Greg is a Senior Executive with 30 years of general management, marketing and sales experience. Greg has a highly successful track record in leading organisations through the development and implementation of strategic, marketing and sales plans, operations, customer service and obtaining bottom-line results. He is a creative, articulate leader and achiever who utilises analysis, strategy, teamwork and continuous improvement to achieve results. He is especially skilled in both turnaround and start-up situations.

Greg received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Penn State University. For many years he was a guest lecturer at Queens University's highly acclaimed Executive Develop Program.

Greg's career began with positions in sales, sales management and sales training with Pitney Bowes and ADP (Automatic Data Processing). Chosen to start-up ADP's Canadian marketing and sales operations in 1979. Greg hired an outstanding team that broke all of ADP's previous sales records, building revenues to over $10 million in less than 20 months. Returning from 5 years in the States as Division VP and GM, revenues grew 19% annually, with a 350% increase in profitability. Today, Canadian-ADP serves over 60,000 customers with annual revenues of $150 million.

At Laidlaw Waste Systems, as its first Group Vice-President of Marketing and Sales, Greg and his team completed over 40 local market Strategic Plans and Marketing Plans. Greg was a member of the senior management team that studied customer service with Harvard University professors. Implementation of a company-wide Customer Service Delivery System lead to a 43% reduction in lost business, a 64% increase in new account sales and a 366% profit improvement. Laidlaw subsequently sold the Waste Systems Group for 18 times earnings in 1996.

Greg then launched 4 new, profitable business units as Executive Vice-President at Coinamatic Canada. As President of the newly created subsidiaries, he grew three of them into multi-million dollar businesses that continue to have high growth potential.

Greg has been advising small business owners on how to grow their businesses, improve their profitability, control their time and achieve a better balance in their lives since 2002. His areas of focus include:

• Selecting appropriate strategies to compete effectively
• Building a profitable foundation
• Leadership
• Marketing and Sales
• Systemizing the business so it works without the owner
• Developing High Performance Teams

Greg was one of Canada's first Certified Sales Professionals. On the Board of Directors of the Canadian Professional Sales Association (30,000 members) and Chairman of the Sales Institute, Greg led the nation-wide implementation of the sales certification program. Sales Certification is designed to enhance the image, ethics, knowledge, skills and professionalism of sales people. Today there are over 1500 Certified Sales Professionals in Canada.

Greg serves on the Board of Directors of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and is Chairman of the Business Education Committee.

About Mike Draper

Mike is a Senior Executive with a very successful 22 year career of developing and executing business plans that result in accelerated growth. Mike is especially experienced in developing marketing and sales plans for new business start-ups and small to mid-sized companies that are driving for above-market sales revenue.

Mike received his Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Toronto’s York University and has completed professional training including Executive Focused Selling, Major Account Selling Strategies, Canadian Investment Finance, Face to Face Selling Skills and the Canadian Securities Course.

Mike's career began with a position in sales with Gandalf Canada where he increased vertical market sales by over 950% in three years. Moving to US based Cabletron Systems as Regional Manager and Director of Canadian Operations, Mike dramatically increased sales in the Canadian market from $1.5 million to over $4.5 million by implementing a channel sales model to complement the direct sales program.

For the next 16 years Mike helped many High Tech US based companies come to Canada and expand their Canadian operations. By understanding the unique challenges of doing business in Canada, Mike provided an accelerated path to success in the Canadian Marketplace and sold more than $57 million of products and services. During part of this period, Mike spent 6 years with Alcatel Canada working large multi-million dollar contracts.

Sports are another pursuit of Mike’s and he has successfully coached some of the best water skiers in Canada, many of whom have become top competitors in the world. As a fully certified NCCP Level III Coach, obtained through the Coaching Association of Canada, Mike is a former Head Coach of the Canadian Junior Water Ski team and former Level 2 CSIA Snow Ski Instructor.

Mike joined the Growth Advisors Team in 2008 to advise small business owners on how to grow their businesses through improved Sales and Marketing, control their time and achieve a better balance in their lives.

His areas of focus include:

• Developing and implementing Marketing and Sales strategies
• Negotiation Strategies
• Developing high performance teams
• Competing to Win