Odgers Berndtson Expands in Western Canada

Odgers Berndtson is pleased to announce its expansion in Western Canada marked by the recent appointment of Stephen Diotte to Partner and Head of Leadership Services for the Western region, as well as the firm’s new Canadian energy sector expert.

Stephen brings deep consulting experience in working with leaders globally around talent and organizational strategy and redesign, specifically focused on the energy sector. Before joining Odgers Berndtson, he was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company in Calgary. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at Mercer Human Capital Consulting, Deloitte Consulting and MEG Energy.

“Stephen will be a true asset to our clients who are facing significant talent and succession planning challenges,” said Eric Beaudan, Global Head, Leadership Practice at Odgers Berndtson. “His acute business sense combined with phenomenal human capital expertise, executive level experience and deep knowledge of both the oil and gas and mining sectors, is quite unique in Western Canada.”

“I’m thrilled to be a part of shaping Odgers Berndtson’s expanded leadership and energy sector offering in Western Canada,” said Diotte. “My goal is to approach talent challenges from a client mindset, leaning on my own experience as a client and consultant to effectively address the market’s complex human capital needs.”

Diotte is the latest in a series of strategic hires by Odgers Berndtson designed to bring best-in-class talent and leadership services to the Canadian marketplace. Late last year, Tony Gaffney, former CEO at Aon Hewitt, joined Odgers Berndtson as Managing Partner and head of the CEO and Board Practice in Canada. Similarly, last fall, the firm appointed Susannah Crabtree, former head of Mercer’s Ottawa business, to lead its Ottawa office.

According to Odgers Berndtson’s Chairman and CEO, Carl Lovas, driving the firm’s recent additions is the need to address the significant talent gap that exists at the uppermost levels of many Canadian organizations.

“The talent landscape is changing rapidly, and organizations are under pressure to attract and develop top talent that will help them navigate and win in the face of continued disruption,” said Lovas. “Our deep executive search experience, combined with our flexible interim solutions, and leadership assessment and development capabilities, are clearly addressing an important need in the market. As a result, our business has doubled in the last four years, with sales up 35 per cent in the first half of the 2018 fiscal year.”