David Scrymgeour


David Scrymgeour is Adjunct Professor and Entrepreneur in Residence at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He also lectures and leads workshops for Venture for Canada, the MBA/MIB programs at the Smith School of Business, Queens University and was the inaugural Professional in Residence at St Cross College, Oxford.

Entrepreneurial

Scrymgeour worked globally as a corporate trouble-shooter before founding organisations including File Tech Inc., an information management company; The Skills Network, a group of skills training businesses which made Profit Magazine's 'hottest start-ups' and 'most profitable companies' lists; and co-founding Green Standards Ltd, another Profit list company that provides innovative, environmentally progressive solutions to corporate waste through the re-purposing of no longer needed office equipment.

Political Consulting

Scrymgeour held the position of National Director of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada under former Prime Minister Joe Clark from 2002–03, resigning as part of the deal between David Orchard and Peter MacKay that led to MacKay's assumption of leadership and caused a storm of protest within the party. He was later named the first National Director of the new Conservative Party of Canada.
Prior to the Rose Revolution of November 2003, he delivered political, organisational and election readiness training in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.
In early 2004, he managed the lead up to Jim Flaherty's campaign for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.
In August 2004, he was hired for a dollar-per-year as an advisor to the Green Party of Canada by its leader Jim Harris. In the position paper, Green and Growing, he outlined a political organization structure that emphasized minimum critical central coordination under an Executive Director and the building of strong, self-reliant, volunteer-based, electoral district associations.
In the 2007 Ontario provincial election, he served as Organisation Director of the Green Party of Ontario, delivering the first full slate of 107 candidates in its history. He then served as Chief Financial Officer from 2007-2010 and as Campaign Chair for the 2011 Ontario General Election.

Community

Scrymgeour has acted as an advisor, donor and/or board member for organizations including Venture for Canada, MaRS Discovery District, One Laptop per Child, the Belinda Stronach Foundation, the Canadian Executive Service Organization, Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust, Anglican Church of Canada and the Make Poverty History Campaign. He also mentors scholarship students at Rotman Commerce, UofT School of Environment and Queens Commerce.