Phil graduated from the University of Calgary with a finance degree in 1990 and launched into restructuring organizations facing financial and or organizational distress. This included firms in construction, manufacturing, banking and even an international NGO out of Chicago. In 2002, Phil moved to Central America to work on development projects focused around youth and community health. To stay engaged with industry, he started to set up companies to build residential condos in Canada while living in Central America.

Returning to Canada in 2010, Phil continued with residential development projects until returning to the U of C for an EMBA, at which point he joined up with a classmate to advance a software system designed to teach school children how to code. This provided the opportunity to meet with educators in Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Asia to assess their engagement with the shift to the information economy. The 'Future of Work' is a topic near and dear to Phil’s heart as he considers the tremendous impact it will have on his two children.

While working with the software firm, the Haskayne School of Business recruited Phil to work with the legendary consulting coach, Dr. Bob Schulz. Currently, Phil coaches business consulting competition teams as well as teaches business strategy and entrepreneurial thinking courses at Haskayne and limited executive education courses for particular firms in the energy sector.

At the start of 2019 Phil joined the first cohort of students in Haskayne's new DBA program to strengthen the research aspect of his work at Haskayne.