About Us

About Agile by Design

Agile by Design helps organizations achieve business agility at scale through a thoughtful, design-driven approach to organizational change. We are dedicated to delivering the finest services and experience to our clients.
As early as 2002, our team has lead the delivery of large-scale IT projects and programs using agile methods. In 2007, we founded an agile transformation practice inside a tier-one consulting firm; within five years, our small local team had become a global service providing coaching and mentorship to clients in nine countries.

 

Our offering matured to include a full suite of advisory and consulting services—including portfolio planning and prioritization, operating-model design, organizational design, funding, rewards and recognition—and we began to integrate lean methods into our growing arsenal of agile practices. By 2015, our team of over 30 people was supporting the global footprint of clients running large lean-agile IT transformations. It was in this year that we made the decision to launch Agile by Design.

Our Team

Jeff Anderson
Jeff Anderson, President

Over the last decade, Jeff has played a leadership role on a large number of enterprise-scale agile transformations, providing program management, operating-model design and change-management services. Jeff frequently blogs about and presents on lean and agile adoption, and is the author of The Lean Change Method, which guides organizations through the application of lean startup techniques. His mission in life: to help knowledge workers be awesome at what they do.

Andrew Larosa, Partner

Andrew is a seasoned consultant—an expert coach, trainer and software-delivery advisor in some of North America’s largest lean-agile IT transformations. Andrew is a positive change agent, taking a less disruptive path to change and helping create a culture of continuous improvement. He has acted as mentor to MaRS Discovery District’s Studio [Y], an immersive innovation fellowship for young people aged 18–29. Andrew loves to apply cutting-edge tools and techniques to move organizations toward modern solution delivery.

Andrew Larosa
Taimur Mohammad
Taimur Mohammad, Partner

Taimur has worked on and spearheaded a dozen agile transformation and delivery programs across financial services, telecommunications, consumer business and the public sector. Much of his recent experience has focused on helping clients build and scale agile operating models using an incremental approach towards agility. A former developer, Taimur’s passion is for unlocking the hidden potential of people within tech organizations.

 

 

Barbara Wodnicka, Head of Business Operations

Barbara joins Agile by Design with over 10 years of experience governing all aspects of program management, working with clients in fields such as hospitality, automotive manufacturing, and advertising. In her role as Head of Operations, Barbara oversees and is actively engaged in all financial and business operations of Agile by Design. Her meticulous attention to detail, and passion for enabling the people around her ensures that all practitioners at Agile by Design can focus exclusively on excelling at what they do best, serving their client’s needs.

Shelisa Bainbridge

Shelisa joins the team with over 20 years of corporate leadership experience, having worked for Canada’s best-known brands. Her experience spans multiple industries, including retail, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing and financial services. As our Head of Human Centered Delivery, Shelisa has a solid track record for coaching teams on Human Centered Design and Agile practices, and on guiding end-to-end organizational transformation to achieve a more collaborative, empowered, human-centered Client ecosystem. She is also a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, a trained Design Thinking facilitator, and has a passion for team leadership and executive coaching.

Tyler Motherwell

Tyler is an agile coach who has spent time as a scrum master, OO developer and business analyst, as well as time doing process analysis and improvement in a lean manufacturing environment. He brings a strong background in high-performance team sports, coaching and mentorship to his current focus: acting as a team coach and advising leaders in enterprise-scale FSI agile transformations.

Sean Deschamps

Sean has successfully led agile transformations of teams, and portfolios responsible for delivering multi-million dollar mission critical systems in a value-first, iterative, and risk averse manner. His experience in a diverse set of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, construction and the financial sector has armed him with the skills to uncover systemic impediments regardless of context and motivate positive, lasting behavioural change. Sean’s extensive experience in both small business and large enterprise has fostered his adaptive, yet relentless focus on challenging the status quo.

Malcolm Bastien

Malcolm has a diverse background in online advertising, digital strategy and marketing, and has worked as an iOS developer as well as a CrossFit coach. Drawing on his experience and enthusiasm for design, productivity, improvement and growth, Malcolm loves helping teams put agile methods into practice. He focuses on creating simple solutions to complex problems and improving the way agile practitioners think about, plan and enjoy their work.

Eva Yung

A seasoned consultant and agile practitioner, Eva is passionate about transforming the way IT departments work. Prior to becoming an agile coach, Eva performed various functions for Fortune 500 clients in Canada and the US—from program/project delivery to solution design to project implementation. Her experience in both waterfall and agile methodologies helps her establish a strong connection with her teams as she guides them through the agile transformation journey.

Nico Gonzalez

A diehard innovator, Nico’s passion for experimentation—as well as his 12 years of experience in agile delivery, innovation strategy, design thinking and user experience—helps him transform the art of the possible into tangible business value. Nico has been an agile coach, product owner, project manager, lead developer and technology advisor in multiple organizations across the public and private sectors.

Sam Tabbara

A creative professional and a committed agile practitioner, Sam has served both small-business and Fortune 500 clients for over 18 years as an owner, consultant, manager and director. Sam integrates both continuing-education philosophy and agile principles into his work, continuously improving an enterprise’s processes, people and culture to deliver exponential value back to the client.

 

Adeeb Dhanani

Over the last 12 years, large financial institutions and small companies—as well as government sectors handling technological, business and cultural initiatives—have benefited from Adeeb’s consulting services. His versatility and diverse experience allowed him to successfully captain a large-scale agile transformation program. A certified Kanban Management Professional, Adeeb wears many hats; among them, strategist, coach, design thinker, analyst, facilitator, artist and father.

Eric Shickluna

Eric is an agile coach with over 12 years of corporate experience as a certified agile product manager, IT manager, business analyst and developer. His experience spans industries, from financial services and telecommunications to manufacturing and digital advertising. He focuses on working with teams to deliver a compelling user experience by implementing a strategic product and technology roadmap. Eric recently won Toronto’s Lean Startup Machine competition for lean product development.

Junbin Huang

Junbin is a transformation consultant who focuses on developing agile behaviours and skills that will allow practitioners to consistently deliver effective solutions. His work experience ranges from solution design to delivery coaching, giving him a deep understanding of enterprise complexities. He’s held an executive position in his local chapter of Professional Engineers of Ontario, and is actively involved in developing engineering skills in his community.

Wessam Nasser

Wessam has years of experience working as an agile coach and scrum master, leading agile transformation initiatives for software delivery teams. His passion is helping groups of professionals unleash their full potential and improve every day. He brings teams together, creates an environment of collaboration and communication, and develops high-quality solutions to increase group morale and job satisfaction. He is particularly adept at introducing complex concepts in an interactive, easy-to-understand way and in co-creating solutions that help everyone get involved and feel comfortable, invested and excited to participate.

Ciara Gawdiak

Ciara is a creative and dynamic professional with over 14 years of corporate experience as a professional coach, consultant, risk manager and underwriter. Serving both small-business and Fortune 500 clients, her experience stretches across numerous industries, including financial services, manufacturing, commercial realty, construction, retail, and hospitality. Ciara is actively results driven, and maintains a profoundly empathetic coaching approach to establish highly collaborative and communicative team environments. She is continually acknowledged by her clients for establishing a strong connection with her team as she introduces complex concepts in a relatable and interactive way; leading them to a successful transformation.