Malcolm Gurley: Executive Leadership Coach with 35+ Years in Senior Operations
35+ years in senior operations, now delivering in-person leadership and productivity programs at client facilities across Durham Region and the GTA.
Background and Experience
Malcolm Gurley spent more than three decades in senior operations roles before founding Gurley Leadership Solutions, and that sequence matters more than any credential on the list below. He has run the kinds of operations his clients run, which is why the programs deal with delegation, accountability and goal execution as operating problems rather than as abstract leadership theory.
His experience spans Fortune 100 organizations and Canadian mid-market businesses, in manufacturing, healthcare, engineering, operations and not-for-profit settings. That range is the reason a program can be tailored to a hospital unit, a plant floor or an owner-led professional services firm without becoming a different product each time.
The thread running through all of it is operational rather than inspirational. Malcolm's view, stated plainly across his public writing, is that leadership problems usually show up first as operational symptoms: a manager who cannot delegate becomes a bottleneck in the workflow, a team without clear goals produces rework, and an owner who never steps out of the day-to-day cannot grow the business. He treats those as fixable process and behaviour problems rather than personality flaws, which is why the same person teaches both the leadership programs and the Lean and Six Sigma work.
A bit about me, in my own words
As much as I'm a professional by nature, I'm not without having many personal interests. My major hobbies include music (a huge Led Zeppelin fan), sports, cooking, traveling, enjoying the great outdoors, and spending time with family.
Reflecting back on my love of music and having attended so many live concerts over the years, a few performances stand out: Lynyrd Skynyrd at Maple Leaf Gardens, Styx at Massey Hall, Harry Chapin with a guest appearance by Gordon Lightfoot at Massey Hall, Journey and Foreigner in Manchester, Supertramp at Maple Leaf Gardens, Alice Cooper in Las Vegas, and CCR at Maple Leaf Gardens, my first concert ever at age 12, with my older sister. Great memories.
Having personal interests is very important to living a happy and balanced life, which is vital to being a successful professional. Too much work leads to burnout that keeps your mind and body from functioning at their best, and that is as true for the leaders I work with as it is for me.
Credentials and Qualifications
Every credential below is one Malcolm actually holds, and each is listed with what it means in practice rather than as a badge. Where a qualification does not apply to a piece of work, it is not claimed.
| Credential | What it means for your engagement |
|---|---|
| Licensed LMI Canada facilitator | Delivers Leadership Management International programs under licence, using their structured curriculum, assessments and materials |
| Six Sigma Black Belt | Can lead process improvement work, not just teach it, which matters in plants, labs and distribution operations |
| Lean Certified | Value stream mapping and waste reduction, often paired with leadership work in operations settings |
| 35+ years senior operations experience | Has held the roles the participants hold, including at Fortune 100 scale |
| ISO 9001:2015 implementation support | Helps organizations prepare for certification; the certificate itself is issued by an accredited registrar, not by Gurley Leadership Solutions |
| Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade partner | Part of the Durham Region business community, not a visiting national brand |
Credentials current as at August 2026. Malcolm does not hold, and does not claim, a clinical, medical or psychometric licence beyond the assessment tools included in the licensed LMI programs.
Programs He Delivers
Malcolm delivers two licensed LMI Canada programs plus process improvement and quality work, and the right one depends on whether your gap is leadership behaviour, personal execution, or the workflow itself. All of them are listed on the services page.
| Program | Best for | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Effective Leadership Development (LMI Canada) | Executive teams, department managers and supervisors | 4 to 6 months, in-house sessions every 2 weeks for 2 hours |
| Effective Personal Productivity (LMI Canada) | Owners, senior leaders and high-potential staff | 4 to 6 months, in-house sessions every 2 weeks for 2 hours |
| Lean and Six Sigma implementation | Plants, labs, distribution and process-driven operations | Scoped per project, often alongside a leadership program |
| ISO 9001:2015 readiness support | Organizations preparing for quality certification | Scoped per project |
Both LMI programs include an opening online personality and aptitude assessment, structured materials, an audio app, hands-on exercises and real-world case studies drawn from the client's own operation. See the LMI Canada programs page for full detail.
