Team
Get to know the advisors who lead every Coldwater engagement – experienced, approachable, and committed to delivering strong outcomes.
Ray has over 20 years of experience structuring financial solutions. He is experienced in mergers and acquisitions, business advisory, lending across all parts of the capital structure, structured financing and fund origination and administration.
Ray began his career at Export Development Canada (EDC), as a banker with the Industrial Equipment Group and then moved to EDC’s Legal Services Group as legal counsel. His final stop at EDC was with the Extractive Industries and Resources Team as a financing manager focussed on the oil and gas sector. While at EDC, Ray gained invaluable experience with mergers and acquisitions, secured lending, structured and project financing and syndicated lending in several countries around the world, including Mexico, China, the United States, and Venezuela.
He then joined STS Capital Partners as a Managing Director and President & CEO of their Canadian operations. At STS, Ray was involved with and led several international mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate finance transactions in industries ranging from consumer goods to private banking. While at STS, Ray incorporated Coldwater Corporate Finance to bring the large investment banking model to small and medium-sized businesses, primarily in Canada and the United States. Today, Coldwater Corporate Finance is Ray’s primary focus.
Ray has lectured and presented at various venues, including the University of Ottawa’s law faculty, the University of Ottawa’s business faculty, McGill University’s law faculty and the Barbados International Business Association. He has participated in panel discussions and presentations on international mergers and acquisitions, international trade, cross-border financing and risk mitigation techniques in international business transactions.
Ray holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from Laurentian University, a Bachelor of Administration (Business) from the University of Ottawa and a Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa. He is licensed to practice law in Ontario and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association as well as several philanthropic organizations. He was an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) – Bahamas Chapter when he was based in the Caribbean and is now an active member of the YPO Gold the 6ix Chapter in Toronto. He also sits on the advisory boards of several companies throughout North America.
Ryan has over 20 years of experience in financial management and has closed over $1BN worth of mid-market deals. Ryan is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Professional Accountant. After earning his designations, Ryan traveled to New Zealand, where he worked in both public and private practice. He began his career at Ernst and Young, where he gained exposure to a diverse range of industries and dealt with complex tax, transfer pricing, due diligence, and other financial matters. Later, he joined a publicly listed wine company, where he was responsible for the financial reporting functions of two of its largest overseas subsidiaries.
Ryan returned to Canada in 2012 and assumed the role of Director and District Manager at Roynat Capital. For 10 years, he successfully grew a book of business within the Southern Ontario marketplace, funding secured term, asset-light, subordinated, and mezzanine debt to mid-market companies. Under his leadership, the Southern Ontario District Office of Roynat Capital became one of the most successful and largest district offices nationally, earning Ryan the Best of the Best Award four times. Returning to private enterprise in 2021, Ryan completed two strategic acquisitions, acquired over $40MM of real estate and refinanced a $65MM banking facility. In 2022, he returned to the mid-market, joining Coldwater Corporate Finance as a Managing Director. Ryan plans and executes sell-side mandates on behalf of mid-market business owners, coordinating exhaustive search processes that primarily focus on strategic and adjacency buyers.
Ryan is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, where he earned an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration with Accounting Option. He obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in 2002 and finished in the top 10% of his writing year.
Chris is a seasoned corporate finance professional, lender and private equity investor who has dedicated his career to providing tailored capital solutions and advice to lower mid-market companies to facilitate growth, acquisitions, buyouts and the monetization of shareholder value. Over the course of his career, Chris has originated, structured and underwritten complex deals across the entire balance sheet, including senior and subordinated debt, mezzanine capital and private equity investments to support growing companies across a broad range of industries.
Prior to joining Coldwater, Chris served as a principal investor and portfolio manager for an established Canadian private debt fund, leading deal origination, structuring, negotiation and due diligence efforts. Previously, he served as head of Corporate Development for McIntosh Perry, a private equity backed engineering firm where he led the development and execution of a strategic M&A growth plan focused on acquiring and integrating tuck-in acquisitions across Canada.
From 2010 to 2017, Chris served as a Director with Roynat Equity Partners, completing a number of successful private equity investments across a range of industries (including advanced manufacturing, automotive, technology, software, restaurant / food products, aviation services, telecom), while also serving on various portfolio company boards of directors. Prior to joining REP, Chris spent 6 years at Roynat Capital, where he focused on the origination and execution of senior term, subordinated debt and mezzanine capital investments, while also managing one of the firm’s largest structured debt portfolios.
Chris is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University (Entrepreneurship and Strategy specialization) and an Honours BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of Toronto.
Ron is an accomplished senior executive with more than 30 years of successful leadership experience consistently driving new growth and profitability, transforming operations, and building high performing management teams in a wide range of industries including, wholesale distribution, consumer, business services and manufacturing. Ron has worked with owner-operated, publicly listed, and private equity sponsored companies. He has also lived and worked in the U.S.
In addition to his Senior Advisory & Business Development role with Coldwater, Ron is currently a Board Member at Auto-Motion Shade Inc. and is working as an Executive Advisor to several privately-owned businesses. Recent positions include COO at Staalduinen Floral Limited and COO at Hazmasters Inc. where he worked with the senior management teams to focus on growth, operational excellence, and leadership development to transform the performance of these businesses.
Virginia Cann has been with Coldwater Corporate Finance for over ten years, and has been instrumental in growing the company to become a successful Mergers & Acquisition firm with an impressive closing rate bringing companies to market. She has two undergraduate degrees and a Masters in Educational Leadership.
Virginia has over 15 years of experience leading programs, implementing and streamlining processes within organizations, uniting teams, and driving organizational change. She has two decades of experience handling finances for large organizations, determining project budgets, and developing Coldwater Corporate Finances long term financial plan.
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