The Marble Team
Management Team
Doug Tanner, VP, Business & Corporate Development
Doug is a serial entrepreneur with a focus on strategy and implementation. Early in Doug’s career, he created sales training programs that were implemented across multiple channels and facilities Canada-wide.
Mr. Tanner went through his career winning multiple sales awards and was a continuous success in a direct-to-consumer capacity. Doug has since moved into the B2B space specializing in sales and implementation. With his vast knowledge of technical sales, he has been able to achieve great success in Commercial real-estate, Recruitment and HR, Saas and more recently Fintech. Doug takes a consultative approach to most challenges and works at defining the goal with every partnership and reverse engineers the solution.
In Doug’s free time he likes to golf and spending time with family.
Karim Nanji, CEO
Mr. Nanji is an accomplished senior growth, strategy, product and technology leader with a proven track record for building and commercializing world-class financial technology.
He has a significant background in retails financial services for underbanked, underserved and credit-challenged consumers in Canada, the United States and international markets. Mr. Nanji is a concept through execution leader with over 25 years of experience across start-up, growth, enterprise and Fortune 500 organizations.
Karim has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from The University of British Columbia and a Master of Business Administration in the Management of Technology from Simon Fraser University.
Jim Chan, CTO
Mr. Chan is a well-versed technology executive with a great reputation for building world-class technology teams and infrastructures. He has over 20 years of experience leading technology teams in developing some of the most advance financial technology solutions at one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies.
Jim has a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of British Columbia and is a registered Professional Engineer in BC.
Alastair Brownlow, CFO
Mr. Brownlow previously worked as an auditor in the British Virgin Islands specializing in financial and regulatory reporting of public and private fund and trust companies. Prior to this Mr. Brownlow worked for a Canadian chartered accountant firm gaining significant accounting experience auditing public companies in Canada and throughout the world.
Mr. Brownlow completed a Bachelor of Business Administration with first class honours from the Simon Fraser University and is a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant and a U.S. Certified Public Accountant (Washington).
Daniel McClure, Advisor, Strategy & Development
Mr. McClure is a seasoned executive and financial industry veteran with over 25 years of experience.
Dan has worked in a variety of positions, starting in technology as a manufacturing engineer, then in sales and marketing. He moved into the capital markets, initially investment banking, then progressing into leadership roles in investment research, portfolio management, business development, and as the CEO & CIO of an alternative asset manager. He has invested over $3B of AUM across multiple sector and geographic mandates; designed and launched four separate investment funds, two of which were award winners; and is an active Angel investor. He currently serves as President, Blue Deer Capital, where he advises companies on corporate strategy, governance, capital raising and business development initiatives.
Dan is a graduate of Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University and has his Master of Business Administration from the Ivey School of Business.
Patricia Giankas, Advisor
Mrs. Giankas has spent the last 20 years focused on the credit management and debt restructuring space in various capacities including BIA counsellor, bankruptcy and insolvency counsellor and a mortgage broker. Patricia is a visionary and has created software tools to help consumers manage their personal finances and credit. Prior to this, she had a very successful an accomplished career within the banking industry for nearly 20 years.
Patricia’s holistic approach to managing personal finances is depicted in her commitment to people and financial literacy. She is a life skills coach and a minster and has helped many through their life challenges by providing support and guidance. She has authored The Power of Positive Credit and Great Credit NOW. She has co-authored several other books, and also writes monthly for an online magazine.
Rich Elliott, Director, Marketing & Creative
Mr. Elliott is senior marketing and branding specialist with nearly a decade of experience in the technology sector. Originally starting his career at marketing agencies in London, Rich moved over to the Canadian technology scene in which he has gained experience in eCommerce, food technology, and financial technology. During this time, Rich has a proven track record for building well-known brands.
Rich has a 1st Class Honors Degree in Graphic Communication from The University of Northampton (UK).
