Tom A. Dutta, Mentor
A Senior Business Leader with more than twenty years of success leading organizations to higher levels of profitability and productivity. Tom earned a reputation as a visionary, innovator and strategic thinker who can initiate and implement change through groups of people utilizing a hands-on approach. He is able to partner and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to create results and customer-focused cultures. Areas of expertise include General Management, Sales and Marketing, Project Management and Operational Leadership.
Tom’s career is diverse and unique in that he has documented success in executive leadership roles within the Trust, Banking, Insurance, Telecom, Software and IT Professional Services industries where he demonstrated his abilities as both an entrepreneurial leader and a corporate executive which is a rare breed in today’s business world. He has worked for organizations with annual revenues from $40 million to $1 Billion.
As the Chief Operating Officer at Annex Group, Tom is currently transforming an organization to triple its revenue over five years through geographic expansion and a strategic sales approach locally. Tom is also President of T.A.D. Holdings which is focused on Hotel property investment, business consulting and executive coaching.
Most recently, reporting to a Board in the USA and working within a complex matrix structure, Tom was General Manager with the AEGON group of companies, one of the top ten global suppliers of Financial Services in the world. Under a decentralized model, he led a Senior Leadership team and turned around the Canadian operations to double revenue and market share, contributing to a $1 Billion annual revenue goal across North America. Some of his accomplishments include developing a five year strategic growth plan and expanding the company across Canada, creating a new brand from multiple brands, leading the shift to a single high performance customer and sales focused culture, forming strategic alliances as part of the new growth model, and securing the largest revenue producing client by shifting to a strategic sales model across the company.
At TELUS, one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, Tom held a dual role of Director, Customer Excellence and Director, Enterprise Marketing, partnering with the new CEO and executive team to implement a new customer focused National culture from a product centric culture and an operational efficiency program reducing costs and increasing efficiencies. He was named to the TELUS “leader of the future” program as a top executive for the future.
Tom has held Management and Vice-President roles in Sales, Marketing, and Operations in the Banking and Credit Union sectors. He has gained experience driving culture change in union and non-union environments. As Second In Command at BC’s largest closed bond Credit Union, VanTel, now VanCity, he worked with the Board and Senior Management to win the ITCUA Technovation award for developing and implementing a high tech-high touch banking location within a client’s workplace.
Tom has served on a number of industry boards and community organizations including current Board Director with the Mood Disorders Association of BC, Member of the Agents Advisory Board for Credit Resources Inc USA, ViRTUS Presidents Exchange, St Michael’s Parish/ School, MACU (Marketing Associations for Credit Unions), Sales and Marketing executives of Vancouver, and North Shore Community Services Society.
He graduated from high school in Delta BC with a district scholarship in Business education, obtained a Diploma from UBC ‘ faculty of Commerce in Sales and Marketing Management, completed Executive Development and Strategy Programs at Queens University in Kingston Ontario and also completed his Certified Financial Planner program of studies.
Tom is married to Anna with three children aged 11, 23 and 26. His passions include cooking, reading, life- long learning, studying human behaviour and the odd round of golf at some exotic location.