PRIVATE COMPANY FINANCE COMMITTEE
Diane Walker, CPA, CMA
Chief Financial Officer
Chair of Private Company Finance Committee
dianeewalker@hotmail.com
647-390-4110
Diane Walker has more than twenty years' of experience encompassing corporate governance and financing activities.
As Chief Financial Officer of Ironcloud Finance Inc., she is responsible for all aspects of Accounting, and Finance and has assisted the CEO in establishing the North American parent company, along with three subsidiaries, in Argentina, Chile and Colombia. This Latam group is a provider of short-term loans to customers in Latin America.
Prior to Ironcloud, Diane was Chief Financial Officer of North America Operations at AS 4finance Inc. Here Diane was responsible for Accounting, and Finance and had assisted the President in establishing the North American operations for its parent company, a leading Europe-based company, performing short-term lending to customers worldwide.
Previous employment encompasses Accounting and Controller roles at increasingly senior levels, in a variety of industries.
Diane holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Accounting and a minor in Law, from Ryerson University.
Diane is Chair of the Private Company Finance Committee. Is this role, she will connect individuals with the appropriate expert in FEI’s SGH Chapter.
Dr. Howard E. Johnson
DBA, FCPA, FCA, FCMA, FCBV, CPA, CFA, ASA, CF, C.Dir
Howard.johnson@duffandphelps.com
416-597-4500
Howard is a Managing Director at Duff & Phelps in Toronto, one of the world’s largest independent valuation and corporate finance firms. For more than 20 years, he has been advising business owners and executives on acquisitions, divestitures, financing and shareholder value matters. Howard is the author of several books on the subjects of M&A and corporate finance. He is registered as an Exempt Market Dealer and is a FINRA Series 63 and 79 registered representative.
With respect to private company financing, Howard’s core expertise is helping mid-sized established companies to raise private equity and/or mezzanine financing to support expansion, acquisitions, management buyouts, shareholder buyouts, recapitalizations and other initiatives. Howard is able to draw upon the numerous private equity coverage officers within Duff & Phelps, who collectively stay in regular contact with over 650 private equity firms across North America.
Florian Meyer, MBA, CPA, CA
fmeyer@newhousepartners.com
(416) 873-8684
Florian has been involved as an interim Chief Financial Officer and is often the Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO) for struggling companies over the past twenty years within Newhouse Partners Inc. The areas of consulting are: steps in as the interim or part-time CFO, CRO perform the restructuring of troubled entities, and as a director on boards and advisory boards.
His’s financial expertise has been built over 35 years as a financial officer, external auditor, internal auditor, group controller, treasurer, CFO, interim CFO and CRO.
Mr. Meyer currently specializes in financial corporate change management with specific experience in corporate leadership, finance, controllership and treasury functions. He is sought out by mid-sized companies for his insightful identification of recovery opportunities and his pragmatic approach in leading corporate change and turnarounds.
Florian’s uses his years of experience to develop unique solutions to allow businesses to grow and move forward. For example we use restructuring as a funding method. We pair down the liabilities but work hard to collect all of the outstanding Receivables. In another case we worked with the staff to collect all of the Receivables which eliminated the need for new funding and allowed us to pay off one of the partners. Have also worked with a number of different funding institutions.
Prior to this, he worked for Engineering Interface Limited (Ameresco Canada Inc.) Nabisco Brands Ltd, RJR-MacDonald Inc., Bow Valley Energy Inc. (Talisman Energy Inc. now Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc.), Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Florian is a Chartered Professional Accountant as a member of Ontario. He earned his Master of Business Administration (Finance Major) from Concordia University and a Bachelor in Arts (Economics Major) from Sir George Williams University. Florian is on the Board as its Past Chair of the Southern Golden Horseshoe Chapter of Financial Executives International Canada (FEIC – CFO’s of North America) and is a member of Chapter’s Membership Committee. He was on the Board as Treasurer/Chair of Finance and Risk Committee of The Oakville Community Foundation (the ten largest & one of the youngest community foundations in Canada) and is the Past-Chair of Council and Chair of Trustees at Glen Abbey United Church.
Kriss W. Bush CIM, CPA, CIWM
Investment Advisor
TD Wealth Private Wealth Management Oakville PIA
T: 905 815 2204 | M: 905 320 4540 | F: 905 815 2324
kriss.bush@td.com
Kriss Bush is an Oakville Investment Advisor with over 20 years of wealth management, taxation, CFO and banking experience. Kriss is a former CPA who provides his clients with a customized comprehensive approach that extends beyond just investing your money.
Your personal wealth strategy is key to your financial success. Kriss utilizes his experience as a former CFO to adapt your wealth strategies as your needs or financial situation change over time.
Kriss experience and knowledge includes:Canadian, US and international investment strategies, including: Equities, Bonds, Structured notes and ETFs,
Utilizing specialists with estate, will, insurance, charitable giving and tax planning knowledge and experience,
Working with business owners and medical professionals to integrate their success as business owners into their personal wealth, family legacy, succession planning and future retirement strategies.
Kriss and his team provide wealth advice focused on long-term sustainable solutions designed to minimize market volatility risks and inefficiency caused by excessive tax and estate costs. This all begins with a deep discovery and behavioral finance process to fully understand your situation, needs and goals.
Kriss and his wife live in Oakville and support their community. Kriss serves as a volunteer at the Darling Home for Kids. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Financial Executive International Canada (CFO Group) and on The Oakville Hospital Foundation.
Jonathan Brindley CPA, CA
jbrindley@liquidcapitalcorp.com
Tel: 416-727-4521 or 1-800-778-0133
Jonathan Brindley is a Principal at Liquid Capital, one of North America’s leading providers of alternative financing solutions. Liquid Capital has been providing working capital to businesses for over 20 years and deployed over $3 Billion across North America to help businesses grow.
As an operational finance professional, Jonathan works with small to mid-sized companies that have the capacity to grow but are limited because they don’t have sufficient working capital. Liquid Capital provides growth capital through the funding of accounts receivable, purchase orders, supply chain financing and Asset Based Lending (ABL) offerings. Liquid Capital’s clients can capitalize on a comprehensive package of financial services with a primary focus on creating viable and relevant financing solutions to help companies grow
and prosper.