Departing founder steps down after more than forty years to move on to private equity.
Legendary West Coast investment banker Peter Brown is leaving the firm, Canaccord, he started more than forty years ago.
Brown got his start in the investment business with Greenshields Inc. in 1962. But he moved on and founded what would become Canaccord Genuity in 1968. Canadian capital markets would never be the same.
The independent venture capital firm financed many mineral exploration companies from the West Coast and established itself as a major player in the Canadian financial industry. Few, if any in this country, challenged the domination of the financial industry of Toronto's Bay Street like Brown. The firm ended up becoming a West Coast institution, has now spread round the world as it continues to grow. In 2010 the company bought the Chinese investment bank The Balloch Group and now sports a market cap over $1 billion.
“We were western cowboys,” Brown told The Vancouver Sun in 2011. “In our business, Toronto is very much a head-office town.”
It is the end of an era. Brown resigned as a director and officer of the company and will not seek re-election to the board of directors. Brown is said to be going into the private equity business. He still serves as chairman of the Fraser Institute and vice chairman of the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC).
Brown got his start in the investment business with Greenshields Inc. in 1962. But he moved on and founded what would become Canaccord Genuity in 1968. Canadian capital markets would never be the same.
The independent venture capital firm financed many mineral exploration companies from the West Coast and established itself as a major player in the Canadian financial industry. Few, if any in this country, challenged the domination of the financial industry of Toronto's Bay Street like Brown. The firm ended up becoming a West Coast institution, has now spread round the world as it continues to grow. In 2010 the company bought the Chinese investment bank The Balloch Group and now sports a market cap over $1 billion.
“We were western cowboys,” Brown told The Vancouver Sun in 2011. “In our business, Toronto is very much a head-office town.”
It is the end of an era. Brown resigned as a director and officer of the company and will not seek re-election to the board of directors. Brown is said to be going into the private equity business. He still serves as chairman of the Fraser Institute and vice chairman of the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC).
