Activist Investor Rosenfeld Seeks Seat on Canaccord Board

20 Jul 2020, 09:07 PM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Canaccord Genuity Group Inc., Canada’s largest non-bank brokerage, is expected to add activist investor Eric Rosenfeld to its board next month.

Rosenfeld, chief executive officer of New York-based investment firm Crescendo Partners LP, is one of two new independent directors nominated for election to Canaccord Genuity’s board at the firm’s annual investor meeting on Aug. 6. He holds 1.36 million shares of Canaccord Genuity, about 1.3% of the firm, according to regulatory filings.

Since founding Crescendo in 1998, Rosenfeld and his firm have prompted changes at companies including beverage maker Cott Corp., Canadian construction firm Aecon Group Inc. and aerospace manufacturer Spar Aerospace Ltd., using a playbook that includes taking up minority stakes in firms, gaining board positions and pushing for management change.

“Eric is an accomplished professional investor and director with experience spanning multiple industries, and we look forward to his perspectives,” Canaccord Genuity Executive Chairman David Kassie said in the firm’s annual report released June 26. Rosenfeld didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.

Canaccord, which offers investment banking and has a wealth-management arm with about 475 advisers, has generated a total return of 16.7% over the five-year period ended July 17, compared with a 30% return for the S&P/TSX Financials Index. The company reported net income of C$86.6 million ($63.9 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31 on revenue of C$1.22 billion.

Rosenfeld, who previously spent 14 years as managing director at CIBC Oppenheimer and Oppenheimer & Co., serves on the boards of Primo Water Corp., CPI Aerostructures Inc., Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. and Aecon.

Canaccord Genuity also nominated Gillian Denham, a former executive at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, for a director position.

“Jill brings more than two decades of North American and European financial-services experience, her expertise spanning investment banking, retail banking and private equity, and more recently she has been active in the financial-technology segment,” Kassie said in the annual report.