Our Members' Experience
Richard Armand
Richard has had a successful career with Kodak Canada Inc. fulfilling mandates in positions of Sales Management, Marketing Director, Operations Management, Consultant and Manager Corporate Communications and Public affairs, Director of Quality and an variety of special assignments in business reengineering, change management, business process improvement and marketing strategy by leading project development teams. He is fluent in English and French and has had significant volunteering background with youth sports.
George Beyrouty
George operated his own successful business for over 35 years. He has an Electronic Engineering and business management background with expertise in electronic instrumentation, design, manufacturing, marketing and sales. A University counsellor and mentor for over 14 years. George is a Director, Past Vice-Chair, and founding member of The Halton-Peel Enterprise Development Centre Inc. He has been an active member of this Advisory Group since 1985 and is a past President.
Tom Cochran
Tom has over 30 years' experience in strategic planning and general management in industrial commodities and packaging industries. He has an engineering degree and a MBA. His career has been dedicated to growing businesses through innovation in manufacturing and marketing. Much of his experience is in improving profits and problem-solving and he has worked in virtually all areas of marketing, operations, finance and administration. He has also led company reorganizations, financing, and strategic planning efforts as well as acquisitions and divestitures, some including international companies.
Mike Dowson
Mike has over 45 years of "hands on" Sales and Marketing experience in a wide range of Industries including Financial Services, Materials Handling, Construction, Automotive Sales and Service, Industrial Chemicals, Special Needs Transportation, Live Entertainment and Transportation. His specialty is introducing new products and services. He was also the Job Placement Officer for a Private Career College assisting Students in finding employment in their chosen career. Mike is well qualified to consult on creating sales or developing markets for your product or service.
Nigel Holmes
Nigel has over thirty years of international management and consulting experience across a wide range of industries and business disciplines. He has also owned an operated his own start-up company. The latter part of his career has allowed him to leverage his operations experience and Business Information Systems knowledge to assist businesses in growth and profitability improvements. Having held senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies as well as launching start-ups gives Nigel valuable insight into the challenges that companies face during all phases of maturity. Nigel has a formal education in Chemical Engineering and an MBA-IT.
Michael Hoshooley
Michael served 34 years with the Bank of Montreal. His management responsibilities included branch operations, comptroller's department, export finance and marketing as well as lending to large companies.
Donald Jarrett
A Chartered Accountant with 42 years experience in finance and administration. He has been controller of a metropolitan daily newspaper, chief of internal audit of a public communications company, secretary/treasurer of a business/trade show company and CFO of a national news organization. He has also had government experience as controller of rental housing and capital construction. He is a former member of Arbitration and Mediation Institute of Ontario and a past president of the Oakville YMCA. He is Vice-President of BAG.
Norman Johnston
Norman is a Chartered Accountant with senior management experience with a number of companies (small, medium and large organizations) in a variety of industries. His expertise includes general, financial and human resources management. He is the immediate past-president of BAG. Norman is a current director and a past president of Equity Financial Services Inc. He is also a former director of Lever Brothers Limited, a former trustee and a current member of the Audit Committee of the J P Morgan Fleming Overseas Investment Trust. He is also a former chair of The Halton-Peel Enterprise Development Centre Inc.
Heinz Kraus
Over the last 40 plus years, Heinz held senior management positions with Mayor Canadian and US Manufacturing and Service organizations. In 1995 he founded his own Consulting firm, specialized in business process improvements. He was responsible for the implementation of process improvement initiatives such as ISO 9001 Management Systems, Enterprise Resource Planning and Lean/Six Sigma Methodologies. Since his retirement he is an active member of the Governors Board of the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital in Burlington and Senior Consultant of Alignment Strategies.
Larry Low
Larry is a Certified Management Accountant with 35 years experience in the financial industry. He has had extensive experience in the area of financial management and reporting. He has held several senior management positions relating to management and control of financial information, planning and forecasting. Subsequent to his retirement he has provided consulting support to large financial institutions in the development and design of implementation of performance measurement systems and processes.
Mel Matthias
A Professional Engineer with more than thirty years of experience in the management, operations & commissioning of thermal and nuclear power plants, including the design, safety analysis, licensing, training, quality assurance and auditing. This experience has been supplemented by five years of post graduate study, research, teaching and academic administration with the University of Toronto, Ryerson Polytechnic Institute, Canadian School of Management and the Technical University of Nova Scotia. He is the Secretary of this Advisory Group.
David Powell
David is the principal of Creekwood Digital Solutions. He has an extensive background in Information Technology and since 1970 has held various technical, development and management IT positions. Most recently he was the IT Manager for the Toronto Fire Department, and then for the Ontario Zone of the Canadian Red Cross. Through Creekwood Digital Solutions he provides custom development services, cosmetic surgery for computerized documents and images and consulting on IT management issues. He is the webmaster for the Group's website, writes articles for the Microsoft Small Business Forum and enjoys digital photography.
John Stevenson
John is a retired executive having formerly served as President of H.H. Brown Shoe Company and later, Alberto Culver (Canada) Ltd. John has over 30 years of accumulated general management experience, primarily in the consumer packaged goods industry within North America and Europe. Recently, he has been a volunteer consultant to several non profit social service organizations throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
Ollie Thomson
Ollie has had an extensive career in the small business sector. From a partnership in a consulting company, where her strength was in marketing, to managing a retail store. She has been actively involved in the business community. A member of the local Chamber of Commerce, Ollie serves on various committees, and chairs the Chamber's Ambassador Committee to promote small business. A long history of community work has provided her with a wealth of knowledge working with various business and environmental organizations.
Bill Vickers
Bill worked for Zellers Inc. for 22 years, 2 years in store management and 20 years in Corporate Finance , progressing to the level of Comptroller and Treasurer. He has experience in cash management, banking, general accounting, budgeting, general insurance, payroll, group benefits and incentive compensation. Over the subsequent 22 years Bill designed compensation & benefits programs in support of the strategic direction of a multi-divisional, wholesale food company and a large municipality. Bill is a Certified Human Resource Professional and taught Compensation Management at the University of Toronto School Of Continuing Studies for 8 years. Bill is the BAG President.
Robert White
Robert is a Chartered Accountant and senior financial executive with solid skills in accounting procedures, internal controls, financial management, treasury services, computer based information systems, operations and administration. He has diversified experience with importers, distributors, manufacturers and service organizations. He is also a business coach to small and medium sized organizations and a certified consultant of various accounting software. He is Treasurer of this Advisory Group.