his own business. Like so many others, he was
taking a risk that could go either way but if he
failed, well he was just as unemployed as when
he started the venture, Jeff explained. In 1975,
David Aplin Group was born, and continued to
prosper for close to 25 years from their offices
in Edmonton and Calgary. In the meantime, son
Jeff attended school at the University of Cal-
gary, earned his MBA and entered the world of
management consulting with Canadian profes-
sional services firm Deloitte LLP. Not jumping
right into the family business was a key part of
his career development, Jeff said.
“I learned a lot in the management consult-
ing world and I was able to bring that back in-
house to the company here to help show some
growth,” he explained. “From my experience,
that’s really, really important and in my particu-
lar case it was an essential ingredient in making
that work.” Jeff joined the family business just
over 10 years ago as the company strategy was
changing dramatically. The Alberta-based firm
was beginning to expand nationally, purchas-
ing the executive search division from KPMG
in Winnipeg and acquiring other companies in
Regina and Toronto. Through a combination of
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