Rotarian of the Month August 2016:
 
Rod Craig
 
 
 
 
Rodley: 1969 to 1988

Rod was born in 1969 in Rodley, which is a village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. Rodley is situated within the Bramley and Stanningley ward of Leeds, inside the Leeds Outer Ring Road, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-west from the city centre and 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east from Bradford.  Rod lived with his four siblings in Rodley until 1988. Here’s a school photo from c.1976 - the tall one is Jeff, in the front from l.to r. are Rod, Sarah and Jim.
 
 
Rodley

Rod was schooled in Rodley, Intake and then Leeds. Already at the tender age of 7, he developed an affinity to math, numbers and money and he became one of the younger customers of the local Post Office, where he opened his first savings account.  Obviously, an accountant was in the making!
 
Student life

Rod studied at Liverpool Polytechnic (which became Liverpool John Moores University 1992) and he graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting & Finance.
         
                                                                                                                               The hungry scholar
Nice hair style !  What happened                                                                                                                       
to the beard ?
 
               
          upscale accommodation                                                                                                                                                                      
 
 
During his years at Liverpool Polytechnic School of Business & Law Rod met the love of his life, Jullie Hands, who pursued a law degree at the same school. Their relationship started in 1990 and they have been together ever since.
 
 
2 proud graduates: Rod Craig & Jullie Hands
 
After graduating in 1991 Rod worked for three accounting firms, preparing and auditing financial statements and income tax returns. His client base comprised small and medium sized owner managed businesses. During this time Rod studied to become a Chartered Accountant and he was awarded his designation in 1996. In 2000 he became a Partner with Burrow & Crowe.
 
Career
 
John Gordon Walton: 1991 –1996, Leeds
 
 
Mazars 1996 –1997, Leeds
 
 
 
            Burrow & Crowe 1997-2005, Leeds
  Audit Manager 1997 -2000, Partner 2000 -2005
 
 

 
 
 
Some more family snaps!
The Craig clan 20 years on (Alex, Jeff, Rod, Jim and Sarah c. 1996)
 
                                                                                                                                          
 
 
The Craig clan another 5 years on (c. 2001). “It was a special occasion as Jeff was visiting from Melbourne and Jim was visiting from Gateshead. At that time the rest of us lived in Leeds.” (Rod’s nephew Matthew Pritchard is the one sat in the plant pot holder!).
 
In 2006 Rod and Jullie relocated to Worcestershire. Rod decided to broaden his professional experience and became a recruiter of Chartered Accountants. In 2008, at the start of the global financial crisis, Rod moved into industry and worked for a self-storage franchisor.
 
 
Sphere Group 2006 –2008
Recruitment Consultant

 
Storage King 2008 –2011
Financial Controller
 
 

Another change, after Rod’s move to Worcestershire                                 
December 9, 2006:                                                                                               
Jullie & Rod tie the knot !
 
       the newly weds
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                        
 
Mr. & Mrs. Craig sen. at Rod’s and Jullie’s wedding
in Chaddesley Corbett, Worcestershire.
 
Back to life.......................

In April 2011 Jullie accepted an offer from RSA to relocate to Newfoundland to take a senior position with RSA Canada’s subsidiary, Johnson Inc., which is based in St. John’s.
 
 
St.John's, NF
 
In April 2011 Jullie accepted an offer from RSA to relocate to Newfoundland to take a senior position with RSA Canada’s subsidiary, Johnson Inc., which is based in St. John’s.
 
 
Initially Rod was hired by Oceanic Consulting Corporation on a 12 months contract. Six weeks into his term, Oceanic was acquired by one of the largest private groups in Canada and Rod helped the previous owners with the sale negotiations and then helped the new owners with the post-acquisition integration. Rod used this time of transition well and advanced his education towards becoming a Canadian CA.

In April of 2012 he then joined Bluedrop Performance Learning as Chief Financial Officer. In June of that year he helped Bluedrop to open the Toronto Stock Exchange.
 
                                                                           Newfoundland: a bit colder than in the UK !
 
Meanwhile Jullie advanced at RSA and received a call to relocate to Toronto at the end of 2014.
 
 
They quickly found a beautiful house in Oakville, where they have happily resided ever since.
Professionally Rod is working hard to build his own business as a VIRTUAL CFO:
 
 
 
The Virtual CFO' functions:

•Work from clients’ premises
•Recruit, train & manage bookkeepers
•Document & streamline accounting systems
•Prepare monthly financial reports and annual budgets
•Finance for non-finance managers & directors
•Prepare year end financial statements and income tax
•Cash flow forecasts & business plans for small businesses
•Used by clients to manage their companies
•Used by bank managers to support applications for lines of credit, etc.
 
 
                                                              
 
In spite of their heavy work-loads Rod and Jullie have become real Canadian outdoors people, who use all their leisure time to explore the beauty of their new home country. Kayaking, hiking, and camping are amongst their favorite pastimes. Rod is also a passionate and skilled photographer. They both love travelling whenever an opportunity occurs.
 
Rod with his mother-in-law Chris Hands
 
 
camping in Nova Scotia
 
 
 
      The globetrotters in San Francisco
 in Newfoundland
 
 
As mentioned earlier Rod has, within his first year, become a very active Rotarian applying his professional skills to the Club’s books. Rod is also pushing the Club towards a greater use of social media. Certainly Rod is blowing some fresh air into the Rotary Club of Oakville!
 
Thank you, Rod!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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