A native of Acton, Ontario, and a graduate of Acton District High School and Sheridan College, Rob is a Certified Management Accountant (now Chartered Professional Accountant) with 20+ years’ experience as a Controller at companies involved in manufacturing, distribution, asset management and contract research. He was a consultant for challenges facing all levels of corporate management, and is now retired.
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 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
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 ex-wife tried to instil the subtleties of Mandarin into him, but his struggles have not put off his getting along with others!
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:
Married in Markham, Ontario, he has since divorced and now lives in Stratford, Ontario.
Personal synopsis
| Date of birth | xii MCMLIII |
| Star sign | ♐ |
| Chinese zodiac animal | 木蛇 |
| Birthstone | Turquoise |
| Birth flower | Narcissus |
| Patron saints | Charles de Foucauld, Eligius |
| Angelic governor | Adnachiel |
| Allergies | None known |
| Handedness | Right |
| Spouse | 1 x ♀ (♈, 火羊) |
| Siblings | 2 x ♂, 2 x ♀ (1 † ) |
| Superstitious | Not especially |
| Coffee | Bold, cream only |
| Tea | Orange pekoe (with milk), Oolong (without) |
| Sweet or savoury? | Both |
| Beer | IPA, Guinness |
| Wine | Côtes du Rhône, Beaujolais |
| Firewater | Calvados, Armagnac |
| Cuisine | English, Italian, Cantonese, Sichuanese, Indian |
| Radio stations | CBC Music, Ici Musique, NPR, BBC Radio 4 |
| Favourite colour | Khaki |
| Rock, paper, scissors? | Paper |
| Muppets | Oscar, Moishe Oofnik |
| Instrument | The wild beast of the orchestra |
| Glass half… | Full |
| Desert island? | Books (history/biography/BD), Music (Wagner, Vigneault, Stompin’ Tom) |
Favourite sayings
« Voici mon secret. Il est très simple : on ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. »
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince
“Alea jacta est.”
—Julius Caesar, 49 BC
“Ars longa, vita brevis.” (“Ὁ βίος βραχύς, ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρή.”)
—Hippocrates, Aphorismi
« Fais ce que dois. »
—Le Devoir
“My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we will, never, never surrender to what is right.”
—Dan Quayle
And another thing... 