low angle view of two businessmen shaking handsGeorge Doyle
Two more senior bankers are joining Difference Capital, the year-old merchant banking and advisory firm being built by GMP Capital co-founder Michael Wekerle and a group of partners.
Jamie Brown, who used to run Canaccord Genuity's U.S. investment banking business, has been named a partner. He will start in the Toronto office but the plan is to move him to his hometown of Vancouver to open Difference's west coast office. The other name set to go on the roster is Tom Astle, a long time technology analyst who has run the research departments of two different firms. His job will be two-fold, to help vet investments, and then to tell their stories once Difference puts money into them.
Difference is focused on technology, betting that there are small technology companies that need money and advice but cannot yet tap the public markets. The plan is to use the merchant banking side of the business to invest in the companies, and to build an advisory business as well. The goal is $100-million of revenue in five years, with 30 professionals working on the advisory side.
So far, Difference has brought on board Neil Johnson, who once ran Canaccord's London investment banking business, as chief executive officer. It has also lured Jeff Kehoe, who oversaw enforcement at the Investment Industry Regulatory Association of Canada, to be general counsel and a managing partner.
(Boyd Erman is a Globe and Mail Reporter & Streetwise Columnist.)
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