CEO & Founder

David Suydam

With an exemplary reputation in his field, David’s vast experience as a technology consultant and solution architect has spanned more than 20 years in some of the most complex business environments throughout Canada and around the world. David’s focus on creative solutions is based on a strong belief that traditional software development practices are flawed, and his team routinely demonstrates a better approach with open source, agile methods and cloud computing. Prior to founding Architech, David provided consulting services to leading Canadian banks and telcos.

Chief Technology Officer

Ashish Patel

As Architech’s Chief Technology Officer, Ashish is tasked with overseeing and scaling our team providing thought leadership as well as collaborating on innovation with clients as they execute their digital transformation. Ashish has an extensive 16-year track record with various industries applying business acumen and engineering principles to build transformative products from concept to commercialization. His expertise include business, technology & innovation strategy, new product/service development, design thinking & user experience, software engineering, IT architecture & operations, and building high-performing teams. Previous to joining Architech, Ashish was the Chief Digital & Innovation Officer at Grant Thornton and Director of Product Management at TeraGo Networks. He holds a B.Sc in Computer Science and an MBA from the University of Toronto.

Head of Finance and Operations

Lara Shewchuk

Lara joins Architech as an accomplished leader with extensive experience guiding operations, finance and administration. At Architech, she is responsible for overseeing the overall financial strategy and direction of the business. Within finance Lara oversees accounting, compliance and reporting, and ensures the operational health and success of both our Toronto and Krakow offices. Lara leads our Talent & Culture team in building and growing Architech’s “Dream Team” and living our core values each day. With over 15+ years of experience she has a proven talent in leading cross-functional teams and achieving long-term, strategic growth. Prior to joining Architech Lara held the positions of Chief Financial Officer and VP Operations within private education companies, as well as 10+ years in the entertainment industry. She holds an Ontario CPA, CA designation and a Bachelor of Administrative and Commercial Studies from Huron University College.

Head of Business Development

Dan Partington

As Architech’s Head of Business Development, Dan is responsible for managing a team accountable for partnership growth, new client acquisition and existing account success. Dan has over 10 years of experience in corporate strategy, business development, management consulting and digital strategy and has worked extensively in retail, financial services, loyalty and travel. Prior to joining Architech, Dan was the Director, Strategy & Development at Points.com and Senior Manager, Strategy at Sears Canada. He holds a CMA, CPA designation and MBA from Queen’s University.

Head of Engineering

Vikram Singh

As Architech’s Head of Engineering, Vikram is an empowering leader who oversees the overall engineering division. Vikram works closely with our dream team of developers mentoring, inspiring and leveling-up engineers through training, 1:1 support, and workshops. With over 25+ years of IT experience Vikram holds a proven track record in building and leading successful software development operations, enhancement of large-scale applications, strategy implementation, and agile adoption. He also has a wide range of expertise in modern tech stacks. Prior to joining Architech, Vikram held positions as Director Software Engineering at MidAmerica Consulting.

Head of Delivery

Pralad Rao

Pralad is a key member of the leadership team here at Architech. As our Head of Delivery, Pralad is engaged in continuously improving our project management, product owner, quality assurance, and support disciplines. He also maintains and applies Agile best practices to build and improve upon world-class digital products. In his role, Pralad leads a highly adaptable, collaborative, and accountable team of experts in order to provide the best value for our clients and their customers. In his 17 years of experience, Pralad has assisted in delivering powerful software for startups, scale-ups, and large enterprises. Prior to joining Architech, Pralad was the Vice President Delivery at ICF International.

Board Member

Corby Fine

Corby is Vice President of Simplii Financial, senior executive dedicated exclusively to the brand, reporting to the head of digital and direct banking within CIBC and responsibility for the overall P&L of a division. He’s done extensive work in developing strategic growth opportunities and has a successful track record of exceeding revenue, operational and net promoter score targets. He brings diverse industry experience in financial services, automotive, telecommunications, retail, and utilities. Before joining Simplii Financial, Corby served as Vice President Digital Commerce at CIBC, Vice President Customer Intelligence at Rogers Communications. He holds a BBA and an MBA.

Board Member

David Lazzarato

David is a Corporate Director and media/broadcast industry consultant who assists companies in the areas of strategy development, mergers and acquisitions and financing. He’s served as CEO of Craig Wireless, EVP and CFO of Alliance Atlantis Communications, Chairman of Motion Picture Distribution, and EVP and CFO of MTS Allstream. Mr. Lazzarato also held various senior management positions at BCE Mobile Communications, BCE Inc. and CAE Inc.

Board Member

Paul Bertin

Paul is President and Founder of No Limit Technologies, providing general business, coaching and mentoring, advisory and consulting services to corporations. In the span of his career, Paul has served as President and CEO of Burntsand, President of Sprint Canada’s Business Services Group; and President and Chief Operating Officer of Integrated Networks Services (INSINC). Paul also holds advisory and board of director positions with Surface Medical, the Sunnybrook Foundation Board of Governors, the RIC Centre, i3 Solutions, and Plexxus.

Board Member

Harp Gahunia

Harp is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of experience since graduating from the School of Accountancy at University of Waterloo with a Masters in Accounting. Harp started his career at Deloitte, working in the Telecommunications teams of both Toronto, Canada and Sydney Australia offices. In late 2012 he left his most recent full-time role as CFO at Virgin Gaming for the past 4 years, where he spent the last 6 months of his tenure as the acting-CEO, managing all aspects of this global web-based tournament gaming platform. Harp’s last eight years were spent providing fractional CFO services for various start-ups in and around Toronto. His portfolio of clients or work experience include Bell New Ventures (corporate venturing arm of Bell), EnStream & Suretap Wallet (mobile payments joint venture owned by Bell, Rogers, Telus), Virgin Mobile, Virgin Money (online banking), Virgin Gaming (online tournament gaming platform), Versapay Corporation (publicly traded B2B Fintech specializing in Accounts Receivable automation), TribalScale Venture Studios (hybrid startup accelerator and VC), Optiva Inc (cloud based billing solution for telcos around the world), and NuAi (B2B AI Operating System Platform). Harp also holds patents related to wearable technologies (Kharaband.com).

Harp has completed over $150M in various debt and/or equity financings for various public and private companies.