Bio

Ian is Chief Executive Officer of Kingsdale Advisors and is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of the company’s strategic shareholder and governance advisory solutions. He navigates North American blue-chip companies through complex challenges, drives the attainment of stronger corporate governance, sustainability, board diversity, cybersecurity, shareholder engagement, and devises custom-made solutions that address multiple business areas and resolves conflict situations. A highly recognized and respected expert in guiding large and mid-cap public companies through activist, corporate governance and financial transitions, Ian is well known for strategic acumen, risk management, regulatory management, and proven success in resolving urgent situations and implementing rapid and unique solutions. He regularly advises senior leaders from the worlds of business, finance, government, and other global sectors on how to respond to unforeseen challenges, setting priorities, managing controversial issues and high-profile negotiations, and steering complex, highly regulated stakeholder and legal environments while strategically positioning them to emerge stronger. Ian joined Kingsdale in 2014, and after establishing the company’s strategic communications division as the leading proxy fight PR specialist, he assumed the role of President, Canada in 2019, with a focus on providing innovative and superior service, thought-leadership and outstanding strategic advice to public company boards and management, especially in times of adversity. Over the last decade, Ian has played a key leadership role in over 140 proxy contests. Ian’s select transaction and special situation experience at Kingsdale includes acting for: Tim Hortons in its $12.5 billion plan of arrangement with Burger King Worldwide Inc.; CP in its $40 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern; Shaw Communications in its $26 billion plan of arrangement with Rogers Communications; both Canopy Growth Corp. and Acreage Holdings Inc. in the first large-scale cross-border cannabis M&A deal; Canadian Oil Sands in its defence against a hostile bid from Suncor; Inter Pipeline in its defence against Brookfield Infrastructure Partners; CanniMed Therapeutics in its defence against Aurora Cannabis, the first hostile bid in the cannabis sector; First Capital in its defence against activist Sandpiper; Suncor in its defense against Elliott Management; and, TCI in its successful proxy fight against CN. He is regularly quoted as a strategic shareholder and proxy advisor by national and international financial media, has appeared on BNN-Bloomberg, and is a regular contributor to The Globe and Mail. In 2019, Ian was named one of M&A Advisor’s Top 40 Under 40 Emerging Leaders, the only Canadian in his award category on the list of U.S. award winners, recognizing his expertise in communication strategy and crisis management. Prior to joining Kingsdale, Ian spent over a decade in politics having served as a Chief of Staff and Campaign Manager for a major political party, worked for an international development agency with operations in Africa, Asia, and South America, and developing crisis response strategies for the Ontario Government. Ian holds an Honours B.A. from the University of Western Ontario.