Founder and Chairman, The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism, Rich Paul is the co-founder and CEO of KLUTCH Sports Group, since 2012. View Wes Hall's business profile as Executive Chairman & Founder at Kingsdale Advisors. For historical image resources, please contact the CBC Image Research Library, which has an extensive archive of still photography dating back to the 1950's. But for advising corporate giants, he'll often charge $40,000 a day. But I always like to look on the bright side of things. Like other activists, Ackman views himself as a crusader against the bad old model of North American corporate capitalism. In VN's words, Front Street (whose management contract with Ceres was worth almost $3-million a year) was "extracting capital out of [Ceres], doing nothing at best, maybe destroying value at worst.". Lowering the threshold to 5 per cent doesn't leave too many firms in Canada to invest in," he says. As the Founder of Kingsdale Advisors, Mr. Hall has delivered an unparalleled track record of success for North Americas biggest names including: - Air Canada - Barrick - BHP Billiton - Citigroup - CN - CP - Ovintiv - Goldcorp - Talisman - Suncor He has been sought out to lead some of the highest profile deals and activist campaigns in North America including: Enbridges $37 billion merger with Spectra Energy, Agrium and Potash Corp.s $36 billion merger. Still, the vital history of the Underground Railroad lives on not only in this plaque but in our ongoing commemoration and celebration of Black History Month. Many people ask this question about the money Wes Hall (businessman) makes from Facebook. Then they invested in Ceres Global. Number of Founded Organizations 1. Canada's corporate establishment, he adds, is particularly "clubby" and defensive. As of 2013, they were managing $93-million, probably half what Jana's Barry Rosenstein paid himself in 2013. Who https://t.co/f5rsP3D5rh, Christine and I go for a leisurely stroll every weekend. This is just a sample: We still offer a free subscription tier (aka Blind Squirrels). As an entrepreneur, Hall is the owner of QM Environmental, a leading national environmental and industrial services provider with over 450 employees; he owns Titan Supply, a top manufacturer and distributor of rigging and wear products serving industries in the oil and gas, construction and transportation sectors; and Harbor Club hotel, one of St. Lucias premier resorts. Wes Hall spent his early childhood in a zinc-roofed shack, one of several children supported by his grandmother. Check your email for magic link to sign-in. Influenced by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and a series of social injustices-specifically the death of George Floyd in police custody-Hall had an idea to use his privilege, power, and position to make a social impact. Canada's first Black Dragon @cbcdragonFounder/Chairman @kingsdaleadvisors @blacknorthca2022 Canadian Business Leader of the Year . But my middle Keana's "I can do it all on my own." This article was published more than 9 years ago. Hall Born: May 08, 1969, Golden Grove, Saint Thomas, Jamaica Position: Executive Chairman and Founder Works for: Kingsdale Advisors Primary Industry: Financial Services Nationality: Jamaican, Canadian Residence: Toronto, Ontario Net Worth: ( 01/03/2023 ): ~ USD $0.38 Billion. What happened with Dragons Den has mirrored whats happened in Halls life. My man's got a steady diet. Hall says he told Ackman to be careful, because CP was a historic Canadian company with a well-connected board. He, Green, lead director Michael Phelps and three others agreed not to stand for re-election, and the company itself endorsed Ackman's 16 nominees. It used to be that if major shareholders were dissatisfied with a Canadian corporate giant's performance, the matter was resolved by some behind-the-scenes griping among old-boy CEOs and directors at, say, the Toronto Club or its Calgary counterpart, the Petroleum Club. Does he have a role model? I mean that old white lady was probably racist and a beneficiary of colonialism. I kept taking on bigger challenges, and those challenges started working out and that just kept pushing me to do more. Wes Hall is certainly a departure from the traditional Upper Canada College-bred Bay Street executive. I was honoured to see the cover proudly displayed on this iconic bookstore's shelves and humbled to learn about our community's deep history in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto. Once a Dragon, always a Dragon - and while we will miss them in the Den, we look forward to seeing what they do next.". Management was going to lose. The restaurant may have closed down 30 years ago. Hall began his career in that routine end of the business in the 1990s. This year's theme focused on celebrating diversity in business, particularly marginalized entrepreneurs. "We went down to as little as 100,000 shares," he says. For "the moms and pops" with smaller shareholdings, says Hall, the circulars that the company and any challengers post online and put in the mail to investors are key. Chairman and Founder, WeShall Investments Inc., Kingsdale Advisors, The BlackNorth Initiative, Dragon on CBC's Dragons' Den, Host "Between Us with Wes Hall" Podcast. Last month, he made an estimated $688-million profit on his 20.8 million shares in whisky maker Beam Inc. when the company agreed to be acquired by Japan's Suntory. And shareholder activism was heating up in Canada, particularly in the mining sector. "You are a board that proved that if you play dirty enough, violate all precepts of good corporate governance, fair play, ethical behaviour and democracy, you can still lose the campaign but then barely manufacture a victory after the voting is supposed to be over.". The night before the CP shareholders' meeting on May 17 in Calgary, Cleghorn finally capitulated. Can you believe it? Kingsdale