Leaving The Corporate World Behind

The Early Days at Janna Systems

My career in enterprise software was better than I could have anticipated in my youth. My very first job at Janna Systems granted me a platform I was able to leverage for more than 20 years. Janna is perhaps the greatest success story in Canadian software history. Acquired by Siebel Systems for $1.4 billion, it marked a significant milestone in my career. Siebel, a leader in the CRM space long before Salesforce, acquired Janna at the height of the dot-com bubble, demonstrating the value and potential that Janna held. My involvement in their Initial Public Offering and eventual sale earned me the title of “Best Investor Relations Officer in Canada.” I am immensely grateful for the incredible colleagues, friends, and mentors I had at Janna, many of whom remain close friends today. As they say in sports, members of a team that wins a championship are bonded for life.

Transitioning Through Acquisitions

After Janna, I moved to Triple G Systems Group, a Laboratory Information Systems company. Here, I once again participated in an Initial Public Offering, followed by an acquisition by General Electric. The Investor Relations community recognized my efforts with the award for “Best Communications for a Venture Listed Company.”

Next, I joined Bioscrypt, a biometrics company, where I not only took part in another Initial Public Offering but also expanded my horizons beyond Investor Relations, eventually becoming Head of Marketing. When a large U.S.-based defense contractor acquired Bioscrypt, I found myself once again in search of new opportunities due to acquisition.

Embracing Entrepreneurship

Deciding to take control of my career path, I started a consultancy focused on Investor Relations and Public Relations. I was fortunate to secure several contracts and work with exciting clients like The BlackBerry Partners Fund. Helping them market the launch of their fund was a rewarding experience, leading to hundreds of applications for funding.

A New Chapter with Viigo

One of the applicants to the BlackBerry Partners Fund, Viigo, was particularly compelling, and I decided to join them. As a mobile app company in need of grassroots marketing before the advent of app stores, we leveraged social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube to attract users, resulting in over 3 million users before Research In Motion acquired Viigo. This marked the fourth time my career had been impacted by an acquisition.

The Return to Familiar Grounds

The timing of the Viigo exit aligned perfectly with an opportunity to reunite with my former Janna colleagues at NexJ. Naming it "NexJ" symbolized our ambition to replicate Janna's success. Leading Sales and Marketing, I applied my extensive experience, but the results did not quite match our past triumphs. Despite this, I dedicated over 10 years to NexJ, culminating in its acquisition.

A Fitting Conclusion

Shortly after NexJ's acquisition, I was honored with an induction into the Investor Relations Hall of Fame. This recognition felt like the perfect conclusion to my corporate career, allowing me to focus on new passions outside the corporate sphere. I began building the foundation for my next 20+ years, both literally and figuratively, as I started new projects, including transforming my backyard by adding a woodworking shop.