About Diversified

ABOUT US

DIV is a multi-royalty corporation engaged in the business of acquiring top-line royalties from well-managed multi-location businesses and franchisors in North America. DIV’s objective is to acquire predictable, growing royalty streams from a diverse group of multi-location businesses and franchisors.

High Quality

DIV’s royalty partners are Mr. Lube, AIR MILES®, Sutton, Mr. Mikes, Nurse Next Door, Oxford Learning Centres, and Stratus Building Solutions and have been in business for 16 to 60 years.

Diversified

DIV’s seven royalty partners are in different industries, and have different geographic exposure.

Growth

DIV intends to increase cash flow per share by making accretive royalty purchases and through the growth of purchased royalties.

ROYALTY PARTNERS

Board of Directors

Audit

Governance, Nominating & Compensation

Investment

Ms. Rogers is currently the Chair of DIV’s Board and has over 25 years of experience working for Canadian-based international public companies in the areas of corporate governance, treasury, mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting and tax. Ms. Rogers has been an officer of several public companies including Vice-President, Treasurer of Goldcorp Inc. and Treasurer of Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. where she was responsible for the financing and tax structuring of several significant transactions. She also held various senior finance positions in corporate reporting, tax and treasury at Finning International Inc. over a period of nine years. Currently, Ms. Rogers is a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of public companies and non-profit organizations. Ms. Rogers is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and holds a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant designation.

Mr. Ciampi is a co-founder and Managing Director of private equity firm, Maxam Capital Corp., which focuses on structured investments in both publicly traded and private companies. Prior to forming Maxam, Mr. Ciampi was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Gibralt Capital and a partner of Second City Capital Partners, Vancouver-based private equity groups. Mr. Ciampi also serves on the Board of Premium Brands Holding Corporation (TSX: PBH), Geodrill Limited (TSX: GEO) and Valdy Investments Ltd. Mr. Ciampi is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a degree in Commerce and holds a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant designation.

Mr. Herdler has over 25 years of finance, operations and capital markets expertise in several industries. Mr. Hedler was formerly the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE: STON). From 2010 to 2016 and 2018 to 2019 he acted as a financial consultant and Chief Financial Officer  for various private-equity owned companies as part of operational improvements, business integration, turnarounds and restructurings of such companies. Mr. Herdler was formerly the Chief Financial Officer of QuadReal Property Group. Previously, he was a Senior Director with Alvarez & Marsal Private Equity Performance Improvement Group, LLC. In addition, Mr. Herdler spent nearly ten years in investment banking, leveraged finance and equity capital markets at Deutsche Bank Securities, Bankers Trust and CIBC World Markets. He also spent over six years at KPMG in accounting and tax advisory. Mr. Herdler is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a degree in Commerce and holds a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant designation.

Mr. Smith has over 25 years of progressive experience in operations, real estate development, capital markets, debt and equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, dispositions and general business management. In addition, he has expertise in the hospitality, resort and real estate industries.  Mr. Smith is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Northland Properties Corp., and was previously the Chief Financial Officer of several companies, including Intracorp Projects Ltd., Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. and Intrawest ULC. Mr. Smith currently serves as a director and the Audit Committee Chair of Atlas Engineered Products Ltd. (TSXV: AEP) and Lite Access Technologies Inc. (TSXV: LTE). In 2020, Mr. Smith was recognized by the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC with a fellowship, the highest distinction that is bestowed upon a CPA within the accounting profession.

Mr. Chouinard is the Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary of QuadReal Property Group.  He leads a global legal team deeply integrated with the QuadReal business teams in Vancouver, Toronto, New York City and London and has been a key contributor to the successful execution of QuadReal’s growth plan. Founded in 2016, QuadReal has become a global leader in the real estate investment industry, currently managing over $67 billion of real estate and mortgage assets for British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and other investors. Prior to joining QuadReal, Roger was a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP and General Counsel at First Capital REIT (TSX: FCR-UN), one of Canada’s largest owners, developers and operators of urban retail-centred real estate. Mr. Chouinard holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, a Bachelor of Laws (Civil Law) from Université Laval, a Bachelor of Laws (Common Law) from University of Victoria, and a Master of Laws (Securities Law) from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the oversight of the Company’s financial reporting practices, internal controls, audits of financial statements and the independence and performance of the Company’s auditors.
The members of the Audit Committee are Mr. Kevin Smith (Chair), Mr. Garry Herdler and Mr. Roger Chouinard.

