PERK - Key Persons


Daniel Zou

Daniel Zou advises the Company on mobile business growth, strategic partnerships, and enterprise merchant expansion strategies. He previously served as the Company's Chief Operating Officer. He was formerly the Head of Business Development for Alipay Canada, the Canadian division of Alibaba Groups. While working with Alipay, he was instrumental in the growth of their product design, business development and numerous cross functional collaborations. Prior to Alipay Canada, Daniel was the Director, Innovation and Operations of the Ant Group, a technology company focused on bringing inclusive financial services worldwide and the parent company of Alipay.

Gary Zhang - CTO

Job Titles:
  • CTO
  • Member of the Management Team
Gary is a SaaS veteran and expert on digital transformation with 20+ years industry experience. Gary has a computer science degree from TianJin University, one of the top technical universities in China, and has been in the technology industry for 20+ years. Along his career path, Gary has worked in technical leadership positions at many Fortune 500 companies and has been a founding member of several successful software start-ups. Since 2010, Gary has been operating his own Software as a Service ("SaaS") consulting company to help his clients build solid SaaS products, operate profitable SaaS businesses and complete successful digital transformations.

James Topham

Job Titles:
  • Independent Director
  • Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia
Mr. Topham is a professional corporate director. Mr. Topham has served on eight boards since 2010 including LED Medical Diagnostics Inc. which is involved in SaaS. Mr. Topham brings crucial experience to the Audit Committee, which is in charge of overseeing financial reporting and disclosure. His experience includes 20 years (1988-2008) as an audit partner with a technology specialization for one of the world's biggest accounting firms, KPMG LLP. It also includes joining the audit committee for every board on which he has served. He has been Chair of the audit committee for each of those companies. Mr. Topham has been a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia ("CPABC") since 2011. The Fellow designation is a rare honour granted by the Board of the CPABC to formally recognize those members who have rendered exceptional services and brought honour to the profession. Mr. Topham was a founder, and for its first nine years, board member of the B.C. Technology Industries Association, for which he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He initiated the founding of the Clean Technology CEO Alliance and served on its Advisory Board until 2010, and has served on the board for WINBC and the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of B.C. Mr. Topham was also a founder of Social Ventures Partners Vancouver, which has raised several million dollars and provided thousands of hours of senior executive time for funding specific Vancouver community charitable projects and social enterprises, and he served on its board for 10 years and as Chair for three years. He has been an officer of two closely-held companies. Mr. Topham obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree with Honours (computer science major) from the University of Saskatchewan, where he was awarded Most Distinguished Graduate for the College of Commerce 1972.

Jonathan Hoyles - CEO

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Member of the Management Team
Jonathan is the CEO of Perk Labs. Jonathan has a history of transforming businesses and deal-making. Prior to joining Perk Labs, he was Vice President, Legal & General Counsel at the Skidmore Group. Prior to moving in-house, he practised law at two of Canada's leading international law firms. Jonathan has been admitted to the Bars of British Columbia and Alberta and holds an MBA from Queen's University and a Juris Doctor from the University of New Brunswick.

Kirk Herrington

Job Titles:
  • Independent Director
  • CEO of MPloy Solutions Inc
Mr. Herrington is currently CEO of mPloy Solutions Inc. He is also acting COO and CTO with Connect2Classes. He is not a director of any other publicly traded companies. With 35 years of experience in computer software technology and business strategy, Mr. Herrington is a serial entrepreneur who brings significant expertise to the Board of Directors. His business experience is well suited to the Company's needs and includes experience at Internet Pipeline Inc. and GaleForce Solutions Inc. with Software as a Service ("SaaS"), Perk Labs' technology category. Mr. Herrington has co-founded five closely-held software companies, of which four have been acquired.

Larry Timlick

Job Titles:
  • Independent Director
  • President of Triplet Management
Mr. Timlick is President of Triplet Management, a private company, and is a director of two publicly traded companies other than the Company. His career of more than 30 years from 1985 to 2016 was focused on technology sales and sales management, except for a brief break between 2005 and 2008 when he focused primarily on corporate planning for a real estate investment company. During his career he received numerous awards from his employers for his exceptional personal effort and developed specific experience in SaaS, Perk Labs' technology category.

