Testimonials

Keynote Speaking

Ursula M Erasmus‬
Global Head of Change Management, Project Delivery Excellence in Clinical Operations at Roche‬‬
David is wonderful to work with. His engaging style and open, frank conversation brings people face-to-face with their choices and their opportunities. If anyone has the potential to be a leader in times of change David will help them find the courage, accept the accountability, be curious enough to play in the white space and he will gracefully model authentic communication. My respect for David has grown with each collaboration‬‬.

Estella Zhao
Overseas Marketing Analyst at SAIC Motor
Mr. Gouthro delivered an amazing keynote presentation at the mini Enterprize 2013 Entrepreneurship Conference! His passion, experience, and humour were able to deeply inspire and motivate the delegates. We have received numerous commendations on our excellent keynote speakers, and we thank Mr. Gouthro for that!

Andrew Kemp
President, Okanagan Business Students' Association
David gave one of the most spectacular presentations I've ever witnessed as the keynote speaker at the 2014 OBSA Business Banquet. Finding the perfect medium between professional consulting and stand-up comedy, David captivated the audience from the moment he started to speak, until the moment he left the stage.

Every guest that I had spoken to regarding their thoughts on the banquet raved about David's insight into the modern business world and his ability to maintain a high level of professionalism while making the entire audience laugh hysterically throughout his presentation. David added a large amount of value to all attendees of the 2014 OBSA Business Banquet and I would certainly recommend him to anyone in need of an event speaker.

Daniel Thorpe
President, Continuing Education and Training Association of British Columbia (CETABC)
‪David delivered an excellent keynote on organizational change at our 2016 Best Practices Forum, and then was an active and engaged facilitator for the group exercises for the remaining day and a half. Two things really stood out. David worked really hard to learn as much as he could about our organization and its particular needs before the event, and even set up an online survey at short notice to get to know our members better. And, he is one of the most engaging speakers I’ve ever met. David brings a terrific energy to every topic and a wealth of techniques to ensure audience participation. All our members enjoyed his sessions and left them both better informed and re-energized. Finally, for me as organizer, he was a delight to work with: reliable, always positive, and ever ready to offer excellent suggestions and advice.

Facilitating

Ruth Malli
City Manager at Town of Ladysmith
David has consistently exceeded expectations, moving us forward much faster than we would have anticipated. His facilitations have resulted in us being able to move forward with significant changes. David makes the discussion safe and encourages even the most reluctant participants to fully engage. His creative approaches surprise and delight, but it's not entertainment, it's about results.

Jeff Rushton
President & CEO Media Resources
I have known David for over 20 years and have always found him to be an incredibly capable and motivating facilitator & trainer. Recently, David ran a strategic planning process for an organization I founded, the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation. In preparation for the meeting he developed and executed an online survey in addition to conducting over a dozen interviews with key stakeholders. He then consolidated the results and facilitated a strategic planning session with the Board of Directors. Throughout the process he brought clarity and insight that enabled us to reach agreement on an exciting new strategic plan. I can't recommend David enough. He is a true professional.

Kevin Dorse
Manager, Advocacy at Canadian Credit Union Association
David worked his magic at our very first Credit Union Social Responsibility Forum. He worked with our team to transform a workshop on an important, but complicated topic into a relatable and effective interactive priority-setting exercise. His style both in the planning and in the workshop itself put all of us at ease.

Scott Mitchell, BSF, CEC, ACC
Transition, & Leadership Coach
I was present as a professional coach at Leadership Vancouver Island in Ladysmith this October. Both my business partner, Barbara Thomas and I were impressed by David's quick whit, humour, substance, clarity of expression and leadership around the topics he was delivering for approximately 20 business leaders on the mid Vancouver Island for a day workshop. He was personable, engaging and friendly in his approach, as well as brought pertinent learnings to the table. I enjoyed how creative he was with some of the exercises. I recommend his capabilities to anyone interested in change and personal development as an authentic leader.

Diponkar Banerjee
Chief, Division of Anatomical Pathology, The Ottawa Hospital
Best change management guru I have worked with.

