Our Team

Peter-Paul has over 15 years of experience in finance, investment management and business consultancy. He's held multiple senior management positions with global banks in the areas of corporate strategy, commercial and investment banking. Peter-Paul has also held management consultancy roles in Europe. While Peter-Paul enjoyed a successful career in international banking, he decided to embark on the entrepreneurial path. His career move coincided with he and his family jumping the pond and landing in Canada. Upon relocation to Canada in 2010, Peter-Paul worked as a consultant for several early stage and growth companies. In that period he experienced the challenges that young companies face in attracting capital and realized how the venture financing space was essentially not using any of today's available technology. In 2013 Peter-Paul founded FrontFundr to address this challenge and take on the opportunity to create the New Capital Market. He also serves as a director on the National Board of the Private Capital Markets Association in Canada (PCMA). Advisor to the National Crowdfunding and Fintech Association Canada (NCFA) and member of the Ontario Securities Commission - Fintech Advisory Committee. Peter-Paul holds a Master of Science in business economics and finance from Erasmus University Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

Previous to embarking on a career in the securities industry, Anthony spent many years as a content creator, sound designer, administrator, post production supervisor and entrepreneur in the film and television industry. Prior to joining Frontfundr, Anthony worked as a Research and Due Diligence analyst with BlackOre Research, providing insight into both public and private securities. He brings to Frontfundr extensive experience conducting due diligence within the exempt market and has a passion for helping start-up companies reach their goals. Additionally, Anthony oversees compliance managerial duties for Frontfundr, assisting new companies with onboarding materials and regulatory oversight. Anthony holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the University of British Columbia and has completed the CSC.

Passionate about exploring the connection between technology and human work, Francois holds an engineering master degree in mathematics and computers sciences from INSA Rouen (France). Prior to joining FrontFundr, Francois spent 5 years working for financial institutions in France (Neuflize OBC and Banque De France), where he had the opportunity to develop his technical and managerial skills.

Will Tang is the Chief Revenue Officer at FrontFundr, where he oversees the sales and marketing functions. He has over 10 years of experience in business development, partnerships and corporate development across many industries. Previously to joining FrontFundr, Will headed sales at Hockeystick, a leading fintech company that helps companies achieve growth using data. He was also head of sales at we2o, a San Francisco based startup in the philanthropy space whose mission is to unlock the billions of dollars of unused vacation time so employees can support charities of their choosing. Will also worked as a consultant for Third Core Venture Expansion Partners, a pioneering enterprise sales execution practice that helped fuel the growth of early-stage technology companies across North America’s SaaS, enterprise software, telecoms and services landscape.

Aaron joined FrontFundr in 2016 and over the years has worn many different hats; from investor relations, to due diligence, product management and many more. Today, he is a team focused leader, overseeing the day to day operations of the company. With over 5 years of experience in the private markets, Aaron has established himself as an expert in capital raising and investment crowdfunding. Aaron is driven by FrontFundr's goal to give all Canadians an equal opportunity to invest in the private markets and shares a passion for supporting entrepreneurship in Canada with the rest of the FrontFundr team.

Jaime McNally has led the deal structuring and due diligence for over 50 successful capital raises on FrontFundr. Before joining the firm, she earned her CPA at both Deloitte and Ernst & Young, working in Assurance, Corporate and Personal Taxation, and Transactions Advisory. She also has her Chartered Business Valuator designation and Master of Professional Accounting.

Christine Bhatt is a driven business professional with a passion for using her skillset to support organizations set and meet their future goals. She draws on the technical knowledge gained through obtaining the Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant and the U.S. Certified Public Accountant designations and her professional background to do so. After obtaining progressive accounting and financial operations experience through working as a full cycle accountant with various small businesses, an Income Tax Auditor at the Canada Revenue Agency, and Senior Accountant at public practice firm D&H Group LLP, Christine Bhatt joined FrontFundr to further develop her entrepreneurial spirit.

