Category: Our Firm

Our Innovation Team Model

Post author By mturner
Post date September 14, 2016

Our Innovation Team Model

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. differentiates itself from other consulting firms through customized Innovation Teams of highly skilled technical experts assembled to meet the client’s unique needs. This highly flexible proprietary model allows us to apply the time and talent of the technical experts assembled, to the specific area of need, for only as much time as required. Our teams thus outperform high-level generalists by providing deep subject expertise, which would otherwise be cost-prohibitive, while also assuring the clients only pay for what they need and are not charged for unwarranted services and expertise beyond the scope of their requirements.

1. Listen & Understand

We take as much time as needed upfront to listen, understand and evaluate your unique challenges, needs and opportunities.

2. Assemble the Right Team

Our Innovation Team Model is based on your unique needs. We only assemble the right team, for the right amount of time so that you get the right solutions.

3. Local Perspective Global Knowledge

Each Innovation Team is a blend of local expertise from your city, state, or province and global experts with deep experience in your area of needs.

4. Your Unique Roadmap

We are committed to delivering you a strategic roadmap that is easy to understand, actionable, tactical and most importantly – unique to your needs.

5. From Start to Finish

Our belief is that there are far too many ‘solutions’ that end up overwhelming rather than helping. We get it. That’s why we are with you as long as you need us.

We get it…

The word “consulting” or “firm” often conjures an allergic reaction for anyone that has experienced the overwhelming feeling when the ‘final report’ hits their desk. Trust us – all of our Associates have been there.

At the risk of creating yet another “product” or proprietary offering that promises to be unique, transformative, etc., we set out to create something…useful! A model that provides quick, cost-effective and tailored solutions to your unique needs and challenges. This isn’t about providing a huge, daunting, costly package full of bells and whistles you’ll never be able to use. This is about real, actionable, tactical things you can do now or in the near future. After all… you aren’t looking to solve problems that don’t exist, are you? You need a clear roadmap and the right team of experts. Let us be your guides.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Sustainability Our Firm

Commitment to Equity,Diversity, Inclusion, and Sustainability

Post author By mturner
Post date September 14, 2016

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Sustainability

S. Sutton & Associates Inc.’s commitment to inclusion and opportunity across gender, race, age, sexual orientation, ability, religion, ethnicity, culture, and experience drives us forward every day. The firm was founded by a woman and remains woman-owned and operated. Notably, 54% of our Associates are women, and 43% have intersectional or diverse identity factors. S. Sutton & Associates Inc. adheres to principles of pay equity for all Associates regardless of identity factors and has no discernible gender or racial wage gap. The firm is also committed to sustainable business practices which helps to reinforce principles of inclusion. It operates as a virtual office which eliminates a significant environmental footprint and enables the participation of those in remote locations and those who may have a disability, dependent care obligations, or other responsibilities outside of work.

Our Firm

Post author By mturner
Post date September 11, 2016

Our Firm

Consultants in Philanthropic Management

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. brings decades of experience to all aspects of your philanthropic initiatives providing the best possible strategies and approaches to help you realize your philanthropic potential.

First Principles

Collaboration

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. serves as partner with our clients to build philanthropic capacity. Our consultants bring experience, objectivity and candor in our counsel to presidents, governing boards, fundraising staff and philanthropists to help meet their objectives and build a high-performance culture of philanthropy.

Best Practices

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. brings expertise in the most current best practices to all our relationships to help clients elevate performance to meet immediate needs and achieve long-term, sustainable growth. We draw from our philanthropic management experience across diverse sectors around the world and regularly refine and apply best practices.

Evidence-Based

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. applies a strategic, rigorous, analytics and evidence-based approach to provide guidance to the philanthropic enterprise in its entirety: all programs, support services, as well as executive and volunteer leadership.

Rigor

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. applies rigor and seeks clients eager to set ambitious goals and align activity to achieve results.

Results

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. is dedicated to providing counsel that has qualitative and quantitative positive impact on clients. Our accountability is to help clients achieve their philanthropic objectives and develop the means to build on success for many years to come.

Methodology

Recognize
Opportunities

Change creates opportunity. Shifts in political, economic, business environments, or ecosystems, transitions in staff or board leadership, strategic or campaign planning or evolution/launch of a new program, can be harnessed to optimize success going forward.

Audit, Evaluate,
Assess

Information drives process. We capture and use data to conduct a comprehensive audit, evaluation and assessment to inform next steps to strengthen your philanthropic efforts.

