20 years as a practitioner before becoming a consultant. VP roles spanning Business Intelligence, IT, Innovation, Risk, and Operational Excellence at some of Canada's largest credit unions.
"We measure success by what you no longer need us for."— Doug Ebner, Founder · LeanForward Consulting
In 2004, I didn't even know what a credit union was. I needed a car loan after mine broke down, and the big bank I'd been with since childhood told me I was a bankruptcy waiting to happen. My local credit union said yes. That "yes" turned into a 20-year career I never expected — but one that taught me everything I know about transformation.
2004 – 2010
Started as a developer and built one of the first online membership applications in the credit union space. Moved into business intelligence, then led the development of the first online AGM voting platform — bringing democratic governance into the digital age.
2011 – 2016
Designed and ran a corporate innovation program that became a model for structured ideation in financial services. Launched Canada's first contactless payment wristband. Prototyped tap-and-pay wallets with voice commands before iPhones had NFC. Selected for the Filene Research Institute's i3 group. Created "Switch Ninja" for streamlined member onboarding. Piloted one of the first chatbots integrated with online banking.
2016 – 2025
VP roles spanning IT Strategy, Digital, Innovation, Risk, and Operational Excellence across Canada's largest credit unions. Operational risk frameworks, regulatory reporting in OSFI-regulated environments, and governance design for multi-stakeholder institutions. Spoke at the World Credit Union Conference, Payments Canada, and Central1.
2026
After 20 years of building, leading, and transforming from the inside, I launched LeanForward Consulting to bring that practitioner experience directly to organizations ready to move forward — without the overhead of a large firm.
The innovation that matters most isn't the technology. It's building teams and systems that sustain improvement long after the consultant leaves.— Doug Ebner
Risk Management
Identifying, assessing, and mitigating operational and strategic risk in complex environments.
Operational Excellence & LEAN
Building repeatable systems, eliminating waste, creating consistent experiences.
Digital Transformation
Aligning technology with strategy for simplicity, clarity, and scalability.
AI-Enabled Efficiency
AI as augmentation: reducing friction, supporting decisions, freeing people for higher-value work.
Business Intelligence
Assist in turning data into actionable decisions, dashboards, reporting, and analytics that surface what matters.
Strategic Clarity
Positioning, process design, turning complexity into clear direction.
Servant Leadership & Coaching
Empowering teams, building accountability cultures, leading through influence.
I bridge both. Every engagement connects strategic direction to operational reality becasue a plan that can't be implemented isn't a plan.
I coach leaders in lean thinking and help teams develop the skills to sustain improvement. The goal is to make myself unnecessary.
AI, automation, and digital tools are powerful but only when applied to real problems. I help organizations figure out where technology creates genuine value.
I'm not chasing trends. I balance innovation with process discipline building solutions that scale, not experiments that stall. Repeatable innovation program.
No sales pitch, no package. Just a direct conversation about what's actually in the way and whether we're the right fit.