By Adrian Johansen (Guest Blogger) Summer is a traditionally slow time for many small businesses. Instead of shopping, people are vacationing and enjoying new experiences. They aren’t so much worried about supporting brands and businesses as they are about family time. So, solid summer marketing strategies are that much more critical to ensure you’re still able to attract and retain customers [...]
Thanksgiving is a great time for businesses of all sizes, particularly those that cater to a specific demographic. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, followed by its consumer-focused sidekicks Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the expenditure is already happening. All you need is a Thanksgiving marketing strategy to enjoy the profits. While everyone else is spending money, that doesn't mean you can sit [...]
What makes a successful customer loyalty program? There are many pieces to this puzzle. Customer loyalty programs are all about building a relationship with your customers. How do you do that? By choosing the tactic that's right for your business. We've listed four customer loyalty program examples that we hope will spark some inspiration for you! The Cheesecake Cafe The Cheesecake Cafe is a [...]
STEVE LEVELYChief Executive Officer
As Chief Executive Officer of Ackroo, Steve leads the company’s capital generation, capital allocation and overall corporate strategy. He focuses on executing all M&A and Capital Markets initiatives while providing additional support across all departments. Steve also is the acting Chairman of Ackroo’s board of Directors. Steve transitioned into this role after previously serving as the company’s EVP of Sales & Marketing.
Steve brings over 25 years of successful executive and senior leadership experience from various organizations within the software, telecom, and marketing services industries. Prior to Ackroo, Steve spent over 15 years in senior business development leadership roles in various small and large organizations in both Canada and the United States. Some of these organizations include Maritz Canada, a large Marketing Services firm best known in the loyalty space for managing programs like Scotiabank/Cineplex’s Scene Program; and Pitney Bowes, a large global organization providing business solutions to organizations of all sizes.
STEVE LEVELY
Steve Levely is Ackroo’s acting Chairman & Chief Executive Officer; having previously served as Ackroo’s Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing.
Steve brings over 25 years of successful executive and senior leadership experience from various organizations within the software, telecom, and marketing services industries. Prior to Ackroo, Steve spent over 15 years in senior business development leadership roles in various small and large organizations in both Canada and the United States. Some of these organizations include Maritz Canada, a large Marketing Services firm best known in the loyalty space for managing programs like Scotiabank/Cineplex’s Scene Program; and Pitney Bowes, a large global organization providing business solutions to organizations of all sizes.
CHERYL LEWIS
VP of Operations
As VP of Operations, and with more than 25 years of customer success experience, operations and sales, primarily in the technology and field service space, Cheryl has been committed to leading the operational performance and financial performance by engaging and leading incredible teams.
Over the course of her career, she was a key player in the rapid expansion of Cancable Inc.’s 250% growth and U.S start up, which led to a large established field service organization in both Canada and the U.S. In later years the company’s were separated as a field service organization called, DependableHomeTech and a 400 seat boutique contact center, niche to technology and telecommunications industry called DependableIT Group Inc.
In the late 2000’s Cheryl consulted with many companies under the leadership of a New York city fund providing support and strategies to companies looking for turn-around which later led to several acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
During 2018 -2020 Cheryl assisted with an aggressively growing start-up called Facedrive where she acted as a Fractional COO. The leadership and the strength of her teams granted DependableIT several SQM; Service Quality Management Awards, personally a Women in Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award and nominee for Hamilton’s OBAA; Outstanding Business Achievement Award for large sector.
In late 2021 Cheryl worked for a large Global BPO building a team focused in the technology vertical that led her to pursuing some of her own passions. She’s spent the last year building some passion projects into small companies, consulting and searching for her next challenge.
Cheryl says, “My strategy and my personal desire are to surround myself with the best leaders in the industry, always working towards being the employer of choice and facilitating growth across the companies I am involved with. I pride myself on empowering team members, building strong brands, and remaining focused on delivering the best customer/client experience. I believe that utilizing technology in any organization can assist with productivity and allows organizations to maximize their human effort.