Create
Roadmap

S. Sutton & Associates Inc. translates evidence – based actionable recommendations into strategy and action steps, providing a strategic, comprehensive roadmap to achieve your goals. With hands-on assistance we apply a framework to help your team implement recommendations.

Core Values

Maximize philanthropy to achieve significant impact

Embrace and drive transformational change

Build relationships through communication and respect

Apply creativity to support excellence

Canada Associates Our Associates

Kyle Tan

Post author By mturner
Post date July 11, 2016

Junior Associate

Kyle is a core team member of the firm serving our back-office operations, with responsibility for monthly performance plans, financial projections & forecasting, and vendor relations. A junior at the University of Toronto in the Rotman Commerce program, Kyle is pursuing a specialization in Management with a dual focus in Data Science and Strategy, along with a minor in Economics. Outside the classroom, Kyle is involved in the Rotman Commerce Students’ Association as the Director of International Student Affairs.

Fundraising Must Have: Solid back-office operation

Our Firm

Georgina Steinsky

Post author By mturner
Post date June 21, 2016

Photograph by: Aleksandar Antonijevic

Formal Education

University of Toronto, Master of Arts, History

Professional, Consulting and Volunteer Experience by Sector

Private Sector
Bata Shoe Organization, Senior Human Resource Officer, Toronto
Bata Shoe Organization, Chief Country Negotiator and Country Director General Operations , Czech Republic
Manulife Financial, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Public Affairs, Toronto
Bell Canada , Chief Human Resource Officer, Montreal
CGI, Consultant, Toronto
IBM Canada Advisory Board, Board Member, Toronto
Cogeco Cable Inc, Member Board of Directors, Montreal
Glebe Parents’ Day Care Centre, Volunteer Founder, Ottawa
Public Sector
Government of Canada, Parks Canada, Historian, Ottawa
Government of Canada, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Office of Native Claims, Director, Specific Claims Section, Ottawa
Government of Canada, Department of Energy Mines and Resources, Director General, Natural Gas Branch, Ottawa
Government of Canada, Office of Federal Provincial Relations, Privy Council Office, Assistant Deputy Minister, Economic Affairs, Ottawa
Government of Canada, Department of Regional and Industrial Expansion, Associate Deputy Minister, Ottawa
Government of Canada, Department of Supply and Services, Deputy Minister, Ottawa
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Consultant , Ottawa
Government of Ontario, Management Board, Consultant, Toronto
External Advisory Group on Human Resource Modernization in the Canadian Public Service , Advisory Group Member, Ottawa
Federal Expert Panel on the Role of Gender Analysis in the Making of Federal Policy, Chair of 3-member Expert Panel, Ottawa
Community Based Membership and Advocacy
Canadian Centre for Philanthropy/Imagine Canada, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto
The Glebe Report, Volunteer co-founder and writer, Ottawa
Women’s Vote , Volunteer , Ottawa
Montreal Chamber of Commerce, Member Board of Directors, Montreal
Public Policy Forum, Member Board of Directors, Ottawa, 2009 Winner of the Canadian Public Policy Forum Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Policy and Management
Masaryk Memorial Institute, Consultant, Toronto
Foundation for the Advancement of Civil Society, Consultant, Czech Republic
Healthcare
Baycrest Centre for the Aged, Member Board of Directors, Toronto
Plexxus, Member Board of Directors and one 3-year term as Chair, Toronto
Westpark Hospital Foundation, Member, Board of Directors , Toronto
Education
Ryerson University, Member Board of Governors, Toronto
Masaryk University, Special Guest Lecturer in Two English Language Summer Programs, Czech Republic
Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM), Chair, Board of Directors, Toronto
Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, The Munk School, University of Toronto, Executive in Residence, Toronto
Arts and Culture
Arts for Children Foundation, Member, Board of Directors, Toronto
Bata Shoe Museum, Member Board of Directors, Toronto

Georgina Steinsky

Executive Associate

Georgina Steinsky has had a multi-faceted career within Canada and internationally as a senior executive. Her experience ranges from being a senior official and Deputy Minister in the Government of Canada, to executive positions in several major Canadian corporations, including Chief Human Resources Officer of Bell Canada. From 1990 – 95 she was an employee of the Bata Shoe Organization, where she led the project to recreate a Bata company presence in post-Communist Czech Republic. In these various capacities she has undertaken foundational work either in creating new organizations or undertaken major organizational restructuring and governance reform.

