01 / VENTUREIN DEVELOPMENT
Wags, Whiskers & Fins
A developing Ottawa destination for animal care, community and education. Guided by Care before Commerce and The Wags Way.
BUSINESS LEADER. BUILDER. AUTHOR.
Experience
with depth.
Purpose with
direction.
I’m Jeff Puncher. I bring people, finance and technology together to build things that matter.
OTTAWA, CANADA — A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
✳Grounded in experience.
Guided by purpose.
FINANCE · INNOVATION · STEWARDSHIPGuided by purpose.
25+
years across finance
and business operations
$150M+
budgets managed in organizational
reporting currency
43+
people in multidisciplinary
teams led
7+
currencies handled through
international transactions
01 / THE PERSON BEHIND THE WORK
Curiosity has always
been my starting point.
My career has taken me from a surveying firm in North Carolina to international finance, defence, medical education and the living world beneath the surface.
Across those settings, I’ve returned to the same questions: What needs to work better? Who needs to be involved? And how do we turn a good idea into something useful?
I’ve led financial transformations, built multidisciplinary teams and helped develop educational products. Today, I’m bringing that experience into businesses and resources rooted in care, curiosity and responsibility.
Beyond the office, I’m a diver, reef aquarist, author and conservation advocate. The ocean shapes how I think about attention, leadership and the responsibility we carry for living things.
Jeff Puncher
02 / SELECTED WORK
Ideas made practical.
A closer look at the projects,
people and problems behind the work.
03 / PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY
A career of building
what comes next.
Finance at the foundation.
People and possibility at the centre.
2019–2026University of OttawaDirector, Business Operations · Department of Family Medicine
Led multidisciplinary teams exceeding 43 people. Modernized finance with Dynamics Business Central, developed digital education initiatives and built software development capacity. Tenure ended April 2026.
2008–2019Thales CanadaController → Director of Finance, Defence & Security
Financial leadership with budgets exceeding $150 million in the organization’s reporting currency. Integrated finance and project information, modernized reporting and digitized transaction workflows.
2007–2008Trialstat CorporationController
Managed finance and payroll for a venture-backed clinical-trials SaaS company. Supported the CFO’s Series B fundraising effort, implemented Great Plains with Corporate Renaissance Group, and wrapped up finances when funding was not secured and the company wound down.
2003–2007MJM InvestigationsAssistant Vice-President of Finance
Restored billing integration, automated financial workflows, participated in acquisition due diligence and supported international claims and medical logistics operations.
2002–2003ABB, Inc.Senior Accountant · Finance Shared Services
Worked in a shared-services consolidation spanning more than 40 U.S. sites. Supported the finance transition for the approximately US$800 million Wickliffe operation, transferring AS/400 finance activity to Cary and digitizing payable and receivable workflows.
2001–2002Liofol CompanySenior Accountant
Finance experience in specialty adhesives manufacturing serving healthcare and food-product applications, within a joint venture between Lord Corporation and Henkel. Worked with an AS/400 manufacturing and finance environment.
1997–2001Joyner, Keeny & AssociatesAccountant & Office Manager
At this surveying and engineering firm, independently replaced DOS-based CAK accounting with Peachtree 2000. Built a Windows NT network with central file storage and backups, subsequently connecting two remote offices.
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Remote team management across Australia, Canada and Europe. Financial responsibilities spanning multiple currencies, industries and operating environments.
A PRINCIPLE I RETURN TO
“Be loyal to the Lodestar,
not the route.”
Keep the purpose clear. Pay attention to the conditions.
Be willing to change how you get there.
04 / WHAT I’M BUILDING
Connected by care.
Businesses, educational resources and stories
with a shared sense of responsibility.
02 / VENTURE
Reefing Canada
Saltwater aquarium services, responsible husbandry and education that invite people to discover more, care more and protect more.
03 / VENTURE
Canadian Shark Conservancy
Public education and conservation storytelling, including Field Notes and the Sharks of Canada series.
04 / VENTURE
BlueCurrent Brand
Ocean-inspired writing, reflective leadership and original works. Live with Purpose. Lead with Courage. Steward with Gratitude.
05 / EDUCATION
Marine Life Library
A growing educational reference exploring marine species, habitats and the connections that sustain ocean life.
06 / EDUCATION
Canine Life Library
An educational resource for exploring dog breeds, their characteristics and responsible care.
07 / EDUCATION
Feline Life Library
An educational resource exploring feline breeds, their characteristics and care needs.
05 / BOOKS & IDEAS
Some lessons begin
beyond the shoreline.
Two books. A shared invitation
to pay closer attention.
01 / CONSERVATION & DISCOVERY
Shark Week
Every Day
The Longtime Diver’s Guide to Living with, Learning from, and Protecting Sharks
A diver’s perspective on understanding sharks, challenging fear and caring for the ocean they inhabit.
Explore the book on Amazon ↗02 / REFLECTION & COASTAL LIVING
The Bridge
to Serenity
How the Outer Banks Taught Me to Quiet My Mind and Find Peace
A personal reflection on place, presence and the perspective found along the shores of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Explore the book on Amazon ↗06 / RESEARCH, RECOGNITION & LEARNING
Built on continued learning.
Education
Master’s in Digital Transformation & InnovationUniversity of Ottawa · 2022
Bachelor of Commerce · AccountingUniversity of Ottawa · 1996 · Honours
Selected recognition
2022 Faculty of Medicine Innovation Award, and member of the PMO team receiving the Service Excellence Award.
View university recognition ↗Research co-authorship
Natural Language Processing to Identify Digital Learning Tools in Postgraduate Family Medicine: Protocol for a Scoping Review.
Read the protocol ↗Published correction · June 24, 2022 ↗
Professional development
Certified Healthcare Project ManagerSix Sigma Global Institute · 2024↗Certified DevOps ProfessionalSix Sigma Global Institute · 2024↗Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Healthcare ProfessionalSix Sigma Global Institute · 2024↗Professional Scrum Master IIScrum.org · 2024↗Professional Scrum Master IScrum.org · 2024↗Professional Scrum with Kanban IScrum.org · 2024↗Artificial Intelligence in Health CareMIT Sloan · Executive program completion · 2023↗Blockchain for Business — Foundations & ApplicationsIEEE · Course completion · 2021↗Machine Learning Applications in Cyber SecurityIEEE · Course completion · 2021↗
07 / IN CONVERSATION
The work, in the world.
Demonstrating scuba VR for CBC News
Footage recorded during an interview, with Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco trying the experience alongside the project team.
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA · JUNE 2024
Family Medicine develops innovative educational resources for broader good
University coverage of the department’s educational portfolio and my role in bringing its experts together.
Read the feature ↗PARTNER TESTIMONIALCorporate Renaissance Group
A testimonial I contributed for Corporate Renaissance Group, now Quisitive.
Watch on YouTube ↗08 / THE NEXT CONVERSATION
Good things begin
with a conversation.
For partnerships, professional conversations
and enquiries about Wags, Whiskers & Fins.