Alumni in the spotlight: Glen Orsak

Tell us about yourself.

I’m originally a farm boy from Manitoba who has adopted an urban and professional lifestyle in Ottawa for the past 25 years. I moved to Ottawa in 1989 after completing my MBA at Ivey and joined the Ottawa practice of Touche Ross Management Consultants, which evolved into the current Consulting services practice at Deloitte. I developed my career as a management consultant over 20 years in the firm. I also met my wife Margo at the firm and we have two children, Colin – 12 and Sydney – 10. 

I now lead the executive education programs at Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa and am the president of an independent school in Ottawa – so education has become my new passion and career focus. I’m also an executive coach and am enjoying the diverse professional opportunities that have come my way since my time at Deloitte.

What was your title and role in the firm?

I progressed from senior consultant through to partner and practice leader of the Strategy and operations practice in Ottawa. The roles that I played and clients that I served were diverse throughout this time. The client work included business transformation, technology strategy and implementation, strategy development and a range of related services, both for private and public sector clients.

What was the highlight of your career experience with Deloitte?

One of the highlights of my career at Deloitte was the role that I played as Canadian Dean of the Deloitte Consulting training and development program for new and mature hires into the firm. In this role, I led the initiative to adapt a global program for the Canadian practice and we created a very special development experience for the people in the consulting services practice across Canada. This program is known as the “Deloitte Difference” program. I believe this experience seeded my interest in leadership development and education and was one of the many precedents to the role that I now have.

Which organization did you join after you left Deloitte?

Immediately after leaving Deloitte I established my own independent leadership coaching and advisory business that I still operate as an adjunct part of my professional endeavours. I operate this business as “Glen Orsak & Company” and have served many interesting clients – both organizations (as consultant) and individuals (as coach). I recently joined the Telfer School of Management at its Centre for Executive Leadership, which, coincidentally is in the same office complex as the Deloitte office in Ottawa. So I am now seeing my old colleagues at Deloitte on a regular basis again.