Who We Are

“Winning at the Point of Connection” – Where your strategy, processes, people, and systems “connect” with field execution to anchor the precise behaviours to derive positive business results.

OUR MISSION

At The Engine Room, we believe progressive performance improvement occurs when a company is able to look forward to identify the true root causes of organizational pain points, and align the five pillars of operational excellence – strategy, process, people, systems, and execution. No single pillar is the “silver bullet” that will overcome weakness in other areas. Knowing this, allows organizations to move past a regressive firefighting approach to deliver long-term stability, focus, and improved performance.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

The Engine Room’s philosophy – “Winning at the Point of Connection” – is based on research, science, and the cultural realities and economic trends of our current global economy. The operational environment is increasingly complex due to technological advancements, customer expectations, regulatory restrictions, and the ambitions of connecting with new generational work values, outcomes, and commitments. When combined with the emphasized need for improved efficiency, operational results, and employee engagement, senior leaders are under tremendous pressure to adapt to changes and meet expectations.

Failure to understand the resistance to change has an adverse effect on the desired outcome. Research indicates that over 70% of change initiatives fail to meet their objectives due to avoidable errors in diagnosing readiness for change, implementing change, and sustaining change (Harrah 2005b). Good intentions alone are not generating positive results.

We find that in over 90% of our company’s engagements, performance improvement occurs at the interface of people, business process, and execution – with 58% of program barriers attributed to the difficulty in changing behaviours and leadership capability (KPMG 2010). In organizations today, the human factor has emerged as the biggest cause for the failure of change and performance improvement initiatives (Gilley et al, 2009). Therefore, “Winning at the Point of Connection,” where people, processes, and performance come together, is where you find The Engine Room.

OUR CORE VALUES

At The Engine Room, we pride ourselves on supporting organizations in designing an aligned and focused leadership team, creating a culture of accountability. We accelerate the implementation of internal programs in a manner that is digestible, understood, owned, and executed by local management, and guided by our core values. These values include:

Leadership & People

A “Leader” at any level is the most important job on the planet, and, consequently, that job has a much bigger impact on people than they often realize. Inspiring leadership is the key ingredient in a highly engaged workforce. Individuals, when properly engaged, can significantly contribute to positive business outcomes. People want to do great work – but they need guidance to do so.

Responsible Approach

The primary goal is to understand the client’s ambition and issues. We then work with the client to identify potential impediments to change. Once distinguishing these factors, we find the quickest and least onerous approach to accomplish the objective. By tailoring our offering to the client’s needs, costs reduce, timelines accelerate, and adverse impacts on people and the business decrease.

No Silver Bullets

Organizations must look forward to identify the true root causes of organizational pain points and align the five pillars of operational excellence – strategy, process, people, systems, and execution. Knowing no single area is the “silver bullet” that will overcome weakness in the other areas allows organizations to move past a regressive firefighting approach and deliver long term stability, focus and improved performance.

Accountability

We focus our attention on the “accountability of application,” ensuring the behaviours, skills, and tools that were learned on site are applied where it matters to generate tangible results. The skills and behaviours are put into practice, applying them to each leader’s unique situation to guarantee competencies are anchored and tied to business outcomes.

Blended Learning

We believe that truly successful leadership activities and behaviours must become embedded as consistent daily habits in the workplace. The Engine Room takes a scientifically-proven blended learning approach towards leadership development that includes a combination of Training, Coaching, and Experiential Learning. This methodology yields productivity increases almost four times the level achieved by training alone.

Alignment

In order to truly make a difference in performance improvements that are sustainable it is necessary to create alignment from senior executive through to the frontlines. Therefore, the Engine Room believes in having to access to and working with all levels of leadership in an add needed basis to ensure organizational alignment of purpose and objectives. This makes certain that all levels of leadership are re-enforcing the desired behaviours and anchors change for the long term.

