Level5 Strategy

We're excited to share that Level5 Strategy has once again earned a spot on the Best Workplaces in Professional Services list!

This achievement is a reflection of our team's persistent pursuit of excellence and our commitment to our clients’ success. Thank you to Great Place to Work® Canada for the recognition!

Discover how Level5 developed a clear brand and strategic plan that helped the San Jose Sharks increase fan loyalty through a consistently delivered and differentiated total brand experience.

Learn more about Level5 and the work we do by visiting our website: https://level5strategy.com/

In the spirit of our laugh and learn culture, the Level5 team gets together one Thursday every month for “Level5 After 4” to learn more about each other outside of work.

For the month of July, our L5ers took to the courts at RCYC for some energizing rounds of pickleball and a BBQ - an excellent opportunity to connect as a team and enjoy the summer weather!

📣 Calling all undergraduate and Masters students!

Interested in management consulting? Want to learn more about what it’s like to work at one of Canada’s leading boutique management consulting firms?

On August 14th, Level5 Strategy will be hosting an Open House at our office in Downtown Toronto for interested students to learn more about the firm, our culture, and our 2025 internship and full-time opportunities!

For more information on how you can attend the event, please check out your school’s career portal or email [email protected]. We look forward to welcoming you at our office!

Have you struggled to develop and implement your strategy? 📈

You’re not alone. 90% of organizations fail to execute their strategies successfully. 🎯

We’ve heard several stories from clients that other firms made them feel ‘consulted at’ vs. understood and engaged throughout the process. That’s why our culture and approach pay special attention to how we work with our clients. Our process is a part of our product. 🤝

Discover Level5 Strategy’s approach to help your organization develop the right strategy and the commitment to deliver on it by reading more about it here: https://lvl5.ca/c4b

Want to learn more? Connect with Efram Lebovits or James Hunter.

Developing Strategies that Stick in Complex, Multistakeholder Environments Have you struggled to develop & implement your strategy? Discover Level5’s approach to help your organization develop the right strategy.

🏆 We are thrilled to announce that for the second year in a row, Level5 has been selected as a "Best Firm to Work For" by Consulting Magazine!

This incredible recognition reflects the strong culture we’ve built at Level5 and the unwavering commitment and excellence of our exceptional team. Our culture is one of the key pillars of our success and allows us to consistently deliver excellent results for our clients.

Thank you to Consulting Magazine for acknowledging the great work our team is doing. Join us in celebrating this achievement!

We're thrilled to share the latest addition to the Level5 team!
Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Justin De Jong.

Welcome aboard, Justin!

To create donor experiences that drive impact, foster meaningful engagement, and inspire giving, there are three key questions that foundations must be able to answer.

We helped a leading North American university, and a major hospital foundation answer these questions to take the step towards becoming a more donor-centric organization.

Want to find out how mature your foundation is?
Click here: https://lvl5.ca/DonorCentricity

In 2022, the Kincaid Award was established by Level5 in recognition of David Kincaid and Janet Kincaid's impactful practice and philanthropic dedication. The spirit of the award is to reflect the goodwill of Level5’s team while honouring the values that David and Janet have instilled in the organization: when we champion the interests of everyone, we build communities in which we all thrive.

This year, we are proud to announce that Pine River Institute was chosen as the recipient of this year’s Kincaid Award. Pine River Institute was selected for the important work they are doing with youth struggling with addictive behaviours to get their lives, relationships and futures back on track through high-quality and family-centred treatment, research, and education.

To find out more about the organization and how you can get involved, please go to their website: https://pineriverinstitute.com/

Thank you, Pine River Institute, for all the good you are doing for our community!

Discover how Level5 helped Western Canada Lottery Corporation develop a transformative strategic plan that helped set the future direction of the organization while ensuring that efforts reinforced cultural changes already in progress.

Learn more about Level5 and the work we do by visiting our website: www.level5strategy.com

Why is strategic thinking crucial for business growth and career progress?

It provides a long-term vision and helps set clear goals, ensuring that individuals and organizations remain focused on their ultimate objectives. Developing the skill of strategic thinking is also one of the most important competencies in the business world.

On June 26, Level5 Strategy and the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management organized a sold-out panel discussion dedicated to sharing insights on strategic thinking. The event featured engaging conversations among four panelists: Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Alyza Keshavjee, Sharifa Khan, and Jennifer Ménard-Shand, who shared their expertise to an audience that was eager to learn. The panel was facilitated by Hua Yu, Managing Partner of Level5 Strategy.

