Board of Advisors

At Sarmaya Capital we believe in human capital. We are only as great as the people we serve and those whom we surround ourselves with. To create a better world, we look to those who help us to have the same values and a belief in the power of doing well while doing good. As such, we feel our greatest asset is the group of people we rely on as advisors, guides and helpers.

Meet Sarmaya’s Board of Advisors:

Hamed Shahbazi

Hamed is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSXV:WELL). WELL is consolidating and modernizing primary healthcare operating assets. The Company currently owns and operates 19 healthcare facilities and 1 electronic medical record service provider where more than 350 staff (inclusive of 180 doctors) provide more than 600k patient visits/year. The company also operates a software as a service or SaaS business providing Electronic Medical Records or EMR services to approx. 5000 doctors in 870 clinics in Canada.

Mr. Shahbazi has 20+ years of experience as technology focused operator and founded TIO Networks (TSXV:TNC) as a kiosk solution provider in 1997 and has transitioned it into a multi-channel payment solution provider specializing in bill payment and other financial services. TIO was acquired by PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) for CAD$304 million.

He has extensive strategic Mergers & Acquisitions and Divestitures experience as an operator (e.g. TIO) and board member (Broadband TV, WELL, etc.) with more than a dozen successful transactions.

He is a passionate advocate of impact entrepreneurship where new companies aim to do well by doing good, which he promotes as the role of an “Impactreneur”. He regularly mentors founders and entrepreneurs of early stage companies.

He was recognized number of awards such as Business in Vancouver CEO of the Year, (2017) and EY Entrepreneur of the year, financial service category (2017). Cantech Letter named Mr. Shahbazi the TSX Venture Tech “Exec of the Year” (2014 – 2016) and TIO the TSX Venture Tech “Stock of the Year” (2014 – 2015) and more. 

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Farhan Lalani

Farhan is the Founder, President and CEO of Market One Media Group (MMG), Canada’s largest marketing agency catered towards the capital markets and public companies. MMG has a client roster with a combined market capitalization of over $10 billion dollars and is the country’s largest financial content creation and distribution engine leveraging relationships with Postmedia, Bell Media, and several other media outlets.

Prior to launching MMG, Farhan worked in the capital markets industry with several brokerage firms most recently as an Investment Advisor and Partner at Leede Financial Markets. Among his recent achievements, Farhan was named as "Canada’s Next 150” by the TMX Group in 2017 and awarded the Forty under 40 award from Business In Vancouver in 2015.

Farhan is a graduate of Western University with a double major in Economics and Psychology. He has completed his Canadian Securities Course, Conduct and Practices Handbook Course, and Investment Management Techniques Course and has over 18 years of work experience in the capital markets.

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Andy Chou

Andy Chou is a serial entrepreneur and impact investor. As the Founder and CEO of Drinkfill, he is focused on creating what will be the world's largest beverage retailer with zero waste. Andy has invested in several companies and projects with global to local impact. He is also experienced in the leather chemical industry through his family business and is spearheading a project to assist tanneries to erase their leather waste footprint.

Andy also represents Canada as a entrepreneurial delegate for the G20 YEA Summit, which gathers global leaders to recommend policy suggestions to decision makers in each representing country.

Andy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Langara College and sits on the School of Management's Advisory Board.

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Greg Parnell

Greg has an engineering degree from Michigan Technological University. Greg has 25+ years of experience in design and construction management with a focus on the design, build, finance, and maintenance of facilities.

Over his career, Greg has led integrated project teams on complex turn key performance based projects in excess of $500M. Greg has extensive experience with bid management, risk management, contract negotiations, contracts management, claims management, LEED and sustainability initiatives, and strategic partnerships.

Greg is currently Director, Major Buildings for Graham Construction with the focus of growing Graham’s revenue and capabilities in the design build sector.

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