Today in hires: Tulip, Mogo, NexTech, Alida, Bonjour Startup Montréal

Tulip founder and CEO Ali Asaria

Five Canadian organizations have brought on new team members, including Tulip, Mogo, NexTech, Alida, and Bonjour Startup Montréal. Here’s a breakdown of who is joining who, and what they bring to the table.

Tulip adds former Blueday CEO Graeme Grant as COO

Kitchener-based retail startup Tulip, a mobile store performance software provider, has appointed former CEO of Blueday, Graeme Grant, as the company’s new COO. Grant will oversee Tulip’s business operations, with a focus on scaling its customer delivery and support divisions.

Tulip, which was previously based in Toronto but recently moved its headquarters to Kitchener, touts itself as a “platform built exclusively for stores of the future.” Founded in 2013, the startup’s cloud-based omnichannel mobile apps serve retail clients like Mulberry, Saks Fifth Avenue, Kate Spade, Coach, and Michael Kors.

Grant joined Tulip in 2020 as EVP of Analytics following the company’s acquisition of Blueday for an undisclosed amount. He has previously held leadership positions with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Demandware, and Oracle Retail and several retail startups.

In November, Tulip also purchased another SaaS company, buying TimeKit, a San Francisco-based advanced scheduling and resource management system. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mogo appoints Christopher Day as VP of marketing

Vancouver FinTech startup Mogo has hired Christopher Day as VP of marketing. Day most recently served as head of marketing for Square Canada. Prior to that, he held senior marketing positions at Orbitz Worldwide, Expedia Canada, and Dell Canada.

Founded in 2003, Mogo is a digital challenger bank that offers a wide range of online financial services, including access to loans, credit, mortgages, investing, and credit score viewing through Equifax. The TSX-listed company aims to become “the go-to financial app for the next generation of Canadians.”

In November, Mogo announced it was set to acquire fellow Canadian FinTech Carta Worldwide for $24.2 million CAD. David Feller, Mogo’s founder and CEO, said that following the expected close of this transaction later this month, Day will also work with the Carta team to promote their digital payments platform and support their global expansion plans.

NexTech adds former Microsoft Online executive Hareesh Achi

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual events startup NexTech has hired Hareesh Achi as president of their advertising network. Achi previously served in a variety of roles at Microsoft, including as president of Microsoft Online.

In this role, Achi will develop the company’s 3D/AR advertising technologies and expand its 3D/AR ad network into the virtual events industry. Achi and his team will aim to enhance the online shopping experience for brands and provide data for future marketing initiatives.

The Toronto-based startup was founded in 2018. The new hire is part of the company’s strategy to grow and monetize its digital technologies.

Alida promotes Hermina Khara to senior VP of people and culture

Toronto’s Alida, formerly known as Vision Critical, has promoted Hermina Khara to senior VP of people and culture. In the new role, the company said that Khara will lead the growth of its corporate culture and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives. Khara will also sit on Alida’s DE&I Council.

Alida was founded in Vancouver, but moved its headquarters to Toronto in 2019 when Ross Wainwright was appointed CEO. The startup’s CXM and insights platform assists its customers manage, monitor, and optimize customer experiences.

Khara brings 18 years of experience in global strategic talent acquisition and human resources strategies. She previously led talent acquisition at a variety of companies and co-founded her own recruitment agency, Strive.

Recently, Alida has been on a hiring spree. Earlier this month, the startup added four more executives to its team, and promoted Jason Baldree to chief customer office. In December, the startup added David O’Malley as CRO.

Bonjour Startup Montréal adds four new team members

Bonjour Startup Montréal (BSM), a nonprofit designed to promote the city’s startup ecosystem, has added four new members to its team: Patricia Grzesiak, Raphaël Hubert, Jessika-Kina Ouimet, and Guillaume Lajoie.

Grzesiak has re-joined the organization as project manager after spending several years with the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, where she served as head of the Interconnection Program. According to BSM, she will help lead a new pilot project to help guide Montreal entrepreneurs.

Hubert has joined the team as data manager, following several years as a data analyst at Breather and smile.io. Hubert is working on StartupRadar, a new tool BSM launched last year to help track Montreal startups.

Ouimet, who previously spent five years working for BDC’s innovation team, has joined BSM as open innovation manager, while Lajoie comes aboard as a public relations and government affairs advisor.

In 2020, the organization also named its first board of directors.

Image courtesy of Tulip

Josh Scott

Josh Scott

Josh Scott is a BetaKit reporter focused on telling in-depth Canadian tech stories and breaking news. His coverage is more complete than his moustache.

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