Excellence Awardee: The Queen’s University IRC Award for Best Learning & Development Strategy

Yamaha Motor Canada Ltd.

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The Yamaha Motor Business Academy (YMBA) was created in 2025 serving one main purpose: to provide to the organization’s 225 employees engaging training to feel productive in the work they do. The four streams – SEED (Skill Enhancement & Employee Development) for individual contributors; GROW (Get ready for opportunities at work) for high potentials; LEAP (Lead, energize & accelerate performance) for managers and team leads; and LEAD (Leadership exploration and development) for Directors and Senior Directors – cater to employees at specific stages of employment. The idea is to help them develop and ultimately progress in their careers. Each stream is evaluated regularly and enhanced based on feedback from participants and skills gaps identified by executive leadership. With the YMBA Catalogue breaking down courses into self-directed learning, instructor-led learning, personal development, and the YMBA library, it’s designed for learners to choose a method that suits them best. Offerings are designed to support both technical and cultural development and include LinkedIn Learning learning paths, Harvard Business Review Coffee Talks, custom learning paths, instructor-led lunch ‘n learns, and a Japanese culture workshop as an homage to Yamaha global headquarters. The new LEAP Passport gamifies learning for people leaders by tracking completion of seven compulsory and six elective courses, similar to a high school transcript. It offers a tactile record of achievement, encourages flexibility in learning paths, and supports both company culture and leadership competencies. Again, there’s choice baked in: options range from instructor-led sessions to self-directed learning and peer engagement programs. Team One Yamaha Employee Onboarding communicates the bigger picture of the organizational structure and how divisions interact with each other. Launched in 2022, the program was well received. True to Yamaha’s commitment to constant evolution, the team improves each session based on participant surveys. The goal of YMBA is to remain agile – introducing programming to keep pace with the organization’s culture of learning. Soliciting feedback is key to improving and evolving YMBA – and the approach is working. Growing participation rates and an increase in “serial learners,” or individuals participating in multiple programs, show employees are making the most of YMBA’s offerings. Last year, participation rates hit 3.48 sessions per employee, a 232% increase. The team calls this data, and the genuine engagement it reflects, the highlight of YMBA’s success.

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Hansen's Group of Companies

Chris is passionate about investing and employs a broad range of asset classes and sophisticated strategies, including alternatives. He acts as a personal CFO for his clients, helping grow their wealth and protect their legacy through tailored portfolio management. His expertise includes retirement and estate planning, risk management, insurance planning, and tax-advantaged investments. He is also an authority on situational tax planning strategies such as 1031 tax-deferred exchanges and qualified opportunity zones. A philanthropist, Chris founded the LIFT Foundation in 2013 and serves as its Executive Director. The non-profit supports families and children in high-risk situations and was recognized by Invest-In-Others as a Grant for Change recipient in 2022.

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Ashley Wells

Director, Human Resources, Dealer Training and Employee Development, EHS, Facilities

Caroline Lyons

Manager, Dealer Training and Employee Development

Ray Parker

Learning Experience Designer

Kyle Leblanc

LMS Administrator/E-Learning Developer

Luis Canseco

Multimedia Designer/E- Learning Developer