At PIE Consulting, we’ve been raising the standard in cross-border financial and operational consulting for over 15 years. Our mission is to empower businesses with the knowledge, strategy, and tools they need to thrive in an increasingly globalized market.
Drawing from our own experiences, we’ve created a consulting firm that delivers what we once deeply needed. Having navigated the complex journey of growing a business from its inception to a publicly traded company in both Canada and the United States, we’ve gained a wealth of knowledge and insight.
Our firm is more than just a consultancy; it’s a manifestation of our vision to fill the gaps we once faced. We blend expertise with a business-savvy approach, offering guidance that’s rooted in real experience. Our understanding of your needs and wants isn’t just theoretical – it’s personal.
We’re here to provide the support and solutions that we once sought, tailored to help your business thrive.
At the heart of our firm is the unique journey and collective experience of our founders, Farooq Akhter and Kash Qureshi, particularly their transformative roles in Skylight Health Group Inc. This journey, from a start-up to a publicly traded company, has equipped them with unparalleled insights and expertise that are invaluable to business professionals and companies seeking guidance and growth.
Their proficiency in maneuvering through complex and evolving business landscapes is evident in their leadership at Skylight Health, guiding its transition from a nascent entity to a formidable publicly traded organization with over 450 employees across the United States (6 states) and Canada. Their instrumental roles in the company’s listings on various stock exchanges, including the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), Over the Counter Markets Group (OTCQB & OTCQX), the TSX Venture Exchange, and NASDAQ, alongside managing significant restructuring during tough financial times, underscore their strategic depth and resilience. They adeptly handled the business’s expansion, cross-border growth, and the healthcare sector’s regulatory and operational hurdles, showcasing their ability to scale a business and adapt to its challenges.
We bring a wealth of real-world experience, having been in the trenches of business growth, strategic pivots, and financial turnarounds. We have learned first-hand what it takes to transform a vision into a viable, thriving business. Our journey with Skylight Health is a blueprint for success, showcasing our ability to:
Navigate Complex Business Transformations: From rebranding and entering new markets to shifting business models, our experience is invaluable for companies facing similar challenges.
Achieve Financial Resilience: Our expertise in financial restructuring and capital management is crucial for businesses aiming to stabilize and grow in uncertain markets.
Lead Through Change: Our leadership during Skylight Health’s most challenging periods highlights our capability to guide teams and companies through turbulent times.
Integrity: We uphold the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct in all our engagements.
Excellence: We strive for excellence in every service we provide, from financial advice to strategic planning and implementation.
Innovation: We are constantly seeking out new and better ways to serve our clients, leveraging the latest technologies and methodologies.
Collaboration: We believe in the power of partnership and work closely with our clients to achieve shared success.
Our team is composed of seasoned professionals with deep roots in finance, operations, and technology. From Certified Public Accountants, Chief Financial Officers and Chartered Financial Analysts to seasoned Chief Operating Officers and Chief Technology Officers to serial entrepreneurs and experts, our diverse talents converge to offer a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving. We also have access to the best of the best.
Farooq Akhter is a senior finance leader with a formidable track record in finance leadership, restructurings, cross-border M&As, IFRS reporting, financial system implementations and taxation compliance. Farooq has served as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and VP Finance of several mid-market publicly traded and private companies in healthcare, technology, hospitality, real estate development and cannabis sectors.
As a Partner at PIE, Farooq serves a diverse range of clients as their fractional CFO, Controller, Financial reporting consultant, M&A consultant, Business planner and a trusted Taxation advisor.
Farooq also serves as a fractional CFO of multiple clients of Grove Corporate Services, a Toronto-based company having extensive knowledge of, and experience with, the corporate management of private and public companies, including Canadian and international small and micro-cap businesses.
Farooq has in-depth hands-on knowledge of cross-border financial operations in USA and Canada which enables him to serve as a trusted advisor for clients with cross-border operations. Farooq’s unique proposition is the ability to serve as a strategic partner for businesses where he drives value through robust financial planning, cash flow management, cost savings & revenue maximizing initiatives, operational finance improvements and minimizing their taxation obligations through better planning.
With around two decades of diverse experience under his belt, he started his journey in finance at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) where he provided assurance and advisory services to various publicly traded and private companies mainly in the Oil & Gas and CPG sectors.