A big applause goes out to the four wonderful panelists for a fantastic evening of insightful conversations, networking, learning, and laughter.

Happy Canada Day!

Our office will be closed from Friday, June 28 to Monday, July 1, and will re-open on Tuesday, July 2.

We hope you have a relaxing long weekend!

Discover how Level5 helped an Ontario Crown Corporation instigate a real cultural transformation by defining and implementing a strategic plan that resonated with the Board of Directors, Executive Team, ~2,000 employees across the organization, Government of Ontario, and provincial customers.

Learn more about Level5 and the work we do by visiting our website: www.level5strategy.com

“By putting our customers at the heart of everything we do, we aim to build lasting relationships and mutual trust.”

Gore Mutual Insurance is a great example of an organization that puts customer-centric principles into practice. The company has instilled a customer-centric mindset, and used outside-in design and a methodical approach to customer-centricity that is delivering measurable improvements quarter over quarter.

Find out more about where your organization stands by taking our comprehensive Customer-Centricity Maturity Diagnostic. This 10-minute survey will deliver a personalized dashboard and report, helping you benchmark against peers and leaders while identifying specific areas of focus to elevate your customer-centric approach.

Link to diagnostic: https://lvl5.ca/CxC-Diagnostic

Last week the Level5 team was pleased to host a group of cross-sector executives for a roundtable on .

The discussion covered topics like accountability and operating models, the practicality of prevalent tools & technologies, and how to get the most impact out of data, insight, and performance measurement. These leaders candidly shared the experiences their teams face and exchanged ideas on how they are navigating these complexities.

We want to thank all of those who participated for sharing their perspectives and contributing to such an engaging event.

Interested in joining us for our next Executive Roundtable? Please reach out to Laura Richard or Jordan Shapiro.

Discover how Level5 helped IntouchCX refresh its brand and strategic focus areas to support ambitious growth goals, while also establishing a unique position in the BPO market through a commitment to customer-centricity and innovation.

Learn more about Level5 and the work we do by visiting our website: www.level5strategy.com

Since Level5 was founded in 2002, a core pillar of the firm has been our social impact strategy. With a current focus on areas including poverty, youth, education, and mental health, we aim to make a meaningful impact in our community through various initiatives.

Recently, the Level5 team made a trip to The Stop Community Food Centre, to lend a hand in their urban agriculture program!

For over 40 years, The Stop has served as an integral part of the community. The organization has been dedicated to increasing access to healthy food in Toronto by running social service programs aiming to address the effects of systemic poverty: food insecurity, social isolation, unequal access to land, and difficulty navigating health and government systems.

To learn more about The Stop and the great work they do, check out their website: https://www.thestop.org

Positioning provides focus, and focus reduces waste.

To help you benchmark against peers and identify areas of focus to elevate your positioning, discover our diagnostic tool that will deliver a personalized dashboard and report, and read more in Sean Pavlidis' article:

https://level5strategy.com/positioning-as-a-driver-of-bottom-line-performance/

Discover how we're redefining customer engagement and driving impactful results towards making organizations more customer-centric.

Check out this case study to see how Level5 worked with one of Canada’s Big Five banks to inform, design, and operationalize a net new customer experience for their customers.

How can companies take customer-centric principles from theory to action? What are the most important things to keep in mind when working to improve your customer experience?

We sat down with Mikael Honore, Director of Auto Claims and Special Investigations at Gore Mutual Insurance, to find out the keys to success in the latest article in our Customer-Centricity Spotlight Series.

This insight-filled quick read is filled with pragmatic, actionable takeaways that you can bring into your own organization.

https://level5strategy.com/customer-centricity-gore-mutual-data-driven-customer-experience/

Which insight stood out to you the most? Comment below.

Customer-Centricity Spotlight: Gore Mutual Data-Driven Customer Experience We sat down with Mikael Honore, Director of Auto Claims and Special Investigations at Gore Mutual, to find out the keys to success in the latest article in our Customer-Centricity Spotlight Series.

Last week, the Level5 Women in Strategy team hosted an engaging and successful panel event in honour of Asian Heritage Month.

Our esteemed panelists, Lan An, Farah Bundeali, Linda Ku, and Zamina Walji, shared their insights on strategic thinking and innovation, as well as their wisdom on embracing cultural identity in career development. With over 60 attendees, the event was a great success in celebrating diversity, cultural heritage, and the impact of the Asian community in Canada.