Where He Works
Programs are delivered in person at the client's own facility, which is the practical constraint that defines the service area. Ajax is home, Durham Region is the core, and the wider GTA is served by arrangement.
| Area | Coverage | Local guide |
|---|---|---|
| Ajax | Home base, in person at your facility | Leadership development in Ajax |
| Whitby | In person at your facility | Leadership development in Whitby |
| Oshawa | In person at your facility | Leadership development in Oshawa |
| Durham Region (all municipalities) | Core service area, in person at your facility | Leadership development in Durham Region |
| Pickering and Clarington | In person at your facility | Choosing a Durham leadership trainer |
| Greater Toronto Area | Toronto, Peel, York and Halton, in person by arrangement | Leadership development across the GTA |
| Beyond the GTA | Barrie, Peterborough and Central Ontario by arrangement | Discuss on a discovery call |
Travel within the core service area is included. Programs run at your site rather than a rented venue, which removes travel time for every participant.
Recent Client Work
Three recent engagements show the range, and each is a client Malcolm has named publicly rather than an anonymous case study. Results described are the ones those clients and Malcolm have stated publicly.
| Client | Sector and location | Program and outcome |
|---|---|---|
| The Shandex Group | Durham Region | 2025 engagement with the executive team, then a 2026 Effective Leadership Development cohort that graduated 16 managers, alongside CEO Jennifer Shannon |
| One Heart Care | Healthcare, Mississauga | Effective Leadership Development with Franck Hivert and his leadership team, co-facilitated with LMI Canada associate Vukiet Tran, MD, MHSc, MBA, CHE, ICD.D |
| BMS Sanitation and Safety | Owner-led business | Effective Personal Productivity with co-owners Jared Shaw and Matt Hryniewski and their leadership team, focused on teaming, communication and workflows |
Engagements publicly documented by Malcolm Gurley, 2025 and 2026. Clients named with their engagements already public. More feedback is collected on the client reviews page.
Want to talk it through with Malcolm directly?
Start with a 15-minute introductory phone call. If it makes sense, that is followed by a one-hour, no-cost, no-obligation discovery session on your team, what a program would involve, and what it would cost.
Book a 15-Minute Call with MalcolmOr call 416.669.7644, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
How an Engagement Runs
Every engagement follows the same shape regardless of sector, because the structure is what produces behavioural change rather than the content alone. The biweekly spacing is deliberate: leaders apply each concept on the job between sessions.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Performance evaluation | Organizational goals reviewed and the program tailored before anything is booked |
| Individual assessments | Online personality and aptitude assessment, with a full report for each participating leader |
| In-house sessions | Every 2 weeks for 2 hours, at your facility, with hands-on exercises and your own case studies |
| On-the-job application | Concepts applied to live work between sessions, supported by materials and an audio app |
| Results tracking | Behavioural change and goal outcomes measured against the plan agreed at the start |
Sessions are scheduled around your operating hours, including shift patterns in 24/7 operations such as healthcare and manufacturing. To discuss scheduling for your team, get in touch.
What Actually Happens in a Session
A session is two hours of facilitated work on your own operation, not a lecture with slides. The structure is fixed by the licensed LMI curriculum, but the content of every exercise comes from what the participants are dealing with that fortnight.
- Review of the last two weeks. Each leader reports what they committed to apply, what happened, and where it stalled. This is the part that makes the program work, and it is also the part that fails if participants treat the sessions as optional.
- New concept, then immediate application. A single idea per session, worked through against a live situation in the participant's own department rather than a case study about a company nobody has heard of.
- Written commitments. Each leader leaves with specific actions and a measurable goal for the next two weeks, recorded rather than remembered.
- Reinforcement between sessions. Program materials and an audio app carry the concept through the fortnight, so the idea is still live when the next session opens.
Group size matters more than most buyers expect. The programs are built for an intact management team, typically four to twelve people who already work together, because the goal is a shared operating language rather than individual insight. A single delegate sent to an open course goes back into a team that did not change with them, which is the most common reason leadership training does not stick.
