Henry Noble  WEBSITE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS - PARTIALLY COMPLETE

PROFILE

As at home in the trenches as the executive suite and everywhere in between, a multi-careered, visionary, passionate, diversified, highly innovative orchestrator of change, culture transformation and new venture startup spanning many roles including president, partner in a senior management consulting practise, computer systems entrepreneur, board member, chairman, chief financial officer, vice president of operations, marketing manager, educator, manufacturing manager, design engineer, senior educator and computer programmer.
Responsible for strategy, designing and leading change in a wide array of organizations including computer hardware, software and networking development, installation, training and maintenance, management consulting, electronics, telecommunications, internet, minicomputer, PC, e-service, web-based customer service, wireless and PDA technologies including pre IPO startup, local government, health care, fluid power, job shop and flow process manufacturing, mining, pulp and paper, garment manufacturing and retail, nuclear reactor fuel, electrical distribution, real estate and insurance brokers, military, post secondary, primary and secondary education and professional associations.

Personal attributes include building two way trust and respect, vision, passion, tough mindedness, organizing, setting strategic direction and subordinate tactics and leading, coaching and inspiring the team to achieve the strategy while having fun making it happen. Most of the challenges I have been given were ones in which I had little background and little or no specific experience. A quick study. Assimilates the essence of core competencies, opportunities, risks, trends, methodologies and technical issues. Turns concepts into reality.

Internationally recognized guru on issues dealing with the future social and technological issues in the area of local government.

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Decorated by the Queen for work in the Health Sector, part of which related to solving the Brockville General Hospital crisis.

 

Highly respected for knowledge of financial management, operations and administrative infrastructure in Local Government.

 

Referred to as an "Educator’s educator": a leader in student success and growth through highly innovative, efficient and effective approaches that change the paradigm.

What Others Have Said : Some Quotations.. Please see my summary resume under the tab Resume

Career History up to 2000
Chief Financial Officer FieldWorker Products Ltd.
A Pre IPO startup developer of data collection software for the handheld PC market involving GPS, the Internet, wireless smart phone, Oracle lite, Windows CE and Java

Vice President of Operations MAI Canada Limited (over 1,500 employees)
MAI Canada was a subsidiary of MAI Limited and had been a highly successful marketer and manufacturer of minicomputer hardware with most software provided by strategic alliances with industry specific software houses.
Contacted by my previous (vanquished) competitor to take over their Software Operations which was losing 50 cents on the dollar. Shortly thereafter was given the hardware maintenance (22 branch offices across Canada) and everything other than Sales & Finance and appointed Vice President of Operations.
Refocused, reorganized & restructured the operations, removed one management layer, 70 percent of management and supervisory staff, 67 percent of administrative personnel, and 45 of productive. Hardware maintenance profits improved to values of two years previous but on 35% less volume. Brought the software operation from 50% loss rate to profitability.
We were able to generate cash out of Operations to make up for losses in Sales. The President and I met monthly with a Vice President of the Bank to determine if the company would be allowed another months operation.
Developed a strategy suited to the realities of the markets of the 90's (which had been lacking) and crossed the country discussing it with the demoralized staff. Because I built two way trust and as the plan passed the test of their common sense and experience, the strategy gave them hope. They internalized it with their hearts, souls and minds. Morale skyrocketed and created a team focus and motivation. The culture changed from top down rule based bureaucratic to entrepreneurial. Ended the "CYA" and politics. Cleaned up and pruned the software product offering and focussed on a few key vertical markets. Hardware maintenance profitability restored to levels of 3 years previous on 30% less volume. I was credited with saving the Canadian operation.

Consultant Association of Professional Engineers of the Province of Ontario

Over a period of years brought them into the PC age.

Partner / Managing Partner Richter & Associates : Management Consulting Toronto Practise
The Chartered Accountancy Group is one of the majors in Canada and Richter & Associates is the associated Management Consulting Group.

President (Founder and Owner) Computer Solutions Inc. (Comsol) and 5 years later simultaneously Vice President (Founder and 50% owner) Management Solutions Inc. (Mansol)
Comsol designed, programmed, sold, installed and maintained software that was written from scratch for each vertical market that we entered rather than the prevailing approach of modifying an existing suite.
After 5 years marketing our software on the MAI Basic Four, Rexon Computers approached me to distribute their hardware. I funded, incorporated and founded Mansol to be the hardware and system sales company.

300% year over year growth. Computerized over 150 Ontario Local Governments of minicomputer size and only ever lost two Local Government tenders (by refusing to drop price). Most sales were made at a price premium over competition. Instituted 30% down with order. Ernst Winney and Wang were forced to withdraw and Woods Gordon were held to three small (micro) systems IBM, DEC, HP, Univac, Sperry, Olivetti, and MAI were all frozen out despite valiant focussed efforts. MAI, who had previously dominated the market, was also frozen out despite trying to steal my staff by offering to set them up in business with an office with guaranteed business, double the salaries and funding and hardware for 2 years. My staff remained loyal. My staff remained loyal. IBM and DEC both (verbally) threatened to put me out of business if I didn’t sell their hardware. I didn’t and they couldn’t!

