Women in Business: June 13, 2024

Lindsay Hillcoat is the Executive Director of Student Services & International Relations at the Schulich School of Business. She is a Schulich MBA ’10, and has spent the past eleven years in a variety of admissions and international relations leadership roles within Schulich. Prior to joining Schulich, Lindsay’s early career was spent working with social entrepreneurs and in the non-profit sector here in Toronto and internationally in West Africa and South Asia.

Zoya Zayler (IMBA ’10)

Head of Canada & LATAM Inclusive eXperiences & Technology at Amazon

Zoya Zayler leads inclusive experiences across Canada and Latin America at Amazon. In this role she drives Amazon’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy in international markets and accelerates global tech innovations that build a brighter future for employees, customers and communities. Prior to Amazon, Zoya held various leadership positions with Accenture in DEI and Human Resources.

Zoya is passionate about fostering inclusion, ensuring equity and celebrating uniqueness. She loves to travel and has worked and lived in several countries including France, India, Moldova and Italy. She holds an International MBA from the Schulich School of Business and is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL). Zoya has been recognized as one of WXN Top 100 Canada’s Most Powerful Women, received the CCDI D&I Practitioner of the Year award and was previously named one of HRD’s Top 22 Most Promising Young HR Professionals in Canada.

Ela Veresiu

Associate Professor of Marketing

Ela Veresiu is an Associate Professor of Marketing and the Marketing Area PhD Program Coordinator at the Schulich School of Business, York University. Her research focuses on understanding and promoting consumer diversity and market inclusion at the interplay of identity, technology, branding, and institutions. Ela’s work has been awarded the prestigious Sidney J. Levy Award and the Ferber Award Honorable Mention, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), as well as published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Advertising, and the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, among others. In 2022, she was named the Top 10 PR, Marketing and Communications Professors in Canada by Marketing News Canada. Ela is heavily involved with mentoring doctoral students and junior faculty, focusing on female students. She is the mom of an almost 2-year old toddler named Lucas.  

Meenakshi (Meena) Kukreja, (MBA ’23)

Manager, Retirement Marketing, Manulife Management

Meena is a dynamic marketing professional with a passion for driving impactful brand solutions and fostering growth. Her journey is a testament to her dedication, leadership, and expertise across various domains. Having earned her MBA in 2023 from the Schulich School of Business at York University, Meenakshi’s journey is marked by notable achievements. She distinguished herself as the Captain of Team Schulich at the MBA Games 2023, securing an impressive Top 3 rank, and played a pivotal role as a Forté Fellow, promoting women in leadership positions through a partnership with the Forté Foundation. In her professional career, Meenakshi excelled as a Marketing Manager at Manulife Investment Management, where she orchestrated innovative marketing campaigns, optimized processes, and amplified brand exposure. Her contributions were instrumental in driving revenue growth and enhancing customer engagement. Previously, she made significant impacts at Momspresso, India’s leading platform for moms, by negotiating key deals, spearheading marketing initiatives, and fostering partnerships with top brands. A trained dancer with expertise in various forms, she imparts her skills and promotes the joy of dance. Additionally, Meenakshi’s passion for sports is evident from her years of dedication to volleyball, where she captained both her school and college teams to victory in numerous competitions. Her commitment to excellence, coupled with her diverse skill set, positions her as a catalyst for positive change in any setting she engages with.

Rabia Munir (MREI ’22)

Associate Development Manager, GWL Realty Advisors 

Rabia is currently working as Associate Development Manager at GWL Realty Advisors. She has experience with urban planning, quantitative and qualitative research, and building construction. Rabia draws on past projects and education to develop creative solutions to contemporary projects.  

Mikayla Wronko (Tech MBA Candidate ’24),

Bachelor of Arts in Applied Economics (BA), Bachelor of Computing (BCMP) Queen’s University (’19)

Mikayla Wronko is a proud student of the Tech MBA’s inaugural class with 4 years of software engineering experience. Mikayla graduated from Queen’s University with undergraduate degrees in Economics and Computer Science and she began her career in technology with TD Bank. Through the Early Talent Developer program, Mikayla had rotated with teams across the bank specializing in data science tooling, ERP implementations, and in-house workflow platforms. Mikayla rolled out into TD Securities where she was a backend engineer supporting Global Equity Derivatives. During her time with TD Securities, Mikayla became a patent holder for her work in defining a method for workflow execution via graph data structures. 

 Now at Schulich, Mikayla is a designated Forté Fellow, volunteer for Schulich Startups, and avid competitor on the graduate business case competition circuit. She and the Graduate Case team had a record year that includes 1st place finishes at the MBA Games and TRSM’s Reimagining Women in Leadership competition. After graduation, Mikayla is looking to leverage her Tech MBA to bridge the gap between business and technology. She is interested in leadership roles championing enterprise technology strategy and transformation. Outside of school, Mikayla enjoys music, exploring cities, and has recently rediscovered her love of video games. 

Lindsay Hillcoat is the Executive Director of Student Services & International Relations at the Schulich School of Business. She is a Schulich MBA ’10, and has spent the past eleven years in a variety of admissions and international relations leadership roles within Schulich. Prior to joining Schulich, Lindsay’s early career was spent working with social entrepreneurs and in the non-profit sector here in Toronto and internationally in West Africa and South Asia.