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Our Leadership Team

Meet our leadership team at Kognitive Sales Solutions, Canada’s industry leader in field sales and retail marketing. Our leadership team brings decades of experience in sales strategy, operational excellence, and people development, driving innovation and measurable results for national brands. Discover the people powering our award-winning culture, technology-driven approach, and client success stories.

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Eugene Hartman

Chief Executive Officer

With over 27 years of executive leadership in sales and operations, Eugene Hartman has consistently delivered top-tier performance while leading large-scale, cross-functional sales teams across Canada. His career spans some of the nation’s most iconic retail powerhouses, including Future Shop and Best Buy, where he spearheaded strategic partnerships with Walmart, Canadian Tire, President’s Choice Financial, Scotiabank, and Amazon.

Learn More about Eugene

Eugene is widely recognized for cultivating award-winning, high-performance cultures and is unwavering in his mission: to develop the next generation of strong, impactful leaders. He brings a people-first philosophy to business, emphasizing leadership development, culture transformation, and team empowerment as core drivers of long-term success.

A proven innovator, Eugene has led the launch of new business categories from inception to market-leading performance, continuously exceeding sales targets, client expectations, and operational benchmarks. His approach integrates customer service excellence, full compliance adherence, and agile operational leadership to produce results that are both scalable and sustainable.

Whether leading national teams, mentoring high-potential talent, or driving change across complex retail environments, Eugene brings an unmatched passion for sales excellence, strategic innovation, and leadership impact.

Nick Demelo

Senior Vice President, Sales

Nicholas Demelo is a dynamic and accomplished senior executive with over 25 years of leadership experience in big box retail, financial sales, and retail management. As Senior Vice President of Sales, he brings a proven track record of consistently exceeding top-line revenue goals and delivering strong bottom-line results, even in highly competitive and fast-paced environments.

Learn More about Nick

Nicholas is deeply committed to developing people and building high-performance teams. His leadership style is rooted in authenticity, coaching, and connection, creating a culture where individuals are empowered to grow, contribute, and succeed. A passionate advocate for team engagement, he believes that culture is a strategic driver of business performance. By fostering trust, respect, and open communication, he inspires those around him to deliver their best every day.

Known for his exceptional listening skills, Nicholas creates space for his team to voice ideas and propose solutions, encouraging innovation, ownership, and collaboration. He leads with integrity and sincerity, and he is widely respected for his ability to align people around a shared vision while remaining grounded and approachable.

A clear set of values guides Nicholas: a commitment to excellence, a foundation of trust and respect, and a leadership presence that is both dynamic and fun. He believes that exceptional results come from teams that are not only accountable but also energized and inspired. His passion for coaching and people development continues to shape the next generation of sales leaders across the organization.

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David Liu

Chief Operating Officer

David Liu is a seasoned technology and operations executive with over 25 years of experience leading digital transformation across retail, B2B, incentives, and automotive sectors. Known for his ability to align cutting-edge technology with business strategy, David specializes in building scalable enterprise platforms, streamlining operations, and empowering high-performance teams through automation, analytics, and innovation.

Learn More about David

Since joining Kognitive Sales Solutions in 2014, David has played a pivotal role in the company’s transformation into a nationally recognized, technology-enabled field sales leader. As a Partner and senior executive, he has driven innovation across every layer of the business—from infrastructure and systems architecture to HR technology and sales enablement. One of his most impactful contributions is the development and launch of Optimy.ai, Kognitive’s proprietary AI-powered sales enablement platform. Designed from the ground up under David’s leadership, Optimy.ai delivers real-time coaching, predictive analytics, dynamic content recommendations, and lead scoring to frontline sales teams, significantly improving engagement, compliance, and productivity across national programs.

