Peter M. Brown

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Peter M. Brown
Peter M. Brown in 2001
Born (1941-12-15) December 15, 1941 (age 82)
Vancouver, British Columbia
NationalityCanadian
OccupationFinancier
Known forCo-founder of Canarim Investment Corp. which became Canaccord Genuity
SpouseJoanne Brown
Children2
HonorsOrder of British Columbia; LL.D. (h.c.) University of British Columbia, Wilfrid Laurier University; D.Litt. (h.c.) Emily Carr University of Art and Design

Peter M. Brown (born 1941), is a Canadian businessman. He founded Canaccord Financial (now Canaccord Genuity), which has become the largest independent investment dealer in Canada.[1] He retired in 2014.[2]

Early life[edit]

Peter MacLachlan Brown was born in Vancouver, like his father, Ralph, and grandfather before him. Peter Brown's grandfather Brenton was a well-connected businessman and power broker of his time, head of the Crown Life Insurance Co., onetime president of the Vancouver Board of Trade,[3] and a founder of the right-of-centre municipal NPA party.[4] His grandson would one day follow in his footsteps.

Peter Brown attended the private Shawnigan Lake School[5] and later St. George's School, where he graduated in 1958, as did his brothers Ralph ’53, Alan ’54, and Robert ’68; and his sons James ’86 and Jason ’89.[6] He studied at the University of British Columbia, entering at age 15[7] and “majoring in partying”,[8] but left at age 20 to work for brokerage firm Greenshields; he worked at various points in Greenshields offices in Montreal, Toronto, and New York.[9] It was during this time, he says, that he turned “from a wastrel into a workaholic”.[10]

In 1967 he transferred to his hometown and the next year joined a boutique investment firm called Hemsworth, Turton, and Company.[8] A year later, owner Ted Turton recruited Brown as sales manager, and five years after that, Brown bought into the firm, now renamed Canarim Investment Corp.[11]

Career[edit]

It was a rocky start. “Everyone said we’d fail,” he has said.[10] Far from it, when noted Canadian historian Peter C. Newman included Brown in the second volume of his Canadian Establishment series, he described the Vancouver financier as “the single most important player on the Vancouver Stock Exchange, underwriting nearly three-quarters of its new issues — worth a projected $225 million in 1981 alone”.[12]

Over time, Canarim expanded, opening offices across the Prairies.[11] By 1993, the company, renamed Canaccord Capital, had grown to 400 staff, with investment advisors in six branches across Canada. In 2004, Canaccord went public, raising $70 million in its initial listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange; the year after that, the company also listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol CF.[13][14]

By that time, Brown, now 64, had been at the head of Canaccord, renamed Canaccord Genuity, for almost four decades, and begun to consider succession. “I’d never given it much thought, to be honest,” he says. “It was my baby and I guess I sort of imagined I’d be there forever. But I realized I’d had enough. It’s a very hard, stressful, Type A business — the market’s changing every minute. So I went to Paul Reynolds, who’d worked for me for 24 years, and asked if he wanted to take over”.[10] Brown resigned from Canaccord Genuity in 2014.[15]

Community[edit]

Peter Brown has served on many boards, including as vice-chairman of Expo 86[16] and chair of the UBC board of governors,[17] the Vancouver Stock Exchange,[18] BC Place Corporation,[19] and the BC Enterprise Corporation.[20] He was appointed Lead Director and Member of the Finance Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games.[21]

Since retiring he has steered the Peter and Joanne Brown Foundation, dispersing (in 2014) $537,298 to various charities.[22]

Honours[edit]

Brown has received formal recognition for his contributions to the financial industry and community.

