Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada
My career has taken me through a variety of executive management and consulting roles in over 45 industries including entertainment, marketing, tourism, transportation, international trade, publishing,non-profit, oil & gas, small start-ups, and education. I loved the variety and the creativity. Since 2010 I have slow shifted more time & energy into my longest and first love - creating visual art. I discovered my artistic and business talents simultaneously in elementary school as I sold some of my first works of art at recess for snack money. I negotiated art lessons from a practicing artist on my paper route in exchange for covering the cost of her daily news paper. I traded artwork for bikes, watches, pets and stuff making many challenges for my folks who had to verify each successful deal. Yes, over the years, my artistic endeavors flourished when I had studio space. All the while I loved business and for many a year my creative energies were directed to consulting and management. In 2010 I decided to start growing Peter N. Van Giesen Art business. I hosted my first solo show in 2012 that had strong sales and acted as a launch for my public artistic journey. Since then I have received international awards and recognition including having artwork accepted into the permanent collection at British Columbia Government House and the Union Club of British Columbia. My artworks are now found in private and corporate art collections through out the world. My natural inclination towards business has merged my artistic output with operating an art studio gallery downtown Victoria where I represent my own art as well as curate in other artists work, primarily those living on Vancouver Island. "ACTION IS THE BEST MEDICINE FOR INDECISION" "GO & EXERCISE YOUR CREATIVITY" "TALENT IS THE CONSTANT, INSPIRATION IS THE GIFT" Current Consulting Focus: Artist representation Sustainable small enterprise Sales and marketing
Delivering a broad range of management consulting and facilitating services to organizations including one-person enterprises to large organizations and non-profit societies. The focus of the contracts has included the following areas: Leadership and personal development, Marketing: Target Market Research, Market Development, Positioning Tactics, Advertising, Literature Development, Web based Strategies, Tactical Pricing, Packaging. Sales: Customer Service Policies, FAQ Scripting, Follow-up Systems, Prospect Interview Programs, Sales Letter Formats, Sales Forecasting, Sales Scripts, Sales programs, Sales Management Programs, Commission structures, Newsletters, Negotiating contracts. Fundraising: Developing a Fund Raising Plan, Fund Raising Appeals, Major Donor programs, Motivating Volunteers and Database management. Business and Financial Management: Cash Flow Planning, Budget Forecasting, Credit & Collection, Policies & Procedures Development, Key Ratio Analysis, P&L Analysis, Operations, Break-Even Analysis, Job Costing Programs, Productivity Measurement & Enhancement. Personnel: Compensation and Wage Levels, Bonus System Development, Incentive Plan Implementation, Employee Handbook Generation, Interviewing & Hiring Tactics, Performance Appraisal Systems, Sales and Years of Service Award Programs, Using Personality Indicators for Success, Internal Newsletters. Planning: Formulating Business Plans, Partnership Issues, Sale of Business Preparation - Strategies & Tactics, Governance issues, Succession Planning, Strategic Planning, Visioning, Development, and Goal setting.
I operate Central Art Studio & Gallery located downtown Victoria representing my own award winning art and also represent other juried in artists located on Vancouver Island or the gulf Islands
I had the wonderful opportunity to assist the diocese of BC and the parish of Christ Church on two important projects: Project one was to facilitate the installation of a custom designed, 2 million dollar, 4300 manual tracker pipe organ. This two year project included liaising with church officials, working with city officials, architects and major contractors to plan, prepare and execute a 500,000 dollar seismic upgrade and the installation of the organ. Project two as to reorganize the operations of the Cathedral precinct using a combined service model. This required gaining the consensus of four distinct governing boards and leadership teams: Christ Church Cathedral parish, Christ Church Cathedral Education Society (elementary and middle school for 180 children), Christ Church Cathedral Buildings Limited and the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia to plan an effective and efficient operation. I negotiated all service contracts between the organizations including financial items. I negotiated a variety of contracts with engineers, architects and third party contractors. I was responsible for managing precinct staff and all contracts related to the operations, maintenance, and security of approximately 4 landscaped acres and four registered heritage buildings and three other buildings totaling around 80,000 square feet.
Assisted the Board of Directors in setting up the initial operations of the Foundation include establishing policies and procedures. I was instrumental in creating a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate and guide the working relationship with the Garth Homer Society that provides services to persons with multiple developmental and physical disabilities. I acted as the manager of the Foundation and the recording secretary to the Board of Directors. A five-year Plan of Purpose was written to guide the Foundation in securing funds from the public to support the needs of people with disabilities.