MacKay CEO Forums Announces New Ownership Structure
MacKay CEO Forums (“MCF”), Canada’s premier network for CEO and Executive Peer Learning, has announced a change in its ownership structure.
Nancy MacKay, PhD, Founder and CEO of MCF, said, “I am pleased to update our amazing chairs, members, and partners that myself, along with several of our key executives and board members, have agreed to purchase Yellow Point Equity Partners’ (“Yellow Point”) outstanding interest in MCF. Yellow Point will continue as an active Platinum Partner and strong supporter of MCF.”
“I’m very excited to once again be the majority owner of our company,” said Nancy MacKay. “In recent months we identified several initiatives that we believe will add material value to our community. Our executive team expressed an interest in investing to support those initiatives, and more. As part of those discussions, we approached Yellow Point to see if they would be amenable to us acquiring their equity in the business. We are very pleased about the resulting agreement and look forward to strategically investing in our brand and accelerating growth under this new structure. I specifically want to thank Yellow Point for the valuable contributions they have made over the past four and a half years.”
Dave Chapman, co-founder of Yellow Point said, “We have enjoyed our equity partnership with MCF and believe this new structure will enable continued improvement in the business’ offerings. We generally believe that businesses are most likely to succeed when equity is disproportionately held by the key executives who can drive success and are excited to support the MCF team in this next chapter. We see very positive things to come for MCF, and its community of executives.”
Along with founder Nancy MacKay, Dave Dinesen (MCF COO), Mike Cordoba (Founder, Empresario Capital), Mike Schutz (MCF CFO), and Dennis Fortnum (MCF Board Member and Strategic Advisor) will purchase the equity from Yellow Point.
Dave Dinesen, a serial entrepreneur who founded BackCheck, one of the world’s largest background screening companies, brings a depth of experience in scaling technology-enabled service companies. Empresario Capital, led by Mike Cordoba, a long time MCF board member, peer group member, and partner, is involved with some of Canada’s best known and successful franchise businesses including Mr. Lube and Mr. Mike’s. Mike Schutz, CFO, has held senior finance positions in several public and private companies, including BackCheck. This team is well positioned to drive technology-enabled value to MCF members and the network of MCF certified chairs.
Dave Dinesen, MCF COO said “MacKay is growing quickly across Canada in response to the demand for leaders to have the support of a trusted network of peers and resources. The MacKay community will see exciting advancements to our platform and brand, all of which are designed to add value to our members and help them succeed in all aspects of life. In a time when it is hard to know who to trust, the support of a peer group has never been more crucial. I’m excited to invest and partner with Nancy as we bring the next chapter of MCF to the fore.”
Mike Cordoba, Founder, Empresario Capital said, “As a long-time member of MacKay, I can attest to the power of peer learning firsthand. MCF has a formula for peer learning that is unrivaled. With over a thousand members across Canada, I am excited to lean in and partner with Nancy and the team to bring this valuable experience to leaders in Canada and beyond.”
Rounding out the shareholder team will be Dennis Fortnum, a longtime board member, shareholder, and strategic advisor to MCF. Dennis brings a wealth of experience as the recently retired Global Chairman for KPMG Enterprise. He has extensive experience helping private companies and their owners build great businesses. MCF is grateful to Dennis for his continued steadfast support.
About MacKay CEO Forums
Created in 2005, MacKay CEO Forums is committed to populating the world with inspiring and diverse leaders. MCF has grown to more than 1,000 CEOs, business owners, and executives from every industry sector across Canada. The company is the only peer learning organization that is B-Corp certified and the only such organization of scale that is female led.
MCF provides the highest-impact and least time intensive member-based peer learning organization for CEOs, executives, and business owners of companies with revenue of up to $5 billion. MCF’s professionally led peer groups are comprised of leading brands in every industry sector. For more information, please visit www.mackayceoforums.com.