About
I spent seventeen years as Director of IT at Cosmo Music, one of Canada’s largest musical instrument retailers. It was the kind of role where nothing was hypothetical. Technology decisions had real consequences for a workforce of hundreds, a supply chain that spanned the country, and customers who walked through the door expecting things to work. During that time I led a full implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, Commerce, and Supply Chain, alongside a custom-built warehouse management system. I made those calls, and then had to go back the next morning and make them work. That experience is the foundation of CoastalOps Consulting, the advisory practice I founded after leaving Cosmo. CoastalOps works with small and mid-market Canadian businesses who are trying to make sense of technology: which systems to buy, when they’re actually ready to implement, and how to avoid the traps that derail so many projects. I don’t implement. I advise. The distinction matters, and it’s what makes the relationship worth having.
The professional biography only captures part of the picture. I’m a lifelong musician. I started playing saxophone in military and dance bands while still in high school, and music has been a constant ever since. For ten years I led the York Regional Police Youth Band. Since moving to Newfoundland in 2022, I’ve become a musician and associate conductor with both the Gower Community Band and the CLB Regimental Band. Over the years I’ve also coached youth across hockey, curling, softball, and soccer, including time working with disabled athletes. Music and sport taught me things no boardroom ever did: how to listen, how to lead people toward something that requires every individual to contribute, and what it actually takes to help others perform when it matters.
Those lessons are the thread running through a nonfiction book I’m currently writing, drawing on 25 years of experience across music, sport, and organizational leadership. The book is still in progress. The thinking behind it isn’t.
I’m based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and work with clients across Canada.