Full Name
Nolan Bederman
Job Title
Founder & Managing Partner
Company
Bederman Capital Corp.
Speaker Bio
Nolan Bederman has a long history of successfully investing in North American growth companies and actively partnering with management teams to help companies optimize organic growth and acquisition-based expansion. Nolan is the founder and managing partner of Bederman Capital Corp., a private equity fund focused on investing in North American growth companies seeking an involved partner to help optimize the transition to a larger scale business. Bederman Capital Corp., currently has investments in and serves as Chairman of four active platform companies in business and consumer services, including LifeSpeak (digital wellbeing platform – sold 38% to institutional investors at a valuation of $110mm in 9/2020, IPO in 7/2021 for $480mm TSX: LSPK), Berkeley Payment Solutions (technology-based payment platform), United Environmental Holdings (solid waste management) and Park9 (pet care). Nolan serves as Chairman of each company, and is actively involved in strategic direction and management development.
In 2018, in order to extend the investment business of Bederman Capital, Nolan formalized a partnership with New York-based Reynolds Channel Equity Partners, a U.S. $110 mm private equity fund focused on making similar investments. A second U.S. $150mm was raised in 2021. Fund investments include including Lift Auto Group (automotive collision aggregator), Mobile Klinik (mobile phone repair, sold to Telus Communications Inc. in July, 2020 for $180 mm and a 3.1x return after a 14 month investment period), Super Sports Holdings (youth sports), and Rentacrate (corporate move management). Nolan also serves as an independent director (and a member of the audit committee) of Air Wisconsin, one of the largest regional air carriers in the United States operating a fleet of regional jets for United Airlines.
Prior to founding Bederman Capital Corp., Nolan, was a co-founding partner of Genuity Capital Partners, a North American mid-market Private Equity fund of approx. $500 mm which commenced operations in 2005. While at Genuity, Nolan led and participated in numerous investments, focused primarily on specialty consumer/retail and business services. Nolan held 8 board roles including several board chairman roles. In particular, Nolan was instrumental in helping grow such investee companies as GFL Environmental Services (sold to an investor group in 2014 for $950 mm, and again in 2018 for over $5bn), Waterworks (sold to Restoration Hardware in 2013 for $120mm), JBrand (sold to Fast Retailing in 2012 for $360 mm), and Front Porch Digital (sold to Oracle in 2014). Prior to joining Genuity, Nolan was an Executive Director in private equity at CIBC Capital Partners, a $3bn private equity investment division of CIBC, which he joined in 2002 to capitalize on investments focused on financial services outsourcing. In addition to making new investments, Nolan was part of a small group asked to manage a portfolio of over $500 mm of undermanaged and troubled investments, ultimately generating substantial gains for CIBC through restructuring, refocusing businesses, follow-on investing and strategic M&A.
Prior to 2002, Nolan was a Vice President in the U.S. M&A group of Merrill Lynch & Co. where he focused on advising global companies in the capital/consumer goods, transportation, food and pharma sectors. Nolan holds a J.D./MBA from the University of Toronto where he was awarded the Gold Medal for graduating first in his class, as well as a BA (Econ.) from the University of Western Ontario where he was awarded the Chancellor’s Prize for graduating first in both the economics department as well as in the entire faculty of social science. In 2017 and 2018 Nolan was a volunteer member of the Ontario Provincial Finance Committee charged with assisting the PC party to develop a finance platform in its 2018 election and continues to sit on a Small business growth committee.
Nolan Bederman