About Rob Wiedeman ICD-d, MCPM

Rob brings a diverse wealth of knowledge and experience from his time as a Mayor and Municipal Councillor, board member as well as a long time CEO and business owner. From implementation to operation Rob has created, operated and sold numerous businesses. Rob has also consulted in the development, real estate, transportation and project management industries on a diverse array of subjects.

He has been responsible for – many innovative projects including;

  • Bylaw challenge against a Municipality for improper water rate valuation
  • One of the largest recreational developments in Western Canada
  • Development consulting on one of the Edmonton areas only rural duplex over 50 gated communities
  • Condo board consultant for resident bylaw challenges and underground infrastructure projects.
  • Consulting to Albertas largest Seniors living companies as well as development consulting services
  • PM consulting to the Northern and Southern Jubilee Auditorium’s , Winspear and Timms theatres
  • Development and Education of one of the first Crane and Hoisting training curriculums in Alberta
  • PM consulting for on of the largest light shows in North America
  • Mangement and operation of a Major Heavy Haul Company and Transportation Training organization.
  • Construction and operation of two major franchise restaurants
  • The first Cable Water Ski Park and Zipline in Alberta
  • Development of a Major Auto Auction Complex in Alberta.
  • Relocation of Portal Cranes to Florida from Edmonton via rail and truck
Rob also founded one of the largest fee for service providers in Alberta with 4 offices that supplied specific services to Alberta Children and Family Services. This unique business was the first for profit businesses  to situate their offices within Provincial Government facilities to be closer to provincial contract managers. 
 
Rob has participated in several trade missions to Malaysia, Korea, China, Germany, Thailand and Taiwan as well as Washington DC. As the owners representative Rob ensured specific product marketing goals were achieved for two completely different products from Germany (waste water ) and Korea (ladder lift unit) and introduced them to the Canadian/US markets. 
 
With an ICD-d  designation from the Rottman School of Managment  Rob is a trained  board member. His participation and input on variety of boards over 25 years has helped many organizations achieve their goals and ensure proper governance as well as  achieve their objectives. 
 

Tip – Are your bylaws up to date and are policies used in place of where bylaws should be used. I once represented a business owner against an Alberta Municipality where the rate for water was put in place as policy (and not as a bylaw) and was applied unfairly to the business. I challenged this and the business was awarded several hundred thousand dollars. Not only did the municipality fail to acknowledge their mistake but they were offered a way to mitigate the issue the next year before going to court and refused. The Lawyers then took over from there.

Tip – As many elected officials and business owners are now expected to sit on numerous boards there is a fiduciary duty which sometimes conflicts with the board members organization or home municipalities philosophy. There has been much discussion on how much the board member is responsible to the the board or to the municipality that delegated them. Board members should realize that decisions they make – may result in expenditures by their municipality but are not necessarily sanctioned or controlled by that municipality.

A good example of this is that most municipalities (under the MGA) MUST be part of a Seniors Housing Foundation and subsequently must appoint board of directors. Many of these boards are made up of non elected , elected or both – board members. Seniors Foundations can then requisition their prospective municipalities for funding to carry out business. Your municipality typically appoints public members (if the boards bylaws allow for it) and in most cases appoints members of council as well. There can be a difference of philosophies between municipalities and board members in what type of business these foundations should get involved with and their subsequent dept load. For example if a foundation board wants to deviate from Seniors housing and get into “affordable housing “ as well ,the member municipalities may have little to no influence in these decisions. They could be burdened with high requisitions and continued uncontrollable expenditures for these projects. It is recommended that appointment of municipal board members be very carefully discussed and that the numbers/ratios  of pubic to elected board members be well thought out. There are instances right now of Seniors Housing costing upwards of over one million dollars per unit when the average is $360,000 to $390,000. The requisitions will most certainly continue long after the initial board retires or new elected officials are in place. 

NOTE – for higher risk projects look at your developers (for profit companies) to be partners and carry some or all of the risk. In your negotiations don’t be afraid to discuss the level of profitability with private companies. You can set the level of profit ahead of time with your private partner and work to that number. Many times private developers will settle for a lower set profit in order to be involved with a municipal project.  

