Our Company

Founded by Rick Besteman in 2009, and based in Ontario, Canada, Lake and Associates is a Performance Consulting firm delivering customized employee development, management consulting, and facilitation solutions. We focus on three key areas of business success: The Leader, The Team, and The Numbers, ensuring all interventions are in support of defined strategic objectives. Our clients include both private and public sector organizations, and we have provided services in North America, South America, Asia and the Middle East.

Rick Besteman CMC President & CEO

Rick’s demonstrated commitment to coaching, and the development of people, stems from his ability to drive results while practicing respectful leadership. His extensive business expertise is firmly rooted in experience having held a wide range of leadership positions within a multi-billion dollar, publicly-traded Canadian company. Rick’s approach to working with Clients, ranging from small business owners and entrepreneurs to senior executives, is to establish a clear plan, grounded in the current realities, and develop a path to improved performance. With a keen ability to assess operational opportunities, Rick asks the hard questions, provides objective input and guidance, inspiring those around him to consistently deliver their best. Rick is a Certified Management Consultant, and a certified facilitator in The Coaching Leader™ (Forrest & Company Ltd). Rick is an Instructor at The Goodman School of Business, Brock University, and he is a volunteer mentor for young entrepreneurs, through Futurpreneur Canada. Happy on, or in, the water, Rick is a member of the St. Catharines Bassmasters fishing club, and is a PADI certified scuba diver.

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Rashmi Biswas MSc. Executive Vice-President

Rashmi has successfully led large teams, held profit and loss accountability, and gained extensive business experience within corporate and academic arenas in Canada, the USA and the UK. Rashmi specializes in leadership development, team performance and process facilitation. Rashmi holds a Masters degree in Human Resource Management, from Sheffield Hallam University; a BSc (HONS) from Manchester Metropolitan University; a Postgraduate Certificate in Adult Education, Facilitation and Training from the University of Teesside; and a Diversity and Inclusion for HR Certificate from Cornell University. Rashmi is a member of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF), a Step II Myers-Briggs© Practitioner and a certified facilitator in The Coaching Leader™ (Forrest & Company Ltd). Rashmi is a program Facilitator with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), at the University of Toronto, and an instructor at the Goodman School of Business, Brock University. In current volunteer positions Rashmi is a Board Director for the Niagara Community Foundation, a member of the Board of Governors for Niagara College, and she is a co-founder of the Gender Equity Task Force.

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Work With Us

If you are interested in joining Lake as an associate please contact us.