Rohan Chary, Senior Manager, Product & Technology
Mr. Chary is a seasoned Product Manager & Business Analyst with over 8 years’ experience in spearheading technology solutions for businesses in the financial sector, ranging from SMEs to Fortune 500 companies. He is typically involved in leading high stakes development projects from proof of concept to launch to provide effective solutions for customers, technology partners and internal stakeholders.
Rohan holds a Bachelor of Computer Systems Engineering from Massey University (New Zealand_. He is also a Certified Product Manager with the Association of International Product Marketing & Management (AIPMM).
Mike Marrandino, Executive Chairman, Director
Mr. Marrandino is an experienced C-Level business consultant with a demonstrated history of over 30 years working in the management consulting industry.
His expertise includes business planning, corporate development, mergers & acquisitions, start-ups and transitioning private companies into becoming public companies on the TSXV and CSE. He currently serves as an Independent Director of Global Daily Fantasy Sports Inc., a publicly-traded company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.
Mr. Marrandino obtained his Mechanical & Industrial Engineer Technologist education from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Jason Scharfe, Director of Marble, TPFM and The Phoenix Fund
Mr. Scharfe has over 30 years of insurance broker experience including the role of Managing Director of Marsh Canada Inc., an insurance brokerage company and wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh and McLellan Companies (NYSE:MMC).
He has worked with Marsh Canada Limited for 23 years. Since mid- 2009, Mr. Scharfe has held the position of Pacific Zone Leader of Marsh Canada (Vancouver) and since 2014 he has run the Western region. Mr. Scharfe is a member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian company and of Marsh Inc. globally. His role includes that of senior insurance market liaison which entails relationship management between Marsh and the insurance market within Canada; senior relationship officer in respect to some of the major western clients and programs; responsibilities for business development and growth of the region.
Vikas Ranjan, Independent Director
Vikas is a management professional with an MBA in Finance & Information Systems from McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He is a co-founder of Gravitas Financial Inc. and currently serves as its President and a director. Gravitas is an investment holding and merchant banking company based in Toronto, Canada.
His background includes over 22 years of experience in diverse areas of finance, capital markets entrepreneurship and investing. Before Gravitas he also was a co-founder of Ubika Research, an investment research and capital market services firm and a Co-founder of smallcappower.com, a leading online portal for small cap investments. He currently serves on the boards of several public private companies, including Mint Corp (TSXV: MIT), a globally certified mobile payments company focused on the underbanked segment.
Farhan Abbas, Independent Director
Mr. Abbas has significant entrepreneurial and financial services experience. His early career included roles at RBC Capital Markets, Manulife and State Street. Today, he serves on the Board of Directors of FutureVault Inc., a B2B2C white label digital Personal and Business, Life Management solution utilized by financial services organizations to acquire, retain and reward customers. He has consulted and provided capital markets advice to a number of publicly listed companies. His primary occupation is as CEO of PLK Holdings Inc., a private company which owns and operates fast food franchises across, Alberta, BC and Ontario. Mr. Abbas, also serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Merry Go Round Children’s Foundation which operates the Kids, Cops & Computers program providing new laptops and mentoring to students in six provinces who lack consistent access to technology in their home environment.
Mr. Abbas has a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Accounting from McGill University, Montreal, completed his CPA in the United States and is a CFA Charterholder.
Rahul Petkar
Rahul Petkar, President and CEO of Mississauga based Ishkan Inc., is a business leader with over thirty years experience in the financial services and technology sectors spanning Asia, Middle East and North America. Currently, he is also the CEO of Intellect Design Arena Chile Ltda, a leading fintech, providing innovative payment and banking solutions
in Latin America.
Rahul founded Polaris Canada, a banking technology company that serves all major Canadian banks and was responsible for scaling it up to over 250 employees. At TD Waterhouse, as Director International Development, he was a core member of the team responsible for the global expansion of TD’s brokerage business to Japan, UK, Luxembourg and Hong Kong. In the past, he has also worked with Citibank and Merrill Lynch in the business and operations areas.