I consider myself a big thinker, big doer with the ability to make quick decisions resulting in quick wins. I drive team momentum by creating inclusive teams, maximizing their abilities and unique strengths.”
NGAN BUCHNER
Controller
As Financial Controller, Ngan is responsible for the day-to-day accounting functions and processes at Ackroo. This includes training, developing, and overseeing all employees involved in the accounting process.
Ngan has over 15 years of experience in corporate finance, management, team building through various industries from hospitality, retail, retirement, and construction, where she has taken on roles beyond just accounting/finance including IT Director, COO and QCO.
Her experience in the charity and NPO sector has made Ngan comfortable and knowledgeable with strict auditing standards, governance, and compliancy.
Ngan thrives in a driven, goal-oriented team environment and enjoys working with her colleagues to achieve both company and personal success.
ALEX BERNIER
Director of Support
As the Director of Support at Ackroo, Alex is responsible for the team that drives support strategies for Ackroo, including support for our client businesses, their customers, onboarding new businesses, supporting Ackroo’s various products and supporting the company internally as well. These responsibilities span a variety of required technical, marketing, sales and customer-facing aptitudes.
Alex holds a Master Certificate in Music Business Management, including Artist Management, Concert Touring Management and Copyright Law, and also attended OCAD University for a degree in drawing and painting. With over 13 years of experience in technical support, customer experience and software development roles and over 7 years of experience in the loyalty and payments industries, Alex has held multiple management and leadership roles which he has lended his expertise to at Ackroo since 2018. Alex also loves his fiancée, dog and three cats, plays various musical instruments and is an avid Star Trek and video game nerd.
TAYLOR GALLANT
Technical Support Manager
TYLER MOSS
VP of Finance, FP&A
As VP of Finance and Admin, Tyler is responsible for all aspects of financial accounting including preparation of our financial statements, managing our audit relationships, system data integrity and internal reporting. Tyler and his team work closely with other management to provide ongoing analysis of customer analytics, overall product line profitability, corporate cost containment and budget preparation. Tyler is also responsible for operational workflows, project management, production, lead to close and margin management.
With over 13 years of financial experience, Tyler has spent the last 5 years as a Director of Finance and Operations at Ackroo . Tyler has finance experience in many different industries including tourism and hospitality, real estate acquisition and vacation resort management.
Tyler brings a strong understanding of IFRS and corporate governance to ensure controls are in place to uphold the interests of the company’s many stakeholders.
LEAH FILINSKI
Director of People & Culture
As the Director of People and Culture, Leah is responsible for leading the strategic direction of Ackroo’s human resources department, including recruiting and retaining top talent, performance management, training and development, and the overall employee experience. Leah believes the people are what makes a company, and she continuously strives to create a workplace that fosters growth, engagement, and productivity. With more than a decade of HR leadership experience, she loves the challenge of creating high functioning teams, increasing employee engagement, and helping to grow small companies.
BRAD FRENCH
Owner of Alliance Communications and Security, and a thriving commercial real estate business, Brad has a keen interest in emerging technologies and has been an active investor in several successful start-ups. Brad has first-hand experience with mergers and acquisitions, he sits on the board of Sportsheadz, a privately-owned software company, and has served on numerous other boards, including the Youth Diversion Program, the Community Foundation of Kingston and Area, and is Past Chair of the Canadian Association of Message Exchange. Brad graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours BA and earned his MBA from the University of Liverpool.
PHILIPPE BERGERON-BELANGER
Philippe Bergeron-Belanger is CFO of Good Protein, a vegan protein and superfoods company based in Montreal, is a trusted investor and business strategist who has helped several private and public companies with M&A, capital markets and investor relations for the past 8+ years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Sherbrooke.
JON CLARE
Jon Clare is CEO of FuneralTech, an international death care SaaS company based out of Kingston, specializing in management, website, memorialization and marketing solutions. Jon has been involved in many successful software acquisitions and exits over the past 12+ years. Jon brings practical experience integrating teams, systems and strategies to allow companies to manage and scale their businesses more efficiently and effectively. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business from The University of Western Ontario.
