April Sather
April has over 15 years experience in professional services across a range of industries. April’s current focus is on leading First West’s Lean deployment strategy, including leadership around communications, change management, Lean mentorship and sustainment efforts.
Past roles include work in the areas of risk management, information technology governance and compliance, asset management and project management. Prior to joining First West, April held positions at Divestco, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Sun Microsystems and Computer Sciences Corporation. She also served as an independent technology advisor to the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the Public Guardian & Trustee of British Columbia.
April holds an MBA from the University of California, Irvine, and undergraduate degrees in Commerce & Information Technology from Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia. She is certified as a Lean Blackbelt and Project Management Professional.
Featured Posts
3 tips for making things fresh for employees on the Lean journey
There’s something innately enticing about starting something new. Consider the current infatuation with start-ups. Why are they so captivating, able to draw top talent into their leadership line-ups? It usually isn’t financial reward (at least not immediately), a corner office downtown, or a guaranteed retirement income. Start-ups offer something that’s far more fulfilling: the...
Top 3 misconceptions about Lean you should know
It’s human nature to wrestle with change. The mere existence of the concept of “change management” tells you that change is not easy. A large part of that is uncertainty—we don’t know how a change will affect us. When it comes to organizational change such as introducing major philosophical and operational approaches such as Lean, that uncertainty can lead to assumption and misperception....
With nearly three and a half decades in the financial services industry, Jim Lamond could have folded his arms and raised an eyebrow when Lean came to First West. What could Lean possibly give that 34 years of experience hadn’t already taught him?
Tempting as it may have been to take a wait-and-see attitude, or simply go through the motions, this VP of Credit for First West’s Valley First division went whole hog on Lean. In just a few months, he achieved his Lean black...
Ask any CEO and they’ll tell you having a compelling corporate vision helps teams align and drives awareness and understanding of where the organization wants to be long-term.
So given the power of visioning in propelling companies forward, why do so many organizations not use this technique more broadly? We’ve done so at First West and found it can easily be applied to operational areas of the business, like process reengineering, for example. Because visioning can be...
If you’ve been following us, you’ll know that we embarked on a Lean journey in 2011. We’ve seen some pretty impressive results as we’ve adapted Lean methodology to our business.
Though Lean’s roots are in automotive manufacturing, its principles and methods apply to many industries, including service businesses. At First...
It takes courage to objectively reflect on performance—individually or corporately. Without honest reflection and feedback, creating a continuous improvement culture can be incredibly difficult. And while traditional feedback methods—like employee or customer surveys—have their strengths, they lack in timeliness. By the time periodic survey results land in your inbox, months have often passed—and with them, opportunities to make vital corrections in course.
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