Bottom-line insights on marketing, management and profitability.  Donald is from the iconic Cooper Sports Equipment Family.  

Donald transforms businesses…and business people! He has helped thousands of companies throughout the world to add more real value to their customers' lives…and more dollars to their bottom lines!
Donald started his business career at the age of 6, sweeping the floor in the family business for 5 cents a day. Long days and low pay…excellent early training for an entrepreneur!  He earned an undergraduate business degree and an MBA from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth...followed by 18 years at Cooper Canada, the family business.

Cooper Canada became the world's leading maker of hockey equipment and a Canadian Brand icon.  As Cooper Canada grew, partners were bought out; the company went public, then went global, was unionized and un-unionized; built a dedicated, world-class team; opened an offshore factory; imported and exported; bought competitors and, finally, sold to the wrong people.

At age 43 Donald left the family business to do something less corporate, reinventing himself as an award-winning retailer. In just 3 years he fundamentally redefined the customer experience, for which he received 7 Awards of Excellence for marketing, service and business innovation.

Drawing from his real-life experience as a world-class manufacturer, retailer and business coach, he now helps companies rethink and reinvent themselves to create compelling customer value, clarity of purpose and long-term profitability.  For his unique business content and compelling presentation style, Donald has been awarded the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, the highest earned designation in the world of professional speaking...and he has been inducted into the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame. His insights into how to sell more, manage smarter, grow your bottom line and have a life will inform you, challenge you, disturb you, inspire you…and leave you with a new and powerful understanding of your business, your customers and your life!

Management and Leadership Keynotes

As a thought-leader in management and leadership, Donald makes managers more effective...and businesses more successful. He has helped transform 1000s of businesses around the world in over 40 different industries. He will help your clients: 1. More effectively manage their business, your team and your bottom line.; 2. Visualize, plan and create an extraordinary and more profitable future...including how the business might have to reinvent itself to make that happen; 3. Attract, develop and engage a top-performing team...and to; 4. Implement more effectively, deal with non-performance…and have a life!.  

Keynote titles:

• Accelerate your business...how to sell more, manage smarter, grow your bottom line...and have a life! 
• The 90-Minute MBA...10 things you need to know to sell more, manage smarter and grow your bottom line!
• Vision Critical...how to manage, innovate and thrive in a very different tomorrow!
• From 'Great to Gone'...important business lessons from Cooper Canada and other business adventures!

Marketing and Customer Service Keynotes

Every industry and every market is over-served and under-differentiated.  To thrive we must, first, understand our target customers on a whole new level.  Then, we must have the creativity and courage to  create, deliver and communicate compelling customer value and experiences that will 'grab' our target customers, clearly differentiate us from our competitors, make us 'famous'…and grow our bottom line.    

Keynote Titles:

• Owning customers for life…4 powerful steps to increasing loyalty, sales & profitability.
• Be extraordinary...or be eliminated...the simple truth about how to amaze your customers, beat your competition and grow your bottom line!

Creating a Top Performing Team Keynote

"We become what we hire."  Not having top-performers in every part of our business carries a huge cost in lost business, inefficiency, missed opportunity and frustration!  This high-content program delivers a step-by-step approach that helps business owners and managers to:1. Create clarity about the specific people and talent they need to deliver compelling customer value, grow their business and improve their bottom line;  2.  Develop a business environment that attracts, empowers and retains top performers and a process to find them;  3. Reward success and deal more effectively with non-performance.  Lack of clarity and failure to deal with non-performance are two of the biggest challenges facing many businesses today.

Keynote Title:

• Winning the Talent Wars...8 essential steps to attract, lead & engage a top-performing team.

Client Reviews

• “Your presentation was the highest rated a our three-day conference. After the first five minutes, I knew we had a winner on our hands. Your presentation style was absolutely dynamic, your content was exceptional, your material was personalized to our company and your message was truly motivational. I look forward to working with you again next year.” – Shoppers Drug Mart
• Thank you for a superb presentation! Your tape and workbook which we packaged is very popular and orders continue to come in. Comments form participants included… Wow! The best motivational speaker I’ve ever heard! Two hours went by like two minutes… Every conference needs someone like this!” – Credit Union Central of Canada