FirePower Capital

Jared Kalish is a co-founder and CEO of FirePower Asset Management, which houses the firm's Private Debt and Private Equity businesses. He sits on FirePower's credit and investment committees, manages its limited partnerships, and leads the firm's AI strategy through FPdev.ai, a technology division building custom AI solutions for portfolio companies. Previously he handled Structured Finance and Strategic Equity for Investec in Canada and led an Equity Structuring team as a division head at Investec Bank in South Africa. He holds a BSc in Actuarial Science and an MSc in Risk and Stochastics from the London School of Economics.

Alan Chettiar leads FirePower Capital's M&A Advisory team and directs its strategy. He previously worked as a Principal at a boutique investment management firm and has close to two decades of experience across venture capital (debt and equity) and private equity, advising entrepreneurs on growth and strategic direction. He holds an MBA from the Ted Rogers School of Management, an LLB from Dalhousie University, and a Bachelor of Commerce from St. Mary's University.

Anthony Lipschitz leads FirePower Capital's Private Equity division. He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Thinking Capital, a PE-backed fintech lender, and as Canada Country Manager at StubHub, eBay's ticketing marketplace. Earlier, he co-founded and was CEO of the short-term rental marketplace iStopOver, and worked as a VP at venture firm Brightspark Ventures. He holds a BA in Media Arts from Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York.

Cameron Vernest leads FirePower Capital's Origination and Partnerships team. He was previously VP of Global Sales and Partnerships at TradeGecko, a Singapore-based inventory and order management platform, where he helped grow ARR from $2m to over $10m in three years, and earlier held roles as Head of Strategic Partnerships at Shopify and Managing Director of South East Asia at BlackBerry. He holds an MBA in finance and accounting from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Kenan Dizdarevic leads execution of M&A and corporate finance advisory transactions at FirePower Capital, drawing on nearly two decades of M&A advisory experience across the US and emerging markets. He began his career in Central Europe at Deloitte Corporate Finance and KBC Securities working on cross-border M&A, then moved to the US to join Macquarie Capital in New York advising industrials clients and financial sponsors, and later worked at Mizuho Bank on corporate finance advisory and capital raising. He holds an MBA from Duke University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Richard Isaacs is a Managing Director on FirePower Capital's Private Equity team. Before joining the firm, he held senior roles at Rand Merchant Bank, the investment banking division of FirstRand Bank Limited, and advised large listed South African companies on strategy, M&A, and funding. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Natal and is a South African Chartered Accountant.

Trevor Simpson leads FirePower Capital's Private Capital division, working on client engagement and credit underwriting with a focus on structuring cash flow transactions using senior term, subordinated debt, and mezzanine financing. He previously worked at Roynat Capital, where he managed a portfolio of clients and developed capital solutions for mid-sized companies. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and an MBA from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Alexander Labocha is a Senior Associate in FirePower Capital's M&A Advisory Group. He previously worked as a Senior Associate in Deloitte's M&A Advisory group, focusing on commercial and operational due diligence and identifying performance improvement opportunities for clients. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Brent Shapiro is Director of Finance and Operations on FirePower Capital's Private Capital team. He previously spent five years at Investec in South Africa working in equity derivative structuring and credit trading, followed by eight years as CFO of a US-based private equity fund and later of an edtech startup, focusing on US and South African accounting and tax reporting. He holds a Bachelor of Business Science in Finance and Accounting from the University of Cape Town and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Carson Gaiser is a Junior Analyst on FirePower Capital's M&A team. Before joining the firm, he held internships at Double Black Capital's Technology Advisory team, at Pillar49 Capital as a Private Equity Analyst, and at the Department of National Defence as a Financial Analyst. He is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Finance at McMaster University.

Charles Levy is an Associate on FirePower Capital's Private Capital Team, where he supports and evaluates private debt and equity opportunities. He previously worked at Archer Growth Partners, evaluating and executing private equity deals in the North American mid-market. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from McGill University.

Daniel Cubric is a Vice President in FirePower Capital's M&A Advisory group. Before joining the firm, he spent three years at the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange working on strategy, corporate development, and business management initiatives. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto (2018) and is a CFA Level 3 candidate.

David Fishman is an Analyst on FirePower Capital's Private Debt team, where he evaluates, underwrites, and monitors the firm's private debt investments. He previously worked as a Financial Analyst at Soundskrit Inc., focusing on financial planning and analysis and supporting business development efforts. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce with First-Class Honours in Investment Management from McGill University and is a CFA Level I candidate.

David Garrard leads FPdev.ai, FirePower Capital's AI division that builds custom technology solutions for portfolio companies. He has more than 25 years of technology leadership experience spanning AI, machine learning, data engineering, and business process automation. He serves as CTO for Konfidis Inc and Kepyr Inc, two AI-powered proptech firms backed by FirePower Capital, and was previously CTO of Last Call Analytics, which was acquired by Ample Organics.

Jana Van Der Merwe is an Analyst on FirePower Capital's M&A Advisory Team. She previously worked as a Junior Analyst at the firm and then in Spearhead Corporate Development's Origination & Advisory division. She earned a Bachelor of Commerce in Law from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and a second degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Toronto.

