MEET THE TEAM
Maira Shaath
Associate Communications Officer
Maira Shaath is a third year marketing student minoring in HR. She's really involved by being a part of multiple associations: the VP of marketing for the Human Resources Association, the Chair of Events for the Marketing Association, and the Associate Communications Officer for BITSoc!
She's an ambassador and a TA as well! Additionally, she's a varsity rower with the university.
For fun, she loves to spend any free time she has watching Korean and Turkish dramas!! She also loves reading in general, especially graphic novels.
Jaired Sides
Chief Finance Officer
Jaired is a third-year Commerce student, majoring in Accounting and minoring in Finance. This is Jaired's first year as an executive with BITSoc. Currently, Jaired is also a part of the Ontario Tech Accounting Association (OTAA) as VP of Finance. Last year, he was also a conference coordinator for the OTAA's Connect Conference.
In his spare time, Jaired volunteers his time coaching his local youth football team. When he is not coaching, working, or studying Jaired enjoys binge-watching shows and spending time with friends.
After Graduation, Jaired plans on working towards his CPA designation.
John McBride
President
Sidra Qazi
Vice President of Commerce
Amy Lee
Vice President of Information Technology
Amy Lee
Vice President of Information Technology
Amy is a third-year student majoring in Networking & IT Security, and minoring in Operations Management. She is our Vice President of Information Technology for the 2022/23 term. In addition, she is also an executive member of the Networking & IT Security Students' Association (Netsoc), and an OTSU Board Director representing the Faculty of Business & IT.
This is Amy’s second year on BITSoc. She is looking forward to uniting all IT clubs in our society by fostering open communication and creating opportunities for them to learn from each other. Last but not least, Amy values student leadership and aims to encourage that through events and initiatives.
Sidra Qazi
Vice President of Commerce
Other than being the VP of Commerce for BITSoc Sidra is also the Chief Financial Officer for TMSA where she likes to spend her time bringing the technology management students together and providing networking opportunities.
After graduation, Sidra hopes to pursue a career in business analytics or in cyber security yet she is open to exploring many other options.
In Sidra's spare time, she loves to cook, bake and explore new cuisines and cafes in the city. Sidra's all-time favourite movies are La La Land and Notting Hill. She loves light-hearted debates and analyzing films.
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Rumiza Tariq
Chief Communications Officer
Rumiza is currently in her third year in the Business Commerce program with a major in Technology Management (Commerce).
This is Rumiza’s third year working with BITSoc, she started as the Associate Operations Officer in the 2020-2021 term and is now joining as the Chief Communications Officer. She is also an exec at HRA as an Ambassador.
During her free time, Rumiza enjoys exploring new recipes, reading books (always open for recommendations) and spending time with her family.
Rumiza Tariq
Chief Communications Officer
Chris Niemela
Chief Operations Officer
Maira Shaath
Associate Communications Officer
Jaired Sides
Chief Financial Officer
Nakul Jain
Chief Technology Officer
Michael Wilson
I.T Coordinator
Ahmad Zamir Akhtari
Commerce Coordinator
Abu George Kuttenchirayil
Associate Operations Officer
Sulaman Shah
Advisor
Nikki Bhalla
Commerce Coordinator
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Utku Soytekin
IT Director
William Blake Pezzarello
Diretor of Sponsorships
John McBride
President
John is entering his third year in the Business Commerce program. He is currently majoring in Organizational Behaviour & Human Resources.
This is John’s third year on BITSoc. He first joined as the Commerce Liaison during the 2020-2021 school year, he was on the team again for the 2021-2022 academic year as the Chief Operations Officer and is now serving as the president during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Outside of school, John works in sales development for the global leader in live holograms, ARHT Media loves making people laugh and likes to play golf. Always feel free to reach out to me to chat!
Chris Niemela
Chief Operations Officer
Currently in his third year of Technology Management (Bachelor's of IT), Chris is a passionate student and club executive always looking to get involved where he can. Joining BITSoc this year as the Chief Operations Officer, Chris is also the Vice President of IT for TMSA (Technology Management Student Association). A new club on campus which he helped found last year. Outside of school Chris is a musician and enjoys playing drums and guitar, looking to start learning piano. Feel free to reach out to him with any questions you might have!
Ahmad Zamir Akhtari
Commerce Coordinator
Hey there! My name is Ahmad Zamir Akhtari but you can just call me Zamir, I’m a first-year commerce student looking to major in both Finance and Accounting! In my spare time I love to explore, drink Iced capps, and hang out with friends! I’m also the case Competition Chair for the Human Resource Association and campus account manager for the Canadian Marketing League along with being a general member for all business societies. I’m looking forward to having a fun year with you all!
William Thurber
Faculty Advisor
Abu George Kuttenchirayil
Associate Operations Officer
Abu George is in his 3rd of the accounting program, currently serving as the Associate Operations Officer for the 2022-23 academic year. This is Abu's second year on BITSOc, previously serving as the Commerce Coordinator. Outside of school, Abu likes watching basketball and spending time in the outdoors.