David’s leadership has redefined how technology supports execution at scale. He re-architected Kognitive’s core systems into a modern, cloud-native, microservices infrastructure with real-time analytics and continuous deployment capabilities. Under his guidance, the company launched integrated ERP, onboarding, compliance, and performance tracking systems that align business operations with strategic goals. He also led the automation of the hiring and onboarding process, cutting time-to-hire by 40% while improving talent quality and retention. Through his work in HR tech and employer branding, David has helped Kognitive build a scalable talent engine that supports national expansion and field readiness.

Prior to his time at Kognitive, David led digital transformation initiatives for B2B enterprises, incentive platforms, and automotive dealerships. From 2012 to 2014, he designed configurable loyalty engines, quoting tools, and service optimization systems that accelerated sales cycles and improved customer satisfaction. Earlier in his career, he worked in retail technology, where he built real-time inventory and supply chain systems, developed in-store performance dashboards, and integrated HR, training, and scheduling workflows—all of which laid the foundation for his systems-thinking approach to enterprise design.

David’s leadership is defined by clarity, accountability, and a human-centered mindset. He brings together strategic vision and hands-on execution, working across departments to foster collaboration and innovation. Fluent in both technical and business languages, he is respected as a transformative leader who builds systems that don’t just function—they drive measurable growth and empower the people who use them. His work continues to shape Kognitive’s reputation as a forward-thinking, results-driven organization equipped for long-term success.

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Karen Hartman

Senior Director, Learning & Development

Karen Hartman is a seasoned leader in learning and development with over 25 years of experience designing and managing programs that foster purpose, engagement, and personal growth. With a Bachelor of Arts in Recreational and Leisure Studies from the University of Waterloo, specializing in Therapeutic Recreation and Gerontology, Karen has dedicated her career to helping individuals of all ages thrive through adaptive, meaningful programming.

Learn More about Karen

Karen’s early work in therapeutic recreation and fitness instruction equipped her with a strong foundation in understanding how to balance challenge and skill to drive growth, motivation, and lifelong learning. Her background as a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor continues to inform her learner-centric approach, where well-being and performance go hand-in-hand.

In her role as Senior Director of Learning and Development at Kognitive Sales Solutions, Karen leads a cross-functional team of instructional designers, trainers, and coaches. She oversees the creation and delivery of comprehensive training, coaching, and mentoring programs that are strategically aligned with Kognitive’s values, business objectives, and compliance standards. Her work is centered on connecting the “what” and the “why” in every learning experience—ensuring that employees not only understand the content, but feel empowered and motivated to apply it.

Karen is known for her empathetic leadership style, her passion for continuous improvement, and her commitment to cultivating a learning culture where people are supported, challenged, and inspired to reach their full potential.

Sobhi Kiblawi

Senior Director, Sales

Sobhi is celebrating 10 years of driving high-impact growth through visionary leadership and revenue-focused strategy. With over 18 years of experience, he has built and led top-performing teams across Canada, consistently surpassing national sales targets and maximizing regional performance.

Learn More about Sobhi

Widely respected for his ability to lead with both vision and accountability, Sobhi has been instrumental in expanding Kognitive’s market footprint. His leadership has directly contributed to significant gains in gross profit and operational efficiency across multiple business units.

Sobhi is known for his talent in mentoring, performance management, and strategic planning—transforming team culture and elevating client satisfaction across the organization. With a strong foundation in project management and engineering, he excels at aligning big-picture objectives with actionable, results-driven execution.

A proven revenue strategist and people-first leader, Sobhi remains a driving force behind Kognitive’s continued growth and long-term success.

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Ryan Strachan

Director, Sales Retail

With over 25 years of experience in retail management and leadership, Ryan Strachan brings a proven track record of performance, growth, and people development to his role as Director of Regional Sales at Kognitive Sales Solutions. Since joining the company three years ago, Ryan has risen quickly through the leadership ranks, earning recognition for consistently delivering results and building high-performing teams.