JEREMY JAGT
Jeremy Jagt serves as Chairman of Ackroo’s Audit Committee and is currently President of Potentia Renewables Inc., a fully integrated developer, owner and operator of renewable energy assets. Prior to joining Potentia, Jeremy had over 20 years’ experience in public accounting with Grant Thornton LLP, with a primary focus on mid-market public and private companies in a variety of industries. At Grant Thornton, Jeremy lead the firm’s assurance practice both nationally and in Southern Ontario and was the firm’s lead regulatory partner. Jeremy holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University and currently is a member of CPA Canada and CPA Ontario.
CRAIG VUKOVIC
Director of Client Operations
Matt Smith
Engineering Team Lead – Product Support
As Engineering Team Lead – Product Support, Matt leads a team of engineers whose goal is to bridge the gap between the engineering team and first-line support for customers. This team also provides IT and DevOps support internally for the company to help improve technical operations.
Matt has over 15 years of engineering experience in the gift card, loyalty and payments industry which includes 12 years at KESM/Loyalmark whom Ackroo acquired at the end of 2017. He is passionate about working with clients and internal stakeholders to solve complex problems.
Akanksha Mathur
Marketing Manager
As a Marketing Manager, Akanksha is responsible for the growth of the company by developing effective campaigns that help businesses bring in new merchants and maintain a relationship with existing merchants.
Being a OCAD University graduate in Bachelor of Design, Akanksha is well versed in branding(brand positioning) and design. Akanksha leads the marketing team and ensures that meaningful work is being produced aligning with corporate goals. Her team is responsible for supporting the company’s internal and external digital advertising and lead gen needs, as well SEO/Website optimization, social media/content creation and management.
IAIN SMITH
Engineering Team Lead – AckrooPOS
As an Engineering Team Lead, Iain is responsible for building and maintaining Ackroo golf and hospitality products.
Iain has over 22 years of software development experience and 11 years architecting, developing and supporting POS solutions. He is focused on creating an intuitive customer experience that is low maintenance and easy to support.
KEVIN KENNEDY
VP, Product
As VP of Product, Kevin is responsible for the team that identifies Ackroo’s customer needs and larger business objectives that our products and features will fulfill, articulate what success looks like for our products and rallies the team to turn that vision into reality.. Kevin has over 15 years of experience architecting, implementing, testing, and shipping a wide variety of software. This includes projects such as enterprise-grade SaaS suites, real-time video conferencing applications, embedded device software, and a multitude of UX design projects. He’s passionate about creating easy-to-use software that solves both customer and business needs.
CHE BAIRD
VP, Sales & Customer Success
As Vice President of Sales and Customer Success, Che is responsible for defining and implementing the growth strategy for Ackroo’s suite of Products through Sales, Client Success and Partnerships. He also works and collaborates very closely with Marketing and Brand Management. Che and his team oversee the entire Ackroo customer journey, from earning the client’s initial business, to onboarding and training them on the platform, as well as post go-live support and providing the ultimate Client Success.
Prior to joining Ackroo, Che has spent the last 30 years in technology, sales, consulting, relationship and leadership roles for both small to global technology and FinTech companies, including 4 tech start-ups.
AMANDA GALL
Director of Product Management
As the Director of Product Management, Amanda drives product strategy and execution for Ackroo’s organic business. Amanda is responsible for driving engagement with customers, marketing, sales leadership, and internal analysts to identify market opportunities, and secure and align Ackroo’s product portfolio & investments. Amanda is a skilled communicator, working with all teams across the company and working closely with the senior leadership team to set the strategic direction of the organization. Amanda will help to oversee future managers of the Product Management, User Experience, and Data Science teams to translate the strategic vision of the company into valuable applications for our users.
