



The Devante Capital
team brings together the talents of finance and management
professionals from a wide spectrum of business, both private and
public. Our associates have been personally responsible for
developing their own companies, and financial management of
private investor funds. Each is highly skilled and experienced in
their field of specialty.
Mr. Steve Sidwell, President
Mr. Sidwell has been an entrepreneur for the past 18 years, founding five
different companies, the most successful of which generated revenues of $200
million within three years. His background includes real estate syndication
and development, retail, franchising, resort development and management,
golf and the training industry. Mr. Sidwell has been responsible for raising
the capital to fund these projects ranging in size from a few thousand
dollars up to $50 million. This process has involved dealing with small
private investors to very large institutional investors.
Mr. Sidwell has an excellent understanding of the needs of companies at all
stages of development, particularly in the accelerated growth stage. He has
served as the International Membership Chairperson and Board Member of the
Young Entrepreneur Organization.
Mr. Mike Robichaud,
Senior Vice President, Business Development
Mike, an entrepreneur for 20 years, founded three
different companies and is a CEO of a publicly listed firm. One of his
most successful ventures had partnerships with the Royal Bank, MBNA bank,
AOL and American Airlines. His background includes new business development,
sales and marketing management.
Mr. Robichaud has been responsible for raising capital for private and
public companies. He is currently serving on the board of a publicly listed
company in the oil and gas industry.
Mr. Stephen Curran,
Vice President, Corporate Finance
Stephen joined Devante Capital recently as Vice President, Corporate Finance and brings to the company over 20 years of enterprise
leadership and financial transaction experience gained in Canada and globally. He has completed numerous debt and equity financings,
acquisitions, and divestitures in large public companies and in smaller, earlier stage ventures. As the President and CEO of two
development stage technology companies, he managed all aspects of growth including sales and marketing, technology development,
assembling management teams, and raising capital. With corporations such as Cadillac Fairview and Sun Life Financial, he completed
capital transactions totaling over $1 billion, and played a key role in one of the largest Canadian IPO’s completed to date. Stephen
started his career as an engineer in the oil and gas and food industries.
Mr. Curran has a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree from the University of Western Ontario, and a Master of Business Administration
from the Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.
Mr. Rick Baerg
,
Vice President, Business Development - British Columbia
Rick has worked within the financial services industry for the past 17
years, 11 of those as a commercial banker with 2 chartered banks. His
background includes management and financial consultancy to a variety of
businesses in a wide array of industries. He has valuable experience gained
through numerous debt financings to growing small and medium-sized
businesses.
Rick has a strong understanding of credit risk and is committed to
providing clients clarity and value with regard to their corporate finance requirements. He has served as a board member and treasurer
with a number of not-for-profit organizations.
Mr. Craig Burrows
,
Vice President, Business Development - Alberta
Craig Burrows served two terms as an Alderman for the City of Calgary before he joined Devante Capital. In his position on City
Council, he held positions of Deputy Mayor, a Police Commissioner, Chair of Audit, Board member of the Calgary Economic Development
Board, and Vice Chair of Gas, Power, and Telecommunications Committee. As a Board of Director for a multi billion dollar organization,
Craig brings strong knowledge in corporate governance, risk management, regulatory and government affairs.
Craig’s previous life as an owner of an environmental bioremediation company gives him the understanding of the challenges of being an
entrepreneur. He also has a strong background in the packaged goods industry as being a General Sales Manager for a TSE 300 listed
company.
Mr. Eduard Lorincz, Associate, Corporate Finance
Eduard has been a memeber of the Devante team since November of 2006. His prior experience
includes wealth management at BMO Nesbitt Burns and commercial banking at HSBC Bank
Canada. Eduard has an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree (Finance) from the
University of British Columbia and is working towards the Chartered
Financial Analyst designation.
Mr. Brad Bennest,
Relationship Manager
Brad spent some time working in Business Development with National Bank Financial before he joined Devante. Brad has a Bachelor of
Commerce Degree in Finance from the University of British Columbia and is also a Level III CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Candidate.
His expertise lies in financial consulting and customer relations.
Ms. Ariane de Hoog, Relationship Manager
Ariane has a PhD in labour market studies from the University of Cambridge, UK, including numerous publications and expertise in
labour market statistics. She has had over ten years of experience in both the public and private sectors, specifically dealing with
IT and finance related projects. She has been an independent consultant for international IT projects, and has a particularly strong
background in business communications.
Ariane has studied risk management, as well as mediation and negotiation, and her marketing and branding expertise allowed her to
manage a multi-million dollar project for the Government of Canada. She has a strong understanding of client relations and customer
care.
Mr. Darren Blanch, Relationship Manager
Mr. Blanch holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from John Molson School of Business-Concordia University (Finance & International
Management) and has received specialized training in both project management and business analysis. Mr. Blanch has worked in investor
relations and as a director for a CPC in the junior mining industry. He has also worked as a consultant in the international
communications field throughout South East Asia, Middle East, and Europe, where he helped develop country/regional branding
strategies and conducted investment climate analysis. Mr. Blanch has been involved in spearheading the development and business
planning of several start-ups, while actively participating in various NGO initiatives.
|