ABAY STREET LEGEND
ST. CATHARINES At an age when his friends were getting bicycles and other birthday gifts a typical 14-year-old would receive, G Scott Paterson never could haveguessedhowagiftfromhisgrandmotherwouldchangehislife.
That year, instead of unwrapping something on his wish list, he was given five sharesofAbitibiPaper
“It was really transformative,” Paterson, a prominent technology and media financierwhoisnowconsideredaBayStreetlegend,recalls “Itchangedmylife I alwaysthoughtyouhadtogrowupanddosomethinglikefixingroads,sotobe introduced into the concept of working with the stock market was something I neverwouldhavethoughtof”
Paterson, who was keynote speaker at the Niagara Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 20th Anniversary Nominee Breakfast on Thursday morning in St Catharines,wasimmediatelybitbythebug.Hefollowedhispassionandbegan his career as a stock broker in 1985, after graduating from the University of WesternOntario
Ofcourse,evengettingtherewasnotaneasypathforPaterson,whoseriseinthe business world ultimately had him profiled by Peter C Newman in his 1998 bestseller Titans: How the New Canadian Establishment Seized Power alongside CanadianlegendsPeterMunk,IzzySharpe,PaulDesmarais,IzzyAsperandGerry Schwartz
Paterson was the son of a single mother and can recall moving from rental apartmenttorentalapartmentthroughouttheGardenCity,beforefinallyfinding abitofsecuritywhenhestartedtoattendRidleyCollegeinGrades12-13.Itwasa hugefinancialsacrificefromhismother,buthewasabletopayhiswaythanksto thesupportofbursariesfromRidley,alongwithajobasayoungsteratMerrittville Speedway.
“I had the working mentality instilled in me very early thanks to my mother and grandmother,” said Paterson. “For my grandmother it was all about hard work. She grew up in the Depression and she really pushed an old-fashioned work ethic”
It was that push, he said, that ultimately helped him determine his goals. At the age of 18, he said he put together a wish list that included a goal of becoming a CEOwithina15-yeartimeframe.
“Ididthat,andthefunnythingwas, ithappened,”hesaid.
After starting his career at Dominion Securities Pitfield in St. Catharines, he earned the nickname of ‘Cold-Call Cowboy’ and led the firm’s President’s Club by generating more commissions thananyoneelseintheirfirstthree years in the industry. A year later, whilestillastockbroker,Paterson launchedhisparallelventurecapitalcareerbycreatinghisfirst“Pat”companyoneofthefirst(andfirstofmanyforhim)JuniorCapitalPoolsinCanadacalled PatcorCapital
Just six years into his career, he had moved into corporate finance at Midland Walwyn, where he completed his first solo mandate as a senior investment banker by successfully handling a $15 million institutional financing for Kevin O’Leary’sSoftKeySoftware.
Thetechnologyworld,hesaid,isonethathehadakeeninterestinfocusingonas his career continued By 1995 he started to work for Yorkton Securities where his successful career soon became one of Bay Street folklore He transformed YorktonrapidlyintoCanada’sonlydedicatedtechnologyinvestmentbankatthe same time as the Internet was becoming a commercial reality and the early publiclytradedInternetcompaniesofthedayledtothetechnologybubble
“I had always been intrigued by it, and I guess I always figured that technology wouldhaveamajorchangeonhowwedothings,”saidPaterson “IguessIfound it a real exciting world, and I still do today. The world of technology changes so quicklyandit’saninterestingbusinesstobepartof”
Paterson took Yorkton to new heights, and under his leadership the firm raised more than $3 billion as lead underwriter and an additional $6 billion as comanagingunderwriterforCanadiantechnology,Internet,biotechnologyandfilm and entertainment companies. In February 2000, Yorkton completed 21 financings–morethanonefinancingperday–apacenevermatchedincapital marketshistory.
Then,controversyhit AsrespectedasPatersonhadbecome hehadservedthe Canadian securities industry as chair of the Canadian Venture Exchange and was vice-chair of the Toronto Stock Exchange — he came under fire following a high-profile,media-initiatedinvestigationbyregulators
Patersondoesn’tliketodiscusstheissue,butnotedoneofhisdarkestdayswas whenoneoftheTorontodailynewspapersattackedhimrepeatedlyasbeingone ofthemostconflictedbusinessmeninCanada.
Hesaidthenewspaperstoriesledtooneofhisbank-ownedcompetitorsurging the regulators to rein Paterson in. Despite a year-long investigation, the regulators found no security rule or law breaches but Paterson said he felt corneredtomakeahighprofilesettlementwiththem
“It was a challenging period,” he said, adding there was never any evidence he brokeanysecuritiesrulesorlaws
Newman, in his book, said the tech bubble’s “most imaginative imitator was a charismatic and precocious Bay Street genius named G Scott Paterson who becametheunwillingvictimofhisownsuccess”.
Over the last decade, through what he describes as a “pragmatic approach”, Paterson shifted his focus to some major projects, including Lions Gate Entertainment, where he had been the second investor in the company when it was launched by one of his mentors, Frank Giustra, as a start-up in 1997 He remains a board member and today chairs the company’s Audit Committee. Lions Gate now has a $4.5 billion market value and has produced such blockbusterfilmsasTheHungerGamesandTVshowssuchasMadMen
In addition to a 2004 investment with fellow Ridley College alum James Swayze totakeafledglingsoftwarestart-upcalledSymbilitySolutionspublic(itnowhas a$90-millionmarketvalue),healsotookcontrolofastart-upcalledJumpTVin 2005 and subsequently led the company as Chair and CEO through a merger withNeuLionInc in2008 NeuLionisaworldleaderinthedeliveryoflivevideoto Internet-connected devices on behalf of clients such as the NHL, NFL, NBA and UFC Thecompanyhasa$100-millionmarketvalue
He is proud of what he’s accomplished since picking up from his St. Catharines rootsandbeginninganewlifeinthebigcity,inToronto
“IthinkwhatIcanlookbackandtrulysay,isyoucandoanythingyoudream,”he said “Youhavetoputthehoursin,andthehardwork,butwhenIlookbackand seewhatI’vebeenabletoaccomplish,it’sanamazingfeeling”
Asmuchasheisproudofhisbusinesssuccess,outsideofhavinghissixchildren one of his proudest accomplishments is his philanthropic work, including cofounding the Merry Go Round Children’s Foundation (and its Kids, Cops & Computer program) in 1997 and remaining as a passionate chair of the board eversince donatingmorethan$600,000
“Theworkthereissoimportant,”hesaid “Whenyoulookattechnologyandhow it’schanged,youneedacomputerwhenyou’regrowinguporelseyou’regoing tobebehindinschool.”
He’s also very active at Ridley, serving 15 years as a governor, and supporting bursaries,andmakingadonationtothecollegein2011thatresultedinthenew
Varsity Men’s Hockey dressing room being named in his honour He is currently co-chairofRidley’s125thAnniversary(2013-14)fundraisingcampaign “Ilovethatschool,andIwanttosupportthecommunityandregion,”hesaid “My timeatRidleyCollegefundamentallychangedmylifeandIamgratefulforthat.
ArticleSource: https://www.niagarathisweek.com/news/a-bay-streetlegend/article a8d40eb1-bffd-5aaf-8e23-8dd041c69806html