About Phil

Phil Culhane is the Executive Director of CTLabs, an Ottawa-based consultancy focused on outcomes-oriented facilitation based on complex collaboration. Phil is a Senior Collaboration Lead within the consultancy, and designs and delivers key strategic engagements.

Phil’s particular area of fascination is around enabling human systems to function more effectively. For the past 12 years, Phil has been working to develop tools, techniques and processes as a part of a larger methodology that enables breakthrough thinking, open collaboration and lasting cultural change within complex human systems. Phil applies an outcome-driven approach that engages leadership and broad stakeholder groups to enable both incremental and fundamental change.

Phil’s work is sector-neutral, and has been applied successfully in numerous engagements across Canada and the USA. He has worked with all levels of the public sector (Federal/Provincial/State/Municipal) – often at the same time. He also has worked with very large health care systems – individual hospitals, regions, provinces, states and national health care bodies have been fascinating clients.Phil has brokered private sector as well as private/public partnerships. He has also worked with utilities (communications, energy) as well as universities.

Of 1/8th First Nations descent, Phil has been privileged to work with First Nations communities and individuals, and has received positive feedback that the facilitative structures and methods he uses are respectful of their cultural traditions. At the end of one partnership meeting, a prominent stakeholder from the Membertou First Nation stated this is was the first time in over 400 years that he’d felt as though a First Nations community had dialogued as equals with Europeans.

Phil is available for both short- and long-term engagements, and travels internationally for client work. He does pro bono work with regularity, and is always open to such conversations.