Gasparotto Group

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ABOUT GASPAROTTO GROUP

FORGING TOMORROW’S LEADERS

Leadership is an unyielding journey — you have to continuously put in the reps to temper your body, mind, heart, and soul. Our military-inspired and human-centric approaches prepare you to have impact in the crucible of life.

OUR PROMISE

We partner with leaders and teams to clear the way — to live, learn, and lead into their potential — which translates into greater individual productivity, higher team performance, and ultimately increased organizational profitability.  That is the Chain of Impact.

OUR PURPOSE

We have a duty to share our hard-won experiences in the service of building stronger communities.

OUR MISSION

We help organizations prosper by creating cultures that develop highly effective leaders and build strong, resilient teams.

OUR VALUES

High Trust

Uncomfortable yet Safe
Trust is the #1 determinant of team effectiveness, serving as the foundation upon which all successful collaboration and communication are built. Fierce conversations and complete accountability propels us towards shared goals, driving innovation, efficiency, and unparalleled team performance.

Learning

Growth Mindset
Our life-long journeys of discovery ensure that we maintain relevance and expertise in a changing world. We are self-aware, seek continuous improvement, and embrace the meritocracy of ideas.

Entrepreneurial Spirit

You Figure out the How
We are all encouraged to act like owners taking calculated risks, innovating for customized client solutions with disciplined flexibility, and delegating tasks with intent-based direction.

Servant Leadership

The Greater Good
Service before self. As a leader we actually work for our direct reports, setting the foundation upon which they can deliver on our promise. Purpose, People, Self.

OUR STORY

What started out as Mark Gasparotto transitioning out of his military career into the solo-entrepreneurial arena of leadership development has evolved into a team-of-teams synergizing the inputs of military veterans, creatives, professionals, academics, and business executives.

MEET OUR ARCHITECTS OF CHANGE

President

Mark Gasparotto

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Director of Operations

Shawn Groves

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Associate

Simon Wells

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Associate

Ely Periard-Fournier

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Science & Medical Advisor

Peter Ceponis

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Associate

Shelley Lamothe

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Associate

Markus Weber

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Creative & Logistics Team Member

Abigail Gasparotto

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TBD

Luca Ercolani

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Maggie MacGregor

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Paul Albertson

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Ted Gombert

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James Bondy

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Trevor Claus

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STRATEGIC ALLIANCES FOR GLOBAL IMPACT

Our partnerships with prestigious institutions and organizations are pivotal in advancing our mission of leadership excellence.

Mark Gasparotto

President

Mark Gasparotto — leadership development professional and decorated combat-veteran — is a man for all seasons, combining theory with practice, art with science, and experimentation with reflection.

About Mark

Mark is the President of Gasparotto Group, a boutique consultancy that provides clients with customized, pragmatic, and evidence-based leadership solutions. Mark combines his 10+ years of entrepreneurial experience, 20+ years of uniformed service as a combat engineer officer, and a masters of leadership to deliver impactful and practical leadership insights for over 1000 clients.

A member of the TEC Canada (Vistage) community, Mark was awarded the TEC Impact Speaker Award for 2020. He is the co-author of Clearing the Way: Combat Engineers in Kandahar — now an award-winning documentary film.

Mark has a duty to share his hard-won experiences in the service of building stronger communities. He does that by helping people and teams to struggle well and clear the way — to live, learn, and lead into their potential.

Qualifications

  • Master of Arts in Leadership, Royal Roads University
  • Master of Defence Studies, Royal Military College of Canada
  • Bachelor of Engineering, University of Waterloo
  • MBTI
  • EQi 2.0
  • Lifestyles Inventory and Leadership Workstyles 360° (Human Synergistics)
  • Management/Leadership Impact 360° (Human Synergistics)
  • Organizational Culture Inventory (Human Synergistics)

Awards & Decorations

  • Meritorious Service Medal with Bar
  • Brazilian Army Medal

Shawn Groves

Director of Operations

Shawn is an innovative and experienced leader who is passionate about leadership and developing effective and cohesive teams. He has formed, developed, and led teams for over 30 years, and has a proven record of leading and inspiring people, and building successful, resilient teams of diverse capabilities, and cultivating a culture of trust.

