Our Story

Our Mission

We're obsessed with building better eCommerce experiences. For everyone.

Since 2004, we've been designing complete eCommerce solutions that enable ease, scale and certainty for our clients. Continuous investment in the technology and services that support the growth of our own boutique marketplaces, Homesquare and Cymax Business, and multichannel success across other leading marketplaces represent a critical competitive advantage for our clients in a complex ecosystem.

The research and development, innovation, data and insights realized over 17 years, empower us with the tools and the network required for sustainable growth - our clients benefit from the lessons we've learned and the efficiencies we've built. We're an extension of their team, providing access to the tools and services they need to compete and win. Cymax Group represents a simple solution that combines experience with technology.

Homesquare and Cymax Business offer exclusive access to new markets and consumers; Channel Gate, our multichannel management platform delivers integrated tech and services across leading marketplaces, and Freight Club provides retailers access to an expanded carrier network and enterprise rates through its logistics tech platform.

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Agile eCommerce solutions for precision control and accelerated growth

Company Timeline

The beginning

Cymax launched as a simple website, selling media furniture. We've changed a lot over the years, but one thing has stayed the same - the original problem-solving attitude that has fueled discovery and innovation for almost 20 years!

Vendor portal

This was a pivotal moment in our history. The portal enabled vendors to process orders and cancellations easily with no oversight or facilitation required – a big win for efficiency and resource-management.

Cymax reaches 170 microsites

Before Google updated its algorithm, online marketing relied on having categorically relevant domains. Cymax developed a portfolio of 170 diverse microsites which led to growth and expansion into new markets, even during the recession.

Amazon marketplace

We quickly realized the potential of leveraging Amazon’s marketplace program early. Amazon rapidly became a notable channel for us and now represents a significant percent of our marketplace sales.

Walmart marketplace

When Cymax integrated with Walmart, our ability to fill a void in Walmart’s product offerings was quickly realized. With a breadth of product assortment that included furniture and home accessories at a range of price points and styles, Walmart customers now had the benefit of choice.

Freight Club launch

Cymax Group leveraged over a decade’s worth of shipping and logistics knowledge to create Freight Club, an all-in-one shipping marketplace. Freight Club was a major step Cymax Group took to use its industry knowledge to support and advocate for other businesses.

$25M USD Raise

Cymax raised $25M USD, the biggest in company history, led by Frind Holdings, BDC Ventures and Salman Partners. Frind Holdings is a venture of Markus Frind, Founder of Plenty of Fish.

Homesquare launch

Homesquare was launched with the vision of inspiring better home design by connecting designers and consumers to a large online selection of curated collections at entry to mid-level prices.

Muzeboard launch

Muzeboard enables our retailers to curate custom product selections into sets and bundles. With Muzeboard, retailers can leverage social media culture to market unique aesthetics that can be purchased in sets that increase average order value and conversions.

Channel Gate launch

Channel Gate represents our commitment to a holistic and accessible eCommerce platform that connects and accelerates our partners' growth, allowing manufacturers to leverage a single product feed to sell across multiple channels.

Rizwan Somji appointed CEO

In January 2019, Rizwan Somji was appointed CEO. Riz is best known for his talent for cultivating a data-driven, results-oriented culture. Riz has led award-winning digital transformation, growth and profitability.

Cymax Group becomes Cymax Group Technologies Ltd.

To better reflect our ambitious vision for the future of eCommerce, we changed our corporate name to Cymax Group Technologies Ltd. This refresh captures our founding spirit of innovation and reflects the collaborative culture we work hard to cultivate.

