eConcordia

About Instructors

Jordan L. Le Bel

Photograph of Dr. Jordan L. Le Bel - Assistant professor in the Department of Marketing at Concordia University's John Molson School of Business (Courtesy of Christian Fleury)Jordan Le Bel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business, where he teaches the undergraduate elective course The Marketing of Food, and the MBA courses Experience Marketing and Marketing Management. He is the 2005 and 2010 recipient of the JMSB Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence and the 2010 recipient of Concordia’s President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Professor LeBel’s background is in the food service and hospitality industries. He holds both a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, where he has also taught, and a Ph.D. from McGill University. He is a member of, and advisor to, the McGill World Platform for Health and Economic Convergence, an international network of leading scientists, public policy makers, business leaders, and civil society leaders interested in effective and sustainable solutions to pervasive global issues, such as obesity in developed countries. Professor LeBel is also Vice President of the Board of Youth Employment Services, a non-profit organization helping young people find employment and entrepreneurs launch their businesses.

Professor LeBel is passionate about all aspects of food and wine, from production and cooking to history and social significance. Professor LeBel is a chef, and has acted as a restaurant inspector for the Distinguished Restaurants of North America Award program. He frequently lectures to, and consults for, large and small companies and professional associations in the foodservice industry.

As part of his duties, Professor LeBel also conducts research on the role of pleasure in consumers' decisions and behaviour, often using foods like chocolate in field and laboratory experiments. His work with and expertise on both ‘comfort foods’ and chocolate has been featured extensively in both broadcast (Today Show on NBC, Canada AM on CTV) and print media (Glamour magazine, Montreal’s The Gazette, The National Post, The Washington Post). He has contributed to numerous televised documentaries on food, notably on the Discovery Channel and Canal Historia. From 2002 to 2004, he was a regular contributor to the French morning show Salut Bonjour! on the TVA network.

Professor LeBel has also spent years learning about and researching various aspects of our continuing love affair with chocolate. He recently participated in designing the chocolate museum of Montebello. He also recently launched a non-credit edutainment online seminar titled "The World of Chocolate: Explore, Experience, Enjoy" where participants learn about the history, making, and tasting of chocolate, how to host a chocolate tasting, and much more. Participants also receive a complimentary chocolate tasting kit from Valrhona, a renowned French chocolate producer. The course may be sampled at www.enjoyingchocolate.com.

Harold J. Simpkins

Photograph of Professor Harold J. Simpkins - Senior Lecturer Department of Marketing, Academic Director - Marketing Co-op Program, John Molson School of Business, Concordia UniversityHarold Simpkins is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Concordia University 's John Molson School of Business. He is also the Academic Director of the JMSB's Marketing Co-op Program.

Undergraduate and graduate courses that Professor Simpkins has taught or developed include Integrated Marketing Communications, Advertising, Retailing, Contemporary Business Thinking, Business Communications and Marketing Management.

Prior to his academic career, he held product management positions with two global food companies and was Vice-President of Client Services with Canada's largest advertising agency. In these roles, Professor Simpkins developed marketing and advertising campaigns for a number of leading brands including Cadbury, Clairol, Coty, Visine, Skippy Peanut Butter, Reynolds Aluminum, Laura Secord, Catelli, Habitant and Hellmanns.

His consulting practice includes clients in the automotive, fashion, food, Internet and telecom industries. Programs that he has developed for his clients have won several major awards including the Canada Award for Business Excellence in Marketing and the Retail Council of Canada's Marketing Communication Award. Professor Simpkins serves on the board of directors for the Royal West Academy Foundation and Youth Employment Services. He draws on his extensive experience in the business and not-for-profit sectors to teach students how theoretical concepts can be applied to real life marketing problems and opportunities.

He holds a BA in Psychology from Sir George Williams University and an MBA from Concordia University. He was the recipient of the John Molson School of Business 2003-2004 Distinguished Teaching Award.