Management Company
Resume:
V. Simon Aznavour, B. Comm., MBA
*********@*****.***
Objective
To
join
the
management
team
of
a
quality
enterprise,
and
participate
towards
its
success
and
growth. Background
Senior
management
positions,
companies
and
sectors
that
I
have
been
involved
in:
• Publishing
(The
Montreal
Star)
• Investment
Counselling
and
Portfolio
Management
• Venture
Capital
• Science- Park
Development
(Real
Estate,
Tech
Transfer
and
Business
Development)
• Biotech,
Bio- Defence
• Software
start- ups,
on
and
off
the
web Highly
motivated,
engaging,
visionary,
mentor/trainer,
with
a
keen
eye
on
the
development
and
execution
of
realistic and
appropriate
business
models
having
long- term
top
and
bottom
line
growth
in
mind. Education
University Degrees
M.B.A.
Concordia
University,
Montreal
('77) Management
and
Finance B.
COMM.
Sir
George
Williams
University,
Montreal
('71) Economics,
Political
Science
and
Accounting B.
COMM
Robert
College,
Istanbul,
Turkey Sophomore Directorships
2004
-
2004 Alis
Technologies
Inc
-
Montreal 1999
-
2001 Mamma.Com
-
Montreal 1995
-
2002 Masterfile
Corporation
-
Toronto 1996
-
1999 Nova
Molecular
Inc.
-
Montreal 1991
-
1993 Lipopharm
Inc.
-
Montreal Career
History
President
and
Owner
AZNAVOUR
VENTURES
INC.
-
2002
-
Present Provided
Management
services,
as
CEO,
CFO,
Director,
Partner,
to
support
small
to
medium
size
companies
in corporate
strategy,
M&A,
divestiture,
financing,
assessment
and
fine
tuning
of
financial
management
and
sales
engine, to
improve
their
efficiency
and
effectiveness,
as
their
business
architect
and
manager. CEO
&
CFO
with
an
Import,
Distribution
Business
in
Montreal
2013
to present
Defined
the
organization,
the
position
responsibilities
and
employed
and
trained
motivated
university
graduates
to replace
existing
staff.
Replaced
the
accounting
system
with
Quick
Books.
Created
management
reports
for
evaluation, planning
and
decision.
Appointed
a
resource
to
own
inventory
data
management
and
accounts
receivable
accuracy. Applied
for,
and
increased
the
line
of
credit
by
65%.
Sales
increased
by
68%
in
6
months
and
company’s
5
months profits
exceeded
the
total
profits
for
the
three
preceding
years
combined. V. Simon Aznavour, B. Comm., MBA
*********@*****.***
Business
and
Market
Development
2011
to
Present Developing
a
market
for
Anywhere
Commerce
(a
Canadian
Mobile
Payment
System
in
Montreal)
with
Turkcell
S.A.,
in Turkey,
as
well
as
other
markets
in
the
Middle
East. CFO
and
Advisor
to
a
Montreal
start- up
2012
to
Present Also
acting
CFO
and
advisor
to
the
founder
of
Shop’nBrag
(a
mobile
social
media
based
network- buying
application). Centennial
College,
Toronto
2007- 2011 Director
of
Representative
Office,
Istanbul
Turkey Engaged
to
expand
their
international
operations
to
Turkey
where
they
had
no
presence
and
there
were
3
students from
Turkey
at
the
College
in
2008.
Created
an
International
Education
Resource
Centre
in
Istanbul,
in
2010.
The Centre
recruited
130
students
for
Centennial
College
in
Toronto,
this
year
alone.
Introduced
the
top
management
of the
College
to
over
30
Turkish
University
high- ranking
officials.
Developed
collaboration,
and
articulation
agreements with
seven
universities.
Advisor
to
Centennial
College
Advancement
and
to
the
CFO Various
assignments:
development
of
hotel
and
conference
center
at
Guildwood
Park,
due
diligence
on
emergency preparedness
program,
energy
institute,
evaluation
and
recommendations
on
a
website,
technology
transfer
policy and
methodologies.