Our Team

Rizwan Somji
Rizwan Somji
CEO
Shouvik Roy
Shouvik Roy
Chief Financial Officer
Brad Kent
Brad Kent
Vice President, Analytics and Engineering
Jennifer Yong
Jennifer Yong
Vice President, Legal
Gord Elder
Gord Elder
Vice President, Products & Technology
Zarine Ali Halim
Zarine Ali Halim
Vice President, eCommerce
Hendra Wijaya
Hendra Wijaya
Vice President, Operations
Chris Randall
Chris Randall
Senior Vice President, Freight Club
Diana Bartolic
Diana Bartolic
Vice President, People & Culture
Byron Thom
Byron Thom
Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy
Rizwan Somji
Rizwan Somji
CEO
Eric Patel
Eric Patel
Chairman
Markus Frind
Markus Frind
Director
Andrew Lugsdin
Andrew Lugsdin
Director
Rob Williams
Rob Williams
Director
Sarah Kavanagh
Sarah Kavanagh
Director
Manu Sarna
Manu Sarna
Director
Rizwan Somji
Rizwan Somji
CEO

Rizwan Somji is chief executive officer and board member for Cymax Group Technologies. Under his leadership, Cymax Group has seen record growth, outpacing the market, and further reinforcing Cymax Group Technologies as a leading eCommerce and technology services provider. Riz is a genuine, high-energy leader who empowers his team with the tools they need to have fun and succeed.

Riz joined Cymax Group in 2015 and has held several executive positions including Chief Operations Officer, VP of Technology, VP of Technology for Constant Retail and VP of Technology for Freight Club. Prior to Cymax Group, Riz was Co-Founder & VP of Engineering for ResponseTek, which was acquired by ESW Capital.

A big advocate of innovation and mentorship, Riz participates in several advisory boards, fundraising groups and mentorship programs including Victory Square Technologies and BC Newcomer Camp. As a volunteer coach for Shaheen Football Club, for over 20 years, he believes that social responsibility is critical to both corporate and personal growth.

He has been recognised for his contribution and leadership which includes BCTIA Company of the Year July 2021, EY Entrepreneur of the Year Pacific July 2021, Burnaby Board of Trade Businessperson of the Year 2020 and UBC Computer Science Incredible Mentor Award 2016.

Riz graduated from the University of British Columbia, where he earned a B Sc. In Computer Science.

2021 winner EY entrepreneur of the year
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Shouvik Roy
Shouvik Roy
Chief Financial Officer

Shouvik Roy is the chief financial officer for Cymax Group Technologies, overseeing finance and accounting, planning & analysis, treasury, tax, investor relations, and supporting strategy execution.

Previously, Shouvik served as CFO for Drop, a leading eCommerce rewards platform, and VersaPay, a publicly-listed fintech company based in Toronto. He has also held senior finance positions at FreshBooks, Linamar, Nike, and Home Depot. Shouvik brings two decades of extensive financial leadership experience in private and public organizations across multiple industries.

Shouvik graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University, where he earned an Honours BBA and currently holds a Chartered Professional Accountant designation.

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Brad Kent
Brad Kent
Vice President, Analytics and Engineering

Brad Kent is vice president of analytics and engineering for Cymax Group Technologies. He oversees data engineering, machine learning, applied analytics and pricing.

Previously, Brad was Vice President of Analytics and Insights at Loyalty Ventures Inc. He has also held senior leadership positions at Workopolis (now Indeed) and BlackBerry. He brings more than two decades of deep experience in data engineering, business intelligence, analytics, programming, and machine learning.

Brad is an advocate of supporting learning in his field and served as a Lecturer at Queens University where he held multiple seminars on R programming, advanced analytics, and applications of machine learning.

Brad graduated from Wilfred Laurier University, where he earned a BBA in Business and Economics and holds a Master of Management in Analytics from Queens University. He holds a Chartered Professional Accountant designation.

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Jennifer Yong
Jennifer Yong
Vice President, Legal

Jennifer is a passionate, practical, and collaborative legal advisor. Prior to her in-house roles focused on building out the legal function at high-growth tech companies, she was in private practice where she worked with a wide range of business clients including local Indigenous communities. Jennifer holds the designation of Certified In-house Counsel-Canada. She is on the board of directors of City Opera Vancouver and a volunteer and BC Council member with Girl Guides of Canada.