Trieste’s relationship with FrontFundr started as an investor. Having already invested in real estate and publicly traded companies, the concept of investing in private companies supported her own personal financial goals. Quickly becoming a brand advocate, Trieste looked to leverage her experience with a role at the company. Combining her BBA in Marketing Management, Minor in Communications, and a Masters of Global Business, Trieste has worked with companies in North and South America. Consulting with early and growth stage companies in the areas of marketing, communications and strategic planning has led to Trieste developing a passion for helping entrepreneurs succeed. Now she uses this passion to coach entrepreneurs through their fundraising campaigns.

Mitchell Nagy graduated from the University of Western Ontario, earning a Honours business degree from Ivey Business School. Complementing his educational experience, Mitchell studied abroad at a top-ranked European business school, the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in Switzerland. Prior to joining FrontFundr, he worked in the insurance and hospitality industries, while developing his passion for finance through school and self-motivated studies. He passed the CFA exam Level I in December 2019. Mitchell has also completed the Exempt Markets Products course and is registered as a Dealing Representative of FrontFundr.

Quan has 16 years' experience with diversified IT in the commercial enterprise software, non-profit research and provincial healthcare sectors. Quan has comprehensive software development lifecycle experience ranging from business analysis, requirements documentation, software architecting and design, coding, quality assurance, implementation, training and support. Prior to his current role, he was the Development Manager and Architect for a web based provincial occupational health and safety surveillance and data warehousing solution. Quan's focus is on researching and adopting technologies to implement rapid application development of responsive and scalable software solutions.

John is a full-stack digital marketer. He's worked in-house for SaaS startups, set up his own successful consulting business, run a community led accelerator and written as a freelance journalist for one of the world's top 50 websites. He's in charge of all things marketing at FrontFundr.

Philip is a graduate of the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario, where he earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. Prior to joining FrontFundr, he worked for an international real estate investment and management company gaining experience in corporate finance. Philip spent a large part of his childhood in Silicon Valley and gained a deep interest in early-stage business and is passionate about helping entrepreneurs succeed.

Meghan is a recent graduate from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, earning a Honours Bachelor of Commerce, specializing in Finance. Meghan got her start in the Exempt Market working at a Hedge Fund Administration firm and decided to further explore the private markets. As FrontFundr’s Investor Relations Representative, Meghan engages with investors and entrepreneurs to help them navigate current opportunities and the private market. Meghan has completed her Exempt Market Products course and working to complete her Canadian Securities Course.

Josh Nycholat is a recent graduate from the University of Northern British Columbia’s Honours Bachelor of Commerce program with a dual degree in Finance and Marketing. Since discovering his passion for solving complex business problems, Josh has led several consulting projects in the focus areas of Finance, Operations, Marketing, and Strategy. Josh’s passion for helping organizations overcome their toughest challenges began with assisting small businesses in northern B.C. to achieve their strategic goals. Josh also brings experience in operations and strategy consulting from his time at Bell Canada, which allows him to understand the challenges organizations of different sizes and industries face. Josh’s love for working with entrepreneurs, coupled with his background in Finance and Marketing has led him to join FrontFundr, where he focuses on helping companies raise the capital needed to grow.

Andrea is a recent graduate from RTA: School of Media at Ryerson University, having earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in media production and a minor in design. Andrea got her start in the incubator space, having previously worked for the DMZ and Design Fabrication Zone as a marketing assistant - touching on design, communication and strategy. At FrontFundr, Andrea works on digital presence and marketing related initiatives from events to decks. When she isn’t plugging away at Figma, she can be found talking fondly about her dog, Teddy.

Jessica is a Business Development Manager at FrontFundr, where she connects Canadian businesses with alternative growth capital. With over 10 years of experience in international B2B sales and channel partnerships, Jessica has a strong background in tech and SaaS. She has championed start-ups since the early days of her career and continues to seek out growing Canadian companies that have powerful stories to share. A graduate from Brock University, Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on Women’s Studies. After graduation, Jessica quickly became involved in women's business networking groups, where she came to see the importance of advocating for women in business and diversity in leadership. A proud mother of two, she believes in building a strong economy for the future through the support of Canadian entrepreneurs.

