Ghazala Parvez

Early life

Ghazala Parvez has a fascinating story that takes her from Pakistan to Canada, and from a planned career as an academic to her true calling as a CFO in her second, high-growth Canadian technology company. She earned a liberal arts degree in economics from Wellesley College, although she says she didnt’t know where she saw herself going in the future. School was interesting for her, and she had always wanted to do a graduate program at Harvard and then go on to earn a Ph.D.

That’s when she said her father sat her down and explained that to do her Ph.D., she might end up living “hand to mouth”, and really struggling. It came down to deciding to go into Law or getting her CA, she says it could have gone either way, but ultimately she chose accounting and finance because she had always been a “numbers person.”

Stating that it “just felt right at the time”, she says she’s ultimately happy with her decision. If her success is any indication, it was the right choice to make. Once she made her decision about her future, she was determined to go all the way and be as successful as she could. She sent letters to the Big 4 accounting firms and waited to see what would happen.

The only one to call her for an interview was Erns and Young. She says she remembers being told she wouldn’t make it as a chartered accountant unless she could commit to more education. She said this is when she was told about MBA programs at Rotman School of Business. It was specifically designed for people wanting to enter the CA profession who came from unconventional backgrounds. Ernst and Young even offered to sponsor her for the program, so she took the opportunity and the rest, as they say, is history.

Parvez holds an MBA degree from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a B.A. degree in Economics from Wellesley College, Massachusetts. Additionally, she is a certified Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

Career

Ghazala Parvez joined Everest in 2021 as the Chief Financial Officer, bringing over 30 years of experience in financial management. Before joining Everest, Parvez held CFO positions at Nulogy Corporation, Intelex Technologies Inc., and Adenyo Inc.

She started her financial career at Ernst & Young and has held various financial management positions at organizations such as Lavalife Corporation, SNC-Lavalin Inc., and BCE Emergis Inc. Parvez is a highly regarded finance leader with a successful track record.

While at Ernst and Young, she worked in public accounting. This was also her first job in North America and it was a big adjustment period for her. Born in Pakistan, she had been raised with different cultural beliefs, and it took her a while to adjust to a new way of thinking.

Here, she learned to develop her own voice and the confidence to use it. This would be a very valuable stepping stone along the way and in the other jobs that would come after Ernst & Young.

She would then go on to hold various positions with Bell Information, become the Director of Finance at SNC-Lavalin, then the Chief Financial Officer at Adenyo, the Chief Financial Officer at Intelex Technologies, the Chief Financial Officer for Nulogy, and finally, the CFO for Everest Clinical Research.

Her general industry and career skills include business strategy, business development, accounting, analytics, management, business planning, account management, and new business development. She has used these skills well within each of the roles she’s had.

As part of the top management team at Everest, Parvez is responsible for implementing effective financial and business processes to drive the company’s global growth. She manages the finance and administrative functions and serves as the primary financial representative for the company both internally and externally. Parvez also manages the personnel, systems, and processes to ensure efficient financial operations for Everest worldwide.

Net Worth

Ghazala Parvez’s net worth is not publicly known.

Achievement

Parvez has accomplished many great things in her career. Here are some notable achievements:

Canada’s 50 Best Executives by Report on Business magazine.

She is also on the Board of Directors of Daily Bread Food Bank.