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Gord Elder
Gord Elder
Vice President, Products & Technology

Gord Elder is vice president of products and technology for Cymax Group Technologies. He oversees product management, software development, devops, technology operations, and IT.

Previously, Gord was Vice President of Products at Ignite Technologies, where he oversaw a portfolio of six suites of over 30 diverse B2B software solutions, ranging from digital engagement solutions for sales and marketing teams to customer experience management solutions. Gord was also a co-founder and Chief Product Officer at ResponseTek, an innovative B2B SaaS solution for customer experience management where he helped lead growth of the platform across a global client base of enterprise customers. Gord brings more than two decades of deep experience in product innovation and development, product management, software development and, management of technology infrastructure in SaaS, martech, automation, and eCommerce.

Passionate about contributing to the technology industry, Gord is a member of the BC Tech Product C-Council, and a Founding Ambassador of ex-XO, a global, professional network of highly skilled technology industry professionals from around the world. Gord also supports innovation through mentorship, and he is a Mentor at Beedie School of Business and ProductBC, helping aspiring product managers to build their skills.

Gord holds an MBA in Management of Technology from Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University. And previous to that graduated from the University of Manitoba, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biosystems Engineering.

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Zarine Ali Halim
Zarine Ali Halim
Vice President, eCommerce

Zarine Ali Halim is vice president of eCommerce for Cymax Group Technologies. She oversees vendor management, marketplaces, merchandising, eCommerce marketing for marketplaces and the proprietary Cymax Group websites, Cymax Business and Homesquare.

Zarine has served in senior eCommerce and project management positions at Cymax Group and prior to joining the organization, served as Product Manager at Nissan Motor Corporation, where she partnered with Global Product Planning teams. Zarine brings more than a decade of deep experience in technology and eCommerce driving business growth and large-scale project management in cross-functional team environments.

Zarine is one of 50 winners in the 2022 Business Best Executive Awards, by Globe and Mail, and was recognized in the Sales and Marketing category.

Zarine graduated from the Silicon Institute of Technology, where she earned a B. Tech in Information Technology, and holds a PGDM in Marketing Operations from the Xavier Institute of Management. Zarine is a certified Green Belt in Six Sigma.

2022 Report on Business Best Executive Awards
2022 Report on Business Best Executive Awards


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Hendra Wijaya
Hendra Wijaya
Vice President, Operations

Hendra has extensive expertise in leadership through business optimization and transformational change delivery with PwC Canada and Accenture. He specializes in operations and supply chain transformation and optimization projects across a variety of sectors including retail, energy and resources, financial services, public sector, and consumer goods. He is consistently recognized as a top performer and experienced team leader who is passionate about solving complex problems and motivate cross-functional teams to achieve personal and organizational objectives.

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Chris Randall
Chris Randall
Senior Vice President, Freight Club

Chris Randall is the senior vice president of Freight Club, a subsidiary of Cymax Group Technologies. He leads the rapidly growing business of Freight Club. Chris joined Cymax Group in 2020 and has since led Freight Club to 6x growth and overseen its emergence as a trailblazer in the logistics industry.

Previously, Chris was the Chief Customer Officer at ResponseTek, a global leader in Customer Experience Management software, and the Vice President of North American Sales at ZephyrTel (now Skyvera), an amalgamation of 8 software companies servicing the telco industry. Chris brings over two decades of deep experience in customer experience, sales, and strategy in high-growth SaaS, logistics, and B2B software industries. He has served on the board of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Marketing Association and has been a public speaker and advisor to global Fortune 500 companies on the delivery of an exceptional customer experience.

Chris graduated from Graceland University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and holds an MBA from the University of Alberta.

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Diana Bartolic
Diana Bartolic
Vice President, People & Culture

Diana is a dynamic and engaging leader with over 30 years’ experience in human resources and integrating people and culture with business strategy, and is passionate about helping organizations be their best. With a strong track record of developing high performance teams, Diana is recognized as a valued business partner and mentor who strives to deliver a distinct talent experience to the organizations she supports. Highlights of her career include developing strong teams, promoting future leaders, and helping organizations be successful.

