VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business awarded honorary degrees to nine individuals, including Warren Spitz, CEO of Upper Canada Forest Products.

According to UBC honorary degrees were conferred “to individuals who have transformed their fields and inspired change at home and abroad.”

In addition to Spitz, this year’s recipients include Nobel Prize-winning chemist Sir David W. C. MacMillan; business leader and philanthropist Ryan Beedie; physician and former Canadian Medical Association President Dr. Alika Lafontaine; and acclaimed poet and novelist Daphne Marlatt.

Spitz was bestowed an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. According to the Sauder school’s website Spitz is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and investor. He is founder and CEO of the Spitz Group of Companies, which includes UCS Forest Group.

Spitz is currently Chair of the Faculty Advisory Board at the UBC Sauder School of Business and is on the Board of NOW Health Group. Additionally, he is a member of the Chief Executives Organization (CEO), Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and the Entrepreneur’s Circle of the Canada American Business Council (CABC).

Previously, Spitz served as President of the International Wood Products Association, Board Chair of the TD Toronto Jazz Festival and was on the Board of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). In 2012, he was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work in support of Canadian military families. With his family, in 2015, Warren created the Spitz Fellows Program for Indigenous Women at UBC Sauder; and was awarded the UBC Alumni Achievement Award in 2021 – for which he was honored with the Volunteer Leadership Award.