has more than 60 employees, and a big campaign like CP requires help from almost all of them. This post is based on a their Kingsdale memorandum. Estimated Net Worth in 2020: Under Review: Previous Year's Net Worth (2019 . In 2002, at the age of 34, he made that happen by founding Kingsdale Advisors. Additionally, Hall is an instructor at the Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto, where he teaches Black Entrepreneurship & Leadership in Canada, a first-of-its-kind course in North America that provides students with a deep understanding of the systemic anti-Black racism faced by Black entrepreneurs, the cultural impacts and how to navigate the system. Posts. Hall lauded those who hired him based on his potential, but then added, its up to me as to whether or not Im going to prove theyre right. He then quoted Richard Branson, who said, if someone give you an amazing opportunity and youre not sure you can do it, say yes, and figure out how to do it later. He's CBC Dragon's Den's first Black dragon. On one wall of his office is a "Hall of Fame," with nine framed congratulatory letters from big clients. Net Worth 2023 is. He still seems to have done OK, if I can judge by his own biography: He has established himself as the preeminent leader in shareholder advisory services and contested investor situations. Rosenstein says one big reason he lost with Agrium is that "Canadians didn't like an American company making suggestions about how things could happen. A generation ago, the job was little more than an administrative positionarranging annual meetings and monitoring the collection of proxy forms from docile shareholders who didn't have the inclination to attend, and whose shares would then be voted in favour of existing directors and management. He has established himself as the preeminent leader in shareholder advisory services and contested investor situations. He is from United States. The Buffalo News reported that Scottberth was the victim of a gangland-style slaying. There is also still a palpable suspicion of Americans. Vanasek and Noone never considered themselves activists. He now admits he knew little about what he was asked to do, but the new job allowed him to see the big potential in advising on proxy battles, not just running and monitoring shareholder votes. Their overhead costs consist of rent and a Bloomberg terminal in total, about $70,000 a year. But the lawyer acknowledges that Hall and his team are the "safe option," because Kingsdale is the biggest and best-known proxy advisory specialist. He's also one of the most unlikelyraised by his maternal grandmother in a tin shack in Golden Grove, Jamaica, one of 15 half-brothers and sisters. . So, once the meeting was over, the two groups reached a negotiated solutiona fixed management payment with some performance-based upside for Front Street. Hall attributes his success to a series of small steps, where he achieved different levels of success. You know theres a picture that I have of me in front of the tin shack that I grew up in in St. Thomas, me with my grandmother, looking at the tin shack. The bill for Bill Ackman and Pershing Square's run at CP: v $15-million. Hall joins Arlene Dickinson, Michele Romanow, Manjit Minhas and Vincenzo Guzzo, as beloved longtime Dragon Jim Treliving and virtual game changer Lane Merrifield depart the Den. He charges three times what everybody else charges on his reputation." . Last November, in an interview in New York, Rosenstein was still bitter, even though he'd realized big profits by selling off a majority of his 7.6 per cent stake in Agrium in October. https://t.co/56caNWTzw6, @cityoftoronto this is really dumb what you just did at Avenue and Roxborough West. Kingsdale Foundation School (KFS) is a British mixed secondary school with academy status in West Dulwich, London, with an age range of 11-19 (Year 7 to sixth form). I marvel at what he could have accomplished in a country that wasnt beset with white supremacy. Hall nods at the assessment, and doesn't disagree. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. CP's share price climbed (along with the value of Ackman's stake) to $65 within days of the announcement, up substantially from $50 in early October. Find Wes Hall's email address, contact information, LinkedIn, Twitter, other social media and more. Net Worth: ( 01/03/2023 ): ~ USD $0.38 Billion. Overview. (At the time, MDC was helmed by none other than Miles Nadal). Please only use it for a guidance and Wes Hall (businessman)'s actual income may vary a lot from the dollar amount shown above. But Canada's remaining public companies now need to attract foreign capital to bolster their share prices, and that has put them in the crosshairs of activists like Ackman. Chairman and Founder, The BlackNorth Initiative. He made a big deal when he joined in 2020, but hes already gone. Hall also says that roughly a dozen companies have paid him to simply sit on the sidelines during disputes. Indeed, although Hall's most stunning victory was the Ackman-led revolt at Canadian Pacific Railway in 2012, he says about nine-tenths of his business is defending companies. In addition to his business accomplishments, he is a Dragon on that popular show and is on the board of TIFF, one of the most glamorous thing we have. They now want to rein in some of the tactics. Cleghorn and the board had clearly misjudged the new realities of investing. He's an intriguing mix of dapper corporate formality and street smarts, and he knows how to seize an opportunity. Im excited to join Dragons Den and sit alongside some of our countrys biggest and brightest business minds, said Hall. Black Female Fortune 500 CEO Addresses Professional Women Nationwide, The Complete Guide to Entrepreneurial Communities and How They Can Help You Grow Your Business. Im thankful for my experience on the show and excited for the many adventures to come., "Our thanks to Jim and Lane for their commitment to Canadian entrepreneurs, added Dettman. QM Environmental, a leading national environmental and industrial services provider with over 450 employees. He got the Wheaton deal approved by shareholders, then helped engineer a merger between Goldcorp and Glamis. Influenced by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and a series of social injusticesspecifically the death of George Floyd in police custodyHall had an idea to use his privilege, power, and position to make a social impact. