A SAF alum who launched his first venture as a student, Khan has never stopped asking how opportunity can reach the people who need it most.
By Rachel Doherty
For Adnan Khan (MAcc '17), the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) was a launchpad that gave him the foundational skills and mentors to pursue a career at the intersection of business and social impact.
Khan arrived at the University of Waterloo not knowing exactly where his path would lead. While still a student, Khan had travelled to Nicaragua as a volunteer and come face to face with a reality that stayed with him: students with a fierce desire to learn, but limited means to do so. That experience seeded EduGate, a nonprofit aimed at improving access to education in under-resourced communities through the deployment of technology in the classroom.
EduGate was a beginning, not a destination.
Khan earned a Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management and a Master of Accounting, and went on to a career at Deloitte Consulting's Strategy and Operations practice. As he progressed from business analyst to manager, he got involved with pro bono consulting projects including one with Shakira’s foundation, Fundación Pies Descalzos. Through this work, he learned more about the high rates of underemployment of talent in Latin America, particularly women.
In 2020, Khan decided to tackle this head on by making the leap to Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Viva Talent alongside Fineas Tatar (BAFM '20), his former classmate, roommate and a fellow SAF alum. Viva connects high-growth companies with skilled remote talent in 14 countries, with a deliberate focus on creating meaningful career opportunities for women in Latin America. The venture is trusted by some of the most well-known technology companies in the world, including Notion, Groq and Lovable. The thread running through EduGate and Viva, Khan says, is captured in a quote by the late Leila Janah: "Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not."
Viva operates in a space that is being rapidly reshaped by AI, and Khan thinks carefully about how and when to adopt it. Last year, Khan received recognition from Zapier as AI Transformation Leader of the Year.
When the conversation turns to SAF, Khan is quick to credit the mentors who shaped him: Oni Prisecaru, Brandon Weekes, Steve Balaban and Upkar Arora. Khan’s mentors each gave him something distinct: an understanding of what great leadership looks like, a "best-in-the-world" mindset and the simple but powerful habit of asking others for their point of view.
Khan was himself a recipient of the SAF Fellowship and the President's Scholarship of Distinction — recognition that, he says, deepened his sense of responsibility to give back. He has carried all of it forward, returning to campus to mentor students, support the Fellowship program and give back in the same spirit he received. "SAF has a deep culture of mentorship," he says. "I learned that first-hand as a first-year student. I had many people supporting me solely because someone supported them and they wanted to pay it forward."
That continuity matters to him. When he thinks about what he wants a current SAF student to take away from his story, the answer is not about credentials or career paths. "Build strong relationships starting today," he says. "Regardless of which path you take, relationships will take you farther — both personally and professionally."
SAF has a deep culture of mentorship, I learned that first-hand as a first-year student. I had many people supporting me solely because someone supported them and they wanted to pay it forward.
Khan will receive his award at the SAF Alumni Excellence Gala on May 27, 2026, where he will be celebrated alongside 2025 Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award recipient Troy Maxwell.