Corporate
Development
and
M&A
Advisor Pigeon
Design
Branding
and
Design
Company,
Toronto 2006- 2008 Assisted
the
owner
to
negotiate
the
settlement
with
the
previous
President,
re- negotiated
real
estate
lease
for rightsizing,
along
with
renovation
costs
and
corresponding
lease
terms
with
the
landlord,
which
increased
staff
work satisfaction
and
productivity.
Guided
the
President
and
the
CFO
through
an
M&A
negotiation
and
due
diligence process
and
helped
the
CFO
with
corporate
restructuring
and
tax
planning
to
render
the
sale
of
company
shares
tax exempt.
We
saved
$1.1
million,
pre- tax
in
six
months. M&A
Officer
and
CFO
Alert
B&C
a
publicly
trading
biotech
company
of
Montreal,
in
Toronto
and
Europe 2004- 2007 As
its
M&A
officer
and
CFO,
with
the
President,
we
changed
the
course
of
the
company
from
distributor
of
research compounds
to
universities,
hospitals
and
biotech
labs
across
Canada
and
US,
to
an
international
bio- defense
company. Identified
buyers
for
the
legacy
operations,
solicited
LOIs,
made
recommendation
to
the
Board,
oversaw
the
due diligence
process,
negotiated
definitive
agreements,
and
completed
the
divestiture
in
six
months. In
the
meantime,
developed
an
economic
model
for
the
new
venture,
designed
and
developed
supporting
operating programs
and
budgets
for
the
assembly
operations
of
the
bio- defense
company,
acted
as
the
CFO
and
COO
of
the
new venture,
carried
out
due
diligence
on
the
technology
and
determined
market
demand
and
size.
With
the
President
we obtained
$4.3
million
financing
after
a
lengthy
process
of
presentations
to
investment
bankers,
in
North
America
and Europe.
V. Simon Aznavour, B. Comm., MBA
*********@*****.***
CFO
&
Director,
Partner
Alis
Technologies,
Montreal
Privately
Held
-
Computer
Software
industry 2002–2004 Initially
got
involved
in
the
company
on
a
merger
assignment.
Expanded
the
responsibilities
to
restructure
the
Finance Department,
carried
out
Assessment
of
Corporate
competitive
position
and
appropriate
staff
size
and
structure
with the
management
team.
Became
partner;
we
refinanced
($4
Mil.),
executed
a
CCAA,
and
negotiated
the
sale
of
the company
to
NStein
Technologies
-
a
public
company
with
complementary
technologies-
for
$9.5
million. Director
(’99)
CFO
('99),
COO
(2000),
V.P.
Corporate
Development
(2000),
President
(2001) MAMMA.COM,
Montreal
1999
-
2001
The
largest
meta- search
engine
on
the
web With
the
26- year- old
founder
we
raised
$10
million
for
equity
in
three
months,
and
developed
the
largest
meta- search
engine
company
of
its
time. We
ramped
up
the
IT
and
Business
Development
staff
in
Montreal.
Opened
a
New
York
office,
increased
the
revenues from
$180
thousand
to
$1
Million
per
month,
and
increased
shareholder
value
from
$4
million
to
$65
million,
in
six- months.
We
sold
it
to
a
public
company
trading
on
NASDAQ
in
2001. Vice
President,
Finance
&
Administration,
Director
&
Shareholder NOVA
MOLECULAR
INC.,
MONTREAL 1996
–
1999 Start- up
in
Pharmacogenomics
-
Biotech My
associates,
Laurent
Nadeau
and
Danny
Miller,
an
entrepreneur
and
a
lawyer,
and
I,
we
teamed
up
with
two scientists,
and
founded
a
biotech
start- up
to
realize
their
dreams
-
to
diagnose
and
find
therapeutic
solutions
for neurodegenerative
diseases,
through
the
use
of
genomics.
One
of
the
scientists,
Dr.
Judes
Poirier,
was
professor
at McGill
with
an
international
reputation
for
his
discovery
of
the
first
gene
responsible
for
the
50%
of
Alzheimer
cases. He
was
already
involved
in
innovative
research,
and
had
patents
related
to
the
degenerative
diseases
of
the
central nervous
system,
such
as
Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s,
ALS.
