Peter M. Brown

Peter M. Brown
Born (1941-12-15) December 15, 1941
Vancouver, British Columbia
Nationality Canada
Occupation Financier
Known for Co-founder of Canarim Investment Corp. which became Canaccord Genuity
Spouse(s) Joanne Brown
Children 2
Honors Order of British Columbia; LL.D. (h.c.) University of British Columbia, Wilfrid Laurier University; D.Litt. (h.c.) Emily Carr University of Art and Design

Peter M. Brown (born 1941), is a Canadian businessman. He founded Canaccord Financial (now Canaccord Genuity), which has become the largest independent investment dealer in Canada...[1] He retired in 2014.[2]

Early life

A third-generation Vancouverite whose grandfather, Brenton Brown, and father, Ralph Brown, were in the insurance business,[3] Peter M. Brown attended the University of British Columbia. At age 20, a Montreal-based brokerage firm, Greenshields, offered to send the young graduate on a training program. Brown was assigned to corporate finance. Under the tutelage of Brad Firstbrook, he turned “from a wastrel into a workaholic.”[4]

In 1968 he asked to be transferred to the Greenshields Inc. office in Vancouver. Not long afterward he met Ted Turton. Turton had made some money in the mining business and bought control of a little investment company called H.H. Hemsworth.[5] After a four-hour lunch, Turton said to Brown, “Why don’t you come and run it?” Brown resigned his position at Greenshields and joined Turton at Hemsworth.[2]

Career

The new firm, initially called Canarim, had almost no capital, no reputation to speak of and no distribution. “Everyone said we’d fail,” says Brown.[4] Through partnerships and acquisitions, the company grew steadily. In 2004, Canaccord finally went public, raising $70 million in the initial IPO. A year after being listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canaccord completed a listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. The company is now dual-listed under the symbol CF.[6]

By the time Brown had run Canaccord for almost four decades, some large shareholders were concerned about a succession plan. “I’d never given it much thought, to be honest,” he says. “It was my baby and I guess I sort of imagined I’d be there forever. But I realized I’d had enough. It’s a very hard, stressful, Type A business — the market’s changing every minute. So I went to Paul Reynolds, who’d worked for me for 24 years, and asked if he wanted to take over.”[4] When Reynolds assumed control,[7] Canaccord Genuity had $750 million in revenue, $550 million in cash, no preferred shares and a clean balance sheet.

Community

Peter M. Brown served on the boards of numerous private sector and Crown corporations. In 1986, he was vice-chairman[8] of Expo 86, the World’s Fair in Vancouver, and he chaired the UBC board[9] at the same time. He has served as chairman[10] of the Vancouver Stock Exchange, BC Place Corporation[11] and BC Enterprise Corporation,[12] and as the federally appointed Lead Director and Member of the Finance Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games.[13]

Since retiring he has steered the Peter and Joanne Brown Foundation, dispersing (in 2014) $537,298 to various charities.[14]

Honours

Brown has received formal recognition for his contributions to the financial industry and community.

Honorary degrees

Peter Brown has received honorary doctorates of law from Wilfrid Laurier University (2015),[15] the Justice Institute of British Columbia (2013),[16] and the University of British Columbia[17] (2005), and an honorary doctorate of letters from the Emily Carr University of Art + Design (2012)[18]

Prizes and awards

He has been recognized many times over his career, including the Order of British Columbia,[12] and lifetime achievement awards from the IIAC Investment Industry Hall of Fame (2015),[19] Canadian Business Hall of Fame (2014),[20] Business Laureates of B.C. Hall of Fame (2011),[11] the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (2010),[21] and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (2010).[22] In 2012, he was awarded the IIAC Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal[23] and the Vancouver Board of Trade's Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship.[24] In 2009 he was recognized by the Fraser Institute with the T. Patrick Boyle Founder’s Award[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Canaccord Financial CEO Paul Reynolds on the future of his firm and Canada’s natural resources sector". CEO.CA. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  2. 1 2 "Canaccord founder Peter Brown resigns after 46-year career". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  3. ↑ Gutstein, Donald (1975-01-01). Vancouver Ltd. James Lorimer & Company. ISBN 9780888620811.
  4. 1 2 3 "Peter M. Brown | Peter Brown". peterbrowncapital.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  5. ↑ "Canaccord Co-Founder Ted Turton Remembered". CEO.CA. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  6. ↑ "Our Company History - Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management". www.canaccordgenuity.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  7. ↑ Sun, The Vancouver. "Canaccord appoints Brown's successor". Canada.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  8. ↑ "Three federal appointments made to VANOC board". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  9. ↑ "University of British Columbia Library - University Archives". www.library.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  10. ↑ Sun, Vancouver. "'Little steps' took Canaccord founder to the top". Canada.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  11. 1 2 "Business Laureates of BC". www.businesslaureatesbc.org. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  12. 1 2 "2003 Recipient: Peter Brown – Vancouver : Order of BC". www.orderofbc.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  13. ↑ Heritage, Government of Canada,Canadian (2006-11-02). "Canada News Centre - Archived - New Members Appointed to Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee Board of Directors". nouvelles.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  14. ↑ "Peter & Joanne Brown Foundation". Chimp. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  15. ↑ "Wilfrid Laurier University - University Secretariat - Senate - Honorary Degree Recipients". legacy.wlu.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  16. ↑ "Past Honorary Degree Recipients | Justice Institute of British Columbia". www.jibc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  17. ↑ "UBC Archives - Honorary Degree Citations - 2003-07". www.library.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  18. ↑ "HD Recipients to 20142.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  19. ↑ "Hall of Fame | IIAC". iiac.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  20. ↑ "Peter M. Brown | CBHF". cbhf.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  21. ↑ "The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame". mininghalloffame.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  22. ↑ "EY Entrepreneur Of The Year - Meet the winners". www.ey.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  23. ↑ http://iiac.ca/wp-content/themes/IIAC/New%20Releases/2012/IIAC%20Diamond%20Jubilee%20Medal%20recipients_August%2031.pdf
  24. ↑ "Rix Awards for Engaged Community and Corporate Citizenship". www.boardoftrade.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  25. ↑ "The TP Boyle Founder's Award". Fraser Institute. Retrieved 2016-01-19.

External links

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