Private Debt Partners Appoints Four New Members to Board of Directors

TORONTO and MONTREAL, Aug. 20, 2020 /CNW/ - Private Debt Partners ("PDP" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the appointments of Mr. Robert Harding, Ms. Colleen Johnston, Ms. Sheryl Kennedy, and Mr. Anatol von Hahn, to its Board of Directors. The newly appointed Directors, along with previously appointed Thomas MacMillan, bring deep finance, banking, governance and leadership experience that complements and enhances PDP's core competencies as the Company raises its $750 million Senior Direct Lending Fund and its $300 million Senior Opportunities Fund, which are focused on lending institutional capital to high-quality Canadian mid-market businesses.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors and PDP's management, I would like to welcome our new Directors," said Stephen Lister, Chairman of the Board of PDP. "Our Board members are exceptional individuals and recognized leaders in Canadian business who bring a breadth of experience that enhances PDP's focus on being the leading lender in Canadian mid-market private debt, delivering consistent reliable yields for our investors, and being the preferred source of patient capital to high-quality, well-run Canadian private companies."

Mr. Robert Harding has extensive leadership experience and has served on numerous corporate boards. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Mr. Harding is the immediate past long-time Chair of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and worked for Brookfield and its predecessor companies since 1984 in various executive positions until his retirement in 2019. He is currently the lead independent director of First Quantum Minerals Inc.  Mr. Harding has also served on the boards of Manulife Financial Corporation (Chair of Governance and Nominating committee), Burlington Resources Inc. (Chair of the Audit committee), Norboard Inc., (Chairman of the board), NexJ Inc., (Chairman of the board) and Noranda Inc. (Chairman of the board). Mr. Harding is currently President of the Board of Trustees of the Art Gallery of Ontario, past Chair and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Governors of the University of Waterloo, and a past Chair of the United Way Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.  He is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Queen's Silver and Golden Jubilee Medals and was named as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 in 1996.

Ms. Colleen Johnston currently serves on the boards of Shopify, McCain Foods, and Q4. She is Chair of Unity Health Toronto, which includes St. Michael's Hospital, St. Joseph's Health Centre and Providence Healthcare and is a member of the board of the Shaw Festival. Ms. Johnston retired from TD Bank Group in 2018. Prior to this, she was the bank's Group Head Direct Channels, Technology, Marketing and Corporate & Public Affairs.  She served as TD's Chief Financial Officer from 2005-2015.  In 2006 she was elected an FCA, recognizing her outstanding career achievements and dedication to community activities. Ms. Johnston has received numerous top industry honours as a senior finance executive including Canada's CFO of the Year in 2012. She was inducted into Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100 Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2011, for the third year in a row, she was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking by American Banker. Ms. Johnston has received Honorary Degrees from St. Mary's University and York University (Schulich School of Business). She currently serves as a member of Minister Bill Morneau's Advisory Committee on Open Banking. 

Ms. Sheryl Kennedy has held a number of senior positions in Government, Central Banking, Management Consulting, and Financial Services. As a former Deputy Governor at the Bank of Canada and various roles in the Economic Development and Financial Sector Policy Branches of the department of Finance of the Government of Canada, she brings valuable expertise and perspective on finance and the Canadian economy. Ms. Kennedy was most recently Chair, and prior to that Chief Executive Officer at Promontory Financial Group Canada, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of IBM, where she established and led the Canadian arm of the global consulting firm. At Promontory, she assisted financial services clients in addressing strategic, risk management, governance and regulatory compliance challenges. Ms. Kennedy currently serves on the board of Cogent Communications Holdings Inc (member of Audit committee) and CLS Group Holdings AG (Chair of the UK Intermediate Holdings Inc. subsidiary, Member of Audit and Finance, Nominating and Governance and Chair's committees).  Until June of this year she was Vice Chair of the Canadian Public Accountability Board which regulates the auditing of public companies. Ms. Kennedy is Vice Chair of the Vancouver-based charity, Mothers Matter Centre, a trustee of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada Pension Plans (Chair of the Asset Mix committee) and Governor of the University of Waterloo (Chair of the Pension Investment committee and member of the Finance and Investment committee).  Ms. Kennedy was awarded the Women in Capital Markets Leadership Award in 2007.

Mr. Anatol von Hahn is a venture capitalist, retired senior international bank executive, and board member with over 30 years of board, Chief Executive Officer and executive management experience in banking and finance in North America, Latin America, and Asia. As CEO, and in senior executive positions, Mr. von Hahn has led banking operations in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Singapore. He has chaired or served on the boards of seven international banks as well as a number of associations and charities. He most recently managed the Canadian operations of Scotiabank.  Anatol's venture capital interests are focused on emerging Canadian tech companies. He currently is the Chairman of The Group Ventures, sits on the boards of numerous technology companies including MindBridge AI, Cyber Defence Corporation, and Smart Money, as well on the Advisory boards of a number of manufacturing, real estate and services companies in the US and Canada. He sits on the board of ALMA Children's Education Foundation and the MacDonald Stewart Foundation.

"The ability to attract Board members of this caliber speaks to the compelling nature of PDP's business, our commitment to a best-in-class approach to our operations and governance, and the quality of our management team. Each of our Directors brings valuable skills, business development experience, and networks that will enable us to make the best investments, provide heightened insight around navigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply the necessary oversight and guidance to ensure the successful management of our investors' capital, and to scale our business" added Stephen Lister. 

About Private Debt Partners:
Private Debt Partners is a Canadian alternative asset manager that partners with institutional investors to generate yield and portfolio diversification through private debt strategies. Private Debt Partners originates and structures senior loans to mid-market companies with strong market positions, management teams and financial performance. Investors benefit from PDP's deep sector expertise, the team's track record of success and its focus on underserved sectors of the private debt market. This quality approach to lending enables PDP to deliver higher risk-adjusted returns and true portfolio diversification. It is headquartered in Toronto and has an office in Montreal.  Please visit www.privatedebt.com for more information.

SOURCE Private Debt Partners

For further information: Jean-Christophe Greck, Co-Founder, Chief Investment Officer, and Managing Partner, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Greg DiTomaso, NATIONAL Capital Markets, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]