Athar Farooqui

Corporate Development and M&A professional with 10 years of experience; 6 years in corporate finance and 4 years in M&A, spanning Big 4 advisory, institutional finance, and the Constellation Software ecosystem. Executed end-to-end across the full deal lifecycle on mandates ranging from $1M to $200M+, from origination and financial modelling through IM preparation, due diligence, and presenting investment committee materials; a dual foundation in accounting and investment finance delivering quality-of-earnings depth.

M&A Execution Analyst — Corporate Development - Constellation Software / Volaris / Cultura Technologies - Toronto, ON (Remote)

(2025-02)

• Full-Stack Transaction Execution: Led end-to-end execution on 5–8 mandates ranging $1M–$200M+, producing IMs, executive summaries, valuation models, and full diligence packages; reported directly to Director & President with board-level investment recommendations.
• Active $200M+ mandate: Leading origination, ARR-based financial modelling, multi-scenario analysis, IM preparation, and cross-functional diligence coordination across legal, finance, HR, operations, and product for investment committee submission.
• Pipeline development and origination: Maintain live VMS acquisition pipeline; develop investment theses and valuation frameworks that directly inform capital allocation decisions at the executive level.

Financial Analyst II — Mergers & Acquisitions - Canada Life Insurance - Toronto, ON

(2022-01 - 2024-09)

• M&A Transaction Support: Delivered DCF, comparable company, and precedent transaction analyses supporting $40M+ AUM mandates and multiple $100M+ transactions at one of Canada's largest financial institutions.
• Post-Acquisition Integration Ownership: Owned post-acquisition integration for multiple entities — established reporting structures, aligned financial controls, and ensured operational continuity from day-one of close.
• Revenue Forecasting Modelling: Rebuilt driver-based revenue forecasting model, materially reducing forecast-to-actual variance; adopted into quarterly CFO and board reporting.

Corporate Accountant - Investment Planning Counsel - Toronto, ON

(2018-01 - 2022-12)

• Reporting Cycle Efficiency: Compressed month-end close from one full day to under 2 hours through workflow redesign — 75% efficiency gain freeing significant finance team capacity.
• SAP ERP Expert & IFRS Financial Statement Production: Directed IFRS-compliant preparation of Fund Facts, MRFPs, and financial statements across all reporting periods; primary SAP ERP resource for the accounting function.

Transaction Advisory — Summer Intern Analyst - Ernst & Young (EY) - Abu Dhabi, UAE

(2015-06 - 2017-08)

• Big 4 Transaction Advisory: Contributed to valuation and M&A advisory engagements for MENA-region insurance companies; built acquisition-targeting financial models in a Big 4 cross-border advisory environment.

MSc - Finance & Investments (Hons) - University of Exeter, UK

BA - Accounting & Finance (Hons) - University of Strathclyde, UK