Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s associate dean in the School of Business is one of “TD’s 10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians”.
Dr. Luis Fernando Villalba, along with nine other recipients, received the award at a ceremony in Vancouver on November 2.
“I’m very thankful. It is an incredible feeling because everyone contributed to where I am and that feels good,” says Villalba.
Born in Paraguay, Villalba is an American and Canadian citizen. He moved to the west coast from Toronto, where he taught high school. After teaching business, economics and Latin American Management at another lower mainland university, Villalba started as associate dean at KPU.
He has also held high profile positions including on the board of the World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility in Washington, D.C.
"All winners are selected by previous awardees and mainstream media based on their incredible accomplishments and contributions to Canada. Dr. Villalba is an incredible example of the quality of all past and current winners of TD's 10 most influential Hispanic Canadians national awards program," says Mauricio Ospina, director of the 10 most influential Hispanic Canadians.
Villalba is credited with designing the graduate programs in Green Business Management and Global Business Management at KPU. It’s a topic he is very passionate about. In fact, he did his doctoral work on green business.
“I am extremely thankful to KPU to be given the opportunity to be able to design these programs,” he says. “Now there is lots of external interest in it. The school of business continues to build its brand and this is a way to show that the brand is working.”
He says this award is important to him because he is an educator and a role model for the upcoming generation.
“I have a 15-year-old son and I want him to be proud of where he comes from. I want him to be proud of his parents and his community,” Villalba says.
“You take away things from society but giving back is more important than taking and I feel really strongly about it.”
Learn more about the awards at hispanicbusiness.ca/main/.
For more information about the School of Business programs, visit kpu.ca/business.