Vantage is a turnkey software solution that allows retailers to quickly launch or expand retail media networks.We are transforming how some of the world's leading retailers and brands connect with customers. Currently used by over 10,000 brands and retailers in 127 countries around the world, Vantage manages the data and intelligence for purchases worth over $80billion (over 130 million customer records).Vantage AI-driven analytics and digital marketing solutions help retailers (like Home Depot, Longo's, an Ren's Pets) and CPG vendors (like Lancôme, La Roche-Posay, Vichy, Kérastase, SkinCeuticals, Unilever, Reckitt-Benckiser, and Kimberly-Clark):
- Attract profitable new customers, 
- Convert browsers into buyers, 
- Capture abandoned carts, 
- Retain their best customers, and 
- Increase their Average Order Value.

Canada's Premier Identity Conference™, a gathering of Canadians interested in rolling out elements crucial to Canada's digital economy.Digital ID and authentication is ultimately the foundation for a digital economy. All of our interactions, our transactions, and our online "lives" depend on the creation of a robust, secure, system for being able to have certainty of each other's identity. Like the IIW events to our south, this event is not about any one technology or model – rather it is a place to discuss multiple interoperating (and possibly competing) projects,standards, and networks for identity, data sharing, and reputation, all within a Canadian context. For a country of 35 million people, Canada punches above its weight in the identity space. Leaders here at home are making important contributions like "Privacy by Design" and Canadian values are being exported internationally. Indeed many leaders of identity projects around the world, originally hail from Canada. In many ways, IdentityNorth is becoming a "migration home" event - in which these subject matter experts are able to return and share their insight and ideas from around the world.

Aran was the founding president of the Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada. He started the organization on its mission to accelerate the establishment of an ecosystem of trustworthy digital ID solutions in support of Canada's Innovation Agenda and to the societal and economic benefit of all Canadian governments, businesses, non-profits, and - most importantly - citizens.The DIACC works to further connect the digital ID innovations of Canada to the global marketplace to support Canada's strategic positioning in the global digital economy.Created as a result of the federal government’s Task Force for the Payments System Review, the DIACC is a non-profit coalition of public and private sector leaders committed to developing a Canadian digital identification and authentication framework to enable Canada’s full and secure participation in the global digital economy. DIACC members include representatives from both the federal and provincial levels of government as well as private sector leaders.The DIACC’s objective is to unlock societal and economic opportunities for Canadian consumers, and businesses by providing the framework to develop a robust, secure, scalable and privacy enhancing digital identification and authentication ecosystem that will decrease costs for governments, consumers, and business while improving service delivery and driving GDP growth.

I spent 14 months- assessing and reporting on the nascent mobile payments experiences around the world and helping to plan the next stage for Canada: a truly revolutionary mobile payments ecosystem;- studying the landscape of payments and identifying potential barriers for innovation and competition...and understanding where the new opportunities are for start-ups to move in today;- recommending changes that will increase the transparency, efficiency and innovation in payments by, and between, consumers, businesses, and governments... so that we can get the systems we need and we can make the changes we need to create a world-leading digital economy;On the fun side, I've brought together groups of business and government leaders from Canada and around the world; and worked with them in a series of closed-door forums to share perspectives and discuss ways that payments and digital ID can be improved; I helped efforts to launch a new era of increased privacy, security and convenience... because a digital economy is here and we need new rules and new systems to provide digital ID and authentication as a foundation to that economy;... and I've seen some of the coolest demos of new e-money, mobile money, banking, digital ID, phones, and mobile wallets that you could ever imagine!

Responsible for driving marketing and strategic partnerships and supporting product development for Zoompass, the world's first cross-carrier mobile money transfer platform• Coordinate management of new business alliances and planning of new mobile payment applications and services • Negotiate partnerships with leading card associations, financial institutions, payment processors, software and solutions providers, merchants and merchant acquirers, wireless carriers and handset manufacturers in the following areas: Over-the-air (OTA) payment services, Near Field Communication (NFC) services, mobile banking, payment, and wallet services• Manage the brand identity, marketing and communications strategy, and the overall Zoompass go-to market plan including a highly effective, low-cost strategy that leverages social media channels and novel guerilla marketing tactics to drive high levels of viral awareness amongst target audiences in key markets• Established the customer care team and infrastructure, including integrating three teams working in different cities and time zones, and leading staff training to a customer focus across the organization• Continue to build brand recognition through frequent speaking engagements at Social Media, Mobile Experience Innovation, Mobile Commerce, Payment and Telecom conferences and symposiums in Canada and around the world• Act as the #1 Zoompass customer care agent and advocate

• Through their acquisition of m-Qube, became VeriSign's senior executive in Canada, was responsible for growing the company into the largest distributor of mobile content and aggregator of mobile messaging over a three-year period• Played a significant role in developing Canada's early mobile commerce ecosystem, leading the evolution of key pricing and business models that continue to shape the industry today• Negotiated dozens of contracts with wireless carriers, media companies, and other content aggregators. Assessed new project opportunities and set regional direction for the local team of 60 with input from U.S. and international Engineering, Product Development, Finance, Operations and Legal teams• Benchmarked programs for the mobile channel from around the world and launched innovative mobile experiences for some of the world's largest media assets • National lead on government and regulatory issues including negotiations of tariffs on the industry and oversight by Heritage Canada• Elected to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association

Digital Cement was the leading consultancy in multi-channel relationship marketing and experience planning.As a Strategy Director, my role was to act as a senior consultant to many of our clients as they redefined their relationships with their customers, and moved from product-based campaign marketing to a customer-based relationship approach.While at Digital Cement, I specialised in planning and launching new campaigns. Selected projects include:• Redesigned the up-sell and customer retention strategies for the largest national Internet Service Provider. The work included segmenting the customer base and rolling out targeted marketing and communications plans that showed customers how and why having a high-speed broadband connection was relevant to them. Created a new multi-channel customer welcome program that drove an 8% decrease in churn of high bandwidth users• Drafted the U.S. go-to-market value proposition for FedEx Ground. The work included customer research, preparation of an integrated web, email, and phone-based customer relationship strategy, and creation of a launch plan based on perceived synergies of "Ground" and "Express"

• Responsible for the development and launch of the MIST, Freedom series of point-of-sale terminals: Freedom II (handheld, mobile device), Freedom III (high-end, IP-based countertop device), Freedom Lite (low cost, countertop device), and the Freedom SPD (pinpad) still in market today• Seeking to focus on delivering value to our customers, re-oriented the internal corporate mindset from product-focus to that of a customer-focused organization • Seeking to focus on delivering value to our customers, re-oriented the internal corporate mindset from product-focus to that of a customer-focused organization • Restructured product line after analyzing value drivers in key North American marketsRe-drafted product roadmap to align with customer needs and projection of revenue potential • Created an immediate 57% increase in revenues of existing products by improving marketing and sales programs and communicating with customers in the way they wanted • Rebuilt distribution channels across U.S. and Canada, developed key customer relationships, and pre-sold equivalent of almost 1 years’ sales to support company through re-structuring / financing

• Strategy Practice, advised senior management of a biotechnology firm with revenues in excess of $1Bn.• Evaluated market potential of product lines and portfolio companies, advised of opportunities and divestiture strategies