Wes Nicol: Inspiring Entrepreneurial Thinkers to Create a Better World

Husband. Father. Lawyer. Real estate developer. Philanthropist. Entrepreneur. Proud Carleton University alumnus.

Wes Nicol (BA/54) wore many hats. Despite his modest demeanor, he was highly accomplished: he was a talented businessman and entrepreneur who opened the law firm Nicol and Lazier and founded Tartan Homes, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Best Ottawa Business Awards, he was named as a member of the Order of Canada, and he received an honorary doctorate from Carleton University.

He had many interests and passions in life, but likely his greatest passion of all was working with young entrepreneurs – giving them the skills, knowledge, experiences, and confidence to fulfil their potential and bring their visions to life.

Mr. Nicol put that passion into practice through his alma mater. Believing deeply in the power of entrepreneurial thinking for student success, economic prosperity, and social change, he invested consistently and generously in student entrepreneurs over the years.

In fact, his vision for preparing the next generation of successful and purpose-driven entrepreneurs paved the way for Carleton’s leadership in entrepreneurial education today.

Mr. Nicol’s vision for cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in students through Carleton and the Sprott School of Business dates back to the late 1990s. In 1997, he established the Nicol Entrepreneurial Award, a national competition that fostered entrepreneurship and innovation among post-secondary students in Canada for over a decade. He and his wife, Mary, later created the Nicol Internships. Endowed in 2011 by the Wesley M. Nicol Foundation, Nicol Interns receive financial support and internships that connect students to mentors, incubators and programs.

In 2014, Mr. Nicol and the foundation made a transformational $10 million gift to launch the campaign to fund the new Nicol Building – a contemporary home for the Sprott School of Business.

“I’ve been lucky to enjoy good fortune,” he shared at the campaign launch event in September 2014. “One of my greatest pieces of luck was receiving an excellent education and an invaluable life experience from Carleton University, my beloved alma mater. [As] the university continues to thrive, it needs room to grow a little more. [Due to] the ever-rising reputation, accomplishments, and ambitions of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton, it has outgrown its current quarters. It deserves a dedicated, bigger-and-better home – and soon.”

His passion drove other enthusiastic donors to join the cause and the Nicol Building officially opened its doors in 2021.

Today, it is a home not just to the Sprott School, but to budding entrepreneurs from across the university. At the heart of Carleton’s campus, it houses the Innovation Hub, which offers innovation, entrepreneurship and experiential learning programming to students – 6000 students in its first year, to be exact – from every faculty.

Mr. Nicol believed that entrepreneurial thinking could lead to positive and lasting change – that it could transform businesses, communities and the world for the better. He also believed that universities could nurture entrepreneurial spirit, talent, and curiosity in young people, helping to prepare them to make a difference in their careers. Thanks to his leadership and the ongoing generosity of the Nicol family, the entrepreneurial spirit that Mr. Nicol cherished has permeated all corners of Carleton’s campus.

Over the years, Mr. Nicol and his family, through the Wesley M. Nicol Foundation, have continued to give through Carleton toward to a culture of inclusive entrepreneurship and a home for young entrepreneurs to grow. The campus is grateful for this investment in students with the purpose and drive to use business to create a better world for us all.

We can’t wait to see the myriad ways in which our students live up to his legacy – now and into the future.