F. Neil Morris
Founder & President

Neil is the founder, president and CEO of Personal Due Diligence or (PDD).

PDD works with parents and their children to develop and execute labour- and global market business cases for purposes of purchasing higher education intended to secure employment. These arguments are based on deep market intelligence and each includes a fallback position. The process can last up to a year or longer whether it applies to finding a first job or resuming a career.

Neil’s business career spans almost 50 years. His first job was as a Sales Representative for IBM in Montreal. Over the next 6 years, he watched businesses in virtually every industry shape the future of work from Western Quebec through to Eastern Ontario. His customers ran the gamut from multinational auto and pharmaceutical manufacturers to universities and governments. In his seventh year, he transferred into Personnel.

A year later, he joined the Executive Search practice of a transnational management consulting firm and specialized in Information Technology. He incorporated his own IT Executive Search firm 12 months later. He served a clientele comprising small, medium and large corporations for 25 years.

Neil’s first year on his own coincided with an invitation from an Ontario university to participate in its mock interview programme for soon-to-be commerce graduates and co-op students. The relationship would last 30 years. He conceived and chaired Vested Self-Interest, a monthly gathering of IT managers that touched on career development, politics, management issues and the relationship between IT and the C-Suite. Attendance for the life of the project was 100%. He addressed professional groups comprising Systems Development, Operations Management and municipal government.

The seeds of Personal Due Diligence (PDD) were sown when Neil addressed public- and high school students in the Toronto area on the subject of career selection. His 25-year university relationship coupled with 15 years as an on-site Transition Counselling Consultant sealed the deal. The awareness of university students of the forces at play in the labour market and the global economy was not improving. Similar problems applied to the over 2100 employees he met with personally and counselled immediately following their termination.

Neil holds a B.Sc. from McGill University. He is fluently bilingual (English-French).

 

Bruce A. Stewart
Futurist

Bruce Stewart is an internationally-recognized thought leader and futurist. Building on a career in information technology management and management consulting that spans the financial services sector, government, retail, broadcasting, not-for-profits, trade unions and the energy industry, Bruce has also been a management research analyst and executive advisor operating with the leadership of the Global 2000. He has held sessional appointments in graduate studies in management, education and information studies, and is well known for his creation of IT Governance Boards and their integration into governance and compliance processes for Boards of Directors and Executive Leadership teams. He now conducts research into and participates in the construction of sustainable communities, and is a regularly published columnist syndicated nationally on IT management, Canadian politics, economics, sustainability and Ontario affairs. Bruce holds an MA in Philosophy from the University of Toronto.

Personal Due Diligence clients use Bruce to help them analyse the future of their industry, market segment, and the general economy to ensure they add skills and seek opportunities that work for them and their families.

 

Nancy May
The View from the Boardroom

Nancy May is CEO of The BoardBench Companies, the parent company of BoardBench®, the Women’s Global Business Alliance and Peer Counsel®.  Ms. May has more than 25 years experience as a strategic advisor to CEOs and executive management in evaluating, designing, developing, and implementing strategic business opportunities. Utilizing both new and trusted methodologies and technologies, she has worked in a broad variety of industries including: automotive, energy/utilities, technology, healthcare, consumer goods and services, education, financial services, industrial manufacturing, media, communications and others.

Ms. May currently serves on the Board of Economic Ventures Inc., a company that develops and provides economic and entrepreneurial educational programs. She has also served on the advisory boards of emerging high-growth consumer goods and technology companies.  In addition, she served on the Board of Directors of the Girl Scout Council, Connecticut, where she chaired the Nominating Committee, and has served on the boards of and actively supports a number of international and regional women’s organizations including the International Women’s Forum, American Women’s Economic Development Corporation, the founding chapter of the World Affairs Council’s Global Women’s Issues Forum, and others. She is a current  member of the Economic Club of New York, the Financial Women’ s Association, HR People & Strategy, and the World Affairs Forum.

Ms. May has been honored by government and industry organizations for her work and support of women, was named in 1998 as Connecticut’s Women’s Business Advocate of the Year, and was invited to meet President Clinton as one of the nation’s top business leaders.  Ms. May has been a guest lecturer and presenter for numerous business and professional organizations including the Financial Executive Institute, The Conference Board, National Geographic Films, and numerous college and university graduate and director education programs.

 

Alvaro Orrantia
Risk Assessment and Management

Alvaro is Director, Global Disaster Recovery at a major Canadian financial institution. He led the global implementation of the Business Continuity Program for Research In Motion (BlackBerry), served as senior advisor for PricewaterhouseCoopers clients and led the information security and business continuity functions for ADP Canada. He has held a variety of Information Technology management positions in technology and real estate.

Alvaro’s consulting projects have included risk assessment and business continuity/disaster recovery for a broadly based range of organizations for over 20 years in the public and private sectors. His client base includes financial services, insurance, telecommunications, healthcare, retail, and property management. His risk management solutions focus on information security, disaster recovery and business continuity.

Alvaro holds a Computer Science and Systems Engineering degree and an Executive MBA. He received his CISSP designation (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) from ISC2 (International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium). He received his CBCP designation (Certified Business Continuity Professional) from Disaster Recovery Institute International.