The story so far

I started university on the accounting track, but in my third year, realized that I had more of a general affinity for business, so switched streams and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Brock University. 

‍I began my career at EY which was an excellent training ground for understanding accounting as the language of business, and experiencing firsthand what it’s like to guide companies through audits, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions. It didn’t take long before I realized that what I enjoyed most was the operations behind the numbers. 

‍When I took the role at OMERS Ventures, it gave me an opportunity to use the skills I’d developed in school and at EY, but also develop a series of new ones, as the first of a new team dedicated to streamlining operations both internally, and for our portfolio companies. What’s unique about this role is that it’s a hybrid of numbers and operations, and finding links between them is what I love the most. 

‍Being an early member of the team and having the chance to truly build something from the ground up has been an awesome experience. The culture here is similar to a startup - we make decisions fast, based on priorities we agree on as a team, and it’s nice to be in an environment that’s flexible enough to always be looking to improve instead of being confined to existing processes. 

‍What should founders know about you?

I know from experience that data can be your best friend or your worst enemy, depending on how you receive and/or interpret it. When I share data I try really hard to pull out key insights, keep things concise and understand what data points will be most relevant and helpful. Tailoring outputs is very important, so everyone understands what the data is saying, and we’re all speaking the same language. 

I also like that my job lets me interact with all sorts of people in all sorts of roles, and I’ve developed a good sense of adapting myself to different environments. So I can generally fit into any environment, which makes it easier for founders and startup teams to work with us without disrupting their normal flow. 

Despite how particular I am at work, in life outside OV I’m not much of a planner. I prefer spontaneity - sometimes I’ll show up to an airport and just see where it takes me. Some of my biggest thrills have been unplanned adventures in cities around the world I’d never planned on going to. I also love hiking, biking and generally anything adventurous or outdoors. I’m always up for a road trip, and I’m always down to try a new restaurant.   

If money was no object, what would you do? 

I’d definitely work with kids. I used to teach soccer at my community center and more recently led summer camps for kids with special needs (extra cool kids), and I’d love to do something where I get to be  part of providing positive experiences for underserved kids and their families.