Welcome to the collection of my articles and research to help clients, partners, and essentially anyone better understand and successfully participate in the new digital economy. I trust it will be of benefit to you professionally as well as personally.
About me
I’m an entrepreneurial leader with 21 years of experience in business advisory, financial services and digital technology. An experienced company director, I’m passionate about value creation and leveraging technology to make our world a better place.
What I do
I’m an entrepreneur, trusted partner and adviser to senior executives and entrepreneurs worldwide. Helping them leverage technology to solve money, management and growth challenges. A strong believer that you should take advice from people who have “been there done that”, I provide candid and honest insights from my hands-on experience of starting, developing, investing in and selling of businesses.
I’m most excited about
With a wealth of knowledge gained by two decades in advisory services and technology, I’m leveraging this experience to lead a breakthrough blockchain project to empower small-medium enterprise (SME) with easy affordable access to qualified advisers, as easy as calling an Uber with the recent launch of AdviserDirect.co.uk
Our vision is to eventually create a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) that will securely connect SME with qualified professional advisers on-demand 24/7 within a secure borderless frictionless platform. Empowering the 500 million entrepreneurs worldwide with expertise, advice and mentoring to successfully grow their businesses.
Starting young
As a creative problem solver at heart, I’ve naturally been able to think “outside the box” even from an early age. Born and raised in Canada, I became an entrepreneur at 12 years of age when I started collecting and reselling hockey cards to local shops and students at my school. Allowing me to build a formidable hockey card collection for little or no cost. Later in high-school, in addition to a part-time job working at a car rental agency, I started selling promotional products and printing services (pens, caps, t-shirts) from a catalogue (no internet or email back then) to community clubs and local shop owners. Literally door-to-door!
Birth of a digital entrepreneur
Although I loved numbers and math, I didn’t get into computing properly till Windows 95 when the family got is the first desktop computer. It didn’t take long for me to go “crazy” and spend most of my time on the computer rather than the playgrounds. Two years later in 1997 and entering third year of university, I created FinancialGuide.com website which would become one of the world’s first online financial portals. The website was eventually sold to a Fortune 500 company as I focused on developing my career and other business interests.
Career summary
After finishing my Economics degree with a focus on macroeconomics and industrial organisation, I joined the financial advisory sector and over the next five years represented an RBC Financial Group company as pensions and insurance adviser. In 2004, I joined a boutique private equity and merchant bank and two years later become the Chief Executive of its Islamic investment banking subsidiary, Ittihad Securities Inc. based in Toronto.
In 2010, I left the industry, moving to the UK and pursuing my passion for fintech I co-founded Infinnet Technologies in 2012 and developed the SiAlpha quantitative investment analytics system which helps investors make more money with less risk. The SiAlpha IP was sold to a private Canadian investment company and as the co-founder, I regularly share my “market calls” with their investors and clients.
In 2015, I launched Financial Network, a financial technology advisory, research and management consultancy. In 2017, after several years of research and development, we spun out Advisory Direct Limited (originally FASaaS Ltd.) our dedicated software development company to build the Advisory Direct platform. I’m also a Partner and Head of digital and financial technology with Gateway LLP where we advise a range of organisations from start-ups to sovereign wealth funds in the Islamic economy.
I’ve had the privilege to speak at numerous international conferences sharing my insights on financial technology, investing and entrepreneurship. In July 2018 I launched the Dinsider Podcast to help non-techies understand the emerging digital decentralised world of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain.
Qualifications
MBA, Masters in Business Administration (with Distinction) – Edinburgh Business School (UK)
CIM, Chartered Investment Manager – Canadian Securities Institute (Canada)
BA, Bachelor of Arts in Economics – University of Calgary (Canada)
Let’s talk
If I can help you or your business in any way, simply reach out by email or call me. Always happy to discuss genuine opportunities and support great people and organisations.
All the best,
Suhail Ahmad, MBA
hello@suhailahmad.com
Office +44 131 208 2786 (UK)
Connect on LinkedIn
Twitter/Telegram @SuhailAhmad