Westleaf Inc. (TSX-V:WL)(OTCQB:WSLFF) (“Westleaf” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce the appointment of Cody Church to the Board of Directors of the Company.
Mr. Church joins Westleaf after a successful career in finance in New York and Calgary. Most recently, Mr. Church was the co-founder and senior managing director of TriWest Capital Partners, one of the largest general buyout funds in Western Canada and one of the leading private equity groups in the country.
“Cody brings a vast knowledge of the financial markets, both from a private equity and public company position, and a far-reaching network within the financial community in Canada and the US,” said Stephen Mason, Founder and Executive Chairman of Westleaf. “Cody’s experience complements an already deep talent pool within Westleaf and we are excited to have him join our board.”
Mr. Church began his career with CS First Boston in 1993 and worked in the area of acquisitions and divestitures, high yield bonds, IPOs and re-financings. He then went on to work in private equity with EXOR America establishing a solid reputation for financing, structuring and deal flow, before returning home to Calgary to start TriWest in 1997. TriWest raised $1.3 billion of committed equity capital through five managed funds and generated exceptional returns across all five funds. Mr. Church retired from TriWest in 2018 and founded Clear North Capital where he serves as President and CEO.
Mr. Church is a graduate of Harvard University receiving a Bachelor of Economics, and is an active member of the community, having served on the board of the Calgary Stampede Foundation, the Alberta Children’s Wish Board, and the Calgary Parks Foundation among others. He was also named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 and is a guest lecturer at the University of Calgary’s faculty of Corporate Finance.
In connection with the appointment, Westleaf has granted 90,909 restricted share units (“RSUs”) to Mr. Church in accordance with its Restricted Share Unit Award Plan dated May 29, 2018. 84,745 RSUs were also granted to Mr. John Radostits in connection with his previous appointment. The RSUs will be granted as of the date of this news release, are valued at $0.55 per unit and will vest in a series of four equal tranches over 12 months following the date hereof.
Mr. Church joins fellow directors: Chairman Stephen Mason, CEO Scott Hurd, Delbert Wapass, John Radostits and independent members Robb McNaughton and Kareen Stangherlin.
