Your M&A Advisors:
Your Advisor for Selling or Buying a Canadian Business
Mark Groulx,
BComm, MBA – President
Mark is the President and founder of AIM Group Canada Ltd. He manages, supervises and oversees all aspects of the firm’s transactions from origination through preparation, structuring, negotiation and closing.
Previously Mark had an extensive background in corporate and investment banking. Before founding AIM in 1990, Mark spent four years in London, England, where he was an investment banker at two sister firms, Orion Royal Bank and Libra Bank, both owned by Royal Bank of Canada. In these positions he marketed corporate finance products to U.S. corporations and European banks.
Prior to working in the U.K., Mark spent the first five years of his career as a corporate banker in Canada, with Bank of America and The First National Bank of Chicago.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and subsequently earned an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Andrea Poptsis,
HBA, MBA – Advisor
Andrea is an accomplished executive with extensive corporate finance experience. She has worked with numerous businesses for over 20 years both within the organizations as a senior finance and operations leader as well as a third party transaction Advisor.
She has worked on several M&A transactions with AIM Group where she has served as an advisor for over 15 years. Andrea has worked on numerous mergers & acquisition, restructuring and strategy projects both as an advisor and in-house.
Formerly, Andrea has held a number of senior positions with leading corporations in Canada and the UK including Pink Tartan/Tevrow+Chase, Virgin, Bell Canada, Pink Tartan and the Ontario Public Service.
Andrea holds an HBA from Ivey Business School and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Tim Weichel,
BA, MBA – Advisor
Tim Weichel brings extensive senior level leadership experience in Mid-Market Merger and Acquisitions to AIM Group Canada. His 35 years of experience include having been President of Carlton Cards and President of Canadian chocolate icon Laura Secord. Tim also served as Vice President of Regional Operations and as Vice President of Business Development for Van Houtte Coffee Services Inc.
His role at Laura Secord was to prepare the business for divestiture, and to create and deliver management presentations to prospective financial and strategic purchasers of the business. He was successful in selling the business to a private equity firm at an enhanced multiple. At Van Houtte, he was involved in the sale of the business from its publicly traded status to a private equity firm, and subsequently from private equity back to a publicly traded firm. While at Van Houtte, Tim was also responsible for six tuck-in acquisitions, and two non-core business divestitures.
Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Commerce and Finance from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Business Administration degree from York University.
Ruby Lougheed Yawney,
CPA, CA, Hons. BBA – Business Development
Ruby is an experienced business development professional focused on managing relationships with new and existing clients. She is passionate about helping clients achieve their objectives by providing strategic advice at critical stages of their business cycle.
She has an extensive and varied background in finance which includes public accounting, business operations, controller positions, financial planning and portfolio management. Most recently, she worked as the Director of Business Development for a financial advisory firm. Ruby spent most of her career as a trusted advisor to families with leading wealth management firms such as Manulife Securities and Berkshire Securities. She started her career as an accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co. and subsequently worked with numerous family-owned businesses.
Ruby holds a Hons. BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a CPA, CA.
Ricky Yang,
B.Comm – Director
Ricky joined AIM as an analyst in April 2017 and is responsible for research, analysis, financial modelling and due diligence to support all of the firm’s mandates.
Prior to AIM, Ricky worked at a mid-market private equity fund where he performed competitive and financial evaluation of acquisition opportunities in numerous industries including consumer goods, energy, software and technology.
Ricky holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Specialist in Finance & Economics from the University of Toronto and is a CFA Charterholder.