In
three
years,
we
built
up
the
patent
estate
through
research at
our
Molecular
Technology
Lab.
Variagenics,
a
biotech
company
in
Boston,
purchased
the
company. Vice
President
Techno- Park
Development
and
Treasurer CENTRE
D'INITIATIVE
TECHNOLOGIQUE
DE
MONTRÉAL
(CITEC) 1990
–
1996 A
Private
Sector
initiative
to
promote
Montreal
Region
Development The
Industry
leaders
of
the
Montreal
region,
Chairman
of
BCE,
the
Premier
of
Quebec
Robert
Bourassa
and
the Universities
of
Montreal
Region
headed
by
David
Johnston
(now
Governor
General
of
Canada)
then
Principal
of
McGill University
founded
CITEC
in
1989.
Laurent
Nadeau,
a
Canadian
entrepreneur,
selected
to
be
President
and
CEO recruited
me
as
the
first
member
of
the
team
to
be
responsible
for
the
development
of
the
Research
Park
and Treasurer.
The
objective
was
to
build
synergy
between
universities
and
the
private
sector
and
create
20
thousand
jobs
in research
and
development
over
the
next
15
years
in
biotechnology,
aerospace,
electronics
and
software.
We
also executed
the
mission
of
developing
a
Scientific
R&D
Park,
on
an
800- acre
green- field. The
first
client
I
attracted
was
Astra
Zeneca,
a
major
Swedish
pharmaceutical
company.
As
a
result
of
our
initiative, Astra
Zeneca
transferred
their
Corporate
World
Mandate
for
Pain
Control
research
to
Montreal
instead
of
Boston,
and built
$100
million
R&D
Lab
with
250
researchers
in
our
Park.
After
5
years
the
Park
was
well
under
way
with
a
large number
of
high
tech
companies
when
we
transferred
it
to
the
City. V. Simon Aznavour, B. Comm., MBA
*********@*****.***
Managing
Partner
AZNAVOUR,
KRACAUER
&
ASSOCIATES
INC.
MONTREAL 1986
-
1990 A
venture
capital
partnership
With
local
and
international
partners
arranged
and
participated
in
the
pre- IPO
mezzanine
financing
of
several
high- tech,
pre- IPO
start- ups.
Vice
president,
Finance
and
Administration
&
Partner
-
Montreal MONTREAL
INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT
INC. 1980- 1986 Investment
Management
for
high- net- worth
families,
foundations,
pension
funds
and
large
institutions Teamed
up
with
well- respected
group
of
investment
professionals
with
the
objective
of
increasing
the
company’s growth.
I
developed
a
5- year
strategic
plan,
computerized
the
operations,
introduced
distributed
word
processing systems,
and
empowered
the
support
staff
to
better
assist
the
professionals. As
a
result
we
increased
the
company’s
assets
under
management
from
$650
million,
to
over
$4
billion
and
profits from
under
10%
to
over
30%.
Staff
turnover
dropped
to
zero.
We
expanded
operations,
through
M&A
and
organic growth,
from
Montreal
to
Toronto
and
Vancouver,
and
founded
a
venture
capital
and
real
estate
portfolio
holding company.
We
executed
a
successful
LBO
with
Metropolitan
life
Insurance
Co.
of
California
in
1986. Other
• Undergraduate
Marketing
Concordia
University
-
Judges
Panel
Digital
Media
Marketing
- 2012
• Undergraduate
Finance
Concordia
University
–
Presenter
-
Career
Choices
- 2011
• Undergraduate
Marketing
Concordia
University
–
Presenter
-
New
Product
Introduction
and
Business
Cycles 2010
• Graduate
International
Strategies
at
McGill
University
Presenter
-
High
Tech
Management
from
1999- 2004 Languages
• Fluent
in
English,
Armenian,
Turkish,
and
conversational
French On
the
Web
>
http://www.linkedin.com/in/aznavour
• Website
>
http://www.aznavours.ca
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