Lewisa Anciano

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Advisors
Lewisa advises the Company on Human Resources strategy. Lewisa previously served as Perk Labs' Chief People and Culture Officer. Prior to that, Lewisa led the human resources function as Vice-President, People at Coast Capital Savings, identified as having one of Canada's most admired corporate cultures. Recipient of the 2015 CPHR Human Resource Professional of the Year Award, Lewisa has enjoyed a multi-faceted career beyond HR with other award-winning organizations, in the areas of strategic planning, innovation management, corporate communications, organizational effectiveness, process transformations, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Lewisa holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and a Masters in Organizational Management.

Long-Term View

Job Titles:
  • Investor
  • Member of the Corporate Governance Committee

Neil Crist

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Advisors
Neil Crist advises the Company on product development and on its strategy to enter the US market. Mr. Crist's most notable business successes was as the founder and CEO of Venuelabs, a location-based analytics company, based in Seattle, Washington, that was acquired by Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) in 2015. Mr. Crist has most recently partnered with Peter Rex as Director of Product for a new technology business that is revolutionizing the real estate maintenance space. Mr. Crist formerly held senior roles at Moz and Groupon. At Moz, Mr. Crist served as the Head of Product, Design & Engineering where he was responsible for the company's total product portfolio producing over $50M in annual recurring revenue, with double digit year over year revenue growth.

Norman Tan

Norman Tan advises the Company on financial strategies. Norman previously served as the Company's Chief Financial Officer, and was responsible for implementing scaleable financial systems that would help Perk Labs grow. Prior to Perk Labs, he was the Chief Financial Officer of a FinTech in Toronto. Prior to joining industry, he was part of Deloitte's assurance practice where he worked with financial leaders in numerous industries. He has also held roles in management consulting, technology equity research and private equity. Norman received his B.Comm with Honours from the University of British Columbia, his MBA from Queen's University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Paola Ashton

Paola Ashton advises the Company on sales and client retention. Paola previously served as the Company's VP of Business Development. Paola has 16 years of client management and sales experience for startup and digital media companies where she has overseen teams of up to 25 people, generating more than $15 million per year in revenues. She previously served as a VP of Sales for Agency Media, VP of Sales at Blink Media Works, Director of Sales for Chalk Media & VP of David Chalk Inc. until it was purchased by Research In Motion (Blackberry).

Steve Cadigan

Job Titles:
  • Independent Director
  • Founder of Cadigan Talent Ventures LLC
Mr. Cadigan is the founder of Cadigan Talent Ventures LLC, a human resources advisory firm based in California's Silicon Valley. With more than 25 years of leadership and executive experience in global human resources, Mr. Cadigan has practiced human resources in the U.S., Canada and the Asia-Pacific region with a variety of technology companies. Through leading worldwide human resources efforts for more than 60 M&A transactions at three global organizations since 1998, Mr. Cadigan has cultivated a deep understanding of business cycles, patterns, high growth, and the key elements required to forge an organization's sustainability. Prior to launching his own firm, Mr. Cadigan served as Vice President Talent at LinkedIn Corporation ("LinkedIn") of Sunnyvale, California (2009 through 2012). During this period LinkedIn grew from a private firm of 400 employees, through an initial public offering and into the powerhouse that it is recognized as today. The ground breaking work Mr. Cadigan did at LinkedIn as the executive responsible for culture, leadership, talent and organizational development is widely seen as the textbook example of how a company can leverage its culture to scale profitably in record time. Before LinkedIn, Mr. Cadigan served as VP of Human Resources for Electronic Arts of Redwood City, California (2008-2009) and PMC Sierra of Vancouver (2004-2008). In early 2017, Mr. Cadigan co-founded ISDI Digital University to help address the growing digital divide. ISDI offers a Master's Degree in Internet Business (MIB) and is the first of its kind in the United States. Mr. Cadigan holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wesleyan University (1982) and a Master of Arts in Human Resources Management and Organization Development from the University of San Francisco (2001).

Vanessa Altamirano - CFO

Job Titles:
  • CFO
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Interim CFO
Vanessa is the interim CFO of Perk Labs. She has served in various financial and accounting roles since she joined Perk in 2017, including her most recent role as the Company's Controller. Prior to Perk, Vanessa worked across a range of industries in Canada and Peru including the health, technology, and financial services sectors. She holds a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation, a degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Lima, and a master's degree in Administrative Science from Farleigh Dickinson University.