About Kwela

Russel Horwitz, Principal

Nic Tsangarakis, Principal

Nic’s extensive human resources expertise includes strategic planning, design and delivery of leadership and management development programs, design and implementation of performance management systems, implementing self-directed teams, and facilitating team building sessions. Nic also has experience in operations management and has implemented total quality management systems and business process re-engineering . Nic has an honours degree in Industrial Psychology, and a Masters degree in Operations Management from the University of Cape Town, South Africa - contact Nic

Joanne Spalton, Senior Consultant

Joanne possesses a range of expertise in leading teams, assessing employee engagement, developing new managers, as well as coaching seasoned executives.  She has honed her people development skills in senior level positions across a broad range of sectors including post-secondary education, manufacturing, engineering, operations and most recently software development.  Prior to joining the Kwela team, Joanne served as the HR Director for the North American R&D division of Fortinet Technologies. Joanne is passionate about change and supporting organizations through major organizational shifts.  Her skills well suit facilitation, team optimization, leadership development as well as delivery of many of Kwela’s specific training programs.

Dene Rossouw, Associate

Dene Rossouw specializes in improving leadership and employee engagement through effective communication and sensemaking. As an innovative communicator, Dene coaches leaders on how to have more relevant conversations in the workplace and how to use personal power to inspire action and develop strategic partnerships. Dene has 18 years of facilitation and consulting experience in the field of communications. He is the VP for the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, a certified executive Coach through Royal Roads University, and a certified emotional intelligence facilitator using the BarOn Emotional Intelligence Quotient Inventory - EQ-i™. He has the Associate Certificate in Workplace Conflict from the Justice Institute of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Theology from the University of South Africa.

Jim Brosseau, Associate

Jim has worked in the high-technology sector since 1980, in a variety of roles and responsibilities. He has held successively more responsible positions in military and defence contracting, commercial software development, and training and consulting. He has worked in the QA role, and has acted as team lead, project manager, and director. Jim has been involved with the BCIT Bachelor of Technology program, mentored students at SFU Surrey and the Vancouver Board of Trade's Leaders of Tomorrow program, acts as a mentor in the New Ventures BC competition, and has been on the Business Advisory Board of the Advanced Systems Institute of BC.

Linda Chu, Associate

Linda specializes in time management / organizational skills training and coaching. Her hands-on approachable manner (combined with a sense of humour) really helps people deal with their time constraints and associated stress. Linda’s understanding of the challenges of becoming and staying organized and her client-focused and supportive manner provides an environment that encourages effective and sustainable change.

Linda is the Past President of Professional Organizers in Canada (POC) and founder of the BC Chapter of POC. She has recently released a CD called “Releasing Procrastination.”

Darya Duma, Associate

A practising Project Manager for over 10 years, Darya Duma has been designing and leading training courses in Project Management theory and application for 10 years.  She has extensive international experience and has been a member of PMI’s Registered Education Provider Advisory Group, and is on the Canadian Advisory Council for the upcoming ISO PM standard.

Liz ‘Zed’, Administration & Client Services

Liz comes to Kwela with an extensive background in business administration and a strong focus in sales operations and business analysis. While much of her career has been spent in Vancouver’s hi-tech industry, she more recently gained valuable experience in the not-for-profit world in a visual arts organization. At Kwela, Liz is responsible for all operational and administrative aspects of the business, and is committed to providing excellence in customer service - contact Liz

Carole Ruttle, Program Management

Carole’s diverse background includes business development, product marketing, communications and research for a variety of high technology companies. More recently she developed and successfully ran a retail business before returning to business consulting. At Kwela, Carole is responsible for measurement and assessment programs as well as marketing initiatives. Carole has an honours degree from the University of London, England and a Masters degree in urban development from the University of British Columbia - contact Carole