Educated at both Princeton University and Oxford University, Taleeb Noormohamed returned to his hometown in 2007 to be vice-president of strategy and partnerships with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (VANOC).
In that role, he raised more than $60 million and was responsible for management of all non-commercial revenue and business development initiatives.
Shareholders at Serebra Learning Corp. recruited him to turn their fledgling e-learning venture around.
“Serebra was really lost. It lost its way and wasn’t sure what it was going to be. It came down to, ‘Do we turn this around?’ or ‘Do we shut down?’” he said.
“At our annual general meeting last year, I told them my mandate was to cut costs, increase revenue and bring in a deal that will show value. I said that within 18 months we would have a merger or acquisition, and so far we’re on track.”
Serebra was in negotiations for a merger with Bluedrop Inc. as of press time.
Noormohamed has a track record of bouncing between interesting jobs.
He had clearance to see top-secret documents when he worked as a senior adviser to Bob Rae when Rae was an independent adviser to the minister of public safety on questions related to the bombing of a 1985 Air India flight.
He also had that clearance when he was director of citizen engagement in the department of public safety.
After the Olympics, he led a comprehensive review of B.C.’s large-scale technology procurement contracts, valued at $2.2 billion, to determine what has worked and what requires improvement.
He is on the board of directors of Covenant House Vancouver as well as the West Vancouver Community Centre. Past charitable work includes being on the board of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
He also volunteers extensively within the Ismaili Muslim community. •