Utku Soytekin
IT Director
My name is Utku and I am a third year student studying Networking and IT Security. I work in OTU as a lab assistant and in GTU as a teaching assistant. This year, I am the IT Director of BitSoc and the AOO of Netsoc. I am passionate about penetration testing and ethical hacking and I conduct workshops to teach OTU students. In my free time, I like watching football, pro wrestling, and playing the electric guitar. I always like meeting new people and hopefully I'll see you in one of my workshops!
Nakul Jain
Chief Technology Officer
Nakul is currently in his 4th year in the Networking and I.T Security Program. Nakul is also associated with Netsoc as Deputy of Communication. Nakul manages this website you are currently browsing and updates all the latest events and news. Nakul works as a Networking Lab Technician in SIRC and manages and maintains all Network Devices.
Nakul loves to play and watch basketball, workout in the gym and mix music at parties. Nakul is going to work for Cisco Meraki in San Francisco as a Network Engineer after graduating.
Nakul loves giving advice to any students who need an extra hand or encouragement and loves talking to people in general about anything.
Michael Wilson
IT Coordinator
Michael enjoys playing the piano, playing video games, taekwondo, and listening to lots of music. In Michael's time, he enjoys playing sports like volleyball, badminton and basketball. He also enjoys spending time with friends and family, going out shopping, and of course, playing video games!
Sulaman Shah
Advisor
Sulaman is entering his fourth year in the Bachelor of IT program with a major in Technology Management. He is very passionate about Business and IT and would like to go into a client-focused role in Tech Consulting/Sales after graduating!
He started his student leadership journey by taking various Operations Executive roles at Netsoc for 2 years! He then in 2020/2021 went to become the BITSoc President where he and his team restructured the society to re-establish estranged relations between the FBIT clubs, student union, faculty and overall student body! Along with his team, he was able to successfully implement a new structure that was praised by the faculty, students, student union, and clubs for its effective way to bring change to BITSoc that had not been done in many years! He also started a student-run virtual learning task force to communicate with professors and students on ways, we can change testing methods to not involve virtual proctoring software and solve issues with the current virtual learning environment!
He currently is now an Advisor to the current leadership team to BITSoc where he utilizes his leadership experience and passion in student advocacy to advise on matters that impact the overall student experience in the Faculty of Business and IT at Ontario Tech! He also is the President of Netsoc and one of the founders and Co-President of a newly formed club, TMSA (Tech Management Student Association).
Sulaman has a great passion for finding ways to help students exceed outside of the classroom and how they can become career-ready! He also is a strong advocate for student advocacy!
Apart from school and extra-curricular activities Sulaman enjoys exploring new places, binge-watching Sc-Fi shows and catching up on new developments in tech!
Feel free to reach out to Sulaman if you want to learn more about what he does in his various roles or just want to chat!
William Blake Pezzarello
Director of Sponsorships
Blake is in his second year of the Commerce program. He is Majoring in Accounting and Minoring in Marketing. Blake is a new member of the Business and IT Society this year, serving as Director of Sponsorships. He is also new to the Ontario Tech Accounting Association as a Financial Officer. Blake has been a member of the Ontario Tech Racing team since last year and now serves as Sponsorship and Finance Director, where he spends the most of his time. Blake's life revolves around Motorsports. In his spare time, he enjoys racing, track days, tinkering and building one wild project per year, depending on budget restraints. He claims the fumes from working on his car enhance his ability to study and stay focused on his studies. He does not recommend anyone test this theory before a proper study is conducted. Blake loves to meet new people and is always available for a chat. He can be reached through LinkedIn and encourages everyone to spark up a conversation.
Nikki Bhalla
Commerce Coordinator
Nikki is in her first year of the Business Commerce program. As a Commerce student, she hopes to understand key business functions and current technologies. This is Nikki’s first year on BITSOC as Commerce Coordinator. In her new position, she is looking forward to collaborating and connecting with students in the Faculty of Business and IT. Nikki is also the Ambassador for the Ontario Tech Marketing Association where she works towards enhancing the student experience for those in the Marketing profession. In her free time, she enjoys reading, connecting with new people and spending time with friends and family.
William Thurber
Faculty Advisor
Will Thurber joined the Faculty of Business and Information Technology (FBIT) in 2009. He teaches Critical Thinking and Ethics (BUSI 1010), Business Communications (BUSI 1020) and Marketing Communications (BUSI 3200). He joined FBIT after spending 10 years as a faculty member at Brock University. He earned his BA from Eisenhower College and his MBA from Clarkson University.
He has worked in the private sector as an entrepreneur and served on national trade associations where he led a national anti-impaired driving partnership between private industry and the federal government. Active on and off campus, he currently serves on the Board of the Oshawa Kicks Soccer Club and is a member of 100 Men of Oshawa. He is the Faculty Advisor to the FBIT Students' Society (BITSoc). When he is not in class, he can often be found riding his bike on the many trails in Oshawa or in his seat at Scotia Bank Centre cheering for the Toronto Raptors.