Wes Hall (businessman)
As the chairman and founder of WeShall Investments, a private equity firm with a diverse portfolio
of companies predominantly supporting BIPOC entrepreneurs, Wes Hall comes from humble
beginnings in rural Jamaica. He grew up in a plantation worker's shack as one of several children
supported by his grandmother. Despite these challenges, his grandmother instilled in him the value
of hard work, ambition, and industriousness.
In 1985, Wes immigrated to Canada, where he set about to become the businessman you see today.
Dressed daily in a suit, Wes started as a mail clerk at a leading law firm in Toronto. His curiosity,
intelligence, and ability to spot opportunities allowed him to turn a $100K loan from the bank to
start his first business, Kingsdale Advisors, into becoming Canada's most preeminent shareholder
advisory firm.
Wes' expertise was invaluable on the complicated dispute between Toronto-based Goldcorp and
Nevada-based Glamis Gold from 2004 to 2006, Xstrata PLC's USD 18billion takeover of Falconbridge
in 2006, and the $19-billion merger between Suncor and Petro-Canada in 2009.
A staunch philanthropist, Wes is deeply committed to community upliftment. He founded the
ambitious and highly successful BlackNorth Initiative to help end systemic anti-Black racism in
Canada. He has instructed Black Entrepreneurship & Leadership at the Rotman School of
Management at the University of Toronto, a first-of-its-kind course in North America. Wes is the
vice-chair of the Board of Governors at Huron University College, a member of the Capital Markets
Modernization Taskforce, and sits on the board of directors for SickKids Foundation and Pathways to
Education Canada.
In 2024, Wes was appointed as the 35th Chancellor of the University of Toronto. The same year,
he was bestowed with the Knighthood of The Royal Order of Constantine the Great and Saint Helen
for his outstanding contributions to business, philanthropy, and community development. The Globe
and Mail also recognized him as one of Bay Street's top 40 most influential figures of the past four
decades and received the Nation Builder Award from the Empire Club. He was also honoured with
the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce in 2021 and named the
Canadian Business Leader of 2022 by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Wes has been granted 6
Honorary Doctorates from esteemed institutions of the University of West Indies, University of
Ottawa, Toronto Metropolitan University, Queen's University, University of Toronto, and York
University. Wes received the Medal of Distinction from Huron University in 2022.
Wes' other accomplishments include penning a bestselling memoir, "No Bootstraps When You're
Barefoot," a finalist for the 2023 National Business Book Awards. He launched a podcast in
partnership with the Toronto Star, "Between Us with Wes Hall," and is also a Dragon on the hit CBC
series, "Dragons' Den." Wes is also an in-demand speaker invited to speak across Canada and a
frequent guest on BNN Bloomberg.
References
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