UNB News
News and stories from one of Canada’s top universities

The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is excited to welcome Dr. Peter Kerr as an associate professor and chair of applied research in sales.

An accomplished veteran of the academic and private sectors, Kerr will help advance the business development and professional sales stream of the one-year intensive master of business administration (MBA) offered at UNB’s Saint John campus.

“We are excited for Dr. Kerr to join the faculty of business and lead the professional sales initiatives at UNB,” said Dr. Shelley M. Rinehart, associate vice-provost learning futures at UNB and professor of marketing and former MBA director in the faculty of business at UNB’s Saint John campus.

“His background speaks to the unique positioning of professional sales education and research at UNB, blending theory and practice focused on an important economic driver in our province,” she said.

Kerr comes to UNB from Cape Breton University, where he was an assistant professor of marketing. His research, which focuses on sales performance and aligns sales staff’s attitudes, behaviours and activities with corporate strategy, will bring new insights and perspectives to the program.

The program, the first of its kind in Canada, was created thanks to the foresight and support of Gerry Pond. It gives students a taste of the real business world through experiential learning and creates business development and sales professionals who can succeed in companies where professional sales fuel business development.

Kerr will assist in building a critical mass in scholarship and practice to support the development of students, companies and the region’s economic success. His skills will add to an already innovative program certified by the Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA), which allows students who complete requisite courses to seek their Certified Sales Professional Designation.

“This is another important step in growing a centre of excellence around professional sales at UNB and within our province, from strengthening our output in sales research to expanding our MBA sales program for undergraduates, to providing students unique opportunities to explore and better understand this fundamental core of business,” said Dr. Gregory Fleet, acting dean of the faculty of business.

A former senior executive with 25 years of solid experience in strategic planning and marketing, Kerr has held senior marketing, sales, product management and strategic planning roles at Bell Canada, Q9 Networks and Dell.

Media contact: Kathleen McLaughlin, Media Relations Strategist at talktous@unb.ca