Six Canadian tech companies have added new members to their teams in the last couple of weeks. Here’s a breakdown of who’s joining Carbon Engineering, ACTO, WorkJam, Wishpond, Volta, and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and what they bring to the table.
Carbon Engineering appoints Daniel Friedmann as new CEO
Earlier this year, Squamish, British Columbia-based cleantech company Carbon Engineering (CE) appointed Daniel Friedmann as CEO to replace Steve Oldham, who held the position since 2018.
Launched in 2009, CE is developing technology that directly captures and reuses carbon dioxide contained in the atmosphere. Friedmann served on CE’s board for five years, and spent the past four as board chair.
For over 20 years, Friedmann led Canadian aerospace company MDA as CEO before retiring in 2016. During his tenure, MDA claims its revenue grew 19-fold and market capitalization 35-fold.
In 2016, he was named Brendan Wood TopGun CEO in Canada for technology, media and telecommunications, a designation awarded as an expression of the highest level of confidence in a CEO by major institutional investors.
Jenny Yeung named as ACTO’s first chief financial officer
ACTO, a Toronto-based SaaS company, has hired Jenny Yeung as its first chief financial officer (CFO).
Founded in 2014, the company’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform uses mobile experiences and agency partnerships to provide tools for life sciences education. Commercial and clinical educators use ACTO’s platform to teach learners in the care continuum.
RELATED: ACTO acquires US-based Scrimmage following Series A
As CFO, Yeung will lead ACTO as it lays the foundation for future fundraising, go-to-market acceleration, international expansion, research and development, product innovation, as well as exploring mergers and acquisition opportunities.
Prior to her new role, Yeung served as senior vice president of finance at Intelex Technologies ULC where she re-designed workflows to manage the company’s growth. She was also an audit senior at Ernst & Young, and a senior financial analyst for Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
Vickie Laurendreau, Louise Clements, Mark Williams join WorkJam
Digital workplace solution provider WorkJam has added Vickie Laurendreau, Louise Clements, and Mark Williams to its executive management team.
Montréal-based WorkJam was founded in 2014 and provides a centralized platform for onboarding, crisis management, communications, franchise management, and task management.
Laurendreau was appointed chief human resources officer, Clements was named chief marketing officer, and Williams was hired as managing director, EMEA.
WorkJam said that all three of its new C-suite additions have a breadth of experience in global business strategy from working with some of the world’s largest brands.
RELATED: WorkJam secures $35 million to grow of frontline worker platform
Williams previously worked at Shell where he held roles in technology, pricing, sales, and business development management. Most recently, he was Shell’s global enablement manager of retail where he oversaw the company’s global product management lifecycle.
Laurendreau joins WorkJam from Paysafe Group, where she led the human resources strategy and oversaw the development of over 600 Canadian employees. In her new position at WorkJam, she will focus on developing integrated solutions to scale its workforce and markets.
Also from Paysafe Group, Clements was responsible for developing marketing and corporate communications strategies. Her 20-year career in digital marketing and advertising includes working with global organizations such as Facebook, AOL, and Rogers.
Clements’ new role at WorkJam will be focused on leading the marketing organization and working closely with other parts of the business to advance the company’s brand.
WorkJam revealed $35 million USD in growth financing last year from Silver Lake Waterman, a global technology investment firm.
David Pais appointed as Wishpond’s chief financial officer
Vancouver-based marketing solutions provider Wishpond recently hired David Pais as its chief financial officer.
Reporting directly to Wishpond chairman and CEO Ali Tajskandar, Pais will oversee all finance, accounting, financial reporting, audit, tax, and capital planning functions.
Prior to joining Wishpond, Pais worked at several tech companies in Vancouver in a span of 20 years.
RELATED: Wishpond secures $6 million revolving credit from National Bank to fuel acquisition strategy
Wishpond noted that Pais has “broad exposure” to the tech sector including software and hardware products, telecom infrastructure, VoIP, cybersecurity, and cryptocurrency mining.
Juan Leal was Wishpond’s CFO since January 2020 and the company describes him as “instrumental” in its public listing process, as well as executing the four acquisitions Wishpond has completed to date.
Most recently, Wishpond acquired Winback.chat for $700,000. Other acquired companies include Brax.io, PersistIQ, and Invigo Media.
Volta hires Brad DiPaolo as manager of talent acquisition
Halifax innovation hub Volta has appointed Brad DiPaolo as manager of talent acquisition.
Launched in 2013, Volta is Canada’s largest east coast innovation hub and co-working space. It connects entrepreneurs with programming, resources, and space to grow their companies in the tech ecosystem.
In his role, DiPaolo is responsible for helping Volta startups to attract talent, build efficient recruitment processes, and implement the tools needed to grow their teams.
DiPaolo brings over more than 20 years of experience in recruitment, sales, and marketing. Currently, he is the founder and CEO of Candidate Hub, a recruitment platform.
Steve Lowry joins Silicon Valley Bank
Steve Lowry was recently named as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) vice president of technology banking.
Lowry joins the growing SVB team, and will be working out of Vancouver where SVB opened an office in late 2020.
In his LinkedIn post, Lowry said that his VP role would be focused on helping high-growth startups raise venture debt and other financing options.
“BC tech is no fire now so it’s no surprise that SVB is growing the western team,” Lowry noted, adding that he will also continue to support the AI community through AInBC.
Lowry is the founding executive director at AinBC, established to unify and organize the AI and machine learning communities in British Columbia. Previously, he worked at tech companies across Canada including Hootsuite and Clio.
He is also a two-time founder, launching Play Taxi Media in 2011 and Discover Media House in 2014.
Photo by Matthew Henry via Burst.
