DAVID THOMSON

David Thomson is an organizational effectiveness and leadership consultant, facilitator and trainer who brings 25 years of diverse work and life experiences to his clients. He brings a high-energy, engaging approach to his areas of expertise, which include leadership development, community engagement, strategic planning, Board governance, change management and team development. His clients consistently value his persistence in getting to the heart of an issue, his skill at guiding strategic conversations and his ability to engage leaders and teams in deeper self-examination, all in pursuit of long-term effectiveness.

David was initially educated in finance and marketing. He then worked at Outward Bound for 8 years including a senior management role as Director of the leadership and team development program. This lifelong exploration of how leaders, organizations and teams function led him to a Master of Science in Organization Development degree, cum laude, at Pepperdine University, where he has also taught as an adjunct faculty member for over 10 years. David also is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach from Coaches Training Institute, accredited by the International Coach Federation.

Prior to co-founding Coast Consulting Group, David was a Senior Consultant with two leading Canadian organization development consulting firms, People Tech and Scott Consulting. He is also currently a Senior Associate with Training Resources for the Environmental Community. David has worked with a variety of clients in Canada, the United States, Europe and South America, including TD Bank Financial Group, Mountain Equipment Coop, Pepsi, Kellogg, Campbell Soup, Vancouver International Airport, Intrawest, AXA, Consumer's Glass, General Motors, Alcan, Morrow Environmental/SNC Lavalin, Apple, Northern Telecom, Warner Lambert, Rogers, Sprint Canada, Sierra Legal Defence Fund and MDS Laboratories.

David has always been very involved at the community level as a volunteer to a number of charitable organizations. He is a founding director of Legacy North Shore, a local sustainability non-profit organization, a National Board Past-President of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Canada's largest grassroots wilderness conservation organization, and an active global warming action advocate in Vancouver.

Over the past 25 years, David has been an avid mountaineer, mountain biker, rock and ice climber, whitewater kayaker and fine woodworker and has traveled broadly. He lives with his family in North Vancouver, BC.

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IAN THOMSON

Ian Thomson is a seasoned organizational consultant and facilitator with a diverse client base built during the past 15 years across the Americas and Europe. Most recently Ian has married his passion for growing organizations and environmental sustainability in his role as President of Canadian Bioenergy. His professional path includes 10 years with one of America's most creative business consultancies, the Pecos River division of Aon Corporation, an organization that epitomized a larger raison d'etre and a passionate approach to creating business results. Over the years, Ian has had the privilege of working with senior leaders and staff in great organizations such as Abbott Laboratories, Andersen Consulting Worldwide, British Airways, Compaq, Ford, Microsoft, Upjohn, United States Postal Service, United Technologies, and Warner-Lambert.

Underpinning that experience is the conceptual depth provided by a graduate degree in Organization Development (MSOD) from Pepperdine University and a Chartered Accountant's accreditation. Ian lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico for 5 years, and has worked with clients in many national cultures. He maintains an academic connection as adjunct staff of the Graziadio School of Business Management at Pepperdine University, the top-ranked OD graduate school in the USA.

Ian is a keen facilitator in planning and development initiatives. His highly versatile style sits well in both executive settings and team-based environments. He is passionate about his community, chairing a municipal advisory committee on sustainability and until recently was a Board trustee for a national educational institution. He also sits on the advisory board of an international Values and Ethics clearinghouse for Organization Development practitioners.

Ian has always been pulled by an adventurous spirit; his travels and expeditions have taken him onto mountains, fjords and rivers around the globe. He lives with his wife, and two boys on Bowen Island on Canada's West coast.

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Coast Consulting Group Associates

Since 1985 we have worked with a number of extraordinary colleagues on three continents. Their competencies and experiences include:

• Community Engagement
  
• Quality improvement processes
  
• Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability strategies
  
• Core process redesign
  
• Corporate communication strategies
  
• Best practices research
  
• Customized employee and customer satisfaction research
  
• Cross-cultural training for managers on international assignment

We bring these associates into engagements to keep our work current and for the unique value they add. Their exposure to a wide variety of clients and sectors has made them integral to our success.

Please call us if you have an interest in the specific practice areas.

"All your staff were obviously very well prepared. You really treat each other professionally, and with respect. It was noticeable. Thanks!"
Cargill, New York