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Byron Thom
Byron Thom
Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy

Byron Thom is vice president of corporate development and strategy for Cymax Group Technologies. He oversees the development of strategic initiatives for Cymax through interfacing with the board of directors, cross-functional leadership, and external stakeholders.

Previously, Byron was a principal at Framework Venture Partners, a leading venture capital fund investing in high-growth technology companies. Here, he invested in and sat on the board of several Canadian technology companies. Byron brings more than 15 years of experience in technology as a founder, lawyer, operator, and investor.

As a big advocate of BC tech, Byron has volunteered with several startup initiatives and advised numerous startup companies. His experience includes the New Ventures BC Competition, where he has served as a mentor and advisor for the last six years.

Byron graduated from the University of Ottawa, where he earned an LL. B in Law & Technology and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honors) degree in Engineering Science from Simon Fraser University.

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Eric Patel
Eric Patel
Chairman

Eric is former Chair of Galvanize, a Canadian software unicorn, sold to Diligent in 2021, and Chair of eCommerce software company Mobify. He joins with 17 years of career board experience across private and public companies in multiple sectors. He has been recognized as an NACD Distinguished Board Fellow. Eric's last role was as chief financial officer of Crystal Decisions.

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Markus Frind
Markus Frind
Director

Markus, Cymax Group's largest shareholder, is a technology industry thought-leader and founder of Plenty of Fish Media Inc. (“Plenty of Fish”), an online dating website which sold to Match Group, Inc. (“Match.com”) in 2015. Markus is CEO of Frind Properties and Proprietor of award-winning Frind Estate Winery in West Kelowna, where he combines his passions for technology and agriculture.

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Andrew Lugsdin
Andrew Lugsdin
Director

Andrew is a co-founder and partner at Framework Venture Partners. He has over 15 years of venture capital experience and over 25 years of experience in the IT and Telecom sectors. Prior to Framework, Andrew was a Partner at the BDC IT Venture Fund and managed a number of portfolio companies through exits.

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Rob Williams
Rob Williams
Director

Rob is known for getting results, both individually and by hiring and developing high-performing teams. He has over 25 years of leadership experience in eCommerce, retail and SaaS.

He currently consults around the world on disruptive innovation, eCommerce and helping companies build mechanisms to scale for growth. Rob has extensive experience in vendor management, how to add selection, negotiations, private label strategy and supply chain project prioritization. He provides actions, insightful information within the boundaries of compliance for investment firm clients.

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Sarah Kavanagh
Sarah Kavanagh
Director

Sarah has extensive experience on public, private and crown boards in Canada and the US. Her career experience includes time in investment banking, capital markets and corporate financial management.

Sarah's expertise includes financial and capital markets, risk management, strategic financial and acquisition experience, IPO expertise, financial restructuring, leadership experience and human resources expertise.

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Manu Sarna
Manu Sarna
Director

Manu Sarna is a senior executive and tech operator with over two decades of international experience in high-growth e-commerce, finance, and SaaS organizations. He brings deep expertise in strategy, marketing, partnerships, and sales along with a global perspective gained by working in the US, UK, Singapore, and Australia.

Manu currently leads global marketing for ApplyBoard, an EdTech firm based in Kitchener, Ontario. Previously he served as Chief Marketing Officer for Wayfair's business-to-business arm and has held senior leadership positions at PayPal and Aimia Inc., and served as an external marketing advisor to a mid-market Private Equity firm, and as consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).  

Passionate about the continually changing tech landscape, Manu actively deepens his domain expertise as a full stack B2B and B2B2C marketing leader. He is an avid blogger passionate about sharing insights on real estate investing.

Manu graduated from the University of Nottingham, where he earned a MEng in Chemical Engineering and holds an MBA in Business from the Ivey Business School at Western University.

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