Richard Loreto is president of Richard A. Loreto (R.A.L.) Consulting Limited, a firm specializing in the development of business strategy and market research and the facilitation of stakeholder consultation processes. He is a former Ontario public servant and university professor and has been a consultant since 1974 (full-time since 1990), serving numerous private and public sector clients across Canada and in the United States. Richard Loreto works with a wide network of associates including David K. Foot, author of the best sellers Boom, Bust & Echo and Boom, Bust & Echo 2000.
Richard speaks frequently to businesses and governments on the topic of demographic trends in Canada and the United States and the implications for consumer products and services, marketing, and the labour market. Recent presentations include:
- Cavendish Farms: Halifax, Nova Scotia
- The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company: Mont Tremblant, Québec
- International Association of Law Enforcement Planners: Calgary, Alberta
- Association of Credit Unions of Ontario: Alton-Caledon, Ontario
- Ontario Ministry of Culture: Toronto, Ontario
Richard has worked for both employer and union clients in the construction industry across Canada and in the United States since 1993, carrying out labour market analysis and strategy development projects. In this capacity, he has worked with stakeholders in the carpentry, painting, glazing, drywall installation and finishing, Exterior Insulation Finishing System (EIFS), and mould remediation trades.
He has also led major strategy development projects for clients in other economic sectors including BC Hydro, Dofasco Inc., the chemical specialty products industry in Ontario, Niagara Region in Ontario, the municipalities of Edmonton, Grande Prairie, and Greenview in Alberta, and the property and casualty insurance industry across Canada. Several of these studies can be downloaded from R.A.L.’s web site (www.ralconsulting.ca).
Currently, Richard is carrying out major labour market studies with the Insurance Institute of Canada, City of Grande Prairie, Ontario District Council of Carpenters, and the Ontario Cast-in-Place Concrete Development Council. He is also conducting research for the Government of Canada on the implications of demographic change for Aboriginal policing strategies.
Professional Profile
Richard holds an Honours B.A. and M.A. in political science from the University of Windsor and a Ph.D. in political science and public administration from the University of Toronto. He has taught courses on Canadian and Ontario politics, local government, and public management and policy at Ryerson Polytechnical University, University of Toronto, Brock University, and McMaster University. He has a number of scholarly and popular publications and is co-editor of Urban Policy Issues: Canadian Perspectives (McClelland & Stewart Inc.).
Richard has conducted research into the concept of regional policing and has lectured on management topics at the Ontario Provincial Police Academy and Ontario Police College. From 1993 to1999, he served as an instructor on the Executive Development Course (EDC), a three-week management education program for senior police officers from across and outside Canada conducted at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa. He was also an instructor on the Senior Police Administration Course (SPAC) delivered at C.O. Bick College in Toronto.
Company Profile
Although R.A.L. Consulting Limited has undertaken many projects over the past thirty years, its primary area of practice is strategy development. R.A.L. works collaboratively with clients, is committed to balanced and systematic analysis, and emphasizes the need to develop workable plans for change. Moreover, R.A.L. offers the client a unique combination of academic knowledge and practical experience.
In the strategy development process, R.A.L.'s objective is to involve all stakeholders in the change process to foster consensus and commitment. The firm and its associates are skilled in the use of focus groups, interviews, and surveys as means of eliciting stakeholder perceptions and employ content analysis to ensure objectivity and rigour. Demographic analysis is at the centre of R.A.L.'s approach to the environmental scanning process. Action-oriented plans and follow up are important elements of the firm's approach.
Personal Profile
Richard's fraternal grandfather first came to Canada in 1903, and the Loreto family immigrated to Canada from L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy in 1930. Richard was born in 1949 in Windsor, Ontario. He has lived in the Hamilton area since 1974.
Richard and Carol married in 1972. They have two adult children, Michael and Elise, both of whom are pursuing careers in the healthcare professions in Canada.
In his spare time, Richard plays the blues on his 1966 Fender Telecaster
or one of his other six guitars and looks at the universe through his
telescope and binoculars. Among his favourite guitarists are B.B. King,
Eric Clapton, and Robben Ford. Jupiter and Saturn are two of his favourite
planets.