premium streaming services. An architect behind the transformation of Crave, she helped drive its significant subscriber growth through the development of an all new app and commissioning of top rated original programming such as Letterkenny and Canada’s Drag Race. A “go to” problem solver, Pearce has managed significant P&L accountability and teams, negotiated complex, major agreements (US studios, sports leagues, IOC, producers), delivered on digital transformation and driven strategy, innovation and revenue growth.

In 2017, Pearce was one of 35 women from around the world accepted to the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Leadership Foundation Fellows Program where she participated in leadership training at Harvard Business School and INSEAD. In 2016, Pearce was honoured with Women in Film & Television – Toronto’s Crystal Award for Outstanding Achievement in Business. In 2021, Crave was recognized with the Industry Leadership Award at the Canadian Screen Awards.

Pearce is a member of the Executive Committee and a Director for both the Canadian Club Toronto and Alpine Canada, and serves as a member of the advisory boards of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, as well as York University’s Schulich School of Business MBA Program in Arts, Media & Entertainment Management.

Robert C. Wong, B.Sc., MBA’72 is currently vice chairman and senior portfolio manager at Leon Frazer & Associates. He has led a varied and interesting career path. While teaching high school math and physics, he was completing his MBA. During this period, he pioneered the teaching of computer science to high school students and wrote textbooks on the subject.

In the early Seventies, Wong had the opportunity to serve as special assistant to the minister of national health and welfare, and as an adviser to Canada’s first minister of state for multiculturalism. After his time in Ottawa, he returned to Toronto and co-founded a brokerage firm which grew to 10 offices across Canada. All the while, he remained active in politics and worked to grow Chinese-Canadian engagement. During this time, he also helped to establish Canada’s first multilingual television station in Toronto.

He then left the investment world for a full-time career in politics. In 1987 he was elected as the MPP for Fort York and in short order was appointed Ontario’s Minister of Energy in Premier David Peterson’s Government. This appointment made Wong the first cabinet minister in Canada of Chinese descent. Two years later, he took on the citizenship portfolio. His time in the Legislature led to major changes in the Power Corporation Act and the promotion of multiculturalism and equity among Ontario’s diverse population.

Wong has supported many organizations as a volunteer, including the Toronto Board of Trade, the Alzheimer Society of Toronto, St. John’s Rehab Foundation, Canadian Automobile Association, and Victoria University (U of T). He is a member of the Schulich International Advisory Council and recently completed his term on the governing Council of CPA Ontario. His honours include a U of T Arbor Award, Courvoisier Leadership Award and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Born in Buckingham, Quebec, Paul graduated from McGill University in 1964 with a degree in law. From the very beginning of his career, his focus was on international trade and commerce. He started his career as a Trade Commissioner in the Canadian Embassy in Paris (1966-69), then served as chief of staff to the Hon. Jean-Luc Pépin, Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce (1969-72). He was a founding member of Interimco, a private international trading company (1972-80). He returned to the federal government to run the Canadian Industrial Renewal Board. In 1985, he was appointed to establish and lead Investment Canada. He was President of Export Development Canada (1991-97) and Chairman and CEO of Citibank Canada (1997-2000). Throughout his career, Paul championed Canadian business and believed in its ability to compete and succeed internationally. In his retirement, he served on several public and nonprofit boards, including Chair of the Schulich School of Business International Advisory Council. Paul was a devoted husband, father of five children and grandfather to fourteen grandchildren. He was happiest pushing the limits of conventional road travel, cutting a rug with his wife, playing shinny hockey with his grandchildren and enjoying a good meal with family.