Garrett Plester
Garret Plester is a member of Emerging Equities Inc.’s ("EEI") Corporate Finance Group, operating in an investment banking capacity. Garrett specializes in the structuring, managing, and marketing of the private placement of debt and equity securities for corporate issuers. EEI is an independent, employee-owned investment dealer, focusing on underwritings, mergers and acquisitions, and divestitures of emerging companies (i.e. market capitalization of $200M - $300M). It is a Type III Introducing Broker; a member of IIROC, CIPF, and is a participating organization of TSX Venture Exchange. Simply stated, Emerging Equities Inc. is a full-cycle investment bank that focuses on helping companies at any stage in their lifecycle; from new companies looking for shareholders or debt equity, to midlife companies needing help to grow, to aged companies looking to sell or transition. Emerging Equities was also recently engaged as a strategic advisor for the initial equity raise of a new Alberta Film Fund, dedicated to the creation of a sustainable Alberta-based movie industry. This is a current and live offering to accredited and institutional investors, with a $35M USD initial raise (https://alberta1st.fund/).
Garrett’s education and career has afforded him the knowledge and experience to excel in his current position, working with clients to develop and customize financial models, feasibility studies, financing arrangements, and aggressive debt structures. “I have a very close relationships with all of my clients. I am just as invested with every company I work with as I am my firm,” he explains.
Along his career journey, Garrett has had inspiring mentors to guide and teach him. “Nick Stewart, a director of Bank of Nova Scotia, was the first to hire me out of university. Nick taught me all the necessary skills and processes of banking at the commercial level,” Garrett says. Another mentor, Brent Buhler, managing director of Cambio Merchant Capital, understood Garrett’s strengths in investment banking and suggested he leave mortgages to pursue his current position. Jim Hartwell, CEO of Emerging Equities, also played a significant role. “Jim is one of the longest standing investment bankers in Calgary,” says Garrett. “What I learn from Jim is a wealth of information that I am fortunate to receive.”
Garrett’s passion for banking and finance has taken him through roles as a banker, commercial banker, commercial mortgage underwriter and originator, debt capital markets and advisory associate, transaction banker partner, director on the board of a foreign exchange consulting firm, and vice president of a private merchant bank. He also currently serves on the board of directors for Django Financial Ltd., which provides full-service currency exchange and hedging services for its customers.
After receiving a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a double major in finance and economics from the University of Alberta, Garrett’s commercial banking career began with Bank of Nova Scotia. As the youngest person ever assigned to their Alberta commercial banking group, he worked with companies to structure and implement debt instruments. Two years later, Garrett moved on to a mutual fund, where he worked underwriting debt and locating mortgages to buy. In 2017, he started with Avison Young in Calgary, starting up their new debt capital group division; acquiring mortgages for clients who wanted to buy, not lease. In 2019, Garrett joined Emerging Equities. Now, with unbridled drive, Garrett Plester and Emerging Equities continue to move full speed ahead, blazing a path of success.
Contact:
Garrett Plester, BComm.
Transactional Banker
Emerging Equities Inc., Corporate Finance Group
Website: http://emergingequities.ca/
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/garrett-plester-7b8978b2
Download the Top 100 Canadian Professionals magazine and check out Garrett's feature on page 104.