November 20, 2008
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Robert Leitch, M. Ed
Senior Partner
Lanark Network Associates
Perth Ontario
Robert Leitch is a Senior Partner with Lanark Network Associates, a management-consulting firm that specializes in business analysis and community development projects especially as they relate to strategic planning, education, and diffusion of innovation process, and the utilization of technology as an enabler to economic and social development.
In 1968, Robert began his career as a teacher and later became an administrator with the Lanark County Board of Education. In 1980, he joined the federal government's Telidon project as an educational advisor and in 1983 moved to the private sector where he became Vice President of Corporate Development for the Magic Lantern Group and Managing Director of Canadian Satellite Services. Here he was responsible for the management and growth of new corporate enterprises and coordinated the expansion of broadcast sales and the development of new eLearning markets. He was also a co-founding member of the Canadian Association for Distance Education.
In 1991, he returned to the Lanark County Board of Education as Academic Coordinator responsible for Information Technology, Libraries and Professional Development. From 1996 to 2000 he served as Executive Director of the Lanark Communications Network, an award-winning community-based network organization, where he was responsible for the coordination, management, and development of multi-sector ICT initiatives worth in excess of 15 million dollars.
Since 2000, Robert has been a consultant and special advisor to a variety of community and educational projects. In 2000, he worked with the University of Quebec Application Project Management Team where he gained Project Charter Development and Implementation experience. Over the past three years, he has coordinated a series of Career and Training Fairs for the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and the Student Teacher Practicum Placement Program for the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. He has also acted as a Business Analyst and Consultant to Industry Canada's Office of Consumer Affairs, Curriculum Services Canada, Canadian Heritage Culture Online Project and Industry Canada's E-Learning Directorate.
In 1996, the Perth Chamber of Commerce honoured Robert as "Business Person of the Year" in recognition of his vision, dedication, and leadership in the creation of the Lanark Communications Network. During the 1990s, he has served as Chair of Finance for the Perth & Smiths Fall Hospital Board and was a member of the Hospital's Restructuring Committee. Robert also served as a member of the Ontario Community Access Review Panel and Industry Canada's Multi Media Learnware Review Panel. In 2006, Robert was invited to join the Board of Directors of the Perth and District Community Foundation.
Robert has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Francis Xavier University, a Bachelor of Library and Information Science from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Education degree from Queens University. In addition, he holds certification as a Supervisory Officer, Principal, and Teacher in the Province of Ontario.
July 2007