About Shawn

A decorated veteran, Shawn is a transformational, innovative, and experienced leader who is passionate about leadership and developing effective and cohesive teams. As a former Canadian Army Engineer, who, through excellence in skills, knowledge, and demonstrated leadership performance and potential, progressed through the non-commissioned ranks and then into the officer ranks, he has a proven record of leading and inspiring people, cultivating a culture of trust, and building effective, cross-functional teams of diverse capabilities.

Shawn has extensive instructional experience at both the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering and the British Army School Royal Corps of Engineers, where he played a key role in developing, delivering, monitoring and adjusting training to meet the needs of the Army. He has designed, implemented and validated individual and collective training curriculums and courses. His operational experience was key in his capacity as an observer-controller-trainer and exercise developer, to validate the operational readiness of army units prior to their overseas deployment.

A proven problem solver in volatile and dynamic situations, Shawn has considerable international and domestic operational experience and is highly skilled in operational analysis and planning. Shawn’s ability to develop leaders and thier effective, cohesive, and resilient, teams has been proven and tested.

Since leaving the military Shawn has gained significant experience as a project manager and company executive; thereby, developing an understanding of the relevant application of his military experience in the business context and setting. Shawn has successfully transitioned his military skills, knowledge, and breadth of experience into the business and corporate world and brings this to Gasparotto Group.

Education & Relevant Training

  • Baccalaureate in Military Arts and Sciences
  • Diploma in Agriculture
  • PMP Designation (Ongoing)
  • Certified Engineering Technician
  • Organizational Behaviour and Leadership
  • Risk Analysis & Management

Simon Wells

Sherpa

Simon Wells brings a mix of military, emergency management, and business continuity experience to curriculum development and coaching in Gasparotto Group.

About Simon

Simon is proud to have served in the Royal Canadian Logistics Service and in some of the largest disaster responses in Canadian history as an emergency manager. Most recently, he served as a project manager, emergency planner, and operations lead for the City of Toronto’s Mass Immunization Clinics in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A staunch proponent of continuous improvement and education, Simon holds a Master of Arts from Royal Roads University and is pursuing a Master of Business Administration from the Ted Rogers School of Management. He holds several professional certifications and volunteers his time to advance professional and community causes. Simon is excited to work with clients of The Gasparotto Group to help them improve their innate leadership and crisis management skills and realize their goals.

Qualifications

  • Master of Arts, Human Security, and Peacebuilding, Royal Roads University
  • Bachelor of Military Arts & Science, Royal Military College of Canada
  • Professional Logistician certification, The Canadian Professional Logistics Institute
  • Associate Business Continuity Professional certification, Disaster Recovery Institute Canada
  • Master of Business Administration Candidate, Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University

Ely Periard-Fournier

Associate

About Ely

Ely is a business owner and entrepreneur, running an independent physiotherapy practice. Fascinated by human potential, learning and growth, their practice is based on empathy and empowerment. They strive to create a space where health care is safe, inclusive and accessible.

Ely has also served as an officer and a team leader in the Royal Canadian Engineers and the Canadian Special Operation Forces Command. Specializing in explosive ordnance disposal and the neutralization of weapons of mass destruction, they have had the privilege to train with and mentor soldiers from nations all over the world.

Ely also has a long-term love story with the outdoors, their greatest passion being in the mountains, rock climbing and backcountry skiing in Canada and abroad.

They see their work as a team guide in the Gasparotto Group as an opportunity for co-learning and for everyone to share lessons from their own lives on leadership, team-building, resilience, diversity, and inclusion.

Qualifications

  • Bachelors of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University
  • Bachelors and Masters of Physiotherapy, Université Laval

Peter Ceponis

Associate

With a rich background in research, medical planning, and clinical support to soldiers, Peter provides the academic link that connects theory with practice.