Won both tenders put out by the Provincial Government for the prototype computer system for cities (one) and townships (one) in Ontario against fierce competition from every player in North America despite being very small at the time.

The Accounting structure I developed was adopted by the province as the standardized chart of accounts for the computerization of all local governments in the Province and for their reporting to the Ministry ("Bacpac").

Designed, programmed, sold, trained, documented and maintained the application software. The municipal and school board software was recognized as the best in the market. Chief software architect.

Sold our first contract to the City of Cornwall against a P.S. Ross & Partners report recommendation despite not even having an office nor a line of code written.

Became known as the Guru/Oracle of Local Government information systems (See "Awards and Professional Recognition")

In Management Solutions Inc (hardware dealer and sales arm) responsible for Corporate strategy and jointly responsible with my partner for tactics, administration, marketing, and sales. In the mini market we achieved 96% market share. Built sales to over 5 million annually in only 3 years.

"Henry has forgotten more about Municipal Operations than most municipal experts will ever know" Chief Administrative Officer, Kenora

Applications - Municipal, School Board, Public Utilities, Insurance, Manufacturing (Flow Process and Job Shop), Property Management, Real Estate, Hospital lab Q.C., Dealer Inventory

Senior teaching master: Business & Technology St. Lawrence College : Brockville
Joined at the founding of the College.

Marketing Manager :Nuclear Power Division Canadian Westinghouse : Hamilton

Marketing Manager :Industrial Mechanical Products Westinghouse : Hamilton

Manager of Financial Planning :Mechanical Products Group Westinghouse : Hamilton

Manufacturing Manager: Industrial Products Westinghouse : Hamilton
The Division Manager was promoted to Group Vice President at Head Office and asked me to move with him.

Divisional Value Engineer Canadian Westinghouse : Distribution Apparatus Division : London

Manufacturing Engineer Canadian Westinghouse : Distribution Apparatus Division : London

New Product Planner Canadian Westinghouse : Distribution Apparatus Division : London

RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force)
Staff Officer  : Airborne Telecommunications for Air Transport Command
Unit Telecommunications Officer - RCAF Unit, Fort Churchill (Churchill, Manitoba)
In the year of my promotion I was the only officer in the entire Air Force to be promoted to Flight Lieutenant in the minimum period of 3 years.

Education
M.B.A. (Dean’s Honours List and Scholarship) Schulich School of Business
B.A.Sc. (Engineering Physics : Nuclear Physics Option) University of Toronto
Telecommunications Officer Training (3 years) Royal Canadian Air Force

Professional Designation
P.Eng (Registered Professional Engineer) Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario

Awards and Professional Recognition
Awarded the Q.S.J.D. (Queen's Silver Jubilee Decoration) for outstanding innovative service to the public in health care on the occasion of the Queen's Silver Jubilee.
Established an international reputation as a strategic thinker in Municipal Government and systems such that I was honoured to be invited to be a member of ALGIS (Academy of Local Government Information Sciences headquartered in Belgium).
 

Community Service
Extensive health care experience starting when I was elected Chairman of the Board within an hour of being first elected to the Board of the Brockville General Hospital after the preceding Board had been forced to resign by a Government appointed Board of Inquiry. The doctors had shut down the hospital as a result of a dispute with the Board. A cold war existed with the Sister's Hospital and the hospital was rent asunder by two warring factions each with external supporters. The night of the Board election was covered by all of the national media.
To quote from my remarks in the Annual Report of my first year on the Board....
"We have weathered bed cuts, dollar cuts, Nursing School transfer, R.N.A. Centre transfer, setting the residence up as a commercial proposition, two visits by the Board of Inquiry, three investigating teams, an Accreditation Survey, taking over Obstetrics, certification of a bargaining unit, negotiating two labour contracts, an inquest, a By-Laws overhaul, starting a Nursing Home, developing a common set of Medical Staff Committees and By-Laws, working with the Medical staff in developing Medical Staff self-government, changing the management style, a change in Administrator and increased workloads with less staff. Otherwise it has been uneventful...."
Founder, Board Member and Treasurer and Construction Project Manager of a non-profit nursing home (Sherwood Park Manor, Brockville).
Member of the Emergency Health Care Task Force for South Eastern Ontario.
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Fulford Home (Home for the Aged),
3 years in Churchill, Manitoba organizing projects for feeding Indian (treaty and non-treaty) and Inuit children and improving their health.

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Other activities
Owns historic buildings which I have personally renovated into very high end rental units. Does all the design, plans, plumbing, wiring, ceramic, marble, framing, finishing, drywall etc. Extensive experience at building design, renovation, and construction. The quality is such that it has been featured in Century Homes magazine.
Canoeing,

high energy up tempo interpretive freestyle dancer .. been videotaped, asked if I am a professional dancer or choreographer

author and writer of screenplay for a full length hollywood film