Our People

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Emad Rizkalla co-founded Bluedrop (formerly called ZeddComm) in 1992 as a young engineering student and has since become recognized as one of North America’s pioneers and thought leaders in e-Learning, entrepreneurship and corporate leadership. His vision, inspirational leadership style and keen business acumen have never gone unnoticed—Emad has been honoured as one of Canada’s “Top 40 Under 40″ and has also been featured in a TIME Magazine cover story that highlighted  eight “young dynamic entrepreneurs who will create the 21st Century.”  In addition to publishing numerous articles about learning organizations, corporate leadership, and consulting excellence, Emad has been featured in dozens of publications and media such as CBC’s The National, CBC Radio, The Globe and Mail, MacLean’s, BBC Radio, and the National Post.

Emad is an active member of many national committees, has chaired several Not-for-Profit Boards and sits on a Federal task force with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He is a highly sought speaker in conferences throughout North America. Emad holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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As Chief Learning Officer, Stephen facilitates the development of advanced learning solutions that are designed to unleash the potential of an organization’s human capital. Simply put, Stephen’s work helps clients realize their business objectives through the enhanced performance of their employees.  His e-Learning expertise and organizational brilliance has allowed Bluedrop to successfully deliver innovative learning solutions that combine technology, creativity and change management for clients ranging from Cisco Systems to the Federal Government.

With his 16-plus years of IT experience, Bluedrop benefits from Stephen’s superior project management skills. Stephen offers Bluedrop a perspective gained from both private and public sector experience, and his work spans custom courseware development projects, ILT Development, technology implementations as well as consulting at an executive level.

Stephen has more than ten years experience in advanced learning , Web development, graphical design and CD-ROM production, and offers Bluedrop a thorough knowledge of instructional design, multimedia development, consulting and project management. Stephen holds a certificate in Designing Learning for New Media from St. Francis Xavier University in Ottawa; a Masters in Science and Technology Studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York; and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Bob leads Bluedrop’s Business Development team with more than 20 years experience in the area of national account management. He uses his performance learning, sales training, strategic planning, and communication zeal to enhance the business goals and performance objectives of Bluedrop clients across all functional areas and industry sectors. His impressive client list—including such companies as AstraZeneca, Aventis, Baxter, Bayer, Community Cancer Care, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Innovex Global, and Procter & Gamble—has fostered relationship skills that border on the sublime. 

Bob has a Master’s in Administration from the School of Management and Technology at Maryland University, College Park; a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University; and is a former advisor to the Society of Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry Partners.

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Wayne brings over 18 years experience in instructional design, curriculum development and evaluation, and instruction to Bluedrop. After 17 years with the Canadian Forces, Wayne retired as a Training Development Officer from the Forces’ historic Shearwater operations center. Bluedrop’s defence and aerospace clients benefit significantly from Wayne’s strong background in the design and delivery of training within a defence and security environment. Wayne has comprehensive understanding of CFITES requirements and methodology and extensive knowledge of the internal workings of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces.

As a formally trained instructional and training professional with extensive management-level experience, Wayne is a strong complement to the Bluedrop leadership team. He has conducted training needs assessments, designed and carried out course evaluations, developed course curricula and courseware, designed and delivered various training courses, and provided training development support and guidance on a number of military projects.  Wayne has supervised the full life-cycle of large-scale training projects from their creation through design and development to the actual delivery of in-class training. As such, Wayne brings a high level of technical and procedural insight all Bluedrop’s courseware development.

Wayne holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland and has Secret Level II (NATO Secret) security clearance.

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With over 12 years experience working in the fast paced and dynamic IT sector, Lori is recognized as a highly accomplished and knowledgeable leader. With broad experience in key management roles, Lori’s technical strengths in designing new production processes and streamlining existing ones have been augmented by her keen team-leading capabilities. Her uncanny ability to recognize the strengths and accelerate the development of each member of her group enables Lori to build powerful teams that achieve optimal project efficiency. As Bluedrop’s Director of Multimedia and Production, Lori is responsible for the end-to-end management of all multimedia and production processes and resources throughout Bluedrop’s project life-cycle from development through to delivery. 

Lori’s has a degree in Computer Studies as well as professional courses in areas such as Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Effective Communications and Agile Development Techniques.

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As Director of Professional Services, John works with Bluedrop clients
and the Bluedrop team to ensure that our e-Learning solutions are
well-defined from the outset and deliver within the scope, timelines and
budgets expected by our clients. John ensures that all business
requirements are clearly identified and communicated to all stakeholders
early in the relationship. His analytical proficiency and managerial
expertise, honed during his years as a National Account Executive,
Product Marketing Manager, and Professional Services Delivery Manager
with companies such as Aliant and Bell Canada, enable and sustain a
superb customer-driven approach that ensures each and every Bluedrop
solution aligns with our clients’ expectations from inception to
delivery.

With more than 12 years experience in selling and delivering complex
technical solutions to national and international clients, John has
cultivated a unique and valuable skill-set allowing him to quickly
translate the business drivers our clients use to the technical
requirements our clients need.

John holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of
Commerce (Coop) from Memorial University of Newfoundland.