About Peter
Peter is the Principal Business Advisor for Novaport Management Services Inc. He focuses on strategic planning, organizational improvement, transformation, and marketing.
“Exercising creativity nurtures your heart soul & pays dividends. One way I do this is making art.” What’s your output for creativity?
Being an entrepreneur is in Peter’s DNA. He earned his first paycheck at about 9 years of age delivering morning newspapers to 110 customers six days a week, 52 weeks a year. He had to get up at four in the morning to have all the papers delivered by six and then had to visit each of his customers weekly to collect payment. At the same time he discovered his artistic ability and sold his line drawings during school recess to earn extra pocket-money. During this time he also worked in his Father’s upholstery business doing general labour and deliveries. His first taste of management came at sixteen when he was put in charge of a large grocery store. It came as a surprise to new staff when they discovered that their boss was a teenager.
His parents were raised in Europe during World War II and instilled resilience and self-reliance in their five children. Peter paid 30% of all his earnings to his parents up to the time he finished high school and at the same time saved enough to pay for 8 years of post-secondary training. While it made sense to look at majoring in Business, Peter majored in social sciences finishing degrees in Religious Education and Psychology.
He has developed a strong and agile problem solving mindset: both the ability to pull apart and to put together equally. This whole-brain thinking makes him comfortable analyzing procedures by breaking down an intellectual whole into components and creating synthesis between separate elements to form a coherent whole. He is able to solve problems in an increasingly volatile, complex, and uncertain world. He creates a balance between analysis and synthesis.
His career has taken him through a variety of executive management and consulting roles in over 40 industries including entertainment, marketing, tourism, transportation, international trade, non-profit, oil & gas, small start-ups, and education. He is a skilled facilitator with varied experience in human resources, organizational development, operations, marketing, leadership, and strategic planning.
Outside of the office, Peter has a busy family life and is active volunteer in the community. He loves the ocean and on many occasions is out in his kayak or out sailing, enjoying nature around Victoria, BC and the Gulf Islands. Peter is also a professional artist www.peternvangiesen.com