OUR PEOPLE

With over 180 years of combined operational excellence experience, spanning three continents and more than a dozen industries, our award-winning coaches understand what it takes to evaluate performance. We work with you and your teams to drive your business forward to new levels of sustainable results. Meet our team…

Adrian Levy

Adrian is an internationally recognized expert on performance coaching, performance management, change implementation, leadership, teamwork, culture and organizational development strategy. He has over 25 years practical experience in leading resources worldwide on performance coaching and corporate change.Full Bio Minimize

He has implemented productivity improvement systems for companies on five continents, including BC Hydro, Foster Farms, SantaFe International, Chevron, BP/Amoco, The Williams Companies, WCB, Norske Skog (Catalyst Paper), Teck Corp., Interfor, Canfor, Boeing and many other medium size and Fortune 500 companies.

Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral Psychology
Masters of Science Degree in Counseling from Long Island University, New York

In his free time Adrian enjoys nature and the outdoors, fishing, gardening, playing golf and spending real time with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two children, Kira and Cody. His zest for enjoying all life has to offer is only surpassed by the enjoyment he receives in seeing people fulfilling their own potential.

Duncan Kerr

Duncan is a seasoned operations executive and consultant with over 28 years’ experience over 3 continents. He has spent approximately half his career working in industry in leadership roles spanning operations, engineering, sales, marketing, supply chain, general management and capital projects. He has worked as the Chief Operating Officer for a larger publicly traded company as well as smaller private companies and consulting firms.Full Bio Minimize

As a consultant, Duncan has led and worked on a wide variety of successful projects covering performance management, operations, safety improvement, finance, HR, strategic planning and supply chain for organizations in the oil and gas sector, forestry, the pulp and paper industry, the metallurgical sector and utilities.

Bachelor of Engineering in Mining Engineering, University of McGill, Montreal, Quebec.
Directors Education Program, Institute of Corporate Directors

For a change of pace, Duncan enjoys outdoor sports including cycling and kayaking, or can be found pursuing fine woodworking projects in his home workshop.

Bob Bradley

Bob has worked with organizational leaders and executives for over 17 years enabling better management and leadership of people to provide measurable results to shareholders. Bob has worked in the Energy, Oil & Gas, Mining, Forestry, Retail, Insurance, and Public Sector industries as well as having expatriate experience in Australia, USA, the UK.Full Bio Minimize

In addition to his work as a consultant and coach, he has worked as an Operations Manager, a Human Resources Manager, a Recruiter, and a Training & Development Specialist. He also had a short-lived career in television sports and as an open line radio host.

M.B.A., Simon Fraser University
B.A. in Applied Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Certificate in Liberal Arts majoring in Sociology and English

When not at work, Bob can be found with his family doing something (anything) outdoors, or taking in a performance at one of Vancouver’s many outstanding live theatre venues.

Milan Trpin

A strong leader, facilitator and coach – Milan’s skills stem from more than 12 years of front-line and executive engagement. Working within multiple industries he supports leaders’ abilities to execute and sustain behavioural changes and operational performance improvements.Full Bio Minimize

His wide-ranging experience encompasses strategy development, leadership acceleration, process excellence, management system implementation, and frontline execution. He drives positive change by supporting organizations in creating an aligned and focused leadership team, producing a culture of accountability in order to realize program benefits.

Milan has worked on multiple engagements in a variety of industries, including consumer packaged goods, hospitality, technology, mining, utilities, and crown corporations. In recent projects, he has focused on change leadership and performance improvement within the utility and hospitality industries strengthening performance management culture and assisting in the implementation of transformational objectives.

B.A. Communications, University of Victoria
Performance Leadership Certification – QB International
Certified Canadian National Soccer Coaching Association Level 1 and 2

A former varsity basketball player at Capilano University and a soccer player for the University of Victoria, he finds relaxation in hiking and fishing, continuing to play competitive soccer, and spending time with his family.

Katie Wilks

A seasoned project manager Katie employs a vast array of portfolio management and business administration skills and has succeeded in a variety of roles that span Human Resources, Project Management, Accounting and Administration.Full Bio Minimize

Her in depth knowledge of project and client management in the mining, utility and construction industry fosters an environment of alignment, communication and clear accountabilities associated to project outcomes and success. Katie holds a Human Resource Management diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology coupled with a Bachelor in Business Administration, B.B.A. On her off time, Katie enjoys spending time with her family and is an avid outdoor trail runner and road cyclist.

