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Canaccord unveils its new look
SINCLAIR STEWAR
Globe and Mail
Canaccord Capital Inc. Friday offered shareholders a glimpse of life after Peter Brown, unveiling a management succession plan that will create one of the more unusual head office arrangements in Corporate Canada.
Mr. Brown, the blunt-spoken maverick who founded Canaccord nearly three decades ago, is preparing to relinquish his chief executive officer's role next August, although he has no plans to retire as chairman of the board. He said he'll stay on in that role until “they put me in a pine box,” but at the same time acknowledged that today's investors have a clear preference for non-executive chairmen.
“They say the chairman is supposed to hold the CEO accountable, and I'm tired of writing these glowing reports about myself,” he said in an interview before the company's annual general meeting in Vancouver. “You've got to make room for your top people who are coming along.”
Paul Reynolds, a corporate finance veteran who runs the firm's London operations and has been with the firm for 23 years, was appointed president Friday, and will succeed Mr. Brown as CEO. The son of former Conservative MP John Reynolds replaces Michael Greenwood, who has resigned as president and chief operating officer, but who will continue to work with the firm as a consultant for the next year.
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Mark Maybank, who oversees Canaccord's global research division, has picked up Mr. Greenwood's COO title, and was also made president of the Canadian operations.
The executive shuffle, more than merely providing a road map for succession, has resulted in a highly decentralized, almost virtual, head office. Canaccord has been clamouring to be recognized as a truly global brokerage firm, and its aspirations are now reflected in its management team, which will see its three most senior officials scattered among different cities.
Mr. Brown resides in Vancouver, where he enjoys a larger-than-life reputation. Mr. Reynolds will remain in London, to oversee Canaccord's growing European business, while Mr. Maybank will stay in Toronto and work out of the Bay Street offices — the company's biggest location.
Mr. Brown described the structure as “head-office-less,” and said the nominal Vancouver headquarters is more of a service hub that supports the operations in Toronto, Boston and London, each of which has empowered management teams on the ground. Although that means a considerable travel bill, technology has enabled the company to conduct a lot of its meetings virtually.
“There are some conveniences to being down the hall from each other,” Mr. Brown said. “But on the other hand, it stops you from fighting every minute.”
His successor, Mr. Reynolds, bypassed university to begin his career on the floor of the Vancouver Stock Exchange, and moved to Canaccord in the mid-1980s, where he rose steadily through the ranks. He insisted he is not concerned that Mr. Brown, a forceful figure, may have a hard time easing away from the day-to-day control of Canaccord once he retires.
“I've worked with Peter for 23 years,” he said. “He's not a person that doesn't let his managers manage.”
Mr. Reynolds has not ruled out a return to his native Vancouver once he's CEO, and has agreed to relocate wherever the company believes he will be most needed.
Canaccord also reported its first-quarter financial results Friday. Profit more than doubled to .9-million or 54 cents a share, diluted, from .1-million or 24 cents a year ago. Stronger equity markets, which significantly boosted trading revenue and underwriting commissions, drove the increase, as did the addition of results from Canaccord's recently acquired U.S. business.
The stock gained 61 cents or 3 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange Friday, closing at .58. |
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