With over 10 years of marketing management experience, Amanda’s held leadership positions in various industries including; eCommerce retail, hospitality, real estate & textile-based project management.
Amanda graduated from OCAD University with an Industrial Design degree specializing in product design and systems flow and is an expert in creative problem solving, driving strategy & leading her team to breakthroughs using insights and feedback from project stakeholders. Amanda firmly believes in multidisciplinary collaboration & loves connecting with people to create mutually beneficial relationships.
Alysha Vallance
Director of Finance
As the Director of Finance at Ackroo, Alysha is responsible for a team of accountants and all financial tasks. The accounting team is responsible for all things accounting and finance, including invoicing, accurate record-keeping, financial statement preparation and other tasks. Alysha oversees the tasks completed by her team and uses this data to prepare thorough financial analyses and recommendations for Ackroo.
With close to 10 years of experience in the accounting and finance field, Alysha has held senior-level positions at businesses in the Automotive, Hospitality and Service industries. Alysha has a passion for accurate reporting and financial analysis. Her in-depth financial skills and perspectives allow her to analyze Ackroo’s potential opportunities or risks and efficiencies.
As a Brock University Graduate and CPA student, Alysha is well-versed in IFRS standards and other Canadian financial legislature. She is dedicated to establishing, monitoring and enforcing internal controls over financial reporting and operational tasks based on these standards.
Alysha enjoys sharing her financial expertise with coworkers and looks to debunk the stigma around Accounting and Finance.
SAM SORBARA
Director of Business Development
As Director of Business Development, Sam leads the Ackroo Sales Team in growing the Ackroo Partner Portfolio through new client acquisitions across all segments and by building and managing strategic partnerships.
With over 10 years’ experience in the loyalty and gift card solutions industry and proven success in a sales role, Sam leads by example and provides his team with strategic and methodical approaches.
PAUL HART
Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Paul is responsible for the overall financial integrity and accountability of the business. This includes oversight of the financial department, involvement in negotiating financings and raising capital and due diligence on acquisitions as well as the management of human resources, contracts and compliance, and other administrative aspects of the business.
With over 20 years of CFO experience in both public and private companies across technology, payments, and health and wellness, he has helped small and medium-sized public companies on the TSX, CSE and Nasdaq grow both through organic and M&A strategies.
Paul brings a great breadth of industry, capital markets, financial and operational expertise to Ackroo. Paul leads Ackroo’s finance and operational teams while providing key strategic support for our M&A and capital markets strategies.
ANDREA LINDSEY
Director, Project Management
As Director of Project Management, Andrea helps support Ackroo’s M&A, Product and Go-to-market strategies. She manages the operational efficiency across all internal teams, with the priority of driving new business acquisitions forward by facilitating successful client integration, product migration, onboarding and retention efforts.
With an extensive background in team leadership, technical support, sales, client success and retention, her aim is to improve and simplify both the client and customer experience and ensure that Ackroo’s suite of products and services align with each clients’ needs, goals and vision for their business.
Andrea has worked at Ackroo for the last seven years and formerly held the position of Director of Onboarding & Client Success with the company. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trent University, with a concentration in Cultural Studies.
Jessie Taynton
HR Manager
As the HR Manager of Ackroo, Jessie is responsible for managing all people-aspects of the business, including hiring, training and development, health and safety, policies and procedures, and performance management. Jessie supports the internal team to continuously strive for more positive and engaging workplace experiences, and designs, implements, and maintains the infrastructure to set employees up for success.
Jessie comes from a versatile background in hospitality management, IT recruitment, and HR consulting for small businesses, with experience in building HR programs from scratch and helping companies make meaningful investments in their employees. Over the last 5 years, Jessie has been developing her leadership skills in these industries and has been providing mentorship to executives, managers, and employees to create workspaces that have strong communication, collaboration, and professional and personal growth.
Jessie considers herself an “HR Manager by day, and a Rockstar by night”, as she is heavily involved in the Toronto and Hamilton local music scenes. She plays bass guitar in multiple bands that write original music and play at local music venues.