Thank you to all who attended and participated in this event – we look forward to hosting more Women in Strategy events in the future.

Congratulations to Level5 Managing Partner, Hua Yu, who was once again recognized as one of the Top Women Leaders of Toronto for 2024! She is recognized along with a group of women leaders who are making significant impact on the industries and organizations they serve and paving the way for the next generation of women leaders.

Please join us in celebrating Hua and the other award recipients! Read more about it here: https://thewomenweadmire.com/2024/05/14/the-top-women-leaders-of-toronto-for-2024/

The Top Women Leaders of Toronto for 2024 – Women We Admire Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top Women Leaders of Toronto for 2024. A truly diverse city located in the province of Ontario, over half of the population of Toronto was born outside Canada, including one of the largest concentrations of Americans outside the States. With such a multitud...

Summer is here!

This year, our office will be closed from Friday, May 17 to Monday, May 20. As part of our commitment to helping our team live healthier and happier lives, the Level5 team is taking an Employee Wellness Day on Friday, May 17. Our office will re-open on Tuesday, May 21.

We hope you have a restorative and relaxing long weekend as well!

It all goes down next week!

To mark the month of May as Asian Heritage Month, the Women in Strategy team at Level5 is excited to welcome the following leaders for our “Spotlight on Asian Women Executives”:

Lan An: Marketing Strategy, Planning, and Operations Lead, Square Canada
Farah Bundeali: Partner, National ESG Assurance Leader, KPMG
Linda Ku: VP, Global Tax Advisory, Manulife
Zamina Walji: Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives, Equitable Bank
Winnie W.: Director, Marketing and Communications, The College of Family Physicians of Canada

The moderated panel, hosted by Hua Yu, Managing Partner of Level5, will offer expertise on strategic thinking and provide valuable career advancement advice. This event is now sold out!

We’re looking forward to hearing the insights from the panel and celebrating diversity, inclusivity, growth, and impact!

The appetite for personalization is growing – in today’s data-driven market, personalization is no longer a nice-to-have. Discover how Level5 defined and transformed a leading retailer’s vision into reality by integrating personalized moments across the customer journey.

Want to learn more about how your organization can keep up? Reach out to Ian Madell, Andrei Flueraru, Erika Siegert, or Bashaar Hassan. Read more about our approach by checking out our articles on unlocking personalization in your organization:

A Pragmatist's Approach: https://level5strategy.com/unlocking-personalization-a-pragmatists-approach/

Considerations for Ex*****on: https://level5strategy.com/unlocking-personalization-considerations-for-execution/

Customer-centric organizations thrive by putting their customers at the heart of everything they do – but does the same apply to not-for-profits?

Jordan Shapiro says, yes, it does. Many not-for-profits lack the necessary data and donor insight that allows them to create donor experiences that drive impact, foster meaningful engagement, and inspire giving.

Discover the three key questions that not-for-profits must answer to ensure they are donor-centric and explore how mature your foundation is here: https://lvl5.ca/DonorCentricity

https://youtu.be/BDCLLR5F3Tw

How can not-for-profit organizations ensure a robust donor-centric experience? Customer-centric organizations thrive by putting their customers at the heart of everything they do – but does the same apply to not-for-profits?Jordan Shapi...

The Level5 office had some special visitors last week! 🇳🇱

Senior Consultant, Maicky Meijberg, welcomed FAECTOR student association from his alma mater, Erasmus University Rotterdam, to Level5 on their recent study trip to Toronto. After showing them around, he shared more about what life is like for a consultant at Level5, what it is like to move to another country, and his experience working in Canada.

Thanks FAECTOR for stopping by!

📢 We’re Hiring - Join Our Team at Level5 Strategy!

We're on the lookout for talented individuals to fill Analyst and Consultant roles on our team. If you are an ambitious, energetic, and curious mind who can adapt to a dynamic work environment, we want you!

For more details about the opportunity, visit our website at the link here: https://level5strategy.com/jobs/2024-full-time-analyst-consultant-opportunity/

2024 Full-Time Analyst/Consultant Opportunity About Level5 Strategy: Level5 is a leading strategy consulting firm based in Toronto. We work with leadership teams within complex organizations to develop strategies that stick. Clients often come to us when they need to plan for a better future, accelerate growth, become more customer-centric, or....