Investment Committee

The Investment Committee is appointed by the Board for the purpose of reviewing and providing recommendations to the Board with respect to proposed acquisitions and dispositions, and relating financing and capital structure needs, as may be considered from time to time by the Company.
The members of the Investment Committee are Mr. Garry Herdler (Chair), Mr. Johnny Ciampi and Mr. Kevin Smith.

Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee

The Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee is appointed by the Board, and is responsible for developing and recommending to the board corporate governance principles, overseeing the evaluation of the board and management, board and committee member selection, as well as compensation philosophy, policies and plans for directors and executive officers.
The members of the Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee are Mr. Roger Chouinard (Chair), Ms. Paula Rogers and Mr. Garry Herdler.

Team

Sean Morrison, President & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Morrison is responsible for the overall business as well as royalty transaction identification and negotiation. Mr. Morrison developed the concept of the top-line royalty fund in 1998 and has over 20 years of experience with several of Canada’s leading franchisors and multi-location operators advising The Keg, lululemon, Aritzia, Boston Pizza, A&W and Colliers International.

Mr. Morrison is a co-founder and Managing Partner of the Maxam Opportunities Funds – private equity funds investing in debt and equity of private and public companies. Previously, Mr. Morrison was a partner at Capital West Partners, a Vancouver-based investment banking firm, where he advised companies across Canada with respect to capital raises, IPOs, debt restructuring, asset sales, acquisitions, valuations and fairness opinions.

In 2007, Mr. Morrison was selected by Business in Vancouver as one of Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40.
In 2008, Mr. Morrison was selected as a member of a nine-person Economic Advisory Council that provided expert advice and recommendations to the BC government on maintaining and enhancing the province’s economic strengths during the economic crisis.

Mr. Morrison is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a degree in Commerce and holds a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant designation.

Mr. Morrison currently serves as a Director on the Board of goeasy Ltd.

Greg Gutmanis, Chief Financial Officer & VP Acquisitions

Mr. Gutmanis is responsible for royalty transaction execution and due diligence, as well as overall financial reporting. Mr. Gutmanis joined DIV from Maxam Opportunities Funds, a private equity firm where he served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President. At Maxam, Mr. Gutmanis was responsible for transaction execution, due diligence, structuring and monitoring of portfolio investments (including previous appointments as a director and chair of the audit committee on portfolio investments).

Previously, Mr. Gutmanis worked at Capital West Partners, a Vancouver-based investment banking firm, where he was actively involved in advising public and private companies with respect to acquisitions, restructurings, divestitures, mergers, financings and fairness opinions.

In 2017, Mr. Gutmanis was selected by Business in Vancouver as one of Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40, and in 2020 was a recipient of the BC CFO Awards from BIV and the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC. Mr. Gutmanis is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a degree in Commerce and holds a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant designation and a Chartered Business Valuator designation.

Mr. Gutmanis currently serves as a Director and Treasurer of the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation.

Adrian Law, Corporate Controller

Mr. Law is responsible for financial reporting, tax, internal controls and regulatory compliance. Previously, Mr. Law  worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he led assurance engagements for some of the firm’s largest public clients in the mining sector. Previously, Mr. Law worked at a number of Vancouver-based mining companies, where he was actively involved in financial reporting and analysis, technical accounting, business process improvement and internal audit.

Mr. Law is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts degree and holds a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant designation.

Melody Nirooi, Office Manager

Ms. Nirooi is responsible for maintaining office services by organizing office operations and procedures, designing filing systems, reviewing and approving supply requisitions, and assigning and monitoring clerical functions. Prior to joining DIV, Ms. Nirooi worked at a human resources consulting company, where she held an Executive Assistant position.

Ms. Nirooi is a graduate of Tehran Azad – Shomal University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and holds a Human Resources Management Certificate from the Simon Fraser University.