At noon on Sept. 17, I walked into Brett Wilson’s Calgary office expecting a leisurely lunch with the financier, philanthropist and reality TV star. Fifty-three days and six hours later, that meal was finally consummated – at a gala dinner this week in Toronto.
In between, our conversation was derailed by phone calls from Mr. Wilson’s girlfriend, quality time with his ailing retriever Maja, his meetings with business partners, and his trips to Britain and India.
Oh, and did I mention Dan Aykroyd? The actor and booze-marketer, an old friend of Mr. Wilson’s, suddenly appeared in his office on that September day, scuttling my lunch interview and setting off an eight-week marathon of e-mails and apologies.
“This is a typical day of madness,” the 53-year-old Mr. Wilson said apologetically, as I gulped down the fish stew prepared by the chef at his investment company, Prairie Merchant Corp.
Welcome to the hectic, friend-filled, celebrity-packed life of Brett Wilson, international man of non-mystery – the personable tycoon who plays “good cop” on Dragon’s Den, the show where millionaire panelists mercilessly grill starry-eyed startups and dispense money or mockery.
All this self-inflicted mayhem has made Mr. Wilson’s modishly unshaven visage one of the most recognizable faces in Canadian business. He has built household-name cachet on wealth (which he won’t divulge) gained from his investments and his founding stake in Calgary financial boutique FirstEnergy Capital Corp.
Mr. Wilson sees his celebrity status as a transitory tool that, for the moment, draws attention to his causes, celebrates entrepreneurship, and brings interesting deals across the transom. “Dragon’s Den gives me a platform that I don’t want to waste,” he said. “If the brand works and people like it, we will keep on playing.”
Indeed, the brand often veers toward super-saturation. As Mr. Wilson was evading lunch with me, he was keeping other dates – on covers of magazines, in an ad for clothier Harry Rosen, and in a contest offering “lunch with Brett Wilson.” On the business side, Mr. Wilson was busy too. Having left FirstEnergy two years ago, he is returning to the financial services sector in partnership with Bruce Chernoff, a Calgary investor who is as media-shy as Mr. Wilson is spotlight-grabbing. The two old friends are collaborating in Canoe Financial, which aims to be a significant player in the investment funds industry.
“It’s not Wilson versus O’Leary,” Mr. Wilson insisted, referring to tough-guy Dragon Kevin O’Leary, another publicity-craving financier who has emerged as investment-fund front man. “This is Wilson versus the other 50 fund managers in the country, and Kevin is one of them.”
At the moment, Canoe, where he recently became chairman, has about $1.5-billion under administration, and aims to grow to $5-billion to $10-billion over the next five years. “We wouldn’t define our program as a success unless we are in that range,” Mr. Wilson says.
Canoe is hiring people, including veteran money manager Bob Haber, who spent 25 years at Fidelity Investments Canada and will run Canoe’s EnerVest fund focused on Canadian equities.
Mr. Wilson says Mr. Chernoff lured him to Canoe not just for his pretty face, but for his track record in building financial services companies, and his reputation as an investor.
In his philanthropy, Mr. Wilson supports a number of core causes, including Outward Bound and Canada’s troops. Hence, his attendance, along with 1,700 others, at the True Patriot Love dinner Wednesday in Toronto. The fare was heavier than at Prairie Merchant – beef Wellington and well-cooked veggies – but it was all to raise money for families of military personnel.
Outside his few favoured causes, Mr. Wilson is rarely a long-term benefactor. “I refer to myself sometimes as being a serial philanthropist.” He spends time on a cause, raises awareness and cash, and then, as it gains suitable prominence, moves on to another worthy target.