Kelly Sykes
Marketing Manager
As Marketing Manager, Kelly works closely with her incredible team to develop, implement, and track all lead generation strategies and B2B activities for Ackroo. This includes all corporate communications, social media management, partnership opportunities and management, and campaign and promotion implementation.
Kelly has been with Ackroo since 2016 and has a full understanding of the Ackroo brand, product, services, and our customers.
Kelly graduated from the Journalism – Print and Broadcast Program from Humber College, with a specialization in broadcast and online. She has spent the last 10 years in the journalism, communications, and marketing industries. With a strong background in writing, Kelly has helped develop a tone and voice for Ackroo, while increasing brand awareness.
Julien Matteau
Sr. Marketing & Client Success Manager
As Sr. Marketing and Client Success Manager at Ackroo, Julien is responsible for our regional Client Success Specialists and making sure our clients have everything they need to run a successful gift and loyalty program by utilizing the Ackroo suite of products. Julien and his team manage over 3,500 clients across Canada and the United States and help train/onboard and educate our client base ensuring each and everyone receives the care and attention they require.
Julien’s background is in automotive with 10 years of dealership experience in Marketing. As a Business Marketing graduate from Algonquin College, Julien brings a level of experience and knowledge to our large number of Automotive clients along with a creative marketing mindset to help any of our clients effectively position their business for success.
Julien is also bilingual and enjoys the multitude of client interactions and challenges our different segments present to him. He’s dedicated to the client-first approach and values an honest and open perspective to doing business.
MATTHEW ROGERS
Director of Engineering
The engineering team is responsible for maintaining, improving, and building the Ackroo platform that serves merchants across retail, hospitality, petroleum, and automotive business verticals. Matthew has over 20 years of experience architecting, implementing, testing, and shipping a wide variety of software. This includes projects such as real-time 3D architectural visualizations, enterprise-grade data protection software, and AAA video games. He’s passionate about creating simple software that solves complex business needs.
Francis Shen
Francis Shen is a Partner at Shen Capital Partners Inc., a growth equity firm focused on investing in micro-cap technology companies. Mr. Shen was the founder, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Aastra Technologies Ltd., an enterprise communications company which was sold to Mitel Networks Corporation in 2014. Over the 18 years as a public company, Mr. Shen led an aggressive M&A consolidation strategy raising $76 million and returned over $700 million to its shareholders. In 2000, Mr. Shen was named Ontario’s Entrepreneur of The Year in the Technology & Communications category by Ernst & Young. He holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s of Applied Science, both from the University of Toronto.
KRISTAPS RONKA
Kristaps Ronka is an entrepreneur, investor and advisor. Kristaps serves as Ackroo’s Technology and Marketing advisor.
Kristaps co-founded AdParlor in 2007, a Toronto-based bootstrapped company that in 4 years became the leader in handling large Facebook Ad campaigns reaching a $100 million run rate. In 2011, Kristaps was named in Inc.’s “Top 30 under 30” most promising young entrepreneurs for disrupting the industry with a visionary approach. AdParlor was acquired in 2011. Kristaps has since focused on advising and backing start-up companies that are solving important problems and building disruptive technologies from transportation to medicine.
JASON DONVILLE
Jason Donville is the President and CEO of Donville Kent Asset Management. Jason is Ackroo’s capital markets advisor and is on both the audit & compensation committee.
Prior to founding Donville Kent Asset Management, Jason held senior research positions with Cormark Securities, Credit Suisse First Boston and Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia. Jason is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada (1986) and the Ivey School of Business at Western University (1992).
SAM COLE
Sam Cole is a corporate securities lawyer with the firm of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, based in Vancouver. Sam serves as Ackroo’s secretary and treasurer.
He specializes in advising small and micro-cap public companies on corporate governance and regulatory compliance. He is a graduate of the University of British Columbia, and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia.
WAYNE O’CONNELL
Wayne serves as the Chairman of Ackroo’s Audit Committee and is currently a partner at Jones & O’Connell LLP.
