Career Writing Connect
Toronto, ON · Canada

Jonathan
Bellot.

Over twenty years across Canadian financial services: Big 4 advisory, global banking, and running a national FinTech P&L. Based in Toronto.

Strategy & Operations P&L Leadership Financial Services Organizational Change
Jonathan Bellot

I grew up watching my parents do everything right. Two careers. A small clothing store on the side. Smart, disciplined, deeply committed. And the business always seemed to work against them despite all of it. That gap never left me.

One week, while playing football in Dominica, it occurred to me that I wanted a sport where win or lose, I would know exactly why. I took up tennis the following week and made it to number two junior on the island. That instinct, wanting clear accountability over shared ambiguity, has followed me into every role since.

I am introverted, which surprises people who have seen me run a meeting or plan an event. The explanation is straightforward: I show up to things by running them. Give me a role and a room full of people becomes manageable. I prefer small groups. Large events are survivable if I am the one with the clipboard.

The Work

Twenty years across institutions, banks, and businesses of every size. Every role added a layer.

FT
Ferratum Group
January 2019 – April 2020 · Country Manager
Full P&L Ownership, National FinTech Operation
Country Manager for the Canadian operation of a Finnish FinTech lender, reporting to global headquarters in Helsinki. Full P&L ownership: revenue, cost, headcount, strategy. Grew unit sales 47% and cut direct costs 38% in the same period.
47% unit sales growth · 38% cost reduction · same period
1263
Twelve Sixty-Three Advisory
June 2020 – January 2024 · Principal
Independent Advisory, SME and Enterprise
Four years advising SMEs and enterprise clients across financial services, healthcare, and non-profit. The work ranged from embedding inside major bank transformation programs to recovering trapped capacity in owner-operated businesses. One engagement alone freed 6,500 hours of annual capacity and recovered $129K in direct costs.
$129K recovered · 6,500 hours freed
SBR
Optimus SBR
February 2016 – January 2019 · Manager, Financial Services Consulting
Embedded Consulting, Canada's Big 5 Banks
Embedded consulting inside Canada's largest banks. The kind of work where you are trusted enough to see the real problem, not the one on the brief. Led a two-year remediation of a $31M Visa Debit processing issue. Deployed RPA across three processes, cutting manual effort by more than half.
$31M issue resolved · 50% effort eliminated · 83% time reduction
HSBC
HSBC Bank Canada
August 2014 – February 2016 · Product Manager, Credit Cards
Retail Credit Card Portfolio
Product Manager for the retail credit card portfolio. Redesigned and relaunched a credit card product, driving 23% growth in customer penetration within six months. Led acquisition strategy across multiple campaigns and contributed to addressing OSFI audit deficiencies across lending products.
23% customer penetration growth · national portfolio
EY
EY Advisory
2010 – 2014 · Senior Consultant
Management Consulting, Financial Services
Where the foundation was built. Advisory work across financial services, energy, and non-profit: operating model deployments, process architecture, and cost analysis across four global regions.
Big 4 · global operating models · four regions

MBA at Pace University, New York City (2008–2010). Prior to that: Client Services at CI Investments (2004–2006) and a contract communications role at Enwin Utilities (2007).

Credentials

2004
B.Comm, Finance & Economics — Valedictorian
Saint Mary's University · Halifax, NS
2010
MBA, Strategic Management
Pace University · New York, NY
2018
Certified Change Practitioner
Prosci

Beyond the Resume

The last two years (March 2024 – April 2026) were spent on an intentional sabbatical: teaching business English in Medellín and reaching A2 in Spanish. Back in Toronto now. Outside work: tennis, father, and happiest somewhere I have never been before.

🎾 Tennis 👨‍👧 Father 🇨🇴 Learning Spanish ✈️ New destinations 📖 Constant reader

Perspectives

Occasional writing on policy, organizations, and the systems that govern how things actually work.

01
Bypassing the Silos: Why Aviation Safety Rules Won't Stop Canada's Airport Drug Crisis
Canada's airports have an insider threat problem. The fix is not more safety regulation. It is understanding why no single agency owns the anti-narcotics mandate, and building the integrated task force that fills that gap.
Forthcoming

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