Rahul has been a speaker and a panelist on topics pertaining to financial services, global sourcing and technology on various occasions including at the Toronto Financial Services Alliance and the Schulich Business School. In 2013, Rahul was appointed by the Mayor of Mississauga to the Mississauga International Partnership Program and to the Mississauga Economic Advisory Board where he currently serves as Chairman. He is a Member of the Institute of Corporate Directors in Toronto and a Charter member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the largest global not for profit association supporting entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship.
Rahul is a Bachelor of Engineering ( Mechanical) from VNIT, Nagpur and has an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
Blake M. Elyea
Blake M. Elyea, A Chartered Professional Accountant (CGA), Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional (CIRP) and Licensed Insolvency Trustee (LIT), Blake has over twenty-five years of professional experience providing business owners, individuals, shareholders, board of directors, financial institutions and stakeholders with financial advisory, restructuring, insolvency, audit, accounting and tax advice.
Blake’s professional experience includes thirteen years at two National Accounting and Advisory Firms; and 4 years as a Partner, Shareholder and Managing Director of a mid-sized Financial Advisory and Restructuring Firm. Blake has broad industry knowledge across many sectors including high tech and automotive finance, pulp and paper, packaging, transportation, forestry, biotechnology, manufacturing, agriculture, non-profit organizations, construction and real estate.
Blake currently provides independent Financial Advisory and Restructuring Services to companies throughout Western Canada.
Estelle L'Heureux
Ms. L’Heureux has specialized in the alternative lending space for seven years with diverse experience in fund management, sales & operations management, marketing and product development. Estelle has previously managed mortgage investments of ~$425M, including administration and defaults, cash requirements and a team of brokers. She has also spearheaded and managed a business focused on monetizing private mortgages, consumer loans and insolvency prospects.
Ms. L’Heureux completed her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting at Douglas College and the Mastering Fintech course at Ivey School of Business. She is a CFA charter holder and has been volunteering with the CFA Society of Vancouver since 2013.
Adah Teotico
Ms. Teotico is an accomplished finance professional within the fintech space, with extensive experience in accounting, Canadian taxation, finance as well as corporate strategy. Ms. Teotico brings a necessary background in consumer lending technology products within Canada and has a proven track record for building successful financial strategies and infrastructures.
Ms. Teotico has a Bachelor of Business Administration & Accounting from Kwantlen Polytechnic University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.
Jason Wang
Mr. Wang brings significant industry experience in senior risk, analytics and compliance roles in the financial industry. He first established his management career as Vice President at Citigroup Inc. Since then, he has worked for major financial companies CIBC, American Express, and TransUnion in nearly two decades. Currently Jason serves as the Chief Risk Officer & Privacy Officer at Synergy Credit Union, the fourth largest credit union in Saskatchewan.
Jason received his Bachelor of Science, Physics from Beijing University and his Master of Business Administration from New York University. In addition, Jason is a CFA charter holder.
Natasha Tsai, CPA, CA
Lawrence Rhee, CPA, CFA, MBA
Lawrence Rhee, founder of RHEETHINK Inc., has been actively involved in the Canadian technology industry for over 20 years. Lawrence has advised many technology companies in Canada as he has held senior positions in both investment banking and equity research at several firms including Haywood Securities, GMP Securities and Genuity Capital. Lawrence’s experience providing in-depth research analysis related to the technology sector has consistently generated investment ideas that are well-received by investors. He received a Top 3 ranking in each of the annual 2006, 2007 and 2009 StarMine surveys in the Canadian Software and IT Sector. Lawrence graduated with an MBA from the University of Toronto and also earned his CFA and CPA professional designations.
Michael Feola, Independent Director
Michael Feola, founder of MMF Capital Inc., a family office, and Merchant Bank and Hyde Park Equities Inc., an event driven liquidity fund. Michael is also the owner and CEO of Allexor Global, a flexible packaging business, and founder of Feolan Capital, which has interests in financial services, real estate, hospitality and public securities. Michael is a director of Integral Capital Partners and chairman and director of Must Capital Inc., and director of Adya Inc., both are TSX-V listed companies.