Shaikh named 2010 Management Alumni Excellence award recipient

Mazhar H. (Mike) Shaikh, FCA, is the winner of the Haskayne School of Business 2010 Management Alumni Excellence (MAX) award.  The MAX award recognizes the outstanding success of Haskayne alumni, celebrating personal achievement and extraordinary service to both the school and the community.

Shaikh earned his bachelor of commerce degree at Haskayne in 1977 and became a chartered accountant two years later, returning to the school in 1980 to teach accounting part-time for nearly 15 years. In addition to his work as a CA, he has served as corporate director of various for-profit and not-for-profit boards for more than 25 years. Shaikh is a great believer in active citizenship, currently serving as chair of the Calgary Police Commission and as a board member of the Chartered Accountants’ Education Foundation, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, EducationMatters, and the Canadian Association of Police Boards.

“I have known Mike for many years,” says Dick Haskayne, OC, AOE, and fellow FCA. “Not only has he consistently demonstrated the principles that this award honours, but he has also made an indelible impression on his industry, the university, the city of Calgary, and the province of Alberta. It is increasingly rare to find someone who gives as selflessly and asks as little in return as he does.”

A former senator at the University of Calgary, Shaikh has also been an honorary counselor in Canada for the Government of Pakistan since 2004, facilitating investment and trade relations between the two countries. He is a past director or board member of the Alberta Securities Commission, the Calgary Lougheed Progressive Conservative Association, the Calgary Parking Authority, the Conservative Party of Canada (Calgary Centre), the Calgary Currie Progressive Conservative Association, and the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team. He is also a director of several private and public companies.

Shaikh was named a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta in 2007. He is also a recipient of the Premier Klein leader service award and the Alberta centennial medal for outstanding service. Together, he and his partner Linda have raised three daughters.

MAX award winners must have demonstrated service to the Haskayne School of Business; embrace the values of leadership, commitment, excellence, integrity and dedication; be an advocate of higher education; have positively influenced the lives of others, and have made significant contributions to his or her profession. 

Of the nearly 20,000 Haskayne grads in more than 80 countries around the globe, 11 distinguished alumni have now received the Management Alumni Excellence (MAX) Award since its inception in 2000. Previous recipients — and proud Haskayne alumni — include George Gosbee, Russ Girling, Ken McKinnon, David Byler, Brian Bass, Lesley Conway, W. Brett Wilson, Hal Kvisle, Charlie Fischer, and Mike Tims.

Shaikh will receive his award at a gala dinner slated for Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at Calgary’s Fairmont Palliser Hotel.