Strategic Finance Architect

Capital governance at institutional scale

US CPA and Vanderbilt MBA. Trilingual (English, Mandarin, Cantonese) operator spanning North America, Greater China, and APAC — equally fluent in institutional board governance and commercial P&L execution.

12+ Years

Cross-Border Finance

C$20B

AUM Governed

$80M

P&L Turnaround

James Zhan
Selected Track Record
Capital deployed. Value created. Risk governed.
Download Executive PDF
C$4B+
Diversified AUM portfolio governance at Musqueam — real estate, PE, infrastructure, gaming & hospitality
$80M
Annualized P&L savings during COVID-19 crisis across SoftBank Vision Fund portfolio companies
$15M
Series B capital raised at 25% valuation uplift — driver-based model defended through institutional DD
C$3M
Annual savings from fund manager fee restructuring across C$20B pension portfolio
$800M+
Aggregate M&A and capital markets transaction value executed at HSBC across Asia-Pacific
C$500M
Liquidity buffer and capital call framework co-architected for opportunistic deployment
12,000+
Assets consolidated into a single source of truth via Anaplan cloud modeling at WeWork China
$100M
Corporate divestiture integration directed across 5 countries at North Highland
Professional Experience
From P&G to SoftBank to institutional asset management
Musqueam
Diversified C$4B+ AUM
2025 – Present · Vancouver
Finance Director (Head of FP&A)
Direct consolidated FP&A, capital allocation, and C$40M operating budget; report to Board on capital deployment and fund solvency
Enforced zero-based budgeting driving 15% YoY reduction in budget variance across 30 departments
Deployed cloud ERP (Acumatica) and AI automation across 200+ cost centers, replacing fragmented spreadsheets
CAAT Pension Plan
Institutional Investor · C$20B AUM
2022 – 2025 · Toronto
Senior Finance Manager (Strategic FP&A)
Led financial reporting workstream of SAP S/4HANA deployment, redesigning cost-center hierarchies for global auditability
Restructured external fund manager fees across C$20B portfolio, capturing C$3M in annual savings
Co-architected C$500M+ liquidity buffer and capital call framework for opportunistic deployments
Built automated Power BI dashboards for real-time visibility into C$100M administration expenses
Mino Games
Gaming & Interactive Media
2020 – 2022 · Montreal
Strategy & Financial Planning Consultant
Built investor financial model and DD package with CEO; raised $15M Series B at 25% valuation uplift
SQL-driven LTV/CAC models reallocated $20M+ annual marketing spend, expanding net margins by 15%
SoftBank Vision Fund
WeWork China & OYO China
2018 – 2020 · Shanghai
Strategic Finance & Analytics Manager
Led financial recovery during COVID-19 crisis, delivering $80M in annualized savings across both portfolio companies
Architected regional pricing framework replacing manual discounting, driving 15% ARPU uplift
Directed SVF institutional reporting playbook aligning regional P&L with global governance standards
Deployed Anaplan to consolidate 12,000+ assets into centralized data platform for global stakeholders
Early Career
North Highland · HSBC · P&G
2011 – 2018
Strategy Consulting → Investment Banking → Financial Analysis
North Highland: Directed $100M corporate divestiture integration across 5 countries
HSBC IB: Executed $800M+ in M&A and capital markets transactions across Asia-Pacific
P&G: Delivered $10M in annual cost savings through cross-functional efficiency initiatives across APAC
Career Analytics
Quantified impact across sectors and geographies

Capital Impact by Engagement

CAAT Pension
C$20B
Musqueam
C$4B
HSBC IB
$800M
North Highland
$100M
SoftBank / SVF
$80M
Mino Games
$15M

Career Timeline (2011 – Present)

P&G
GZ
HSBC IB
GZ
Vanderbilt MBA
US
North Highland
ATL
SoftBank / SVF
SH
Mino Games
MTL
CAAT Pension
TO
Musqueam
VAN
20112013201520172019202120232025
Education & Credentials
Institutional foundations

Vanderbilt University

MBA — Finance & Strategy

2015 – 2017 · Nashville, TN
Top-15 U.S. Business School

US CPA

Washington State Board of Accountancy

Licensed Certified Public Accountant
United States

Trilingual

English · Mandarin · Cantonese

Native fluency across all three
Cross-border operator since 2011

Beyond the Portfolio
✈

54 Countries

Global perspective shaped by extensive travel across six continents

🎾

4 Grand Slams

Attended all four major tennis venues — Melbourne, Paris, London, New York

🎬

1,000+ Films

Lifelong cinephile with a deep appreciation for global storytelling

Get in Touch

Let's discuss what's next

[email protected] +1 672-991-2952 LinkedIn