Ross named CEO of Manitoba First Fund

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This article was published 16/05/2023 (886 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ken Ross has been named CEO of Manitoba First Fund, the $100-million venture capital organization funded by the province.

Ross, a former partner with Deloitte, is a veteran senior company executive who was recruited out of a brief retirement. His most recent engagement was as president of MacDon Industries, a large agricultural implement manufacturer and one of the largest manufacturing operations in the province. He retired from that position in 2021.

Manitoba First Fund (MFF) was created after the Stefanson government made a commitment to get back into the venture capital business after remaining on the sidelines for the past 15 years after the Crocus Investment Fund went into receivership.

MFF will invest in venture capital funds that commit to investing in Manitoba and bringing additional capital to the market. The MFF will not itself invest in specific Manitoba companies.

Ross said his experience in running large organizations will be brought to bear in setting up and running MFF.

“Part of the jobs I’ve had is making sure your finances are solid and that you have the capital you need. So a little bit of my experience comes from the other side of the table,” he said. “But we already have a pretty good board who are very knowledgeable about what we’re doing.”

That board, led by its chairman, Mike Pyle, already closed one deal with Saskatoon-based WesCap Management Ltd. in March. MFF invested $25 million into a new $60 million WesCap subsidiary called Connect Manitoba Growth Fund, that will invest in later-stage growth companies that are already established but need additional capital for future growth.

Pyle said the board interviewed several people, some with high-powered finance backgrounds, for the fund CEO position.

“But that was not the right skill sets,” he said. “We wanted someone with experience. Running MacDon is as big a company as there is Winnipeg. That skill set is very transferable to what we are doing here. Ken’s name came up I think he was looking to do something where he could strengthen Manitoba.”

Ross said that part of the attraction of the position was to be able to do something that will benefit the province.

He said he very much understands the challenges that Manitoba businesses have in accessing capital. He quoted a recent data point from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association that showed that of the venture capital invested in Canada in 2022 only 0.43 per cent went to Manitoba.

“That means there has been no focus in attracting capital outside the normal activity of businesses trying to find their own capital,” Ross said.

At this point, the fund is just dealing with firms that have already expressed interest in working and investing in Manitoba. But eventually his job will include soliciting interest from funds that agree to set up shop in Manitoba and invest additional capital on top of what MFF invests in their fund.

“We’re trying to do deals right away,” he said. “There are two more deals currently in the works. We have a fair list of people who have already approached us. We want to work through that as expeditiously but as carefully as possible.”

The fund’s mandate is to partner with as many firms as possible to provide coverage to as many segments of the growth cycle as possible, from early to late stage operations.

Pyle said, “So far we have been taking orders from people standing in line. We have not had to go out and market the fund.”

He said the two other deals in the works could be finalized in the coming weeks and the MFF could have half of its capital spoken for by Canada Day.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca