Feridun Hamdullahpur

Talk Tilte: TBA

Abstract:

TBA

Biographical Sketch

Feridun Hamdullahpur CM^[3] (born 1953 or 1954)^[1] is the chancellor of International Business University. Previously, he was the president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo.^[4] Hamdullahpur was named the sixth president of the University of Waterloo in March 2011.^[5][6] Hamdullahpur’s term ended on July 1, 2021, when his successor, Vivek Goel, took office.

Early life

Hamdullahpur was born in Turkey to an Iranian Azerbaijani father and a Turkish mother. He is the youngest of five brothers. His businessman father, Nasri, died of liver disease before Hamdullahpur turned one. His mother, Merziye, raised her five sons in Turkey.^[1] He moved from Turkey to Nova Scotia in 1981 where he met his wife, Cathy. Cathy was 21, a fourth-year nursing student at Dalhousie University.^[7] They married in Halifax on June 28, 1985, and later traveled to Turkey for a small ceremony with family.^{[citation needed]}

Education

Hamdullahpur attended the Istanbul Technical University earning his undergraduate degree and his master’s in mechanical engineering. He moved to Canada to do a PhD at the Technical University of Nova Scotia, which is now part of Dalhousie University.^[4]

Prior to being appointed president, Hamdullahpur was Waterloo’s vice president academic and provost, a role which he held for just over a year before being appointed interim president. Prior to this, Hamdullahpur held various roles at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Career

After completing his time as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo, Hamdullahpur continues to serve on several boards, including as a board director for AMTD Group of which he started a relationship with the overall group since 2015 as an Independent Chairman of the Firmwide Executive Management Committee.^[8] He also currently serves as a member of ApplyBoard‘s Canadian Advisory Board^[9] and as a member of the Honorary Treasurer for the Association of Commonwealth Universities.^[10]

He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2022.^[3] Hamdullaphar is also the publisher and director of L’Officiel, a subsidiary of AMTD.^[11]