The CPA Way: Careers in Tax

Ali Eakin is Head of Indirect Tax at Amazon Canada, where she has spent nearly nine years leading tax policy, strategic planning, and audit defense for Amazon's Canadian operations. Her team partners with business leaders to launch and expand products and services in Canadian markets, while managing indirect tax audits for all Amazon entities worldwide.

Ali is also the global co-lead of Amazon's Women-in-Tax organization, which delivers mentoring, networking, career development, and allyship programs for over 1,000 Amazonians in tax across North America, LATAM, EMEA, APAC, and India.

She also serves as Vice Chair of TEI's Canadian Commodity Tax Committee, where she engages directly with federal and provincial finance and tax authorities on indirect tax issues facing businesses operating in Canada. This includes drafting policy submissions and shaping the agenda for TEI's annual Canadian Tax Conference.

Prior to Amazon, Ali worked at Deloitte in both London, UK and Vancouver.

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Thomas Drinkwater is a Director of Tax at Wheaton Precious Metals, a precious metals streaming company that enters into long‑term agreements to purchase all or a portion of a mine’s precious metal production. Thomas began his career in KPMG’s Direct‑to‑Tax program after graduating from SFU, where he worked primarily with private companies, progressing to divestiture planning while completing CPA PEP and honour‑rolling the CFE in 2017. In 2019, he transitioned to Wheaton Precious Metals, where he now leads transfer pricing documentation and planning, international tax and Pillar Two initiatives, and tax risk management. Thomas pursued a career in tax for the unique skill set it develops and the opportunity to advise businesses on navigating an increasingly complex and evolving tax landscape.

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Tu Vu, CPA
Senior Tax Manager
The Jim Pattison Group

Tu is a Senior Tax Manager at the Jim Pattison Group. As a young practitioner, she has acquired significant experience in Canadian corporate tax, accounting for income tax, international tax, audit liaison, indirect tax, and transfer pricing. Tu has been instrumental in a number of international business combinations, applying her tax expertise to support strategic business decisions.

Prior to joining the Jim Pattison Group, Tu obtained her CPA designation at PwC and gained valuable industry experience in a multinational environment at Hootsuite.

Actively involved in the tax community, Tu serves on the Canadian Tax Foundations’ Board of Governors and contributes regularly to CTFocus, where she also promotes writership. Her approach combines technical expertise with a strong focus on building meaningful professional connections.