Jane Cooke-Lauder
Highly regarded for her ability to design processes that shift thinking and enable decision making, Dr Jane Cooke-Lauder, founder and CEO, is sought after as a thinking partner, adviser, coach and consultant on complex performance issues by leaders in the health sector. Known for her pragmatic evidence-informed approach, her willingness to explore and question, together with her diplomatic manner, she works with clients to resolve thorny governance, strategic, organizational and people challenges.
Jane's educational background includes a BA and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; a Doctorate in Management from the Weatherhead School of Business, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (research focus on interorganizational collaboration); certification in Marketing Management (IMM); and certification as a Management Consultant (CMC).
She began her career in the private sector, enjoying significant line responsibility in the professional sports management and promotion sector in both South Africa and the US. After completing her MBA, she enjoyed a brief stint as an investment banker, before becoming a consultant with Arthur Andersen. Jane then went on to lead the Eastern Canadian operation of ODi, the third largest quality management and training firm in North America. Thereafter, she headed up the organization effectiveness and strategy practices at Johnston Smith International, now merged with Mercer Delta/Oliver Wyman.
Jane is committed to service, learning and personal growth. Her teaching background includes as MBA faculty on the Health Industry Management Program specialization at the Schulich Business School and faculty member/coach lead for the OMA/CMA Physician Leadership Development Program. Jane was also a member of faculty for the inaugural certification program in Social Innovation, designed and delivered by the Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Waterloo with funding from the McConnell Foundation. Over the years, she has sat on a number of boards including St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto. She served her profession as president of the Institute of Management Consultants of Ontario, and as a member of the national board of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants. Given her long term interest in women’s health, she was appointed to the Ontario Women’s Health Council, a policy advisory group to the Minister of Health and Long Term Care, where she championed the inclusion of gender-based analysis within the Hospital Report Card and chaired the Accountability Committee that designed and funded the first evidenced-based scorecard on the state of women’s health in Ontario (the POWER study).
Jane’s abiding interest in effecting social change caused her to focus her doctoral research on interorganizational collaboration as a means to address ‘wicked’ social problems. She continues to publish on this topic and to think about new organizational structure, strategy and governance models for the 21st Century that will improve the leadership, financial performance, accountability and impact of the not-for-profit sector.
Today, in this increasingly complex and volatile world, Jane’s innate curiosity and custom approaches help leaders identify new ways of working together, strategizing, establishing priorities and making more effective decisions. Her focus on outcomes, her ability to get to the heart of the issue quickly, together with her evidence-based approach and effective group process design skills that encourage courageous conversations, provide significant value and have resulted in many repeat clients.
Jane's educational background includes a BA and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; a Doctorate in Management from the Weatherhead School of Business, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (research focus on interorganizational collaboration); certification in Marketing Management (IMM); and certification as a Management Consultant (CMC).
She began her career in the private sector, enjoying significant line responsibility in the professional sports management and promotion sector in both South Africa and the US. After completing her MBA, she enjoyed a brief stint as an investment banker, before becoming a consultant with Arthur Andersen. Jane then went on to lead the Eastern Canadian operation of ODi, the third largest quality management and training firm in North America. Thereafter, she headed up the organization effectiveness and strategy practices at Johnston Smith International, now merged with Mercer Delta/Oliver Wyman.
Jane is committed to service, learning and personal growth. Her teaching background includes as MBA faculty on the Health Industry Management Program specialization at the Schulich Business School and faculty member/coach lead for the OMA/CMA Physician Leadership Development Program. Jane was also a member of faculty for the inaugural certification program in Social Innovation, designed and delivered by the Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Waterloo with funding from the McConnell Foundation. Over the years, she has sat on a number of boards including St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto. She served her profession as president of the Institute of Management Consultants of Ontario, and as a member of the national board of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants. Given her long term interest in women’s health, she was appointed to the Ontario Women’s Health Council, a policy advisory group to the Minister of Health and Long Term Care, where she championed the inclusion of gender-based analysis within the Hospital Report Card and chaired the Accountability Committee that designed and funded the first evidenced-based scorecard on the state of women’s health in Ontario (the POWER study).
Jane’s abiding interest in effecting social change caused her to focus her doctoral research on interorganizational collaboration as a means to address ‘wicked’ social problems. She continues to publish on this topic and to think about new organizational structure, strategy and governance models for the 21st Century that will improve the leadership, financial performance, accountability and impact of the not-for-profit sector.
Today, in this increasingly complex and volatile world, Jane’s innate curiosity and custom approaches help leaders identify new ways of working together, strategizing, establishing priorities and making more effective decisions. Her focus on outcomes, her ability to get to the heart of the issue quickly, together with her evidence-based approach and effective group process design skills that encourage courageous conversations, provide significant value and have resulted in many repeat clients.