Pender & Howe Executive Search Forms Board of Advisors

January 16, 2025 – Toronto-based Pender & Howe Executive Search has formed a board of advisors, bringing together influential leaders from diverse industries. Board advisors include Ally Bharmal, Trinh Tham, Didier Leconte, Sachi Kittur, and Louis Kelemen. This group will provide strategic insights and guidance, strengthening our commitment to delivering exceptional executive search and talent advisory services across North America, the firm said. “We are thrilled to welcome such an accomplished group of individuals to our advisory board, their combined expertise will be key to supporting our mission of providing exceptional executive search services while driving innovation and growth within the industry,” said Travis Hann, managing partner of Pender & Howe Executive Search.

Mr. Bharmal is a partner and business lawyer at international law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin, specializing in corporate finance, M&A, corporate/commercial and board governance. He advises clients across the business life cycle—from startup matters to complex M&A, venture capital and private equity transactions. Mr. Bharmal has particular expertise in the technology and food and beverage industries. He has advised on many of Canada’s leading transactions, including Galvanize’s $1 billion sale to Diligent, SmartSweets’ majority exit to TPG Growth and Daiya Foods’ $405 million sale to Otsuka.

Ms. Tram is a seasoned retail and consumer brands executive with a passion for creating value for customers and delivering impactful business results. She is the founder of Straatt Business Reimagined, a strategy and business consulting practice. Ms. Tram is an accomplished business strategist who has proven expertise in strategic planning, P&L management, brand building, retail growth, digital innovation, e-Commerce, CRM & loyalty, operational excellence, and breakthrough content & creative.

Mr. Leconte is an experienced investor and esteemed figure in the Canadian life sciences sector. He has played a pivotal role in collaborating with entrepreneurs and funds to drive the life science sector forward as vice president, life science & technology for Investissement Quebec and vice president life sciences and funds-of-funds at Fonds de solidarité FTQ. Prior to that, Mr. Leconte was actively involved in technology transfer and managed a seed investment fund affiliated with renowned universities.

Ms. Kittur is a strategic human capital advisor with over 20 years of experience driving talent and growth strategies across technology and telecom companies. Known for her progressive, people-centered approach, she has led people and HR functions at companies like Sigma Systems, Yahoo Canada, Terago Networks, Mercatus Technologies, and StickerYou.com, where she played a key role in supporting 5-10x growth. Today, she leverages this expertise as a mentor and advisor to CEOs and founders in PE, VC, and tech incubators. As an entrepreneur, Ms. Kittur founded Sachili, a premium CPG brand, and later pivoted to create goCPG.ai, a tech platform providing data-driven insights for emerging CPG brands.

Related: Pender & Howe Launches New Interim and Fractional Search Service

Mr. Kelemen brings over 35 years of executive experience helping early-stage and high-growth SMEs scale profitably through innovation, strategic planning, and change management. As president and CEO of Stratagos Group C-Suite Strategy Solutions, he serves in interim or contract C-level roles, including CEO, president, COO, and CRO, where he focuses on operational improvements, client relationships, financing, and contract negotiation. With a background spanning SaaS, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, and engineering, Mr. Kelemen has led growth and turnaround initiatives across multiple industries. He is also a member of the Virtual Advisory Board, where he provides advisory services supported by his extensive industry network.

Proven Search Firm

Pender & Howe Executive Search is a boutique executive search firm with offices in Toronto, Montreal, New York, Edmonton, Vancouver, and San Francisco. The firm has more than 30 years of combined experience in leadership advisory and executive search. Pender & Howe focuses on collaborating with governing boards and CEOs in identifying world-class executive leaders. It provides leadership solutions that encompass venture capital firms, private equity, new technologies, emerging sectors, as well as board advisory positions. Its clients range from pre-seed start-ups and VC-backed disrupters to global public companies. Specialties include executive search, CEO search, leadership strategy, succession planning, executive assessment, talent management, executive recruiting, culture transformation, board services, and digital transformation.

Mr. Hann is a co-founding partner of Pender & Howe. His primary focus is partnering with investors and C-suite leaders on complex executive searches. His latest projects have included a CEO search on behalf of a global family office, building a leadership team for a Series C VC-backed tech company, and replacing a long-standing founder of a business that went public on the NASDAQ.

Related: Kestria Adds Pender & Howe to Network

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media

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