Georgina gained invaluable insights into the structure and nature of the charitable and nonprofit sector in Canada when she became Chief Executive Officer in 2004 of the-then Canadian Centre for Philanthropy which had just merged with another national nonprofit organization. From 2004 to 2008 Georgina’s task was to put in place a new strategy, and organizational and governance structure for what is now Imagine Canada – a national charity which today works alongside other charitable sector organizations – and often in partnership with the private sector, governments and individuals in the community – to ensure that charities continue to play a pivotal role in building, enriching and defining our Canadian nation. Imagine Canada’s work also included knowledge dissemination about best practices in the nonprofit and charitable sector, including matters related to governance.

Additionally, in parallel with other facets of her career, she has also had extensive experience as a senior volunteer in a number of charitable organizations. Since 2004 she served both as Chair and on the Board of two organizations whose creation was encouraged, and supported by the Government of Ontario: Plexus and OECM. Both are nonprofit corporations created to foster supply chain efficiencies in the Ontario Health and Education sectors respectively. During her tenure, both went from start-ups to fully functioning organizations with governance based on best practices. She is also currently a Director of the Bata Shoe Museum and of the Westpark Hospital Foundation.

Interview with Geogina Steinsky on Czech Radio

Our Firm

Dr. James Douglas Fleck

Post author By mturner
Post date June 21, 2016

Formal Education

Bachelor of Arts (Business Administration and Management), University of Western Ontario

Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA, Finance), Harvard Business School

Professional, Consulting and Volunteer Experience by Sector

Professional, Consulting and Volunteer Experience by Sector

Private Sector
Fleck Manufacturing Inc., Founder, Chairman and CEO
CUC Ltd., Director and Executive Committee Member
Alias Research Inc., Chairman
ATI Technologies, Chairman
Promis Systems Corporation Ltd., Director
Certicom Inc., Director
Rogers Multimedia Ltd., Director
Zurich Insurance, Director
Travellers Insurance, Director
Channel 47 Inc., Director
Colonial Homes Ltd., Director
NGRAIN Corporation, Chairman

Public Sector
Member of the Federal Department of Transport Task Force
Executive Director and Member of the Committee on Government Productivity
CEO, Office of the Premier (Government of Ontario)
Secretary of Cabinet, Office of the Premier (Government of Ontario)
Deputy Minister of Industry and Tourism
Coordinator for Multilateral Trade Negotiations (Government of Ontario)
Member of the Federal International Trade Advisory Board
Chairman of the Minister’s Advisory Council for Arts and Culture

Education
Faculty Member, Harvard Business School
Professor and Associate Dean, Faculty of Administration Studies at York University
Visiting Professor, Keio University Business School
Visiting Professor, the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD)
Visiting Professor, University of Western Ontario
Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies, Business and Public Management, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
M. Wallace McCutcheon Professor Emeritus of Business Government Relations, Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto
Member of the International Council of INSEAD
Council of Advisors, Canadian Institute of Advanced Research
Senior Fellow, Massey College
Chairman of the Board, University of Toronto Schools

Arts and Culture
Director and Treasurer, National Ballet of Canada
Chairman of the Board and President of the Art Gallery of Ontario
Trustee Emeritus, Art Gallery of Ontario Board of Trustees
Chair of the Canadian War Museum
Chair Canadian Museum of History
Founding President of the Power Plant, Contemporary Art at Harbourfront
Founder of the Toronto Harbourfront Centre’s Toronto Music Garden
Chairman of the Harbourfront Foundation
Chairman and Chair Emeritus of Council for Business and Arts (currently Business / Arts)
Chairman and CEO of Noah’s Flood Inc. (produced Benjamin Britten’s “Noyes Fludde” as Canada’s cultural contribution to the 50th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter)
Director of North York Symphony
Director of Toronto Free Theatre
Director of the Banff Centre
Chairman, Treasurer, and Director of Tennis Canada
Canada’s Representative to the International Tennis Federation

Non-Governmental Organizations
International President, Young Presidents Organization (YPO)
Founding Director of the Public Policy Forum
Director of the Institute for Research on Public Policy
Director Naples Council on World Affairs