About Peter

Joining the Canadian Armed Forces as a medical student in 2006, Peter entered active duty in 2010. He has since served in a variety of capacities, including as a Flight Surgeon in direct medical support to Arctic operations, and in coordinating international medical support for soldiers. Most recently, he completed a fellowship in Hyperbaric Medicine at Duke University and serves as a nation-wide Consultant in Diving Medicine for the Forces.

As a physician with a broad foundation in family, sport, and environmental medicine, Peter cares deeply about physical and mental health. Combined with his expertise in public health, he strives to optimize health and performance at both the individual and population levels. His contributions to over 20 peer-reviewed publications, invited speaking events, and mentoring of medical trainees also highlight a personal goal of communicating sound information.

Peter is a communicator, researcher, and clinician who aims to bring evidence-based leadership practices to bear.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Cellular Microbiology, University of Toronto
  • Master’s of Public Health candidate, University of North Carolina
  • Hyperbaric & Undersea Medicine Fellowship, Duke University
  • Diploma in Sport Medicine, CASEM
  • Certification in the College of Family Physicians
  • Doctor of Medicine (MD), University of Toronto
  • Masters of Science in Health Science, McMaster University
  • Bachelor of Science in Medical Toxicology, Guelph University

Shelley Lamothe

Associate

About Shelley

Shelley proudly served the Canadian Armed Forces for 27 years in the Royal Canadian Medical Corps and senior leadership positions, building, developing and supporting resilient teams through multiple overseas deployments and in teaching and training capacities. Most recently, she was serving at a graduate-level college, developing leaders for the future of the Forces. She has now transferred to the corporate sector as the Director of Learning and Development for MedCan.

A believer in the power of collective resiliency for better team cohesion and outstanding results, she also started Disciplined Direction Consulting in part to work with the Gasparotto in the delivery of programming and provide the insights gained from being a RBLP-Trainer with others to support others in building and leading resilient teams. Shelley holds several degrees and certifications and was recognized for her career of service when she was inducted into the Order of Military Merit by the Governor General of Canada.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • Masters of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • Resilience Builder Leader Program – Trainer
  • PROSCI Change Management
  • Primary Care Paramedic diploma, Justice Institute of British Columbia
  • Management Development Studies certificate, Seneca College

Markus Weber

Associate

About Markus

Markus has over three decades of experience in National Defense and Security – the preponderance with the Global Special Operations community – specializing in crisis management, readiness and security program management, training curriculum development and delivery, and the leadership of teams that design and achieve mission accomplishment.

He has extensive specialized inter-agency, multi-national, and combat experience in various dynamic, high-pressure, highly-sensitive environments – from the tactical to strategic levels – to add depth and breadth to experience. In this capacity he has formulated comprehensive recommendations to the highest levels of National Defense leadership – most recently promulgating regular correspondence to the US Secretary of Defense, through the Commanding General of the US Special Operations Command and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Qualifications

  • Bachelors of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University
  • Bachelors and Masters of Physiotherapy, Université Laval

Abigail Gasparotto

Photographer & Videographer
Creative & Logistics Team Member

About Abigail

After a year at Ryerson University for Fashion Design, I sought a change and transitioned into a major in Anthropology and minor in History at Carleton University. I discovered immense fulfilment in shaping young minds, fostering their passions, and nurturing their intellectual curiosity. Alongside my academic pursuits, I have managed to obtain my certification as a CAC Level 2 Athletics Coach and continue to refine my craft as a photographer. Moreover, my dedication to competitive water polo is the foundation of my life, and it earned me a prestigious national ranking as the top goalie in two age groups in 2019.

My journey with Gasparotto Group began at the age of 15, under the tutelage of my father, who retired from the military and founded the company. Since 2020, I’ve had the privilege of contributing as a photographer and integral member of the creative team. Engaging in projects such as Outside the Wire events, I seamlessly blend creative vision with logistical support, aiding with the execution and overall success of the company’s endeavours.