Christiane Constantineau is a Canadian-based C-Level Executive, CFO-to-hire, Cash flow expert, and Entrepreneur known for her unwavering integrity, outspoken nature, and client-centered approach, earning her the reputation of a strategic leader.
Born in a small town near Ottawa, Canada, Christiane's early life was marked by a significant health challenge. She was diagnosed with rheumatic fever at a very young age, which resulted in damage to her heart. Despite her heart problem and against doctors' advice, she chose to become a mother in her early twenties, giving birth to her sons, Benoît and Mathieu.
Both her parents were hard workers. She learned from them that money does not grow on trees. She started working at a young age to pay her tuition fees. While working at an international organization, she decided to pursue education in administration and accounting. She earned a bachelor's degree in administration and two post-graduate diplomas (DESS) in finance, in addition to completing an Executive MBA. During her MBA year, she advised a startup company in China's broadcasting sector, offering recommendations, identifying financial and operational risks, and assessing country and business risks as part of her studies.
She started to work for one of the most prestigious international research center and worked on many projects for 12 years. Before leaving the organization, she worked on a project in South Africa in 1995-96, while being a single mother of 2 very young children. She was very proud to be selected to work on that project, establishing a framework for Local business service centers throughout South Africa. She resided in Cape Town, South Africa, for a year before returning to Canada. She is always proud to answer people when they ask her what her husband was doing at a job in South Africa! She always tried to be tactful in answering because she got the job! Not her husband.
Upon her return to Canada, she moved her family to Montreal. She worked for the most prominent fund managers nationwide and as a commercial banker, specializing in seed funding for startups. After working in Montreal for eight years, she relocated to Quebec City to join her husband; she pursued her career as a commercial banker for another ten years.
In 2014, she founded her first company (Turbulence) and worked on the first electric transit system (airport shuttle) and semi-autonomous vehicles during a private mandate from 2015 to 2016. This period also allowed her to negotiate contracts in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Two years later, Christiane founded her second company (6DT Consulting), which has since become Canada's fastest-growing and lucrative cloud consulting firm, serving clients throughout Canada. With her finance expertise, she assists small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in financing their projects and effectively managing their finance departments. Christiane's love for global networking and IT project management has taken her to various international organizations and universities worldwide.
In 2019, Christiane was diagnosed with Stage 3C breast cancer. That year, he business goal was to double her business turnover, demonstrating her love for challenges and her proactive approach to achieving ambitious objectives. Nothing could have prepared her for the Stage 3C breast cancer diagnosis she received in 2019, just months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christiane is a woman of action, unafraid to tackle any challenge, whether walking down a 12-story building or facing the street on the edge of the CN Tower (116 floors above Toronto ). Christiane's life has been a testament to her belief that illness or failure is not an end but a necessary step towards success. While doing her cancer treatment, she asked her husband how would an entrepreneur of a small business manage their business and their life when they don't have support like I had from him. He told me that not everyone is as lucky as me to have such a great husband – lol. He is a wonderful guy, but with my experience, I knew I could still manage my business, and I wanted to share my story with all small business owners.
For Christiane, helping others is an end in itself. She recognizes the need for entrepreneurs to stop and create a strategic plan to protect their businesses from collapsing or suffering significant setbacks. She wrote the book - Cancer Sucks...: The Journey of an Entrepreneur and Her Fight Against Cancer While Running Her Business and published in 2023. Her book focuses specifically on entrepreneurs but is also relevant to anyone battling a long-term, chronic illness that requires months or more of healing. It shares her story and proposes a strategy combining business management with healing.
In 2023, Christiane sold her business to her favorite employee, her youngest son. Despite this transition, she remains actively engaged with clients worldwide, serving as a CFO or finance director with one foot in Canada and the other in the global business landscape.
As someone who understands the struggles of small business owners without a safety net, she is passionate about sharing her experiences and insights with decision-makers and aspiring entrepreneurs. Christiane aspires to inspire others to navigate the entrepreneurial path successfully, even when facing adversity. She is a guest speaker and workshop facilitator, focusing on entrepreneurship, resilience, and the power of small businesses in our ever-evolving economy.
In 2025, she will be publishing a new book is to be published in March. Balancing health, wellness, and business: Not easy, but possible! (title might change).
Her dedication extends beyond her professional life. You can find Christiane volunteering, golfing, or immersing herself in a captivating book in her spare time. She also possesses a keen interest in information technology. Above all, she treasures spending quality time with her loved ones and is deeply committed to her community, where she has served as a Board Member for non-profit organizations.
Christiane Constantineau's remarkable achievements would not have been possible without the unwavering support of her loving husband, Martin, and her two sons, Benoît and Mathieu.
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