Biography

A native of Acton, Ontario, and a graduate of Acton District High School and Sheridan College, Rob is a Certified Management Accountant and a Chartered Professional Accountant with 20+ years' experience as a Controller at companies involved in manufacturing, distribution, asset management and contract research. He is currently involved as a consultant for challenges facing all levels of corporate management.On a personal level, the following are of note:

• Summer experience in the Canadian Forces Reserve with The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) and The Governor General's Foot Guards

• Worked to establish a summer market in Acton, as part of an Opportunities for Youth project

• Member of student council for three years in high school

• Active participant throughout time in high school

• Summer work experience at the local government level

• Summer work experience in the United Kingdom

• Extensive personal travel in Canada, the United Kingdom, France and China

• Business travel throughout Canada

• Lifelong lover of music, and former French horn player, having played in bands in Acton, Mississauga, Brampton and Oakville

• Lover of curling, and formerly an avid player

• Avid hiker, débrouillard,  flâneur and bourlingueur

In high school, a love of foreign languages began, especially for French, and reading, writing and listening are still in practice. A certificate of proficiency in Spanish has been obtained from the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, and a rudimentary understanding of German is also present. His wife tried to instil the subtleties of Mandarin into him, but there is still a way to go!

In the course of his work, he has met and succeeded at many diverse challenges, in both public and privately-owned companies:

• intense involvement with multiple corporate acquisitions, reorganizations, divestitures, new financing arrangements and downsizings (at the investigative, due diligence and decision-making levels)

• dealing with lawyers, accountants and other professionals in multiple jurisdictions in all respects with the above

• implementation, improvement and repair of information and ERP systems on multiple platforms

• dealing with audits and investigations by various taxation authorities, and proving the company case in all related issues arising from them

• successful turnarounds of business operations in several business cycles

• working not just in Canadian-owned operations, but also for ones owned by American, British and Japanese public companies

He has also been on the board of several nonprofit organizations, including:

• Acton Citizens' Band

• Oakville Wind Orchestra

• Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra

He currently lives in Stratford, Ontario.