Advisory Boardamong canada’s
top names

Name: Firepower Capital
Price range: $

Our advisory board is comprised of prominent leaders and entrepreneurs in business and finance. They help inform and guide our firm’s innovations and strategic priorities.

Alan Friedman

Alan Friedman is the founder and CEO of Rivonia Capital, a Canadian finance and capital markets advisory firm. Alan is also a co-founder of, and investor in, several publicly traded companies across diversified industries. He participated in the seed financing and assembling of these companies and has been responsible for facilitating various subsequent finance rounds post the going-public process. Alan is a South African qualified attorney and previously worked at a top 5 South African bank.

Barry Vogel

Barry Vogel has an over-thirty-year successful track record building companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer packaged goods markets. Barry became president of Canderm Pharma Inc. in 1998 and took it from near bankruptcy to Canada’s largest cosmeceutical skin care company. Canderm was sold to Sanofi Aventis in 2010. In addition to general management, Barry has extensive hands-on experience in marketing, sales and business development, having negotiated dozens of successful licensing agreements. Barry holds an HBA from Ivey Business School and is a two-time finalist of Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year”.

Brian Shaw

Brian Shaw was previously a financial industry executive with specific expertise in capital markets, and is currently a private investor and corporate advisor. Brian was the Chairman and CEO of CIBC World Markets from 2005 through 2008 and, prior to that, managed the Global Equities Division of CIBC for several years. He is currently a Corporate Director of Encana Corporation, NuVista Energy Ltd., Manulife Bank of Canada and Manulife Trust Company. He serves on the advisory boards of Sionna Investment Managers and Prime Quadrant, is a Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, is Chairman of the TMX IP Governance Committee and a member of CFA Society Toronto- Governance and Nominating Committee.

Brian Vyner

Brian’s career has mainly been in capital markets, spent mostly with First Marathon Securities as managing director on the institutional sales desk, and managing the Vancouver office in the late 1990s. He left First Marathon Securities after it was taken over by National Bank Financial, and took a consulting role with a public company. After this time, he moved back to the brokerage industry where he was deputy chairman of a private brokerage boutique before it was taken over by Thomas Weisel in 2006. Since then, he has primarily been engaged in money management, consulting and some charity boards. Brian Vyner is a graduate from Ivey Business School, UWO.

Mark Mandelbaum

Mark Mandelbaum is the Chairman and co-founder of Lanterra Developments. Lanterra is one of Toronto’s preeminent real estate developers focusing on the development of high-rise downtown landmark condominium developments. Previously, Mark acted as Vice President – Development of H&R Developments for over 25 years. He still sits on the executive committee of H&R Developments. He worked as a commercial lawyer in a downtown Toronto firm for several years before starting his career in real estate. Mark also sits on many non-profit boards and is engaged in numerous charitable activities including being a member of the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation. Mark earned his LLB at the University of Toronto in 1981 and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Michael Stein

Michael Stein is the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of the MPI Group, a property development and investment group with a strong track record in incubating, investing-in and managing successful companies. An experienced entrepreneur, Michael is a founder of several successful businesses including CAP REIT, Canada’s first apartment REIT, and continues to serve as the Chairman. He has been on the Board of Directors of Goldcorp Inc., a NYSE-listed natural-resource holding company. He is currently a member of the Chief Executives Organization and the World Presidents Organization. Michael holds a MBA from Columbia University, New York, and graduated with a BSc in Civil Engineering from the Israel Institute of Technology.

Russell Jacobson

For over 25 years, Russell Jacobson has been involved with real estate investment and development activities as a principal of MPI Property Group. Before co-founding MPI, Russell served as CFO for two real estate investment holding companies. He has extensive experience in property development and has developed and managed numerous mixed-use, residential and commercial projects in North America. He also has invested in numerous start-ups, and successfully exited when appropriate. For example, one of the MPI companies exited in 2011 for $262 million, a decade after inception. He is a CPA, CA and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Natal, South Africa.