In his prior role at Skylight Health Group Inc., a company dual listed on both NASDAQ and TSX Venture Exchange, with cross-border operations in Canada and multiple states in the US, Farooq served as a CFO and VP Finance for four years. His tenure marked a period of substantial growth, financial strategy and operational refinement, reflecting his adeptness in navigating the healthcare sector’s dynamic landscape. He successfully led and worked with large cross-border cross-functional teams and worked on a large number of acquisitions & divestitures.
Farooq played a key part in Skylight’s uplisting to the TSX Venture Exchange and NASDAQ Exchange, and the buildup of systems and teams to support the growth of business. Farooq was part of the team that successfully restructured the company in 2020 and ensured the continuity of business by turning the company cash flow positive. After the tightening of capital markets in 2022, he teamed up to kick-start another restructuring in 2022-23, which significantly reduced the cash burn, preserved the company value and led to a lender-driven sale of operating assets to successful bidders.
Before his influential work at Skylight Health Group, Farooq’s career spanned various senior financial positions in the Middle East, including various roles at Omran Group and ASYAD Group in Oman, both being multi-billion-dollar Government Conglomerates in Hospitality and Logistics sectors respectively showcasing his ability to drive financial planning and corporate governance across borders.
Farooq’s educational credentials are equally impressive, holding a CPA designation from Canada and a Chartered Accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. His academic background in accounting and finance has been the foundation of his professional journey, informing his strategic approach to financial management, systems implementation, and analytics.
As an accomplished Accountant, Farooq believes in giving back to the community by mentoring aspiring CPAs, providing opportunities to accounting staff coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, volunteering as a Board member for NPOs, helping low-income individuals file their personal income tax returns and offering them free advice to improve their financial affairs.
Kash Qureshi is a seasoned executive whose expertise lies in strategic operations, financial management, turnaround, change management, and strategic planning. He has established himself as a highly accomplished visionary, adept at driving operations, strategic planning, and revenue generation through effective management initiatives, branding solutions, and dynamic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or partnership agreements. Kash’s career is distinguished by his unique ability to quickly learn the fundamentals of any business quickly and create success stories out of them. For example, he built a software company with no prior knowledge of software development in a newly developing cannabis industry.
His decision-making skills are informed by his compelling expertise in analysis, setting, and meeting organizational goals, time management, problem-solving, and decision-making. Notably, Kash has a proven background in managing creative people and guiding them to reach new levels with mentoring and coaching.
Kash’s value is encapsulated in his ability to offer leadership, direction, strategy, and results. He is proficient in strategic human resources management, driving operational and transformative improvements, critical thinking, issue resolution, building internal and external alliances, defining and launching performance metrics, and managing sales forecasts and revenue activity. His understanding of the competitive landscape and trends in consumer behaviors further enhances his capability as a mentor and guide for company and startup founders.
As an operational professional in healthcare, Kash has showcased exceptional leadership at Jack Nathan Medical Inc., Physiomed and Skylight Development Inc. At Jack Nathan, he spearheaded strategic planning, project management, and wellness center launches, achieving a remarkable 308% revenue increase in 12 months. In his stint as CFO and Partner at Skylight Development, Kash demonstrated financial prowess, generating a 150% ROI in a year while overseeing the complete financial function. His expertise and strategic contributions have significantly driven business growth and success in both the healthcare and development sectors.
Kash was instrumental in Skylight Health Group Inc.’s transformative journey, leading the company from its early stages as a start-up focused on software in the cannabis industry to a publicly traded company providing family/value-based care in the United States with 450+ employees across the United States and Canada. This shift showcased his ability to navigate and succeed in diverse and evolving business landscapes.
In previous roles, Kash has been recognized for his exceptional performance in mid-market lending where he dealt with diverse businesses and industries. Notable awards include Winner of the Top Performing Commercial Account Manager in the Greater Toronto Area and The Annual Best Of The Best Award for two consecutive years while at BMO Bank of Montreal. His educational background includes a Business Administration Diploma with honors from The Toronto School of Business and specialized learning in Commercial Lending education from the BMO Financial Service Underwriting 101 program at Seneca College.
Kash’s skill set is comprehensive, encompassing high-volume cost savings, revenue generation, strategic operations management, persuasive communication, productivity improvements, cost control, collaborative relations, facilities, and new location development, profit and loss accountability, budget management, and an analytical mindset that aligns operations with business goals and directives.
Overall, Kash’s diverse and successful experience, coupled with his leadership and mentoring abilities, make him an ideal mentor for company and startup founders seeking guidance in strategic planning, operations, financial management, and business growth.
