Sabrina Liak is president and CFO of the online platform KITS Eyecare Ltd., which completed its $55 million initial public offering in 2021.
She is the recipient of a 2022 BC CFO Award in the public company category. Six B.C. business leaders will be recognized by BIV with C-Suite Awards on Feb. 3.
Prior to co-founding the company in 2018, Liak was a private equity portfolio manager at Goldman Sachs Investments Partners and a managing director at Goldman Sachs.
Your greatest business or career success to date?
In my previous role in growth private equity, I had the privilege of witnessing amazing successes as well as heartbreaking failures of ambitious entrepreneurs. In awe of the passion and enthusiasm these innovators had for their ideas and businesses, I was determined to find out whether I had what it took to join their ranks. Roger Hardy, Joseph Thompson and I founded KITS Eyecare together in 2018. Today, we are proud to employ over 100 team members in B.C. who have helped us grow to a $100 million revenue run rate in just four years. For me, success has been starting out on this incredible journey, one that has been filled with highs and lows – and it isn’t over yet.
Your toughest challenge as a CFO?
Raising the initial capital to fund our business. We met with over 100 potential investors and explored many structures, only to face options that were unpalatable. Ultimately, my partners and I decided to invest the seed capital ourselves. This decision enabled us to maintain control of the company, but it was a difficult decision to make.
Best piece of advice received?
It’s a long-held tradition at Goldman Sachs for departing employees to send a goodbye email to their colleagues. One of these emails from a retiring executive offered key learnings from his career. I printed it out 20 years ago and have kept it to this day. Of all the points on his list, the one that resonated with me the most was the simplest – to say, “Thanks.” I am acutely aware that it is the collective effort of my colleagues and partners that will ultimately drive us to achieve our shared goals. So, I try to express my gratitude to those around me and to recognize their achievements and contribution.
How do you make decisions?
we use a system called objectives and key results, developed by Intel. We meet on a quarterly basis to evaluate and prioritize our objectives, considering factors such as the size of the prize, resources needed and timeline. Each team member then develops key results that align with our overall organizational objectives.
Biggest areas of growth over the past year?
In 2022, KITS faced the challenge of motivating and retaining employees in a difficult hiring environment. I gained an invaluable insight into the importance of employee ownership through the implementation of KITS’ employee share-purchase program. By allowing employees to invest up to 10 per cent of their pay in company stock and matching their contribution, we have seen a profound impact on our team’s engagement. Our employees are now thinking and acting like owners.
Join BIV to celebrate three BC CEO Award and three BC CFO Award winners at the C-Suite Awards, Feb. 3 at the Terminal City Club. Tickets and event details are available at the link above.