Stacey Crawford, MA
Economic Development Officer
I'd like to take a moment to recognize David for the tremendous job he has done in helping guide some very important discussions and planning sessions over the past few years.

I am consistently impressed with his dynamic and engaging facilitation skills and truly appreciate how much time, energy and thought he puts into preparing and facilitating thought-provoking discussions that always result in a clear understanding of what needs to happen next.

David's experience, techniques and engaging personal style have been integral to the success of many of our sessions and I recommend him unreservedly.

Derek Vanthuyne
Strategic Development Manager at Affinity Credit Union
We used David for our Board Strategic Planning session and he delivered an exceptional performance. He was able to keep our team engaged and active while delivering results and valuable output. His use of different techniques and exercises made a long couple of days go by very quickly and he was able to adapt to whatever situation arose. Very impressed and look forward to our next opportunity to work with David.

Peter Leitch
Chair, Motion Picture Production Industry Association and President, North Shore Studios & Mammoth Studios
David facilitated a meeting with over 200 participants from diverse backgrounds and interests, and managed to keep people engaged, interested and confident that action would result from their efforts.

Adrian Legin
Coastal Community Credit Union
David has a great ability to help us explore delicate matters in an environment that allows participants to avoid the defensive behaviour that often accompanies tough meetings. His flexibility and appropriate use of humour keeps us on task and fully engaged.

Event Emcee

Christine McLeod
Leadership and High Performance Teams Facilitator, Speaker, Advisor Christinemcleod.ca
David was the MC of our Impact99 HR Summit 2013 and what an MC he was. David's experience, presence, humor, flexibility and comfort on stage made him a natural fit for this role. He connected so well with the audience, connected the phases of the day through capturing the essence of each section of the day and sharing it back to the room before jumping into the next section. He was innovative in his integration of technology into the facilitation and his training background and facilitation experience allowed him to suggest just the right way to facilitate the little "nooks and crannies" of time between each section. 
I have known David for four years but this is the first time I have had the pleasure of "seeing him in action" for a full day. 
Amazing to have David anchoring the day- THANK YOU and would 100% recommend for any similar project to anyone!

Melissa Harder
Marketing & Communications Specialist at Central 1 Credit Union
I’ve now worked with David on two separate events – A Members’ Forum in October and our annual Conference, Trade Show & AGM in April. David is our first choice for any of our large events that require someone who is well versed in the credit union system, knows the players and is at once supremely prepared while remaining responsive, agile and flexible to the flow of a meeting. Working as our facilitator for the Members’ Forum, David kept the discussion moving, asked insightful questions and provided our audience with timely information.

As our Conference MC, David walked the perfect line of providing pertinent information and injecting a great dose of humour. He set the tone for thought provoking debate and kept everyone engaged. He also kept the energy level up between presenters to ensure our attendees weren’t looking at their watch and praying for the next break. And most importantly, with so many moving pieces and presenters in our program, David kept our conference on time! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend David as a facilitator or conference MC.

Maarten van Wamel, LLM
Teamleader Life Skills Program at Malahat Nation
I have had the opportunity to experience David at work as the MC of the Impact99 HR Summit 2013 and as a facilitator at the Vancouver Island Leadership program. With his experience, professionalism, relaxedness and more importantly, his humor, David creates an atmosphere of curiosity, cooperation and innovation to any room. I recommend working with David to anyone who is serious about using untapped potential and experiencing the adventure of learning outside of the comfort zone.

Lou Heckler
Lou Heckler & Associates
I had the privilege of watching David Gouthro serve as an MC to a multiple-day convention. He was always completely prepared, yet seemed constantly spontaneous. He used nice little doses of humor throughout...but used it as seasoning to the main dish, never trying to steal the show from the performers and speakers he introduced. He made us feel assured and secure, like everything was going just as planned, and yet he never made us feel like he was pushing. If there can be something like a perfect slot for a man of David's talents and his long experience, I would say it was emceeing. Who am I to say? A seasoned professional with more than 30 years in the speaking business and 14 years before that on the air on American television.