Kevin Schwenker

Kevin Schwenker
Business Profile

Kevin Schwenker, principal of Schwenker & Associates, has been active in the fields of human resources development, strategic planning and marketing as a management consultant for over 25 years. He is a Fellow Certified Management Consultant (FCMC), and an active member of CMC-Canada, having twice served on its national Board of Directors. Kevin has led a wide range of multi-faceted consulting projects locally, nationally and internationally, for private, public and not-for-profit sector clients. He also teaches part-time in the Sobey School of Business MBA program at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

My Story

A seasoned mentor

Kevin Schwenker has acted as mentor and coach for many young people over the years in sports and youth groups, and by providing individuals with advice on education, career and business decisions. So naturally, when he was approached by April and Futurpreneur Canada to become a mentor, he welcomed the opportunity to once again give back to his community.

As Principal at Schwenker & Associates, Kevin has extensive experience in leadership and consultative roles; guiding people towards success. This realization of success is what has come from his mentoring relationship with April, who credits Kevin’s business expertise, guidance and motivation with helping Lean Machine Healthy Vending Service Inc. become a regional, and now national, success story. Kevin, in turn, is thrilled and proud with April’s achievements.

His most powerful moment as a mentor was, “Being present, cheering April on, and watching her give a simply amazing acceptance speech, when she was announced as Small Business of the Year by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce at an awards dinner in 2010. I was very proud of her composure and humility as she spoke from the heart – it was the best acceptance speech of the night!” explained Kevin.

Kevin says it doesn’t take a lot of time to make a huge difference in helping a young entrepreneur become successful. “Make sure you both undertake the excellent Futurpreneur Canada training to build teamwork and develop a mentoring agreement to guide your relationship,” remarked Kevin. Mentors are there to provide advice, contacts and confidence to help young entrepreneurs help themselves, versus having the mentors do all the work for them, and mentors are often surprised by the knowledge they gain in return.

Advice

I’ve always believed that providing a powerful vision of the future is the most important legacy we can give to our youth; supporting self-sufficiency via Futurpreneur Canada's entrepreneurship mentoring is a powerful influence one can have on the future.”