B.B.A. – British Columbia Institute of Technology
Human Resource Management – British Columbia Institute of Technology

Andrew Chacko

Andrew has extensive experience assisting organizations achieve ambitious targets by harnessing the strengths of their people and making sense of where to best focus efforts. He started his first business over 20 years ago, eventually merging with their largest competitor and integrating operations into one cohesive enterprise with shared purpose, goals and values.Full Bio Minimize

Since then Andrew has worked with some of Canada’s leading organizations to help improve performance, productivity, quality, and cashflow. Leveraging his expertise in process improvement, leadership, and strategy he helps businesses understand and manage their mission-critical processes in more impactful and profitable ways, while bringing the best out of their people.

Bachelor or Commerce, University of British Columbia
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Sr. Facilitator, and Sensei
Sr. Facilitator, Management Systems & Continuous Improvement Systems
Pro-Sci Certified Change Management Specialist

Andrew will hike, kayak, or whitewater raft just about anywhere there’s good fishing. He also loves hockey, cycling, and getting off the beaten track in foreign countries.

Mike Jahraus

Mike is an award winning executive coach that has coached, trained and mentored front line leaders, mid level managers and senior executives in leadership and executive development. He brings with him over 25 years of experience in global marketing, manufacturing and management consulting. A performance management practitioner, Mike has integrated coaching into his consulting work to develop and support outstanding results in operations, maintenance, engineering, environment and safety departments.Full Bio Minimize

Mike is a skilled facilitator that has the ability to engage cross-functional teams to successfully tackle complex, adaptive challenges. He is one of those unique people who inspires you to bring your A-game. He understands leadership and knows what it takes to make senior leadership teams great. Mike is experienced at developing customized interactive leadership workshops that put principles into practice. His background includes:

2013 Prism Award with Teck Resources Ltd – International Coach Federation
2013 Coach Impact Award Winner – International Coach Federation
Advanced Accreditation – Professional Certified Coach (PCC) – International Coach Federation
Certified Executive Coach – Graduate Program Royal Roads University
M.B.A., University of Western Ontario
B.Sc. in Forest Engineering, University of British Columbia

Mike enjoys giving back and provides pro bono coaching to not-for-profit organizations. He is an avid reader, outdoorsman and in his free time, you may find Mike trekking in foreign lands.

Dave Margo

Comfortable from warehouse to boardroom, Dave has a knack for developing teams that focus on driving change to deliver significant performance gains. As a seasoned 25-year veteran, he’s split his time equally between senior executive and consultant.Full Bio Minimize

M.B.A., Ivey Business School – University of Western Ontario
B.A. (Honours), Ivey Business School – University of Western Ontario

While not at work, Dave’s passion for taking on a challenge often finds him kayaking, summiting mountains, or playing Canada’s favorite game on any local rink. Mindful of giving back, he’s been a longstanding board member of a community sports club and has also volunteered with United Way and Ontario Recycling Council.

Philip Uglow

Phil has owned and operated many companies over a 30 year period. He has operated in the construction, plastics, metals and distribution sectors. During that time, he put in place many performance improvement systems. ISO 9000 certifications and 6 sigma implementations among them.Full Bio Minimize

Phil’s consulting career spans more than 10 years. He has worked in power generation/distribution, O&G, heavy metal, engineering, agricultural and manufacturing. Projects in these sectors included performance management, operations, leadership, safety, and finance.

B.A., Economics, York University, Toronto
M.B.A., International Business, University of Toronto

When not improving client performance Phil enjoys hiking, kettlebells, running and eating.

Peter Betnaza

Peter is a senior management consultant and executive coach with over 16 years’ experience. As a consultant Peter has led and worked on numerous projects with some of Canada’s top 100 employers covering performance management, operational excellence, cost management, and leadership development with organizations in the Hospitality, Health-Care, Forestry, Mining, and Oil & Gas sectors.Full Bio Minimize

Peter coaches leaders at all levels to develop the rigor to provide feedback and change behaviours that drive significant bottom line results paying particular attention to where people and business process connect with field and floor execution. Peter specializes in helping organizations anchor the precise behaviours that derive positive business results.

Certified Executive Coach – Graduate Program Royal Roads University
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science – University of Victoria
Multimedia Production – Vancouver Film School

In his spare time Peter likes to be active with his family cycling, swimming, and hiking. He is also a Dive Master, skier, and crossfitter.