Nathan graduated from the Goodman School of Business at Brock University, earning a Bachelor of Accounting (Honours). Before joining FrontFundr, Nathan worked at Grant Thornton LLP as an Assurance Accountant Co-op, where he gained experience in audit & assurance, and personal taxes. As an Accounting and Finance Associate, Nathan manages the day-to-day accounting operations, as well as assists with any financial accounting and reporting tasks. He is also currently working towards his CPA designation. Outside of work, Nathan is an avid cook and sneakerhead.

Rachel is our front end developer who is a recent graduate from BCIT and Lighthouse Labs. At FrontFundr, she is focused on building web pages for better user interaction and user experience. She has previously worked in a consulting capacity, building web applications for numerous clients. When she is not in the office, you can find her in the mountains, skiing/snowboarding, hiking or climbing.

Rea Naidoo is a graduate of the University of Alberta's Bachelor of Commerce program with a degree in Marketing. As part of FrontFundr's Campaign Strategy team, Rea engages with entrepreneurs to coach and empower them throughout their campaign. She brings experience in marketing, communications, and strategy, having previously worked with organizations and clients in a range of different industries. Through this, she has found her passion in working with start-ups and entrepreneurs to share their stories. Outside of work, Rea enjoys hiking, biking, and spending time in the mountains.

Natalie is a recent Honours BCom graduate from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia with a specialization in Finance and concentration in Sustainability and Social Impact. Since discovering her interest for social finance, Natalie has led several projects relating to Entrepreneurship, Impact Investing, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Natalie got her start in the Exempt Market working at an Impact Investing firm focused on mobilizing capital to drive social and environmental outcomes. Her experience working as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for courses relating to Corporate Finance and Social Innovation also pushed her to further explore the private markets and challenge how traditional investment strategies work. Natalie’s love for entrepreneurial settings, coupled with her background in Finance and Sustainability, has led her to join FrontFundr, where she focuses on supporting investors and early-stage ventures navigate current investment opportunities and the Exempt Market.

Eric is a student at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario, where he is currently earning an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. Prior to joining FrontFundr, he worked for a private equity search fund gaining experience in alternative investing. Eric also has experience raising funds for an early stage tech start-up, developing his passion for enabling entrepreneurs receive seamless access to capital.

Charles Vander Griendt has been involved with exempt markets for more than 25 years, as an Issuer and Distributor of offerings. He has also assisted issuers in structuring their offerings. He has a focus on pre-IPO Investments as well as private placements in publicly traded companies. Prior and Current Offerings have been in the Technology, Blockchain, Cloud Security, Financial, Resource, Health Care, Green Energy, Cannabis, Consumer, and Real Estate Sectors, many with exits into Public Markets. In addition to increasing distribution of FrontFundr Offerings through his network of clients and business associates, his roles with FrontFundr are to source additional investment offerings and to assist in further build out of the FrontFundr team by recruiting additional Dealing Representatives. Prior to his involvement in the Exempt Markets, he was licensed as a Mutual Fund Representative. He began his career in the Financial Services Industry in 1981, and he has held his Insurance licenses continuously since that time, and he holds his ChFC and CLU designations. Charley has maintained business relationships with many clients for more than 30 years

Lauren has had a successful career as a senior executive and director in both the business and public sectors. She has had leadership roles with responsibility for business strategy, policy development, stakeholder relations and corporate governance, as well as human resource development and currently consults and finances private entities. Lauren has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary; and has served as co-head of mission for the Government of Canada overseas during the International Expo 2000 held in Germany. Lauren was an elected member of her professional association in Alberta and a national member of a board formed through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to enhance economic partnerships with China. She has also served as a director for publicly-traded and other commercial company boards as well as non-profit and charitable boards including the Calgary Region Arts Foundation, the Calgary Heritage Advisory Board, the LEAF Endowment, the United Way and most recently, IMPACT BC.

