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BCBUSINESS.CA MARCH 2019 BCBUSINESS 39 C OR P OR AT E & E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P Natalie Cartwright CO-FOUNDER AND COO, FINN AI Natalie Cartwright, who has two master's degrees and has lived in eight countries, comes from a family that prizes education. Although she's never owned a car, her parents have given her pair of jumper cables as a graduation gift, she says, to remind her to think of educa- tion in a similar way: "It's some- thing that you carry with you and you can use for your own bene•t, but more often than not you should use it for the bene•t of other people." After earning a BA in psy- cholo-y and patholo-y from McGill Universit y in 2005, Vancouver-raised Cartwright did a master's in public health, specializing in global health, at Sweden's Lund University. She worked in international devel- opment for the United Nations before moving to Geneva in 2010 to co-run the Global Fund, a US$250-million vehicle that invested in low- and middle-income countries' HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programs. "I loved feeling like I was doing something that was contributing a net positive into the world," Cartwright says. Going on to complete an MBA at IE Busi- ness School in Madrid, she returned to Van- couver in 2014 to co-found what became Finn AI with fellow student Jake Tyler, who serves as CEO. The company, which had 55 staff as of January, has developed a white-label virtual bank that uses what it calls conversational AI to help people manage their money better. So far, Finn AI's customers include banks in Africa, Europe, and North and South America, such as BMO Financial Group and South Africa's TymeBank. Finn AI's mission is to improve the •nancial well-being of 100 million people by 2025, Cartwright says. "We're aligning doing something good with the world at huge scale—banks have incredible scale— but we're aligning it with a pro•t motive." When it comes to attracting investment, having a female founder has been an advan- tage. Last fall, Finn AI raised $14 million in Series A •nancing. Among the investors: BDC Capital's Women in Technolo-y Fund and New York–based 1843 Capital, which backs companies with diverse founding teams. Half of Finn AI's board and three mem- bers of its eight-strong leadership team are women, says Cartwright, who wants to see society move beyond gender roles. "It's not just a problem for women; I think that it's equally a problem for men," she says, citing the stigma they can face for taking parental leave. Cartwright, who often speaks at young- women's clubs and at conferences, says it's important to set an example. "My No. 1 strate-y for getting women into tech and into •nance is to be as ridiculously success- ful as I can." —N.R. Gina Arsens CFO, Canada's Digital Technology Supercluster Amanda Burns CFO and VP finance, Sun-Rype Products Paulina Cameron CEO, Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE) Megan Cash VP corporate finance, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Morna Creedon Sileika CFO, Live Well Exercise Clinic Catherine Dahl Co-founder and CEO, Beanworks Solutions Laurel Douglas CEO, Women's Enterprise Centre Sharon Driscoll CFO, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Amielle Lake Co-founder, Women's Equity Lab; director, FWE Judy Leung CFO, Westbank Corp. Lauren Manteuffel VP finance, Corix Anna Marks Senior VP and corporate controller, Finning International Cecilia Mkondiwa COO, Women's Enterprise Centre Kathy Nguyen CFO and VP of innova- tions, Nurse Next Door Home Care Services Maria Rezvanova Director, finance, Fortius Sport & Health Lauren Robinson Partner, Highline Beta; executive director, Female Funders; director, National Angel Capital Organization Lisa Shields Founder and CEO, Fi.Span; founder, Hyperwallet; member, Finance Canada Pay- ments Consultative Committee Morgan Whitney CFO, Indochino Apparel Cheryl Yaremko CFO, GCT Global Container Terminals; member, board of gover- nors, Business Council of British Columbia B . C .' S MO S T I N F LU E N T I A L WOM E N