Publications
Business Can Succeed!, Understanding the Political Environment (with A. Litvak Canada Publishing Corporation)
Canada Can Compete!, Strategic Management of the Canadian Industrial Portfolio (with J.R. D’Cruz, Institute for Research on Public Policy)
Yankee Canadians in the Global Economy: Strategic Management of U.S. Subsidiaries under Free Trade (with J.R. D’Cruz, National Centre for Management Research and Development, University of Western Ontario)
Co-author (with Professor D’Cruz) of several articles for the Business Quarterly, one of which, ”The Globalization of Manufacturing”, was the Touche Ross Award Winning Article 1987, and won the Silver medal in the Deloitte and Touche “Best of the Best” awards covering the first thirty years of the Business Quarterly

Recognitions
Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal
Officer of the Order of Canada
Doctor of Law honoris causa, University of Toronto
Inducted into Canada’s Tennis Hall of Fame as a Builder
Queen’s 50th Anniversary Medal
Edmund C. Bovey Award for Leadership Support of the Arts
Angel Award for Philanthropy in the Arts, International Society of Performing Arts
Ramon John Hnatyshyn (RJH) Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts
Doctor of Sacred Letters honoris causa, University of Trinity College
Received the Public Policy Forum Testimonial Dinner Award for “Distinguished Service to Canada”
Lieutenant Governor’s Medal of Distinction in Public Service
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal
Companion of the Order of Canada

Dr. James Douglas Fleck, C.C., DBA, LLD (hon), DSL (hon)

Strategic Advisor

James D. Fleck is a highly respected entrepreneur, business leader, public servant, scholar, and philanthropist whose support and stewardship has changed the face of Canada’s arts and culture scene. He is currently recognized as a preeminent philanthropist and supporter of Canadian nonprofit organizations and cultural institutions.

Jim’s professional experience spans diverse sectors and industries, providing him with a strong background in business management, board governance, and executive leadership. Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario and he earned a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Harvard Business School as a Ford Foundation Fellow. After completing his education, Jim began his career by founding and serving as CEO and Chairman at Fleck Manufacturing Inc., which began as a small organization with fewer than 10 employees and grew, under Jim’s direction, into a large multi-million dollar corporation. Building on his early success, Jim went on to hold the title of Director or Chairman for a number of companies in telecommunications, computer software, semiconductors, technology, and insurance including ATI Technologies, Alias Research, Noma Industries Ltd., Rogers Multimedia Inc., and Zurich Life Insurance Company of Canada.

As a public servant, Jim served as Chief Executive Officer of the Office of the Premier and Secretary of the Cabinet (Ontario), and he was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Tourism. He was also responsible as Executive Director of the Committee on Government Productivity for the reorganization of the Ontario Government. Much of Jim’s efforts in these capacities was geared towards streamlining operations, providing strategic direction, and improving collaboration and cooperation between business and government. At the same time, Jim has applied his policy expertise to strengthen Canada’s independent think tanks and nongovernmental organizations such as the Public Policy Forum and the Institute for Research on Public Policy. Jim’s cross-sector experience demonstrates his ability to build relationships and bridge gulfs that can divide or pit public and private sectors against one another.

Jim’s distinguished experiences as a business leader and public servant combined with his academic achievements meant that he was uniquely suited for a long and fruitful career in academia serving as Lecturer at Harvard Business School, Visiting Professor at the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD) and Keio University, Professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and York University where he was the founding Associate Dean of the Faculty of Administrative Studies (now the Schulich School of Business) and Director of the MBA and MPA programmes.

Owing to his deep respect for the arts as an indicator of a country’s quality of life and innovation, Jim has held many executive roles at leading Canadian nonprofit organizations over the years. In 1998, he chaired the first-ever Canadian Arts Summit, an annual event that continues to bring together Canada’s leading nonprofit executives, board members, and directors. He served as Chairman of Business for the Arts (currently Business / Arts) and was also Chairman of the Minister’s Advisory Council for Arts and Culture (Ontario). Other notable roles include President of the Art Gallery of Ontario Board of Trustees, founding President of the Power Plant at Harbourfront, and Chair to the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Museum of History (a Crown Corporation).

In addition to his executive leadership and management of nonprofit organizations and foundations, Jim has been widely recognized for cultivating Canada’s arts and culture sector as a philanthropist, collector, advocate, and fundraiser. He has generously provided resources and lent his expertise in support of the Arts Gallery of Ontario, the National Ballet of Canada, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery at Harbourfront, Tennis Canada, Soulpepper Theatre Company, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and Tafelmusik, among many others. His contributions to Canadian cultural life and arts organizations and institutions has resulted in a number of awards and honours, including being appointed as Officer of the Order of Canada in 1997, and recently promoted in 2015 to Companion of the Order of Canada.