Peggy is an advisor at Portag3, Power Financials VC fund. In her capacity, Peggy supports the portfolio companies in establishing strategic partnerships with major corporations. She also supports the innovation and diversity agenda across Power Financials’ operating companies. Prior to joining Portag3, Peggy was VP, Innovation at CIBC enabling the digital transformation of the organization. Peggy also started a couple of Fintech ventures, invested in the space, managed a family office, consulted for large and small entities, and worked at CGI and BMO on their strategic technology investments. For many years, Peggy has been very involved in the fintech space as lecturer, mentor, speaker, angel and everything in between! A finance professional by trade, Peggy started working on technology 15 years ago. A board member of the Digital Finance Institute and of the National CrowdFunding Association, Peggy is also very passionate about gender diversity and environment. Peggy holds a M.Sc. and a B.B.A. from Ieseg School of Management and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Barry is a corporate director and strategic advisor. He focusses on governance, business growth and innovation, international expansion, and accounting/finance in a variety of industries. Barry retired in 2016 as a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, after a 34 year career with them. From 1990 to 1997, Barry was a partner in PwC's Hong Kong firm, their only partner from North America. His PwC expertise area was transfer pricing/cross border tax planning. He also held various executive leadership roles with the firm, including large client relationships (eg HSBC Canada and Sierra Wireless), HR, Recruiting, and was their Canadian Inbound Clients Leader. Barry has lectured and given presentations in over ten countries. Barry has also been elected 2018/19 Chair of the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC (35,000 members), with whom he is currently a vice chair. Barry is a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCA) and a qualified director with the Institute of Corporate Directors. In 2005, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC awarded Barry his Fellowship distinction, in recognition of outstanding leadership in his career and contributions to the community. Barry is a Board director of these companies; EasyPark, SFU UniverCity Real Estate Trust (chairman), Truvera Trust and Mortgage Corporation, and Valhalla International Games Studios (chairman 2016 to 2017, previously audit committee chair). He is a North American strategic advisor to TMF (global business services provider). In addition to corporate boards, Barry is passionate about community service. He chairs or serves on many non-profit boards, including a number of boards at Simon Fraser University, the Hong Kong Canada Business Association (past National Chairman) and Arts Umbrella Foundation (chairman).

Serhat is a senior executive with 25+ years of experience, successfully leading global organizations and brands, with an emphasis on building high performance teams. Prior to his tenure as CEO at Dawn Foods, Serhat has had numerous roles as senior executive in the consumer goods space both in B2C and B2B, in companies such as Unilever, JohnsonDiversey and Dawn Foods, where he had escalating responsibilities in the areas of business strategy, sales, marketing and general management. Recently at Dawn, Serhat initiated and led the company’s digital transformation journey. Serhat also serves on the Board of The Bon Company, an IoT based analytics start up. Throughout his career, Serhat worked and lived in Turkey, Canada, USA and Netherlands, which made him passionate about working with multiple cultures and achieving success through a diverse team and a selfless leadership style. Serhat holds an MBA degree from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management; Msc. Degree in Mech. Eng. from the University of Cincinnati in the field of artificial intelligence & robotics, and a Bsc. degree in Mech Eng. from Bogazici University of Istanbul. Serhat is often invited as a speaker to share his insights on business strategy, innovation and leadership at business events and at various universities.

Jill Earthy is an entrepreneurially-minded leader with a passion for supporting entrepreneurship. After completing her MBA, she successfully built two companies, grew them nationally and then sold them. For the past 8 years she has led two non-profit organizations focused on supporting entrepreneurs through the provision of financing, mentorship and education. As a community leader and active mentor, Jill serves on the Board of Governors for Simon Fraser University and the Board of the Women's Enterprise Centre, and is Co-Chair of the WEB Alliance, a collective of over 25 women's business networks. She has been recognized as a BIV Top 40 under 40 (2010), Top 100 by The International Alliance for Women (2011), as a finalist for the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, and recently as one of University of Victoria's 25 Alumni to Watch.