Why a Local Trainer, and When Not to Hire One
Hiring locally means the person delivering the program is in the room, on your floor, and reachable between sessions, which is the practical difference between a trainer and a supplier. It also means a local reputation is on the line, in a business community Malcolm is part of through the Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade.
| Option | Strongest at | Weakest at | Sensible when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local licensed facilitator (this practice) | Changing how an intact management team operates, using your own work as the material | Producing a recognized credential, or a fast result inside a few weeks | You have four or more managers and a six month horizon |
| National training vendor | Consistent delivery across many sites, procurement-friendly contracts | Local accountability; the facilitator you meet is often not the one who sells | You are rolling out to multiple provinces at once |
| University executive education | Credential value and peer network for one senior individual | Cost per head, and the team left behind does not change | You are developing one successor, not a management layer |
| Self-paced online course | Cost per head and scheduling flexibility | Behavioural change; completion rates without accountability are low | You need awareness-level coverage for a large group |
Comparison written from the buyer's position, not the seller's. Two of the four options above are better choices than this practice for the situations named in their rows.
When Malcolm is not the right choice
If what you need is a recognized credential for one executive, a university executive program such as Rotman or Smith will serve you better, and that is a genuinely good option rather than a consolation prize. If you need awareness-level content for a large group on a small budget, a self-paced online course will do it for a fraction of the cost.
If you need a compliance course you are legally required to run, that is a different purchase entirely. This work is for organizations that need a management team to lead consistently six months from now, and it asks for real time from that team. If your people cannot commit to biweekly sessions and the work between them, the program will not deliver and it is better to say so before you start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Malcolm Gurley?
Malcolm Gurley is the President and founder of Gurley Leadership Solutions Inc., a leadership development and productivity consultancy based in Ajax, Ontario. He is a licensed LMI Canada facilitator, Lean Certified and a Six Sigma Black Belt, with more than 35 years of senior operations experience including Fortune 100 organizations.
What are Malcolm Gurley's credentials?
He is a licensed facilitator for Leadership Management International through LMI Canada, Lean Certified, and a Six Sigma Black Belt, and he supports organizations preparing for ISO 9001:2015 certification. Those qualifications sit on top of more than 35 years in senior operations roles, which is where the practical grounding comes from rather than from the certificates alone.
What areas does Malcolm Gurley serve?
He works in person at client facilities across Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Pickering and Clarington, throughout Durham Region, and across the wider Greater Toronto Area including Toronto, Peel, York and Halton. Barrie, Peterborough and Central Ontario are served by arrangement. Travel within the core Durham and GTA service area is included.
What programs does Malcolm Gurley deliver?
Two licensed LMI Canada programs, Effective Leadership Development for management teams and Effective Personal Productivity for owners and key individuals, plus Lean and Six Sigma implementation and ISO 9001:2015 readiness support. The LMI programs run 4 to 6 months with in-house sessions every 2 weeks for 2 hours.
How long is a leadership program with Malcolm Gurley?
The LMI Canada programs run 4 to 6 months, with facilitated in-house group sessions every two weeks for two hours. The spacing is deliberate rather than a scheduling convenience: leaders apply each concept to live work between sessions, which is what converts training into lasting behavioural change instead of a one-day seminar memory.
Does Malcolm Gurley train in person or online?
In person, at the client's own facility, which is the core of how the programs work. Delivering on site means sessions use your real operation as the case study and removes travel time for every participant. Sessions are scheduled around your operating hours, including shift patterns in 24/7 healthcare and manufacturing settings.
How do I book a meeting with Malcolm Gurley?
Call 416.669.7644 between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM Monday to Friday, or book a discovery call using the booking link on this page. A first conversation covers your team, the gap you are trying to close, what a program would involve and what it would cost, with no obligation to proceed.
Ready to develop your leadership team?
In-person LMI Canada programs at your own facility, across Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Durham Region and the GTA.
Book a 15-Minute Call with Malcolm416.669.7644 · Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Related Reading
- Leadership Development and Executive Training in Ajax, Ontario
- Leadership Development in Whitby
- Leadership Development and Executive Training in Oshawa
- Leadership Development in Durham Region
- Leadership Development across the Greater Toronto Area
- How to choose an executive leadership trainer in Durham Region
- LMI Canada programs delivered in Ontario
- Frequently asked questions about working with us
Credentials, programs and service areas current as at August 2026. Client engagements described are those Malcolm Gurley has documented publicly. Results vary by organization and no specific business outcome is guaranteed.