Women in Business: June 18, 2026

Luba Pan, MBA. MEd
Executive Director of Student Services & International Relations

Luba Pan is the Executive Director of Student Services and International Relations at the Schulich School of Business, York University. With nearly a decade of progressive leadership experience at York, Luba has held key roles across student recruitment, enrolment services, and academic operations—most recently serving as Director of Student and Enrolment Services and as Associate Registrar & Director of Student Recruitment and Admissions.

She holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a Master of Education in Higher Education from York University. Drawing on her combined expertise in business and education, Luba is dedicated to advancing student success, global engagement, and service excellence.

Prafulla Metaparti (MBA ’91)
Group Director, Data Privacy,  Citigroup, New York

Prafulla Metaparti is a senior data privacy and regulatory transformation leader with more than two decades of experience across global financial institutions. She is currently a Group Director at Citigroup in New York, where she leads Data Privacy for Institutional Clients.

Prafulla brings deep expertise in program management, regulatory change, governance, controls, and operating model design. She has a proven track record of translating complex regulatory requirements into practical, scalable business solutions and delivering cross-border programs in highly regulated environments.

Before joining Citi, Prafulla held senior leadership roles at J.P. Morgan in Hong Kong, leading regional privacy programs, regulatory controls, and compliance initiatives across 18 countries in Asia. Her broader banking career spans operations, risk, and regulatory transformation, with a strong emphasis on execution, stakeholder management, and sustainable change.

Prafulla holds advanced degrees in International Economic Law and Organizational Behavior, including a Ph.D., as well as an MBA from the Schulich School of Business. Outside work, she enjoys table tennis, hiking, music, and exploring ham radio.

Dr. Ela Veresiu is an Associate Professor of Marketing, the Marketing Area Coordinator, and the Marketing PhD Program Coordinator at York University’s Schulich School of Business. Professor Veresiu studies how markets, including both public and private sectors, can better serve underrepresented consumer groups. Professor Veresiu has been awarded the prestigious Sidney J. Levy Award, the Ferber Award Honorable Mention, the York University Research Leader Award, and the Schulich Research Excellence Fellowship. Her work has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), published in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, and the Journal of Advertising, among others, as well as featured by CBC News, The Conversation, and The National Post.

Andrea Ascarrunz (MMKG ‘20), Marketing Manager, PepsiCo Canada

Andrea Ascarrunz is a 2020 Master of Marketing graduate from Schulich. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, where she began her career in Consumer Insights & Analytics, she relocated to Toronto in 2019 to pursue her graduate studies. Since then, Andrea has built a strong career in Brand Management within the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, most recently at PepsiCo Canada. As a Marketing Manager, she now leads the national Tea Portfolio, overseeing brands such as Brisk, Lipton, and Pure Leaf. Outside of her corporate role, she is a dedicated mentor with ALPFA, supporting early-career Latino professionals, and a volunteer of Forward Together, a women’s empowerment and leadership organization here in Canada.

Shelley Li (BBA ’13, MBA ‘19)
Principal & Founding Member, Maple Bridge Ventures

Shelley Li is a Principal and Founding Member at Maple Bridge Ventures, a $20M institutional early-stage fund backed by Farm Credit Canada and Realize Capital Partners that invests in immigrant-led technology startups across Canada. She brings over a decade of experience in commercial lending and advisory, including more than six years delivering growth capital solutions to venture-backed companies in the technology and healthcare sectors across North America.

Prior to joining Maple Bridge Ventures, Shelley was a Director at CIBC Innovation Banking, where she led the national Startup Banking practice and built strategic partnerships with innovation hubs, accelerators, and ecosystem stakeholders to support companies from Pre-Seed to Series A. She previously served as Vice President, Technology Banking at Silicon Valley Bank, where she was among the first team members in Toronto and played a key role in establishing and expanding the bank’s Canadian presence. Earlier in her career, she held roles at the Business Development Bank of Canada and HSBC Commercial Banking.

Shelley is a recipient of The Peak’s 2023 Emerging Leaders Award in Finance and Investing and was recently nominated for the 34th Annual RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. She is actively involved in the venture ecosystem as Toronto Chapter Co-Lead for Canadian Women in Venture Capital, a Membership Committee Member at the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, and an Advisor on the Schulich Startups Investor Advisory Council.

A proud Schulich alumna, Shelley holds both an MBA and a BBA from the Schulich School of Business, as well as a Masterclass Certificate in Venture Capital from Schulich Executive Education. She is passionate about advancing women in venture and supporting the next generation of founders and investors.

Hilai Shefa, (MBA ’20)
Change Practitioner, Educator and Strategist, Founder & CEO, Changely

She holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business where she also teaches graduate-level Change Management courses. In her corporate career, Hilai has led complex, multi-million dollar transformations at TD Bank and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.

Her experience leading major transformations has shown her how effective good change leadership can be, and how costly poor leadership becomes. When leaders were unprepared, change took longer, cost more, and created friction in teams. It is this observation that led her to found Changely, a leadership learning institute. Her hope is to empower leaders to meet change with clarity and confidence.

Sukhman Vig (MMAI ’24)
Project Manager, Broadridge

Luba Pan is the Executive Director of Student Services & International Relations at the Schulich School of Business.