Charmaine Crooks, C.M, B.A, OLY Five Time Canadian Olympian and Olympic silver medalist (Athletics) Charmaine Crooks is a Member of the Order of Canada (C.M), entrepreneur, speaker, moderator and advocate for sport and Athletes in Canada and internationally. Based in West Vancouver, she founded NGU Consultants Inc (1994), a global consultancy and management firm, which provides strategic cross-sectional advisory and business development services to a variety of business sectors including technology and major events. She is a corporate director, serving on a variety of profit and non-profit Boards, including co-founder of the 365 International Sport Foundation and Our Cityride. Former Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), she served on the IOC Athlete’s Commission, IOC Press Commission, IOC Culture and Education Commission, New Media working group, IOC 2000 Reform Commission and the founding IOC Ethics Committee. As one of the founding board members of the 2010 Olympic Winter and Paralympic Winter Games (Vanoc), she was the only member to serve from the initial bid phase through to the successful end of the Games. Also a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Olympians Canada, Canadian Soccer Association executive board and the FIFA Competitions Committee. Charmaine is inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Texas El Paso Sports Hall of Fame, where she attended on a full Athletic scholarship. She has received numerous awards including the “IOC Women in Sport Trophy” and was named BC "Top 40 under 40" and one of the "Top 50 Women of Power" in Canada. Charmaine is a free-lance TV host/producer and co-hosted "Cycle", -- Canada's first national TV series on cycling and fitness as well as "In the Company of Women", "No Laughing Matter" and the "World Athletics Gala".

Daryl Hatton is founder and CEO of the innovative social commerce company ConnectionPoint, producer of the award-winning global crowdfunding platform FundRazr and the sponsored crowdfunding system Sponsifi. He has founded multiple tech start-ups and helped bring one to a successful NASDAQ IPO in 1999. He actively serves as board member or special advisor to handfuls of other hot companies in Canada. In addition, he is a Director and Crowdfunding Ambassador for the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada. As a social media guy and frequent public speaker, his Twitter tagline reads “#KingOfGastown, entrepreneur, cardiac survivor, foodie, whisky nut, philosopher, mentor, father, and friend.”

Annie is an innovative investor, entrepreneur, and executive with a background in venture capital, royalty finance, and lending. She adds value to the organizations she works with by developing effective growth strategies and solving complex business challenges by focusing on the data and what's possible. She is known as an exceptional networker and is driven by bringing partners together towards successful transactions and long-term partnerships. She is the Chief Investment Officer at Grand Challenges Canada, an organization that has developed a world-class innovation platform to invest in game-changing solutions for the needs of disadvantaged populations in Canada and Low and Middle Income countries, including in the areas of maternal and newborn health, reproductive health, sanitation, humanitarian assistance and early childhood education, among others. She also leads the investment practice of The Big Push, an accelerator for women-led tech companies she helped get off the ground and is an advisor to the CEO of Silver Maple Ventures, a fintech company that operates the FrontFundr and SMV Capital Markets platforms to allow Canadian private companies to capital from retail and accredited investors.

• Founder of ExpoWorld Ltd which focuses on public market planning for early-stage companies • International business strategist with 35 years of capital markets experience • Top 50 business strategists during the early internet revolution • Inventor of Robocop Trader securities trading system

Steve is a technology leader, process strategist, and advisor. With 20+ years of experience leading teams, building products, and growing companies, Steve has worked with companies of all sizes and stages: from tiny to Fortune 500, from startup to IPO. Those who work with Steve know him as an elite performer with a relentless passion for continuous improvement. Steve uses his unique combination of executive leadership, process engineering, and technology strategy to deliver results at exponential scale. Steve is currently the Head of Process Optimization & Data Protection Officer (DPO) at BBTV in Vancouver, where his technology and operational contributions since 2013 helped grow the company from a small startup to the publicly-listed nine-figure business it is today. Steve is also a co-founder and VP Development at Shodan Media, as well as an advisor and coach for technology startups across North America.