Press Release
January 3, 2007

Oakville couple advises on management and marketing in the Philippines

Oakville, ON – When a group of small businesses in the Philippines asked for advice on management and marketing, the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO) sent Oakville couple Barbara Schejbal and Mark Smith.

Barbara is a former senior manager at Nortel and now works as an independent management consultant. Mark is a professor of marketing at Humber College and independent marketing consultant.

"Mark undertook the marketing aspects and I undertook the business aspects," said Barbara, who has been a Volunteer Adviser (VA) with CESO for 10 years. Mark joined two years ago.

A non-profit, volunteer-based organization, CESO provides economic development and governance expertise to client/partners in Africa, Asia, the Americas and emerging market economies in Eastern Europe and to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.

Barbara and Mark are two of CESO's 3,000 VAs, a nation-wide talent bank of senior level individuals who have the ability, expertise and passion to provide business advisory services, mentorship and technical expertise to clients who could not otherwise afford a paid consultant.

Their assignment involved advising a group of seven producers in Tuguegarao City, about 500 km north of Manila, who required advice on management and marketing a range of products, including pasteurized milk, corn snacks, cacao balls, roasted peanuts; peanut brittle, pork sausages and fresh noodles.

While there, Barbara and Mark were billeted for three weeks at a hotel owned by Randolph Ting, the city's mayor. "Mr. Ting was very appreciative of our suggestion that he "adopt" Mark.  Mark E. Smith could then change his name to Mark E.Ting (marketing)," laughs Barbara. "Everyone found this very amusing."

This was Barbara's seventh international assignment for CESO and her second to the Philippines. It was Mark's first assignment, although he accompanied Barbara as a spouse on an assignment to the Philippines in 2005.

Between them, they conducted training sessions/workshops on a variety of topics, including the marketing process; market research and analysis; targeting; new product development; branding; packaging; pricing; promotion and distribution.

"We also conducted a market study to help in the assessment of possible market areas," said Mark. "And we developed business operating procedures, materials and coaching focusing on inventory management; cash management; tracking income and expenses; and profit margin management."

As a delightful postscript to this assignment, CESO was pleased to learn that one of the businesses helped by Barbara and Mark was nominated for a national Business Excellence Award given to local companies for business excellence and leadership.

CESO was able to bask in the reflected glory when the Tuguegarao Rural Improvement Club later won the award.

As a leading Canadian international development agency, CESO's work overseas is largely supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) while the national program receives primary funding from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). Additional funding comes from client/partners, multilateral agencies, Canadian corporations, foundations and scores of interested individuals.

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For more information: 

Josie Marchese,
Communications Manager
Tel: (416) 961-2376 Ext. 253
jmarchese@ceso-saco.com

Barbara Schejbal M.B.A., PMP
Tel: (905) 847-1398
barbara@schejbal.com