I love the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba. I was born here many generations after my ancestors from England and Ireland chose Winnipeg Manitoba in 1881 and my ancestors from Iceland chose Glenboro Manitoba in 1888.
Manitoba is home.
After being elected university Senator and then Commerce Senior Stick (faculty president) at the University of Manitoba, I graduated with a business degree (Bachelor of Commerce; Honours; double major: accounting and marketing) and began my career at Clarkson Gordon, Chartered Accountants, with focus on auditing, receiverships, and taxation. With that exposure to the best of Canadian business, I took on the challenge of Bell Canada sales and account management at Nortel Networks in Toronto, London, and Hemel Hempstead UK, where in eight years I rose to senior management.
I then moved home to Winnipeg to be Manitoba Branch Manager of Oracle Corporation, where I experienced the inner workings of Manitoba’s many forward-thinking companies. I saw first-hand why Manitoba’s business community is so well regarded across Canada and around the world.
To me, nothing beats our prairie attitude, which is based on ethics, integrity and compassion.
Volunteer History
I have volunteered at many organizations that improve communities through social, health, and education projects.
- As the Historian of the International Churchill Society, I taught high school and university students the ways Sir Winston Churchill used the English language, through his speeches and books, to inspire the British Empire.
- As a board member of Calgary’s Gimbel Eye Foundation, I spoke to patients about eye health, and then later took that same message to developing countries.
- As a multi-year member of the not-for-profit Clinton Global Initiative’s education sector, I met with world leaders to discuss how G77 developing nations can become more developed through education initiatives and sponsorship.
International CEO Advisory
Since 2019, I have been a CEO Mentor and Advisor to 63 international companies’ CEOs who have been in the process of moving to Canada. To achieve Canadian permanent residency, I help my clients build business plans, marketing plans, pricing plans, investor presentations, functional specifications, technical specifications, codes of conduct, HR policies, intellectual property filings, and legal documents.
Media Profile
I have been a keynote speaker at IT and HR conferences in Canada, the United States, England, Ireland, China, South Korea, Egypt, Uganda, South Africa, Pakistan, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.
Articles covering my work with the Clinton Global Initiative have appeared in The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, the Financial Post and Business in Vancouver. I was interviewed by NBC Nightly News to discuss one of the international education initiatives I created.