Vena is setting a new standard for how organizations optimize operations, enhance strategic alignment and deliver superior value to customers
TORONTO – September 11, 2024 – Vena, the only Complete Planning platform purpose-built to harness the full power of Microsoft 365, today announced a significant leadership change as Burzin Contractor, formerly SVP, Revenue Operations & Corporate Strategy, has been promoted to SVP, FP&A and Operations. In his new role, Contractor will report directly to Vena CFO Melissa Howatson, marking a strategic move that further aligns Vena’s FP&A, revenue operations (RevOps) and corporate strategy functions. 
By consolidating the critical functions of FP&A, RevOps and corporate strategy under a single leader, Vena aims to improve operational efficiency, reduce redundancy and accelerate decision-making processes, ultimately delivering more cohesive solutions and better outcomes for customers and partners.
"Our decision to align FP&A and revenue operations under Burzin’s leadership is a strategic step that ultimately allows us to better serve our customers," said Melissa Howatson, CFO at Vena. "Burzin’s deep experience in finance and operations will help us eliminate inefficiencies and improve response times to business questions, ensuring that we provide more cohesive and integrated solutions. This change not only strengthens our internal alignment, but ultimately allows us to focus on our key priorities and deliver greater value to our customers and partners.”
The move also reflects a growing trend in the industry toward leveraging financial and operational data to streamline processes and improve decision making. According to Dresner Advisory Services in the 2024 Wisdom of Crowds EPM Market Study Report, over 90% of companies are placing integrated performance management systems that link to financial budgets and operational plans as critical to somewhat important. As companies face increasingly complex market conditions, the ability to integrate financial and operational planning is becoming a key differentiator in achieving strategic goals and responding to market changes.
“Being a CPA and spending most of my career in finance before leaning into operations and strategy, I'm excited to be leading this consolidated group. The new structure will enable us to build a more robust end-to-end strategic planning engine," said Burzin Contractor, SVP, FP&A and Operations.
For Contractor, this new role is a homecoming of sorts. A CPA by training, Contractor was previously a member of Vena’s finance team before transitioning to operations almost five years ago. In his expanded role, Contractor will continue to sit on the executive leadership team and lead revenue operations, strategy and analytics, bringing his extensive experience and insights full circle as he helps drive Vena’s continued growth and innovation.
About Vena
Vena is the only Complete Planning platform purpose built to harness the full power of the Microsoft technology ecosystem for FP&A teams and their collaborators. Vena amplifies Microsoft's world-leading productivity tools, cloud technology and AI innovation to make FP&A, operational planning and adjacent strategic processes more flexible, efficient and intelligent. Thousands of the world’s leading companies rely on Vena to power their planning. For more information, visit venasolutions.com.
Media Contact:
For immediate inquiries or more details regarding our latest business news, please contact:
Jonathan Paul
Vice President, Content Marketing
jpaul@venacorp.com