Eric Raza

Strategic Counsel & Fractional CEO/COO for Emerging-Market Founders • AI Realist • Writer on Substack • Voice from the Global South

Greater Montreal Metropolitan Area

About

If you're building something serious between two worlds - local operating reality and global expectations - you know the challenge. Your team, constraints, and execution are grounded in one context. Your capital, board, clients, or ambitions may be shaped by another. Full-time, global-level executive judgment is hard to access. Generic consulting rarely understands the ground. That's where I come in. Through Pelios, I work with emerging-market founders and CEOs as strategic counsel and fractional executive support. I help them navigate AI pressure, operating complexity, board and investor expectations, hard transformations, and the cross-continent decisions that define a company’s next chapter. Three clients at a time. Peer-level. Direct. Fractional. 📬 https://pelios.io -------------------- I also write - because I think too much gets lost when people stay quiet. About Leadership without the BS. About AI without the Hype. About our shared Humanity against the backdrop of Technology and Business. You can find me on Substack at “The Curious Project Leader”. 📬 https://ericraza.substack.com/ -------------------- Former Tech CEO | COO. President. Global VP | 30+ years. 15+ countries. 4 continents | $1B transformations. 115M+ P&Ls. 1000+ workforce | Born in Madagascar. Global Citizen. Four passports | Fluent French and English | Based in Montreal. If any of this resonates - you know where to find me. 🌍 🇲🇬 🇫🇷 🇨🇦 🇺🇸

Experience

  • Founder & Principal at Pelios - Strategic Counsel
    Oct 2021 - Present · 4 yrs 9 mos

    Pelios is a counsel practice for emerging-market founders, CEOs, and boards navigating multi‑culture operations, AI pressure, and hard transformations, We make world‑class executive judgment accessible through flexible, fractional, and concierge‑style advisory.

  • “The Curious Project Leader” at Substack
    Aug 2023 - Present · 2 yrs 11 mos

    On leadership, technology, power, and our shared humanity. Written from the margins. Direct, reflective, different.

  • SmartOne.ai (Montreal, Canada)
    • Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
      Nov 2024 - Dec 2025 · 1 yr 2 mos

      Robotics & Physical AI Data Annotation | 3D, temporal & multi-modal labeling for Embodied AI & Autonomous Systems

    • President & COO , Interim CEO
      Mar 2024 - Nov 2024 · 9 mos

  • Bounteous (1 yr 6 mos)
    • Global Vice President (Managed Services)
      May 2022 - Jun 2023 · 1 yr 2 mos

    • Global VP, Cloud & Applications Managed Services
      2022 - 2023 · 1 yr

      Restored profitability and tripled revenue run-rate of the business unit. Scaled team from 5 to 57 within one year. Introduced modern ITIL/ITSM practices and automation tools.

  • MediaKind (3 yrs 3 mos)
    • Vice President (Global PMO) | Head of Customer Operations (North America)
      Apr 2018 - Mar 2021 · 3 yrs

    • VP, Global PMO & Head of Customer Operations
      2018 - 2021 · 3 yrs

      Built and scaled PMO to 48 professionals, delivering 300+ projects worldwide. Established Customer Success team, securing 100% renewal rates with major clients. Delivered complex media projects including cloud migration and streaming platforms.