Honorary degrees[edit]

Peter Brown has received honorary doctorates of law from Wilfrid Laurier University (2015),[23] the Justice Institute of British Columbia (2013),[24] and the University of British Columbia (2005),[25] and an honorary doctorate of letters from the Emily Carr University of Art + Design (2012).[26]

Prizes and awards[edit]

He has been recognized many times over his career, including the Order of British Columbia,[27] and lifetime achievement awards from the IIAC Investment Industry Hall of Fame (2015),[28] Canadian Business Hall of Fame (2014),[29] Business Laureates of B.C. Hall of Fame (2011),[30] the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (2010),[31] and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (2010).[32] In 2012, he was awarded the IIAC Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal[33] and the Vancouver Board of Trade's Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship.[34] In 2009 he was recognized by the Fraser Institute with the T. Patrick Boyle Founder's Award.[35]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Canaccord Financial CEO Paul Reynolds on the future of his firm and Canada's natural resources sector". CEO.CA. Archived from the original on 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  2. ^ "Canaccord founder Peter Brown resigns after 46-year career". www.vancouversun.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  3. ^ "Left to right: Mr. Brenton Brown - President, Vancouver Board of Trade - City of Vancouver Archives". searcharchives.vancouver.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  4. ^ Gutstein, Donald (1975). Vancouver Ltd. Toronto, Canada: James Lorimer & Company. pp. 142. ISBN 0-88862-082-9. peter brown.
  5. ^ "Full text of "Shawnigan Lake School Magazine December, 1956"". archive.org. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  6. ^ "2007 - Peter Brown '58, OBC, LLD". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  7. ^ Hunter, Jennifer (August 18, 1986). "Sultan of Stock Deals Spurns Political Role". The Globe and Mail. p. B1 – via Proquest.
  8. ^ a b Mulgrew, Ian (November 23, 2001). "Once Pilloried, Now a Pillar, Peter Brown Has Done It All". The Vancouver Sun. p. C4 – via Proquest.
  9. ^ "Peter Brown, Founder and Chair, Canaccord Financial Inc. | 2010 Entreptreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award | BC Business". www.bcbusiness.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  10. ^ a b c "Peter M. Brown | Peter Brown". peterbrowncapital.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  11. ^ a b "Canaccord Co-Founder Ted Turton Remembered". CEO.CA. 2014-01-21. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  12. ^ "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  13. ^ "CF:Toronto Stock Quote - Canaccord Genuity Group Inc". Bloomberg.com.
  14. ^ "Our Company History - Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management". www.canaccordgenuity.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  15. ^ Kwantes, James. "Canaccord founder Peter Brown resigns after 46-year career". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  16. ^ "Three federal appointments made to VANOC board". The Globe and Mail. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  17. ^ "University of British Columbia Library - University Archives". www.library.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  18. ^ Kwantes, James (May 11, 2011). ""'Little Steps' Took Canaccord Founder to the Top"". The Vancouver Sun. p. C6 – via Proquest.
  19. ^ "Business Laureates of BC". www.businesslaureatesbc.org. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  20. ^ "2003 Recipient: Peter Brown – Vancouver : Order of BC". www.orderofbc.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  21. ^ "Archived - New Members Appointed to Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee Board of Directors". Canadian Heritage. Government of Canada. November 2, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  22. ^ "Peter & Joanne Brown Foundation". Chimp. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  23. ^ "Wilfrid Laurier University - University Secretariat - Senate - Honorary Degree Recipients". legacy.wlu.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  24. ^ "Past Honorary Degree Recipients | Justice Institute of British Columbia". www.jibc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  25. ^ "UBC Archives - Honorary Degree Citations - 2003-07". www.library.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  26. ^ "HD Recipients to 20142.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  27. ^ "2003 Recipient: Peter Brown – Vancouver : Order of BC". www.orderofbc.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  28. ^ "Hall of Fame | IIAC". iiac.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  29. ^ "Peter M. Brown | CBHF". cbhf.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  30. ^ "Business Laureates of BC". www.businesslaureatesbc.org. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  31. ^ "The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame". mininghalloffame.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  32. ^ "EY Entrepreneur Of The Year - Meet the winners". www.ey.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  33. ^ Canada (IIAC), Investment Industry Association of. "The IIAC Announces Diamond Jubilee Medal Recipients". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
  34. ^ "Rix Awards for Engaged Community and Corporate Citizenship". www.boardoftrade.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  35. ^ "The TP Boyle Founder's Award". Fraser Institute. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 2016-01-19.

External links[edit]

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