“ Ali was a caring and very capable leader, deeply committed to students and community. He supported a lot of us to colour well outside the lines of what is typical of a business school. Fittingly as my boss for the last five years, a colleague said in reference to him "A great leader gives you all the rope you need, and then when you get tangled, cuts you free, gets everyone to look away and hands you some more rope".
He had a vision and knew where we were headed, but he trusted a lot of people to find their unique ways to contribute. On two separate occasions other Canadian business school Deans visiting RADIUS went out if their way to describe him as a mentor to many.
He also always cared about how I was as a person, wholeheartedly supported me to take long parental leaves despite the disruptions involved, and made sure my daughter Juniper got a lovely welcome present when she was born. We will remember him whenever we read one of her favourite books.
It was so reassuring to know he would be around for our next steps, and I will miss him very much. My thoughts are with his family, and to the great many people he impacted around the world. ”