Meet Rob’s Team

Rob Wiedeman- ICD-D, MCPM : Principal
 
In his 45 year career Rob has had a diverse background in private business and municipal governance. 
 
As a former Mayor and municipal councillor Rob has been involved in virtually all of the areas it takes to keep a municipality operational. 
 
Equally important Rob has been a business owner, employee and entrepreneur for over 40 years in a variety of businesses including Transportation , Hospitality , Real estate , Consulting , Construction and Development Industries . 
 
These combined skills and experiences are what makes Rob a great consultant with some innovative ideas. 

Education

In addition to numerous training programs and certificates Rob has a:
  • Institution of Corporate Directors designation (ICD-d) from the Rottman School of Management (University of Alberta) 
  • Certificate in Volunteer Management from Grant McEwan University 
  • Masters Certificate in Project Management  from the University of Lethbridge 
  • Advertising and Public Relations Certificate from Grant McEwan University 
  • Diploma -Air Mixed Gas Diving Operations College of Oceaneering Long Beach California
Debby Wiedeman RSW, BSW, MSW 
 

Debby has had a career spanning over 40 years with Alberta Health, Alberta Children’s Services, Alberta Mental Health and Alberta Health Homecare. In addition she served as the Chief Training Officer for a leading fee for service provider. Debby has also served as a session instructor with Grant McEwan University in the Social work program.

Debbys extensive knowledge of homecare, health and wellness, FCSS and mental health and addictions in Adults and Children positions her to provide clients with a variety of advice and insight to employee health and wellness issues , pre hire screening , problem rate payers and FCSS program evaluation. In addition Debby’s talks on the power of HOPE are sure to inspire staff and make all of us aware of mental health issues in the workplace.

Debby is a Registered Social Worker and has a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Victoria and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Calgary. She is also a Registered Capacity assessor in Alberta.

Fact – Did you know that one in five people suffer from some sort of mental health condition and this can greatly impact your organization and surrounding staff if not diagnosed and treated early.

Note – One of the biggest issues facing municipalities and businesses today is homelessness. Regardless of how it starts if a municipality loses control and allows homeless camps the derelict vehicles, garbage and the crime that comes from these camps is not managed – your municipality will see the effects at every turn.
 
All over North America businesses are moving, millions of jobs are on the line and economic development is suffering because municipalities have not taken this problem seriously.
 
Residents and businesses expect their municipality to ensure there are proper bylaws and policies to address these problems. We can ensure you have some long term solutions that will ensure your municipality has homelessness under control. 
 
With over 40 years of Social work and mental health experience Debby can educate your staff and councils on this rapidly growing problem as well as ensure FCSS staff and your Peace Officers know how to deal with addictions and mental health issues. 
 
Additional Staff as required
We will utilize our trusted group of on call consulting professionals as required. Many of our consultants are semi retired and are subject matter experts from a variety of industries and professions with real world experience. We have Engineers, CETs, Developers and other professionals that want to share their knowledge and work with you.

“In my over 45 year career as a entrepreneur, business owner, Municipal Mayor and councillor I have seen where business and municipalities have failed to work together. Municipalities that fail to change and businesses that don’t understand the reasons why municipalities do what they do will fail.  In the future the municipalities that understand these issues will be the most desirable to live, work and play. The rest will be left in the cold.”

How can Rob Wiedeman Consulting add value to your organization?

Many organizations utilize consultants for a variety of reasons. It may be to fill in for staff shortages, to provide specialized advice , to act as interim Management or as an Interim Chief Administrative Officer or just to reduce existing workloads, regardless of the reason we can help.

Sometimes organizations priorities change, positions become vacant, special projects may need to be  managed or emergencies happen. Council changes, differences in philosophies especially after elections can trigger the need for additional staffing or short term consulting services to fill these voids. Call Rob today.

My team and I look forward to working with you in your municipality, organization or development . 

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