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As one of the newest members of the Business Advisory Council (BAC) for the Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Alberta School of Business, Roberta MacGillivray (nee Sutton) is excited to share her business knowledge and give back to the community that helped shape her journey. 

Established in 1980, BAC strengthens business and management education through leadership and advice from individuals with a strong business background. For MacGillivray, lending her voice to the BAC will create positive ripple effects that extend well beyond campus. 

“I think the business school is an important part of a community ecosystem,” says MacGillivray, co-owner of BGE Indoor Air Quality Solutions.

MacGillivray’s connection to both business and the university run deep. She grew up working at BGE after school, on PD days and during summer breaks, working alongside her late father, the company’s original owner. When she began her bachelor of commerce at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ in 1994, she worked part-time whenever she could.

In 2015, she and her husband, Ian MacGillivray, ‘99 BCom, officially took the reins of the family business. BGE has been around for 55 years, and fittingly, their first customer was the Â鶹ÊÓƵ — a relationship that continues today. BGE delivers clean air to all Â鶹ÊÓƵ buildings by managing the supply and service of their Filtration Management program. The scope spans over 100 buildings and over 1000 air handling units. That long-standing connection is one of the many reasons MacGillivray is so dedicated to giving back to the university.

“I think it's important that the business school continues to evolve to have students graduate with the skills and experience that can thrive in today’s business environment, whether here in Edmonton, nationally, or internationally,” says MacGillivray. “New grads bring fresh ideas and innovation and we want them to contribute to what the business community needs.”  

In 2024, MacGillivray played an instrumental role in one of the Alberta School of Business visioning focus groups, helping to redevelop the school’s strategic vision alongside professors, students, staff, and external business leaders. Drawing on her experience as an entrepreneur, business leader, and future employer, she was excited to contribute to a process that aimed to foster greater connection and inspiration within the school community.

Her commitment to leadership and mentorship extends far beyond BGE. MacGillivray volunteers as a mentor with Threshold Impact Venture Mentoring Services, a mentorship program through the Â鶹ÊÓƵ, and is a member of the Business Council of Alberta. She has also served as the president of the National Air Filtration Association, rising through the ranks over six years to lead its mission to be the “global source for expertise, education and best practices in air filtration.”  

Giving back is equally important to her family and company. BGE and the Sutton family just completed their pledge of $500,000 to the University Hospital Foundation for the Northern Alberta Renal Program to provide access to kidney dialysis in homes and in rural Alberta hospitals. For MacGillivray, the cause is personal — her aunt was Canada’s first dialysis recipient in Canada, and she sees kidneys as another important filter that is necessary for a good quality of life. 

That same dedication to health has driven BGE’s work for decades. Her dad spent 40 years advocating for the importance of quality ventilation and filtration in schools — a message that gained widespread recognition during the pandemic.

“Finally, we were able to do the right things. It wasn’t just: let’s just get a filter that can achieve the minimum acceptable performance. It was: hey, let’s get the one that achieves optimal performance,” she says. 

Now that focus on health is especially relevant as the company acquired another Canadian business, Con-Test, that does controlled environment testing for operating rooms, clean rooms and labs, among others. 

“We always talk about when clean air matters, but at Con-Test we talk about when clean air really matters,” says MacGillivray. 

Looking ahead, MacGillivray aims to grow BGE nationally while continuing to champion clean air as a basic human right — and to share that same passion for leadership, community and innovation with the Alberta School of Business.