Jonathan Lehun is a Director at FirePower Capital, where he has worked for 12 years across sectors including manufacturing, distribution, logistics, software and hardware, healthcare, consumer products, business services, and food and beverage. His work spans sell-side and buy-side M&A, senior debt, and mezzanine financing mandates. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, and previously played professional hockey from 2004 to 2008 after being drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2003.

Justin Gimza is a Vice President on FirePower's Origination team, where he identifies opportunities and builds relationships across the firm's M&A advisory, private capital, and private equity lines. He previously led the US corporate fixed income back office trade support team at RBC Capital Markets. He earned a Bachelor of Political Science with a concentration in Economics from the University of Waterloo and is a registered Dealing Representative of Belco Private Capital Inc.

Liam Leonard is an Analyst on FirePower Capital's M&A Advisory Team. He previously worked as an M&A Associate at Constellation Software, supporting deal origination, relationship management, and due diligence for software acquisitions in the retail and hospitality sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Mark Perera is a Software Developer at FP Dev, focusing on AI-assisted development and business process understanding to build scalable software solutions. He previously worked as a Software Development Consultant at Rivington Labs, where he designed automated workflows and AI prompt systems. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, with experience in app development, AI integration, and product design.

Michael Perillo is an Analyst in FirePower's M&A sell-side advisory group. Before joining FirePower, he was an Investment and Securities Analyst at Manulife Financial on the Retail Investment team and previously held Investment Analyst and Strategic Finance & Accounting Analyst roles at Framework Venture Partners. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Michael Toivonen is Manager, VMX at FirePower Capital, where he advises private-equity clients and their portfolio companies across various industries, leading engagements and related business development. He holds graduate degrees in economics and business analytics from the Norwegian School of Economics and Ivey Business School, and completed undergraduate studies in mathematics and business at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Mustaqim Khan is a software developer at FPdev.ai, FirePower's AI division. He holds a master's degree in Computer Science from Western University, where his thesis focused on indexing MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms using deep learning methods.

Nirmit Dave is an Associate in the M&A Advisory group at FirePower Capital. He previously worked as a Senior Associate on the Transaction Services team at BDO Canada handling financial due diligence for buy-side and sell-side engagements, and earlier spent over two and a half years at BDO RISE in India supporting the U.S. BDO team on transaction advisory work. He holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin.

Sara Kwan is a Software Developer at FP Dev, part of FirePower Capital. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Computing from Queen's University and previously worked as a Software Developer / Junior Business Analyst at Global Affairs Canada through a professional internship program, building automated workflows and web-based solutions.

Somant Maraj is a Director at FirePower Capital with more than ten years of investment banking and industry experience centered on M&A advisory. He has worked on both sell-side and buy-side M&A processes spanning manufacturing, distribution, industrial services, healthcare, technology, and consumer products. He holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and a Bachelor of Science from Ryerson University.

Spencer Adams is an analyst in FirePower Capital's M&A sell-side advisory group, having previously completed a junior analyst internship at the firm. Before FirePower, he interned at Altas Partners on the Investments & Portfolio Solutions teams and worked as a Mortgage Investments Analyst at Cameron Stephens Mortgage Capital. He earned a Bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in management from McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management.

Stefano Roppoli is a member of FirePower Capital's Origination team, where he sources opportunities and builds relationships for the firm's M&A Advisory and Private Capital businesses. Before joining the firm, he worked as a Facility Operator for the Town of Oakville. He holds a Master of Management from the Schulich School of Business and a Bachelor of Political Science from York University.

Stella Millis previously served as a Vice-President and Licensed Insolvency Trustee in BDO's Financial Recovery Services practice, where she worked on insolvency and restructuring of distressed companies, including viability assessments, liquidations, and turnaround plans for lenders and debtors across industries such as manufacturing, construction, telecommunications, hospitality, real estate, and health care. She holds a BEng from Ryerson University and is a Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Practitioner.

Timothy Zhou is a Junior Analyst on FirePower Capital's M&A team. He previously worked as a summer analyst at CPS Capital, where he supported investment evaluation, due diligence, and portfolio company management. He is an undergraduate student at Western University pursuing a Bachelor of Science.

Yogik Mehta is a Junior Analyst on FirePower Capital's M&A team. Before joining the firm, he interned at Aureate Capital's private funds advisory team, where he supported due diligence and process work on TMT mandates. He is currently a junior at Western University studying finance and economics.

Maria Perdomo is the Regional Investment Team Lead for Asia-Pacific at the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), where she oversees the officers who source, structure, and deliver blended-finance solutions and works to shift the portfolio from grant-based aid toward catalytic instruments across economic resilience, nature and climate finance, and energy transition. She has more than 20 years of experience in development finance, during which she has mobilized over USD 50 million in commitments and directed results-based and blended finance to more than 100 financial institutions and private-sector partners in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific. Her work has focused on expanding access to finance and building partnerships with financial institutions, central banks, UN agencies, NGOs, and development partners.