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. He's orchestrated multi-billion-dollar deals for Air Canada, Citigroup, Tim Hortons, and Petro Canada and is #16 on Maclean's Power List of 50 influential Canadians. Welker was very good in his early days and hence . The actual meeting was somewhat of an anticlimax: Ackman's slate was elected with 90 per cent of shareholder votes. "I was never invited into the boardroom, so I had to create my own. We made a rough calculation in regards to the value of his hotel based on estimated annual revenue from 115 rooms, then discounted the total by 40%. Founder/Chairman @kingsdaleadvisors @blacknorthca. Peter Jones is the richest person on Dragons Den with a whopping net worth of over 450 million pounds and he is followed closely by Tej Lalvani whose net worth has creeped to 420 million this year. Eat your heart out, Miles Nadal! But its not that I want people to think highly of me or pat me on the back. Even as he achieved greater success since the founding of Kingsdale in 2003, Hall still found that corporate Canada didn't have much space for those that looked like him. Photo by Peter J. Thompson/National Post Wes Hall wears expensive suits, drives a fancy sports car, collects art and lives in a yellow-brick mansion in Toronto's exclusive Rosedale neighbourhood. As a child in rural Jamaica, he was raised by his grandmother; he moved to Canada at 16, and set himself on track to become one of the most influential business people in Canada. He was lionized in the Academy Award-winning 2010 documentary Inside Job for his early bets against subprime mortgages. He lived in a two bedroom tin shack without indoor plumbing or electricity, on the salary of a plantation worker supporting seven children in the most impoverished parish of Jamaica. CBC today announced that a new Dragon will enter the Den for Season 16 of DRAGONS DEN .Wes Hall, Executive Chairman and Founder of Kingsdale Advisors and Founder and Chairman of The BlackNorth Initiative, brings a diverse range of expertise to the Den. The CEO tendered his resignation the next morning. He began his fortune by purchasing a franchise of Boston Pizza. ", WINGoodwood vs. Pet Valu (May, 2008) Acting for Goodwood "Won the fight even though management had over 30 per cent of the stock. As the Executive Chairman and Founder of Kingsdale Advisors, he has delivered an unparalleled track record of success leading some of the highest profile deals and activist campaigns in North America. Canadian proxy firm Kingsdale's Wes Hall pushes for diversity with new group. Any shareholder with more than 5 per cent of a company's shares can call for a special meeting. In the case of Ackman or other large clients, that service includes having Hall attend meetings with the big-fish shareholders, and taking part in candid, off-the-record conversations with the other side. Recently named to Macleans Power List ranking of the 50 most powerful people in Canada, Hall is an innovator and entrepreneur who is revered as one of Canadas preeminent power brokers. The program will start in the Fall of 2020 and award each student with $4,000 for the year. They showcase Black authors, which we need more, and shine a light on the richness of Black history in Toronto as educators @blackhurstculturalcentre. The Underground Railroad saw enslaved African-Americans gain their freedom through a carefully organized yet harrowing North American-wide transportation mode. The BlackNorth Initiative is committed to increasing the representation of Blacks in the boardrooms and executive suites across Canada. Over the past five years, Hall has become one of the most influential power brokers on Bay Street. Wes Hall is a Canadian businessman, serial entrepreneur, and an avid advocate for social justice in the BIPOC community. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. Wes Hall was born on September 12, 1937 in Barbados. ), Then as now, Pershing Square's official line was that it prefers to work with a company's existing management to improve performance, rather than go to war. In the end, VN formally requested a shareholders' meeting to end the management contract. Ackman complains that the lower threshold would also limit the number of Canadian companies he and other U.S. activists would approach. Last month, Telfer's Entrepreneur Club (TECDE) hosted the 31st annual Toast to Success dinner. Report on Business magazine: December 2015. Wes Hall founder and executive chairman at Kingsdale Advisors joins BNN Bloomberg to talk about dismantling systemic racism following the death of George Floyd and changing what our boardrooms look like. among the "50 most influential Torontonians in 2020," by Toronto Life magazine; ranked him number 16 on their 2021 Power List of the "50 most powerful people in Canada" by Maclean's magazine . I was out for a walk recently and saw an elderly white woman fall. But just because something is a stereotype doesnt mean it cant be true, you know what I mean? I am assuming that his philanthropy is structured some other way, because I don't think $5k goes very far in fighting centuries of white privilege. Dexter John, Kingsdale's former executive vice-president, now works at rival CST Phoenix Advisors, and he picks his words carefully. Production on Season 16 of DRAGONS DENs will begin later this spring at CBC in Toronto.