John Koopman is a consultant in Spencer Stuart's Toronto office, and leads the Canadian industrial practice and has completed over 250 executive officer and board level searches in his career to date. His recruiting experience stretches across a broad spectrum of companies in the industrial sector including,: ABC Group, Arclin, Babcock & Wilcox, Capital Tool & Design, FAG, Fleetwood, Ford Motor, Linamar, Messier-Dowty, RoadTrek, Rolls-Royce, ShawCor ,Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Wajax and Wescast. He also leads the Financial Officer Practice in Canada and has placed over 125 chief financial officers and other senior level financial leaders to date.
Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, John spent eight years as an international strategy consultant first for McKinsey in its Amsterdam office and later for Mercer Management Consulting. Throughout his consulting career, he led strategy projects in industries as diverse as airlines, railways, fashion, professional sports, chemicals, textiles, banking, and property and casualty insurance. Among his other duties with Mercer Management Consulting, he was the partner in charge of Canadian recruiting.
For six years John served with Mexx, an international clothing manufacturer and wholesaler. His positions with Mexx ranged from International Marketing Manager, headquartered in The Hague, to Vice President Sales and Marketing, and Vice-President Finance in Paris.
John began his career as a corporate and commercial lawyer in Calgary, Alberta, with Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, one of western Canada’s leading law firms. He is a member of the Law Societies of Alberta and Upper Canada.
John is an active commentator and student of business and public policy issues. His articles have been printed in publications as diverse as the Globe & Mail, National Post, Ottawa Citizen, MacLeans Magazine, Journal of Commerce and Canadian Manager. He was also on the faculty of Webster University, where he taught a course on corporate strategy in the M.B.A. program.
A Queen’s Jubilee award recipient, he received his L.L.B. from Queen's University in Kingston in 1980, and received an M.B.A. (Honours) from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1985. He speaks English, French and Dutch.