Northern Guide Advisory — Nick Gowland, P.Eng.

Engineer. Operator. Advisor.

I'm an engineer by training and a strategist by trade, and almost all of my work has lived at the intersection of business and technology. Over nine years I've gone from the plant floor to the boardroom — across mission-critical space systems, global strategy consulting, and operating-model and AI transformation — always chasing the same thing: making something work better than it did before.

That thread runs through every role. I designed automation systems at Promation, kept space robotics running and supported new-technology development at MDA, helped build a value-engineering practice and bring a client's new product to market at EY-Parthenon, and reshaped operating models — and introduced growing organizations to AI — at ADAPTOVATE. Today, as an Engagement Manager at Teragonia, I work at that same intersection of strategy, data, and AI to drive value creation for investors and the companies they back.

Whether I'm working as an advisor, a thought partner, or an embedded operator, the job is the same: help leaders clarify what they're really trying to achieve, build an operating model that reflects it, and steward execution to preserve intent. An engineer's rigour, a consultant's range, and a bias for building — not just advising.

AI & Value Creation

Cutting through AI hype to fund growth

A fast-growing organic-snack maker (~$400M, double-digit growth) needed efficiency and margin to fund its next phase of scale — with real AI enthusiasm but no prioritized, ROI-backed place to start. As part of the team, I helped run a five-function diagnostic that pressure-tested 70+ ideas not just on appetite but on what's genuinely buildable, narrowing to three pilots leadership could act on: production-floor root-cause, a supply-chain control tower, and real-time complaint monitoring.

~$8Mannual gross-profit opportunity (at full scale) 3pilots ready to build

Value Engineering

Cutting $20M from a premium blender line — without compromising the product

Pandemic-era cost inflation was eroding margins on a premium blender maker's two flagship lines — but its pricing power rode on quality, which consumer research traced to one part: the blade assembly. I led an international team to strip cost from everything except that value driver — teardowns, supplier interviews, and should-cost models across six SKUs. Supplier quotes soon came back in line with our models — proof the ~$20M wasn't theoretical.

~$20Midentified ~30%cost reduction ~9%gross margin

Operating Model Design

Bracing a global pharma for a patent cliff

With the patent on a drug behind 50%+ of its revenue about to expire, a global pharma needed to take out cost and build resilience before the cliff — partly by moving to an agile, globally distributed operating model. Across two engagements I led the redesign: first merging medical affairs and commercial sales support into one model, then global business services — rebuilding governance, decision rights, and operating rhythms, with the playbooks and training to make it stick.

2operating-model redesigns across 3 global functions

Strategic Advisory

Where to build an EV battery factory — and what to make in it

A battery startup was preparing to build its first North American gigafactory — and had to get two capital-heavy bets right: where to build, and which chemistries to make. Working with the engagement partner, I built bottoms-up cost models that pinpointed a site in Québec — where local graphite, steel, and chemical supply created a clear cost edge — then weighed the NMC-versus-LFP mix, the make-or-buy call on precursors, and the tariff exposure of shipping cells to Europe for assembly.

21%cost advantage identified (site & chemistry)

Technical & Industrial

Turning an aging lab into a NASA-grade test facility

MDA's robotics lab tested space hardware on the ground before it flew. But it ran on 1980s controls and a 1960s power supply, with parts so obsolete that a failure meant hunting eBay for replacements — too much risk for its most valuable use: testing real flight hardware. I coordinated the $615K rebuild — pulling together the technicians and software engineers, and doing some of the analysis, design, and testing myself. The lab has since tested NASA flight hardware and simulated everything from Canada's robotic arm to satellites.

$615Krebuild coordinated $4M+NASA hardware tested since

Let's talk about what you're working on.

Whether you're scaling, working through a transformation, weighing a complex decision, or figuring out where new technology and AI actually fit — I'm always glad to talk it through. No pitch; just a genuine conversation.

Strategy that survives
contact with reality.

Engineer. Operator. Advisor.

Cutting through AI hype to fund growth

Cutting $20M from a premium blender line — without compromising the product

Bracing a global pharma for a patent cliff

Where to build an EV battery factory — and what to make in it

Turning an aging lab into a NASA-grade test facility

Slide Guide

Manufacturing on the EDGE

Investment decision-support

Northern Guide Brief

Strategy & Operating Model Design

Operational Performance & Value Creation

Technology, AI & Innovation

Let's talk about what you're working on.