Chairman of the ELO Group

Dr. Richard (Rick) J. Goossen is a meaning-driven entrepreneurial leader. He serves an extensive network of entrepreneurs and family/business owners built over decades of client contributions, collaboration, research, public speaking, and volunteering, impacting approximately 100,000 leaders annually. 

Rick is Chairman of the ELO Group, which has grown since 2005 to provide comprehensive resources for meaning-driven entrepreneurial leaders: family business / strategic planning consulting; Forums (i.e., conferences), peer advisory group network & week-long leadership programs at the University of Oxford and Harvard University.

Rick is a sought-after strategic counsel and chair/advisory board member working with a range of clients in terms of size and industry. He works at Nicola Wealth, the fastest-growing independent wealth management firm in Canada, where he focuses on business development and family business dynamics.

Rick has extensive experience doing business in Asia and previously worked in Hong Kong for five years. He is a professional public speaker. He has taught entrepreneurship, strategic management and business law as an adjunct professor (BBA and MBA programs) and guest lecturer at universities around the world. Rick has edited five books and authored six books on the topics of entrepreneurship, leadership and public speaking. Two of the books he authored are available in six translations.

In terms of credentials, Rick earned a Ph.D. from Middlesex University, London, UK; a Masters of Law (LL.M.) from Columbia University, New York City; a Juris Doctor (JD) from McGill University, Montreal; and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (Hons.) (First Class) from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. Rick was admitted as Barrister and Solicitor of the Province of British Columbia, Canada and voluntarily withdrew his membership to focus entirely on business pursuits.

Rick has been a Visiting Scholar at Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford and St. Stephen’s House, University of Oxford. He has previously collaborated with Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford. He has worked with prominent University of Oxford professors since 2018 to deliver the ELO Oxford Leadership Program. Through ELO he is working as a partner with the Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University to deliver the ELO Harvard Leadership Program.

Rick has been recognized for his expertise and contributions in various ways. He was awarded the “Alumnus of the Year” by Columbia Bible College. He was offered the “Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal” in recognition of community contributions across Canada. He has also been recognized at various conferences in Canada for his contribution to the business community.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

social entrepreneur

In 2017, I left philanthropy consulting firm, Geneva Global, to launch Create Good, a firm that helps nonprofits accelerate impact and donors invest wisely through collaboration. An early project was a data-driven report on how the Church creates leaders.

From 2012 – 2015, I worked with the poor and addicts in Silicon Valley at Cityteam. I also helped launch and scale the Code for the Kingdom hackathon and New Canaan Society immersion experiences.

Previously, I built a social enterprise for the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, which gained international acclaim, and led corporate events for GE-owned, Penske Transportation & Logistics, which enabled me to work alongside NASCAR, The Today Show, NFL Films, Bain, and more.

Life:

I met my wife, Whitney, on Match.com, proving that God is active on social media. Meeting her helped me become desperate to renew my walk with Jesus, I began to pray, and my life took one wild turn after another, which I chronicle on my personal vlog. I’ve been humbled to be invited to share stories about how Jesus is alive and real at churches, schools, conferences, and as part of the Silicon Valley Prayer Breakfast at the Stanford Faculty Club.

My wife and I reside in Philadelphia with our three young boys and have begun the process to foster more children. We attend the fast-growing Grace Valley Fellowship, and are exploring launching a house church.

LINKS 

• I am an actor and model, you might have seen me on QVC

• My Personal vlog

• More about my professional background on LinkedIn

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

food engineer

Ana Priscila Morales is a food engineer (since 2002), who has a master’s degree in business administration. After graduation she worked at Heinz Co. in the Quality Assurance Department, where she was responsible for the raw material and auditing suppliers. Since 2003 she has worked at FXM Ingredients for Success, the family business company founded in 1988. They provide food ingredients for the food industry in Mexico, representing more than 20 international companies including Kraft Heinz, Cosucra, Olam, So Pure, and others. Their customers are Nestle, Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever, Mondelez, Bimbo, and many others.

FXM’s core values are: Honor God, Integrity, Innovation, and Service. Ana Priscila as a food engineer, had the opportunity to start the R&D company department, and built the laboratory, culinary center, and pilot plant. She was R&D director for eight years training the sales force, equipping the team, developing new products, visiting customers, following up projects, developing plant trials, and working at innovation fairs and expos. Later she started the marketing department where she is now the director. They analyze data and market trends to provide the best solutions to their customers. She also is privileged to be part of the FXM Board.

Ana Priscila and her husband Alberto Bautista, have been married for 11 years. They have two beautiful miracle children, Ana Valeria and David Eugenio, they actually and serve at their local church in México.

LINKS

• FXM – Ingredients for Success

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

co-founder & former CEO | VendorHawk

Patrick is the co-founder & former CEO of VendorHawk, which, by God’s grace, was acquired by ServiceNow in April 2018. He and his small, but mighty team had built up a new industry category to help companies manage the sprawl of SaaS subscriptions in their businesses. Read more about the acquisition here. 

Over the years, he has excelled in marketing and selling products at PayScale and consulting with various startups & ministries. He graduated from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, specializing his bachelor’s degree in “creating companies” in the entrepreneurship program.

He loves the power of prayer and in helping businesses strategically focused on being a light to the surrounding marketplace in the US and abroad where the Gospel is seldom on display.

Today, Patrick lives with his wife and three young daughters in south Seattle, WA and enjoys going on adventures with his family, mentoring youth in his neighborhood and serving his community through his church.

LINKS 

• The Praying Entrepreneur (personal site & blog)

• LinkedIn

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

Founder & CEO | CloudFactory

Mark Sears is the Founder & CEO of CloudFactory and is passionate about using his blend of technology and business experience towards the vision of connecting one million people to online work. Mark started his career as a software developer with Sun Microsystems before spending 10 years in different technology and product roles at startups around North America.

He helped a five-person tech startup grow to 130 employees after raising $48M in capital, then ran his own company for six years. He and his wife lived in Nepal for 6 years where their two kids and CloudFactory were born. Mark then lived in Raleigh/Durham, NC to help build out sales and marketing before moving to Reading, UK to open a CloudFactory Global HQ.

A proud Canadian, Mark grew up in Alberta then studied computer science and business at the University of Alberta.

LINKS

• LinkedIn

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR

Chairman | Interstate Batteries

Norm Miller is Interstate Batteries’ Chairman of the Board. He believes in the American Dream because he’s lived it. From a humble beginning as a traveling salesman for Interstate, he worked his way up through the ranks to become CEO and chairman. His creative energy, his willingness to dream up and try new ideas remained his hallmark throughout his career. As a result, Interstate Batteries is now one of corporate America’s stunning success stories, a robust company that enjoys an unparalleled reputation for excellence and honesty. He is also a board member for Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas Seminary Foundation and the Overseas Council. He is co-founder of the Great American Race, America’s premier vintage car event. He and his wife, Anne, have two children, Tracey and Scott, and five grandchildren.

Norm is also a believer in God’s power to change lives because it was that power that turned his own life around after years of drinking as hard as he worked.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAITH DRIVEN ENTREPRENEUR