OBOT Member Profile: Zenbooks founder Eric Saumure is a rising accounting star, but he turned down a major finance role in Mark Carney’s campaign. Here’s why

—As published in the Ottawa Business Journal on July 11, 2025—  

Ottawa Business Journal (Mia Jensen)  
 

OTTAWA?—?I’m grateful to have been asked to serve as CFO for Mark?Carney’s federal leadership campaign earlier this year. It’s not every day you get that kind of call. But after a lot of reflection, talking it through with my wife, thinking about our infant son, and weighing where Zenbooks is headed, I decided it wasn’t the right time for me to step away.

Since founding Zenbooks only a few years ago, with my business partner, our little team has grown to twenty amazing people. We’ve been fortunate to be named one of Ottawa’s fastest-growing companies, Globe and mail recognized us as one of Canada’s Top Growing Companies and later this year we’ll launch an AI-driven platform built in partnership with a Toronto software firm. Those wins are down to incredible clients, brilliant colleagues, and a lot of late-night problem solving.

When the chance to run campaign finance for Mr.?Carney came up, after Doug McLarty graciously stepped back, I admit I was tempted. The experience on Ottawa’s 2022 Sutcliffe mayoral campaign showed me how different political finance can be: it’s exhilarating, stressful, and every misstep can have outsized consequences.
In the end, I realized I wanted to be fully present for my young family and our clients here at Zenbooks. I’ve been using whatever voice I have to push for small-business issues, like open banking reform and CRA e-signature acceptance and I feel I can make a bigger long-term impact that way.

Thank you to everyone who’s supported me, from my team to our clients to the folks at OBOT. I’m looking forward to what’s next, both at Zenbooks, and in the broader conversation around smarter, more accessible finance for all.