Meet Rezanne, Controller of Revive Superfoods

This week, we’re spending a day in the life of Rezanne Khalo, our Controller at Revive Superfoods!

Rezanne has a degree in Economics from York University. Before taking on her current role, she worked at BMO as a bank teller for a couple of months. She always felt like she wanted to do something different and a little more exciting. When she started working at Revive Superfoods, she said “it felt like I had dived headfirst into my passion”.  She started working with us about a year ago and is excited for where the company is headed in the future.

Why did you want to get involved in the health and wellness/food industry?

I grew up in a very health-conscious household. My parents always wanted to instill healthy habits in me from a young age, so I guess that’s what sparked my interest in Revive Superfoods. I understand the importance of living a healthy and balanced lifestyle, and a lot of that comes from what you eat. A lot of people take for granted the importance of a healthy diet and I truly think that Revive Superfoods will help people incorporate healthy habits into their lives in a fun and creative way. I have a huge sweet tooth but I’m always working on trying to find healthier alternatives to snack on and I’m glad to say I’ve been able to find that with the company as well. I love all our smoothies, but the fruity ones are the ones that really satisfy my cravings. My favourite smoothie is Strawberry Zen! I usually blend mine with orange juice and it tastes so much like the Fuzzy Peaches candy!

Describe your role in a few sentences.

The job of the Controller is to plan, direct, and coordinate all the accounting and finance operations of the company. So, I’m basically a certified control freak, and I’m loved for it! I help guide strategic financial decisions related to the company and approving all budget requests. There are many projects that I work on so it’s hard to really say what my day-to-day looks like. Some of the main things I work on are budget allocations, managing accounting records, and cash flow management.

What’s one thing most people don’t know about your work field?

There are no set-in-stone educational requirements to be a Controller. That being said, it is a senior role, so it does require you to have a good foundational understanding of accounting and finance and a lot of experience in that setting.

In your opinion, what are the main skills required to be a good controller?

To be good at this job, you have to be good with numbers. You need to be able to understand the numbers you are looking at and be able to apply logic and gather insights from them. This job can be very taxing as you deal with so much, so it requires you to be extremely organized and persistent. You need to make sure to remember all the tasks at hand and be able to apply problem-solving skills when faced with a challenge. And of course, you need to be able to manage your time well. Budgets come with tight deadlines, and the job of the controller is to make sure everything runs smoothly and in a timely fashion.

What is the most challenging aspect of your position?

Sometimes, I have to make tough decisions where budgets are concerned, so that may mean saying no to a budget request for a cool project because that money has to be allocated somewhere else. It makes my job a bit harder, but I always try my best to accommodate and find the balance so that all our departments get what they need, while the company as a whole is still in a good place budget-wise.

What are your favorite Revive Superfoods products?

My favorite products would have to be the Strawberry Zen smoothie, Bean to Baja SuperMeal. P.S Bean to Baja is great for adding on top of nachos!

What is your main hobby?

I love to paint! I have been painting from a very young age and it’s something I still love to do for fun.

Favorite movie & actor?

Hands down, my favorite movie is The Dark Knight, and my favorite actor is Christian Bale! I LOVE the entire Batman trilogy. If you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out!

Where have you travelled to?

I’ve gone on many road trips with my family over the years – I’ve been to Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee. Most recently I have travelled to Dubai.

Are you all caught up? Read A Day In The Life of Abdelsalam, CTO of Revive Superfoods.