
Deborah Nicols, MBA, DMC, CPHR
In 2013, Deborah Nicols obtained a Master of Business Administration, Executive Management from Royal Roads University (RRU) in Victoria, BC. She was awarded the University Chancellor’s Award for achieving the highest academic performance among graduates of the MBA program in 2013 and the Ted Wilson Memorial Award for Lifelong Learning.
Following her MBA in 2014, Deb took the opportunity to travel to Grenoble, France, to obtain a Diploma in Management Consulting from a university with which RRU had a collaborative partnership, Grenoble Ecole de Management. Deb achieved the diploma with distinction.
In November 2023, Deb obtained Level I Certification in the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) from the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation and is a candidate for Level II.
Deb has been a certified Lead Auditor in the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System since 2018 and has been a Chartered Professional in Human Resources issued by CPHR Canada since 2007.
Deb’s teaching philosophy is rooted in her Personal Leadership Plan, which includes, among other commitments, to foster the development of others, enabling them to be successful. Deb believes she is merely the conduit through which learners can gain the knowledge, skills and abilities to be successful. Deb has over 30 years of facilitation experience in the corporate world and has developed several courses and workshops on leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion, talent acquisition and retention, performance management, succession planning and total rewards.
Deb is teaching MGMT 601: Leadership in the Global Context at UCW.
Expertise and Experience
Most recently, Deb was the head of Corporate Sustainability for Semtech Corporation, a semiconductor IoT Systems and Cloud Connectivity service provider which acquired Sierra Wireless, a BC-based IoT technology service provider, in January 2023. Before this, Deb held multiple senior roles at Sierra Wireless. In 2015, she joined Sierra as a People & Culture Leader and led Sierra Wireless in adopting its first 5-year Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan. Deb moved into the Operations team in 2018, where she was accountable for the Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2015), Corporate Sustainability, Social and Environmental Product Compliance and the Voice of the Customer Program.
Before Sierra Wireless, Deb held People & Culture leadership roles, including her consultancy, in the technology sector. The only exception was her five-year tenure at the Canadian Cancer Society, BC & Yukon Division, where Deb led the Workforce (People & Culture), IT and Process Improvement functions.
Volunteer Experience
Deb joined Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland as a Big Sister mentor in 2000 and was matched to her Little Sister for ten years. In 2001, Deb joined the Big Sisters board and served as Director, Vice Chair and Chair, respectively, from 2003 – 2009.
In 2003, Deb launched a charitable foundation, the Giovanni Bastone Foundation, to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research. Deb ran the foundation and chaired its board until 2010.