Toronto-based FinTech company Ratehub has appointed Naga Parvatharajan as its new CEO in the latest in what has been a flurry of executive turnover in Canadian tech this year.
Parvatharajan is taking the role from co-founders Alyssa Furtado and James Laird, who led the firm as co-CEOs since its start in 2010. Furtado and Laird will continue to support the company, with Laird maintaining his position as Ratehub’s mortgage brokerage’s broker of record.
Parvatharajan brings over two decades of experience to the top job, most recently serving as general manager of multiple lending businesses at American online bank SoFi. He has also held roles at a number of other financial firms south of the border, including Goldman Sachs, Discover, and Capital One.
Ratehub offers a product-comparison platform that connects Canadians to financial tools, advice, and products. The company claims it has closed over $17 billion in mortgage volume.
Ratehub is just the latest in a significant series of leadership changes across Canadian tech companies this year. Staying in Ontario, Mississauga-based goeasy appointed former Capital One Canada executive Patrick Ens as president of its easyfinancial and easyhome brands, effective July 1.
This turnover has impacted financial leaders as well. This week, Healwell AI appointed Anthony Lam as its new CFO, replacing Scott Nirenberski, who had held the position since September 2020. Since last year, Healwell, formerly known as MCI Onehealth, has undergone a major shift in the last year by ditching its clinical business and narrowing its focus on AI for early disease detection.
Last month, Ottawa-based healthtech firm TryCycle announced Brett Merriman as its new CEO, replacing founder John MacBeth, who will now focus on customer acquisition.
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Leadership changes have touched almost every region of the Canadian tech sector in the last month. This week, Calgary-based software startup Userful named Jeff Metcalf as its CFO. Metcalf appears to be replacing Amy Wang, who left the role in February and joined Vancouver-based Procurify as its CFO.
Also in Calgary, telecom software company Vitruvi Software saw its founder and CEO Bryan McIver depart the top job to step into an advisory role for the company.
Moving one province over, Kelowna, BC-based SaaS Academy, which coaches and trains business-to-business (B2B) software-as-a-service (SaaS) founders, appointed Johnny Page as its CEO. Page is moving from the role of chief revenue officer, replacing SaaS Academy founder Dan Martell.
Vancouver-based SaaS company Zafin, which recently saw the departure of its founding CEO, has undergone another significant leadership change. Michael Nitsopoulos has been appointed chief product officer. While the official announcement did not specify if Nitsopoulos is replacing an existing executive, the LinkedIn profile of Herber De Ruijter indicates he had held the position since 2022.
Meanwhile, in Atlantic Canada, industry group Life Sciences Nova Scotia has named Doris Grant as its new CEO. With over three decades of experience in academia and the public and private sectors, Grant replaced Sean Awalt, who is stepping away to pursue another opportunity.
These companies join a long list of firms with executive turnover and leadership changes at Canadian tech companies that includes Unbounce, MindBridge, NowVertical, Top Hat, Untether, Cinchy, Alida, and many more.
