Business Development & Communication

Work Experience

The Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing

Communications Officer - January 2021 - June 2023

• Recorded, produced, promoted, and hosted the Trillium Network Podcast, Making it in Ontario

• Stakeholder outreach, company interviewing, and profile writing

• Managed all social media channels as well as the Managing Director’s Twitter account

• Curated/contributed to website content (including original photography)

• Company representative at events and site visits across Ontario

Key Challenges:

As Ontario’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem progresses into the 21st century, it faces an identity crisis. Adoption of new technology by SMEs has not been uniform across the sector which has left many of them vulnerable. Lack of skilled trades continues to affect productivity and capacity growth. International supply chains have proven unstable. And the full affects of COVID-19 are still to be calculated. The challenge for Trillium is to brad itself as a source of solutions and relevant connection for industry stakeholders in the private sector, government, and economic development.

The APMA (Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association)

Senior Manager, Stakeholder Relations & Business Development at the APMA | April 2017 – April 2020

• Responsible for revenue generation through membership sales and the Annual Conference

• Managed/co-managed all APMA events, including networking assistance for attendants and VIPs

• Worked with members and stakeholders to properly incorporate Industry 4.0 best practices

• Created and curated website content including keeping the company blog up to date with cited & linked news articles and original photography.

• Recorded, produced, and hosted the APMA Podcast, The Intelligent Podcast.

Key Challenges:

Historically, Canada’s automotive manufacturing sector has thrived because of its ability to produce high quality parts more efficiently than its regional & global competitors. For example, the molds coming out of Windsor, Ontario have gained international reputation for quality and durability, especially when the market was introduced to low-cost alternatives that didn’t last nearly as long. As an association funded largely by our members, our responsibility was to help them see the value in adopting Industry 4.0 best practices while providing guidance on the best way to do so. The prevailing wisdom among many manufacturers was, ‘…if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’. My job was ensuring that our stakeholders not only understood the need to modernize, but that we had a list of solutions for them.

QM Environmental, Toronto

Marketing & Communications Manager | September 2015 – June 2016

• Supported job bidding team to provide needed info for bidding on work

• Coordinated with managers/directors/C-suite company-wide to re-write the Statement of Qualifications

• Responsible for internal communications (Authored and published company newsletter 2x/mo.)

• Curated and contributed to website content including original photography

• Performed site visits and photo documented events

Key Challenges:

At the time, the company had recently amalgamated from several companies across Canada into one large national operation. From an internal communications standpoint, the challenges were getting the regional management (accustomed to doing things independently) to adopt national practices for cost cutting and forecasting. It required, among other things, the thorough documentation of the entire company’s technical capabilities to assist them bidding for future work and presenting it in a Statement of Qualifications. It also required a sustained communication of key messages from the senior leadership team which focused on cost savings and unifying our company across Canada.

Trento Motors Dealer Group, Toronto

Marketing & Communications Manager | December 2012 – August 2015

• Implemented all marketing initiatives for the dealer group while coordinating advertising approvals with corporate

• Negotiated strategic long-term partnerships with advertisers

• Hiring/on-boarding of support staff

• Website management and maintenance

Key Challenges:

This privately owned dealer group has been in existence since 1959 and has seen much success since then. However, by 2012, the group needed a serious modernization of their digital tools, from website to new customer acquisition. For an owner used to doing things with pen and paper for decades, embracing digital marketing techniques was a terrifying proposition. For example, something as simple as posting vehicle pricing on ones website is counter-intuitive for a traditional sales person. It takes a lot of work to get a small business owner to relinquish control of their business. Demonstrable results helped make my case.

For a complete list of work experience, please visit my LinkedIn page.