Firstly, I want to thank Amber for all the work she has done as Outlier Compliance Group’s CEO for the past 11 years. Outlier Compliance Group is different from other consulting firms which is a testament to her leadership over the years. Amber may be taking time to enjoy other things in life but she will remain with the Outlier team as Chairperson and Strategic Advisor.

This part of the transition delights me to no end. Although I bring almost 20 years of my own compliance and leadership experience, growing, scaling, and professionalizing compliance teams, I truly believe that you only get to the next horizon by collaborating and having the support of the people who got you this far. Knowing that Amber will continue to be a part of the Outlier family is a great comfort.

For our clients, I want to assure you that not much will change. Outlier Compliance Group will continue to be the company where our core staff members have at least 10,000 hours (and often more than a decade) of in-house compliance experience, and we will still be the company that believes good compliance is good business. I may be stepping into the role of CEO but our services are and will remain a team effort. As always, we are committed to providing you with top tier compliance support and we appreciate your business.

As the Canadian regulatory environment becomes more complicated, we will continue to help companies in both established and emerging sectors navigate increasingly complex Canadian regulatory requirements. Our clients range from startups just beginning their compliance journey to large firms looking to elevate their compliance systems to meet an evolving regulatory landscape. As such, we will be looking to offer expanded services, some of which will be formed via strategic partnerships, where it makes sense for our clients’ needs. Stay-tuned for more on that front in the near future. 

I look forward to working with you on your compliance journey and welcome any questions or concerns. Feel free to reach out directly via email to info@outliercanada.com

When Outlier Solutions Inc. (Outlier Compliance Group) launched in 2013, the business model was relatively novel: a consulting firm made up exclusively of highly-experienced compliance professionals with deep in-house compliance experience. The firm took its name from Malcolm Gladwell’s Book, “Outliers, the Story of Success,” which espoused the notion that to be truly proficient in a skill, 10,000 hours of practice is required. 

That was the bar that was set, met, and most often exceeded by every compliance professional that joined our team over the years. I am very fortunate to have in David Vijan a co-founder and colleague with experience in growing, scaling, and professionalising compliance teams. As of today, David will be officially taking over as CEO of Outlier Solutions Inc.

I cannot imagine anyone more qualified than David to take the business and the team forward. While I will be stepping back from most day-to-day functions, I will remain a strategic advisor to Outlier, and the Chairperson of the Board.  

As I transition into my new role, I can’t help but reflect on the Outlier journey that started over a decade ago. At the beginning, the goal was nothing short of changing the face of consulting. 

I was frustrated with the “leverage model”. This model is used by the big accounting and consulting firms that throw bodies, often junior with little in-house experience, at a problem in the hopes of resolving it, thereby “leveraging” the team members for this purpose. I wanted to do something that was different, not only in terms of the skills of their consultants, but in every aspect of corporate life: from compensation to leadership.

This was not simply hubris on my part, though I’m sure there was a healthy dash of that as well. I wanted to build the types of services that I wished I had access to when I was a Compliance Officer working in-house. 

A wide range of concepts fell under this umbrella, from practical advice on operational compliance, to true fixed-fee services (because no one likes surprise invoices!) It also includes online tools accessible to small businesses that may not be able to pay for consulting services but still have compliance obligations to meet. 

The goal was always to build solutions that would provide excellent value to Canadian businesses, large and small, from coast to coast to coast. My experience at Outlier has exceeded my wildest expectations. If I could go back in time and give a piece of advice to myself as a new entrepreneur, I would tell myself to think bigger!

The week that Outlier was formed, one of my mentors, Michelle McCarthy, asked me if I had thought about what my exit would look like. I hadn’t, and didn’t want to pay that much mind, as I was hyper focussed on solving more immediate problems. 

I told her that I wanted to create something that would not only function but excel without me. I wanted a team of professionals with skills that exceed my own and who would carry the work forward in ways that had not yet occurred to me. I wasn’t thinking about it at the time, but I am now reminded of how one of my favourite business books, Good to Great, emphasises the importance of having the right people in place and the success of internally promoted CEOs. 

My eternal support for and commitment to David, the Outlier team, our clients, and strategic partners is unwaveringly strong. I can say that there is not a doubt in my mind that the Outlier team is the best compliance consulting team in Canada, and I am excited to see how the vision that began over a decade ago continues to grow and expand.