He has over 20 years’ experience in public accounting, both at a local and national level, with a primary focus on publicly accountable enterprises such as public companies, financial institutions and other entities utilizing international financial reporting standards. Wayne currently is a member of the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario audit advisory committee and the CPA Ontario professional conduct committee. He also provides consulting services to over 35 other chartered professional accountant colleagues with respect to quality control, accounting and auditing standards. Wayne holds an Honours Bachelor of Accounting degree from Brock University and currently is a member of CPA Canada, CPA Ontario, Niagara District Chartered Professional Accountants Association and the Canadian Public Accountability Board and is a licensed public accountant.
DEREK SCHAAF
chief financial officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Derek is responsible for the overall financial integrity and accountability of the business. This includes oversight of the financial department, involvement in negotiating financings and raising capital and due diligence on acquisitions as well as the management of human resources, contracts and compliance, and other administrative aspects of the business.
With over 20+ years of finance experience, Derek has spent the last 12 years as CFO for various companies within the Real Estate Acquisition & Resort, Music & Entertainment, and Manufacturing industries. Derek also founded a technology company providing innovative online ticketing and event registrations solutions to labels, artists, and promoters in Canada and the US to better service the Music & Entertainment industry. Derek has been part of bringing significant growth to companies through strong financial management, innovative thinking, and progressive leadership.
IHAB KAZEM
vice president of product
As Vice President of Product, Ihab leads the product management, product development, product support, and help with product marketing strategies.
Ihab leads the cloud infrastructure strategy, DevOps, internal software development process, and engineering team management. Ihab works closely with technology vendors, payment processor and POS partners, customer vendors, customers, and all facets of the organization internally to ensure the development team delivers on the business and product objectives of the company. Ihab is also responsible for executing the Technical Support strategy and tactics that will improve customer experience and bridge the gap between product delivery and support. The focus is on creating operational efficiency and promoting self-serve practices by customers, generate online helpdesk content and knowledge base documentation, while maintaining customer satisfaction, and scale the support process with the Ackroo customer growth.
Ihab has over 10 years in technical experience. Prior to Ackroo, he worked in several hi-tech start-ups, mid-size, and large companies in different software development roles, mainly on Software As a Service (SAAS) products on content management, multimedia transcoding and delivery, and telecommunications.
Ihab holds a Bachelors and Masters in Applied Sciences, Computer Engineering at the University of Ottawa. For his Master’s thesis, he focused on interest management in massively multiplayer online games and distributed systems, which was nominated for best thesis award.
CRAIG VUKOVIC
managing director of sales
As the Managing Director of Sales, Craig manages Ackroo’s team of Business Development professionals to develop effective loyalty, gift card and marketing programs and provide payment solutions to new and existing clients across our automotive, petroleum, retail and hospitality segments. Using a combination of sales, marketing and customer retention expertise, Craig works with our internal team members to achieve sustainable long term growth for Ackroo’s clients.
With over 10 years experience, Craig has held leadership positions in both marketing and sales roles at Ackroo. Craig is an expert in customer insight and retention strategy development and uses this knowledge when he partners with clients to create successful loyalty, gift card and promotion programs.
ANDREA LINDSEY
director, onboarding & support
As Director of Onboarding & Support, Andrea leads her team as the main support resource for Ackroo’s new and existing client base. With an extensive background in customer service, B2B sales and retention and call-centre quality analysis, her aim is to simplify the user experience for clients using Ackroo’s platform. The Onboarding & Support team helps business owners customize and launch their gift card & loyalty programs, while providing ongoing technical support and training to help them grow, engage and retain their customer base.
Andrea formerly held the position of Director of Client Services with Ackroo and has over 12 years of experience in sales, customer service and team leadership. Prior to joining Ackroo, she worked for Belairdirect and developed her skill set in workforce training and development, quality assurance and customer service management. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trent University, with a concentration in Cultural Studies.
