60 Seconds with Mo Hirani

60 Seconds with Mo Hirani, managing director of Tactico

What does your company deal in?

Our firm invests in financial services: We create value through innovative and opportunistic start-ups or uncovering existing undervalued, underperforming gems that we can help turn around.

What does your job entail? 

Proverbial jack of all trades like my partners. My focus recently has been on the planning and execution of our mandates.

What is your favorite sports team?

Hands down, the Montreal Canadians hockey team. Along with the New York Yankees, it is one of the most storied sports franchises ever. So being a fan was easy; being a native Montrealer made it even easier.

What is the most influential book you have ever read? 

Lots of books come to mind but I’d say, Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. It is a compelling story of how a person can realize their true potential and how success doesn’t always come in the ways we would naturally perceive it.

What did you do on July 4, 2009? 

As a Canadian I celebrated July 1—our national birthday—with family and friends. 

What car do you drive? What was your first car?

I drive a BMW coupe—a real beauty. My first car was a 1981 Honda Prelude with a shocking red interior, all analog controls and covered with rust. It was a sore sight to behold but once I took it for a spin I knew underneath all that was a very strong and willing engine. So I bought and then babied that car, rebuilding it inside and out for years until it could no longer brave another cold and snowy Canadian winter. It is still my favorite of all the cars I’ve owned.

What is on your iPod? 

It is pretty varied: Metric, Outkast, Depeche Mode.

What is the last book you read?

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb—very interesting stuff.

What is the last film you saw?

Avatar. But, then, who hasn’t?

What is your favorite TV show?

Lost. It is easily the biggest source on TV of both pure joy and frustration all at the same time.

What is your favorite memory from college/childhood?

I have so many. One that sticks out is visiting Rome and being completely wowed by the majesty of all things Roman.

What is the last gadget you bought? 

A Hewlett-Packard laptop: It is lighter, faster and more powerful than any laptop before it.

What keeps you awake at night?

Thinking of how to make the better mousetrap, so to speak, for the financial services space.

If you weren’t a technologist, what would you be doing? 

I would definitely be an architect.