About us:

Four successful, independent consultants with four areas of specialization had a bright idea.  Wouldn’t it be better if we worked together all the time, instead of scrambling to team up for large and complex arguments?  This would strengthen our proposals and help us execute better. So Rod, Graeme, Doug and Tim came together in 1996 to become NetGain Partners.  From there the idea grew to include other associates with other specialties, and junior associates with intellectual and professional ambitions.  Most of the founders went on to new challenges in other places, but can still be called on as the need arises.

NetGain Partners is a team of experienced management specialists committed to helping not-for-profit and public sector organizations reach their goals.  Based in Toronto, our teams have provided creative solutions for cultural, aboriginal and conservation groups. We are a boutique consulting firm that supports our clients with highly specialized expertise in arts management and strategy.

Address:

NetGain Partners Inc. 179 John Street, Suite 402 Toronto, Ontario M5T 1X4 P: 416-367-2392
 | F: 416-367-2377 info@netgainpartners.com

Bios:

Orla Garriques

Orla has orbited around NetGain Partners for years before finally landing on a couple of projects that were dear to her heart.  Her commitment to children and young Canadian artists in film and digital media, her experience and skills in production and marketing, and her generally sweet disposition, compensates for the firm’s appalling lack of these attributes without her.

Doug Simpson

The last of the NetGain founders, Doug uses his seniority to avoid actual work as much as possible.  He rationalizes his indolence as kindness to clients and colleagues who would otherwise have their assignments disrupted by his irksome curiosity, diligence, and standards.  When he’s not stalling or diverting the progress of NetGain’s projects, he sulks and rants in an espresso bar on any subject his companions dare to raise.  To make matters worse, he self-aggrandizes through pro bono diversions, which he pretends are business development pursuits when they are in fact vainglorious attempts to redeem lost causes.

Andrew Swales

NetGain’s longest-serving team member, the sly Andrew made himself indispensable while over time narrowing his career focus on the financial management of the firm and its clients’.  Now he divides his time between NetGain and another firm while working toward achieving Certified Management Accountant accreditation.  His study of history at Queen’s University now seems like a distant memory except when he’s into his pints, when socially inappropriate facts come bubbling up from his subconscious.

Robin Uchida

A spectral figure in the life of the firm, Robin intrudes on and recedes from NetGain when need for his intelligence and perspective can no longer be ignored.  His contributions are enriching because of the fascinating but inexplicable work he does away from NetGain, including but not limited to executive coaching, corporate branding, innovation theory and practice, arts education, and tending to his madly overachieving children.

Mauricio Vasquez

Having worked his way through a geographic analysis degree at Ryerson University, managed inventory for the adidas flagship store, and endured an instructive but unremitting internship with Bell Canada, NetGain provided a hospitable environment for his curious nature. After leading a complex feasibility study, Mauricio can now be found meddling in all aspects of the firm’s operation.

Suzanne Wilcox

Doug Simpson has tried unsuccessfully to hire Suzy for two decades, first for clients and later for NetGain.  With a Rotman MBA, an undergraduate degree from Princeton, and a track record as a triathlete, she obviously has the aptitude and endurance to be a superb consultant.  She has unfortunately started a beautiful family instead, and makes herself available to NetGain’s clients only after the needs of her two daughters have been met.  Despite this annoying habit, her superb work and positive disposition make her an ideal consulting team member, sought after by clients and colleagues alike.

NetGain Alumni:

• Martin Blake Video surveillance and production officer for the Toronto Police
• Julia Dow Consultant with Essex Lake Group LLC, Shanghai and New York
• Rider Dyce Independent sponsorship development consultnat in Toronto
• Vanessa Higgs Program Development Officer, Cultural Services, Toronto
• Tamar Huberman Account Director and Consultant at Arts and Communications, New York
• Selene Hur Manager, YMCA, GTA
• Tim Leary Founder and now independent arts management consultant in Halifax
• Graeme Page President and CEO at George Brown College Foundation, Fund-Raising, Toronto
• Clark Reed Independent Human Resources consultant in Toronto
• Geoff Stratton Lawyer at MacDonald Thomas, British Columbia
• David Trahair Bestselling author and principal of accounting firm in Toronto