Privately held businesses are the bedrock of the Canadian economy and the vast majority of these are small and medium in size, representing more than 99% of all businesses in the country. Simply put, a vibrant private company environment translates directly to a healthy and thriving Canadian economy.
In the face of a dynamic macro environment, how are Canada’s most sophisticated private investors adjusting their playbooks to help grow the next generation of Canadian champions while providing superior returns to their investors?
Join Canadian Club Toronto on May 11 for a discussion on an overall outlook of the Canadian private equity landscape and how the industry is responding to inflation trends, rising interest rates, lower debt availability, uncertain geopolitics and recessionary fears.
Our expert panel of investors will discuss what they are observing and how they are adjusting their strategies now and in the long run. This conversation will be moderated by Andrea Mandel-Campbell (Operating Advisor at Vertu Capital and Founder of karibu adventures) and will feature:
*For virtual attendees, please note that the live stream will begin at approximately 12:40pm ET & the link will be provided closer to the event date*
David Aiken
Managing Partner, Private Equity
David Aiken is a Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group, responsible for overseeing Brookfield’s Long Term Equities strategy. He has held several roles across the Private Equity Group, including Head of LATAM and Chief Investment Officer for the industrials segment.
Prior to joining Brookfield in 2007, Mr. Aiken worked in investment banking in New York, focused on restructuring and leveraged finance.
Mr. Aiken holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University.
Justin Catalano
Managing Director and Group Head, Fengate Private Equity
In 2016, at the age of 33, Justin Catalano was named Managing Director and Group Head of Fengate Private Equity – a division of Fengate Asset Management. As Group Head, Justin has oversight and responsibility for the fund’s investment strategy, operations, and investor relations. Justin is a member of the Executive Team for Fengate Asset Management – an alternative asset manager with $7 Billion in AUM.
Since its formation, Justin has been the driving force behind Fengate PE’s impressive growth trajectory, scaling the platform from a concept to a dedicated team of 19 professionals managing $700 million in equity commitments. Considered one of the youngest leaders in the Canadian PE landscape, Justin brings unique perspective in part due to his multi-asset class experience spanning private equity, mezzanine debt, and infrastructure investing. Combining Fengate’s history of entrepreneurship and Fengate PE’s ethos of “Achieving better, together” Justin’s created an innovative strategy to help entrepreneurs to realize their growth ambitions and drive a lasting positive change in their businesses – an approach he defines as Transformative Capital. Since inception, Fengate PE has generated top-quartile returns with an average MOIC on realized investments of 3.1x.
What makes Fengate PE unique is not what they do, but how they do it. Justin and his team go above and beyond for their entrepreneurial partners working in lockstep to navigate both the opportunities and challenges encountered when scaling a business. Justin’s partnership-oriented approach has earned him the reputation of being a trusted investor and respected partner.
Justin’s X-Factor is his charisma and willingness to challenge conventional thinking making him a dynamic leader in a traditional industry. He is a board member of the CVCA and has completed the CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing. Justin is also committed to supporting charitable initiatives including Mount Sinai Hospital and dEBra Canada.
Thecla Sweeney
Founding Partner, Alphi Capital
Ms. Sweeney has served on our Board since January 2022. Ms. Sweeney is a partner and co-founder of Alphi Capital Inc., a private investment firm formed in August 2022. Prior to founding Alphi, Ms. Sweeney was a member of the investment team from 2004 to 2022 at Birch Hill Equity Partners, a leading Canadian mid-market private equity firm focused on investments in the consumer, healthcare and telecom industries. In the 12 years that Ms. Sweeney was a partner at Birch Hill, she spent the last four as an Operating Partner and Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer for Motion LP, a privately-held provider of complex mobility and accessibility solutions in Canada. Prior to joining Birch Hill, Ms. Sweeney worked on the start-up of Porter Airlines, was a consultant at Bain & Company and spent three years in the Chairman’s Office of George Weston Limited. Since March 2023, she has served on the board of Dollarama Inc., a publicly-traded Canadian value retailer. She served on the board of directors of Motion LP from 2014 to January 2023. From 2010 to April 2022, she served on the board of Mastermind LP, a privately- held specialty toy retailer and from 2019 to July 2022 she served on the board of FlexNetworks LP, a privately-held telecom business. From 2012 to 2017, she served on the board of Sleep Country Canada, a specialty retailer of mattresses and accessories.
Andrea Mandel-Campbell
Operating Advisor, Vertu Capital
Andrea is a member of the Advisory Board for Crown Realty Partners, a private commercial real estate company, and is an Operating Advisory with Vertu Capital, a Toronto-based private equity firm specializing in Canadian global enterprise software companies. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Centre of Innovation and the Canadian Club of Toronto. She is also the founder of a new sustainable adventure travel start up, karibu.
