Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

samdesk is an AI-powered risk intelligence platform that helps organizations anticipate, detect, understand and resolve risk. The platform is purpose-built for the teams that can least afford to be caught off guard - corporate security and enterprise risk functions protecting global workforces, assets, and supply chains, and defence and government organizations operating in complex, high-stakes environments. By mapping intelligence against each client's specific people, assets, and areas of interest, the platform cuts through noise to deliver what actually matters, with the context needed to act. The result is a dramatically shorter path from signal to decision. Clients include NATO, the UK Ministry of Defence, DoorDash, Ford, Nutrien, among others.

Post their $13.5M Series A (led by McRock Capital, with HarbourVest and EDC), samdesk is in growth mode — building out its commercial engine, expanding internationally, and doubling down on AI enablement across the platform. This is a company that's been quietly building something serious, and the next chapter is about scaling what they've proven.

Highlights:

• Founded 2013, headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta — distributed team across Canada and globally

• $16M+ raised in total funding; $13.5M Series A led by McRock Capital (HarbourVest, EDC participating)

• 100+ enterprise clients across government, defense, logistics, media, and travel

• Clients include NATO, U.K. Ministry of Defense, U.S. government, DoorDash, Ford, John Deere, Bell

• AI-powered platform; SOC 2, GDPR, and CyberEssentials certified

• Recently received $1.8M in federal funding to accelerate commercialization and marketplace adoption

• 3 international subsidiaries; globally distributed team

• Backed by institutional VCs with deep technology and growth-stage expertise

About the Role:

samdesk is scaling with intention — and as the business moves into its next growth stage, financial rigor needs to keep pace with commercial ambition. This is a pivotal hire sitting at the intersection of strategic planning, investor relations, and operational finance. The CFO will own the financial narrative at samdesk — building the forecasting infrastructure, sharpening the SaaS metrics story, and ensuring that every decision the leadership team makes is grounded in a clear-eyed view of the numbers.

Please note: this role is Canada-based. samdesk operates a distributed team, so location is flexible within Canada.

Financial Strategy & Planning

• Own the rolling forecast — build, maintain, and evolve it as the business grows and priorities shift

• Lead runway analysis and financial scenario planning to support executive and board-level decision-making

• Define and track the SaaS metrics that matter (ARR, NRR, CAC, LTV, payback period) in close partnership with the CRO; and own metrics reporting in both rear-view and forward looking perspectives

• Drive annual planning and budgeting process across the business

• Identify opportunities to modernize the planning environment — evaluate and implement FP&A tooling where it adds genuine leverage

Board & Investor Reporting

• Own all board and investor-facing financial reporting — clear, credible, and always on time

• Build and maintain financial models that support strategic conversations with existing investors and future financing partners

• Serve as the financial voice in Finance Committee, Board of Director meetings and investor discussions

Commercial Finance & Cross-functional Partnership

• Partner tightly with the CRO on revenue forecasting, deal economics, pricing, and commercial strategy

• Collaborate with the recently hired RevOps function on AI-enabled reporting and revenue intelligence

• Support the leadership team with financial analysis and business cases for key strategic decisions

Finance Function & Team

• Provide strategic oversight and leadership direction to the Director of Finance and broader finance team

• Own relationships with external accounting partners across samdesk's three international subsidiaries

• Build the finance function into a scalable department — right processes, right systems, right people over time

• Maintain the clean audit track record and financial controls already in place

Operational Finance

• Oversee cash management, treasury, and capital allocation

• Ensure financial compliance across all operating jurisdictions

• Bring an AI-forward mindset to how the finance function operates — actively seek opportunities to automate, streamline, and improve

About You:

• 8+ years in finance, with meaningful time in a senior finance leadership role (VP Finance, CFO, or equivalent)

• SaaS or AI-enabled startup/scaleup background — you know how SaaS metrics work and have used them to drive decisions, not just report them

• VC-backed company experience — you understand what boards and investors need, and you know how to show up in those rooms

• Proven track record building and owning financial infrastructure at a growth-stage company — forecasting, runway modelling, board reporting

• Comfortable living in the spreadsheet — not above the detail, not waiting for someone else to build the model

• Strong communicator who can translate financial complexity into clear, confident narratives for non-finance stakeholders

• CPA designation or equivalent (Canadian context preferred)

• Experience with international subsidiaries and multi-entity finance structures

Bonus:

• Experience taking a company through a Series B or subsequent financing round

• Familiarity with FP&A or BI tooling (Mosaic, Pigment, Cube, Looker, or similar)

• Exposure to government or defense sector contracting and its financial nuances

• AI-forward mindset — actively curious about how AI can improve how finance operates

The Extras that Matter:

• Competitive base salary + performance-based bonus structure

• Comprehensive health and dental benefits

• Fully distributed team — work from anywhere in Canada, no relocation required

• Real ownership from day one — you're not inheriting someone else's vision, you're building your own

• A clean foundation to build on: strong team, clean audits, capable Director of Finance already in place

• Work at the intersection of AI and global security — a mission that actually matters

• Close collaboration with a founder-led leadership team that moves fast and makes decisions

• Backed by serious institutional investors with long-term conviction in the business