Stephen is a leading advisor and financial expert who has worked extensively, and is well connected, in the Canadian Private Equity and Venture Capital Industry. He has international credentials being a qualified CPA, CA in Ontario and is an FCA in England and Wales. Stephen received his Certified Value Builder™ (CVB) and CERTIFIED EXIT PLANNING ADVISOR® (CEPA) designations in 2017 and 2021.
Prior to founding Rizolve Partners, a leading strategic business advisory firm to the SME market, Stephen was a leading executive with a top quartile Private Equity firm DRI Capital and a Partner with Lumira Capital, one of Canada’s leading Venture Capital firms. Prior to applying his skills in private capital, Stephen was the CFO at Harlequin Enterprises, a global publisher, and trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte in London, UK.
Stephen has also conducted numerous successful consulting assignments in his own consulting practice involving acquisitions, disposals, financings, reorganizations, turnarounds and strategic advisory to numerous CEOs in both the public and private arenas.
Stephen is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Genomics Institute and Chairs its audit committee.
Stephen received a B. Sc. in Economics with honors from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. He is a member of the Canadian Venture Capital Association and Financial Executives International.
In the Private Equity industry Stephen has chaired a country wide CFO task force leading this industry group through such paradigm changes in International Financial Reporting Standards, and Private Equity Valuation and Reporting best practices. He is also a sought after speaker who has spoken in Toronto and New York.