Learn More about Ryan

Ryan’s dynamic leadership style—equal parts strategic and hands-on—has been key in revitalizing underperforming regions, launching new initiatives, and fostering strong relationships across all levels of the business. He is widely respected as a foundational leader who focuses not only on short-term wins, but on building the systems and structures that support long-term, sustainable success.

Rooted in accountability, coaching, and clarity, Ryan’s leadership empowers his teams to grow and excel. He leads from the front, invests deeply in talent development, and is committed to streamlining execution and driving operational excellence. His ability to raise the bar—both for himself and those around him—has made him a trusted voice within the organization and a catalyst for regional growth.

Beatriz excels at scaling recruitment operations, optimizing talent pipelines, and implementing HR systems that support long-term business success. Her expertise includes employee engagement, leadership development, diversity & inclusion, and organizational change management. She is a trusted partner to executive leadership, ensuring that people strategies are data-driven, inclusive, and future-focused.

Outside of work, Ryan places a strong emphasis on family and staying grounded. He draws motivation and perspective from time spent with loved ones, believing that balance outside of work enhances leadership within it. A lifelong sports enthusiast, Ryan credits his time in team sports with shaping his approach to discipline, collaboration, and perseverance—values that remain central to how he leads, mentors, and motivates others.

Ben Arjomandi

Director, Technology

As Director of Technology at Kognitive Sales Solutions, Ben Arjomandi brings over 16 years of cross-functional experience in technology, finance, and operations. Since joining the company in 2013, he has played a pivotal role in designing and implementing scalable systems and data-driven strategies that improve performance and operational efficiency.

Learn More about Ben

Ben is the architect behind Kognitive’s custom-built workforce management solution—developed from the ground up—a platform that now serves as a critical driver of sales and operational success across the organization. His hands-on leadership extends across HR, payroll, and finance, enabling him to seamlessly bridge strategic vision with technical execution.

Known for his collaborative and results-oriented approach, Ben continues to be a key force in shaping Kognitive’s ongoing growth, innovation, and digital transformation.

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Beatriz Arrarte

Director, HR & Talent Acquisition

Beatriz Arrarte is an award-winning HR and Talent Acquisition executive with a distinguished track record of building high-performance teams and fostering people-first cultures in dynamic, high-growth environments. As Director of Human Resources & Talent Acquisition at Kognitive Sales Solutions, she spearheads national recruitment strategies across Canada and the U.S., with a focus on high-volume hiring, field sales recruitment, and strategic workforce planning.

More about Beatriz

With over a decade of experience across retail, financial services, technology, consumer packaged goods (CPG), sales, and experiential marketing sectors, she is recognized for aligning talent strategies with business growth objectives. Her leadership has earned her two Gold Chairman’s Awards and one Silver Chairman’s Award, celebrating her pivotal role in executing enterprise-wide talent solutions and launching high-impact client initiatives at scale.

The Gold Chairman’s Awards specifically recognized Beatriz’s exceptional work with Fortune 500 companies—from initial pitch to full execution—delivering programs that generated significant value for the organization. While being awarded a Silver Chairman’s Award for previous client success, honouring her sustained excellence in client delivery, execution, and measurable results that contributed to overall organizational success.

Beatriz excels at scaling recruitment operations, optimizing talent pipelines, and implementing HR systems that support long-term business success. Her expertise includes employee engagement, leadership development, diversity & inclusion, and organizational change management. She is a trusted partner to executive leadership, ensuring that people strategies are data-driven, inclusive, and future-focused.

Known for her strategic mindset, operational excellence, and ability to lead through change, Beatriz is passionate about cultivating resilient, inclusive workplace cultures that empower people and fuel performance.

Nabil Filali

Associate Director, Sales

Nabil Filali is an accomplished sales and business leader with over 12 years of experience in direct sales and more than 8 years in regional management, specializing in B2B partnerships with leading financial institutions. Known for his ability to drive performance, build high-impact teams, and scale operations from the ground up, Nabil has earned a strong reputation for delivering exceptional results in fast-paced, high-stakes environments.

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