Cymax Group Announces New Additions to Leadership Team

Cymax Group Announces New Additions to Leadership Team as Record Growth Continues

Cymax Group announced a series of changes to senior leadership in response to accelerated demand and expansion in the last twelve months.

Leadership Team Growth Highlights

  • Faheem Gwadry joined in April as chief financial officer of Cymax Group. Faheem brings extensive experience in scaling global consumer products companies. Most recently, as COO/CFO of Spence Diamonds (backed by Lion Capital, LLC), and as SVP operations & CFO Indochino Apparel Inc., where he partnered with the CEO in solidifying a material strategic investment and long-term supply agreement.
  • Chris Randall, the new vice president of revenue, Freight Club, brings considerable experience in customer success and sales management. He joined us in June from ZephyrTel where he was VP of North American sales, and before that, ResponseTek, where he was chief customer officer.
  • Gord Elder was named vice president of product in October, bringing extensive experience in driving product strategy for SaaS products and platforms across various markets. He previously was VP of product at Ignite Technologies and VP of product and technology at ResponseTek, a company he co-founded.
  • Hendra Wijaya has returned to Cymax Group as vice president of operations, previously serving as senior director of operations. He brings deep experience and expertise leading his previous clients through business optimization and transformational change delivery with PwC Canada and Accenture.
  • Zarine Ali Halim has been named senior director of eCommerce. Zarine has been with Cymax Group since 2016 and has been a key player in the building of boutique marketplaces, Cymax Business and Homesquare. She previously held the position of director of eCommerce.
  • Sean Smith was appointed senior director, strategic partnerships and vendor management. Sean has been with Cymax Group since 2015. With extensive experience in enterprise sales, he has been integral to the building of SaaS platforms Freight Club and Channel Gate.
  • Steven Ting has been named director, merchandising and vendor success, leveraging his experience at Houzz, one of Channel Gate’s marketplace partners. He managed Houzz’s top third-party sellers, accounting for more than 60% of their third-party revenue.

These changes are part of an organization-wide revival initiated in January 2019, with the appointment of Rizwan Somji to the role of chief executive officer. Riz joined Cymax Group in 2015 as VP of technology and moved into the role of chief operating officer in 2017. His leadership and strategic vision have significantly impacted every facet of the organization and are lauded as a key catalyst for a pivotal cultural shift and a digital transformation that has driven tremendous growth for the Cymax Group of brands.

Read More: The Shift to E-Commerce Might be Permanent in the Post-Pandemic World

The most critical component of the cultural shift was introducing greater focus to the organization: “We needed an identity, a focus. Our focus became rallying around the fact that we had built industry-changing technology and had a wealth of knowledge and data that could keep us driven and innovative,” says Somji. The new approach worked – this year, Cymax Group saw 91% growth in revenue since January 2020 and a 130% growth in team size.

Amidst a significant eCommerce boom, new leadership is fundamental to maintaining this focus. For Cymax Group, this means scaling its two major SaaS platforms – Freight Club, a logistics solution, and Channel Gate, a marketplace enablement platform. Both have skyrocketed this year: new Channel Gate vendors experienced a collective 700% growth rate; Freight Club members saw shipment volume increase up to 300%.

The emphasis new leadership has placed on investing in the platforms supports more than just Cymax Group – it supports the entire eCommerce ecosystem. “The biggest thing we can contribute to the evolution of eCommerce is to level the playing field for all retailers – then it comes down to your product, not how you deliver it,” says Chris Randall, Freight Club’s VP of revenue.

With the combination of resolute new leadership and a mature, agile team, Cymax Group arms itself for any curveballs that may come in 2021 and assembles for more impressive growth. “The eCommerce landscape is changing fast. Our extensive industry expertise, coupled with our innovative technology, is well-positioned to make Cymax Group a leading provider of end-to-end solutions for brands, carriers, and consumers,” says Gord Elder, VP of product.

With tech that simplifies the game of online selling, Cymax Group continues to make eCommerce a meritocracy. In the future Cymax Group writes, brands are judged by the merit of their products, not by their methods of making a sale.