Biography
Brooke Klassen is an Associate Professor at the Edwards School of Business, specializing in marketing, strategy and business planning. She brings a dynamic, hands-on approach to her teaching and research, focusing on case-based learning and the intersection of marketing and societal impact. She has published 10 peer-reviewed teaching cases, including two sole-authored cases published in Case Research Journal with additional work featured in The Case Journal and Organizational Management Journal. Her current research explores decision-making in entrepreneurial and values-driven contexts, with a growing emphasis on amplifying the voices of underrepresented protagonists - particularly women leaders in non-traditional industries and Indigenous leaders. She has also been an Associate Director at the Global Institute for Water Security since 2024.
Brooke’s work has been recognized through receipt of the Bronze Award at the 2023 NACRA Conference, and recognition as a finalist for the Curtis E. Tate Jr. Award as one of the top three cases published by the Case Research Journal in 2020. She is deeply committed to using the case method to bridge theory and practice, immersing students in real-world business challenges and equipping them with the skills to develop practical, strategic solutions.
Brooke is also a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and Academic Fellow of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (CMC-AF). She has completed more than 100 projects in strategy, governance, communications and operations for over 50 unique clients across various for-profit and non-profit sectors. Brooke also facilitates Edwards Executive Education programs on change leadership and executive communication, drawing on her extensive professional experience.
Brooke is an Associate Editor at Emerging Markets Case Studies journal and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board at Case Research Journal and The Case Journal. She has also served as a Director at Large on the North American Case Research Association Board since 2022.
Brooke was an inaugural USask Sustainability Faculty Fellow (2022–2024) and continues to embed sustainability learning competencies and assessments into her undergraduate and graduate level courses. Beyond academia, she serves on the boards of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Saskatchewan and Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation, contributing her expertise to initiatives that advance professional excellence and make a meaningful difference in the community.
Teaching
Brooke currently teaches undergraduate courses in marketing and business planning and an MBA course in strategy and societal impact. Her experience varies from teaching small classes of 30 to large classes of 170 at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She loves engaging with students and endeavours to make every class relevant, impactful and engaging.
Her current teaching assignment includes:
COMM 204: Introduction to Marketing
This course offers a broad introduction to the field and practice of marketing. We will explore how products and/or services are strategically marketed. We will study not only how products and services are marketed, but also how ideas, people, organizations, and places can be considered market offerings. In order to build successful marketing strategies, marketers must consider the relationship between marketing and external forces. Therefore, we will explore how consumers think and behave in response to marketing, how other members of the distribution channel (like retailers or manufacturers) and marketers interact, and how the external environment impacts on and is impacted by marketing.
COMM 447: Entrepreneurship and Venture Development
This course helps students develop the skills required for the successful formation of new business ventures, effective business succession, or small business expansion. Students also learn how to evaluate business models and plans, and how to manage on-going small and medium sized businesses. Students examine their own entrepreneurial potential and experience the process of planning the formation of a new venture, business succession, or business expansion through the preparation and formal presentation of a business plan.
COMM 473: Advanced Marketing Strategy
This course is designed to lead students through the advanced marketing strategy planning process for a specific marketing project, including developing and presenting a proposal through to completion of the project. Students will learn how to specify marketing challenges faced by organizations, propose appropriate methods to research the underlying issues, analyze the results of the research, and present conclusions and recommendations for how to address the challenges. Students will work in groups and with actual clients as they build their understanding of the fast-evolving marketing environment.
MBA 803: Business Strategy and Societal Impact
Through examination and hands-on application of critical aspects in today's dynamic environment such as corporate governance, competitive contexts, innovation, business ethics and corporate social responsibility, students develop the skills needed to analyze, formulate and implement firm strategy. This course is fundamental to understanding how business works and is an introductory course for the Edwards MBA.
Recent Publications
Klassen, B. (2024). Renewable Energy or International Farm Growth: Shifting the Flow at Livestock Water Recycling. Case Research Journal, 44(4).
Lane, B. & Klassen, B. (2024). St. Thomas More College’s Investment Trust. Ivey Publishing.
Klassen, B., Carriere, D. & Murdock, I. (2024). Mistik Management Ltd.: clearing the way for economic reconciliation. The CASE Journal, 20(3), 720-746. https://doi.org/10.1108/TCJ-07-2022-0122
Lane, B. & Klassen, B. (2022). Building opportunity - Boyes Group Realty Incorporated. The CASE Journal, 18(1), 143-163. https://doi.org/10.1108/TCJ-10-2020-0139
Klassen, B. & Lane, B. (2021). Why this realtor®? Branding at Boyes Group Realty Inc. The CASE Journal, 17(2), 246-260. https://doi.org/10.1108/TCJ-10-2020-0146
Klassen, B. (2020). Cracking the Code at Coconut Calendar. Case Research Journal, 40(2).
Delbaere, M., Klassen, B., & Hess, B. (2018). The University Club. The CASE Journal, 14(6), 694-715. https://doi.org/10.1108/TCJ-10-2017-0098
Bruni-Bossio, V., Klassen, B., & Lane, B. (2017). The Mountain Musical Theatre Company: Governance failures. Organization Management Journal.
Lane, B., Klassen, B., & Bruni-Bossio, V. (2017). Mountain Musical Theatre Company: Making a Statement. Ivey Publishing.
Klassen, B. & Bruni-Bossio, V. (2016). Maritimes Credit Union. Ivey Publishing.