Name Michael Wekerle Role Merchant | ||
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Spouse Lea-Anne Wekerle (m. 2000–2010), Patricia Wekerle (m. 1989–2000) Parents Anthony Wekerle, Hermine Wekerle People also search for Lea-Anne Wekerle, Arthur Mesher, Riyaz Lalani, John L. Albright, Henry Kneis, Lisa Gabriele, Tracie Tighe Profiles | ||
Michael wekerle saves the el mocambo interview todd shapiro show
Michael Wekerle is a Canadian merchant banker and television personality, best known as a dragon investor on the Canadian reality show Dragon's Den since its ninth season.
Contents
- Michael wekerle saves the el mocambo interview todd shapiro show
- Cbc connects meet new dragon michael wekerle cbc
- Business career
- Dragons Den
- Other activities
- Personal life
- References
Cbc connects meet new dragon michael wekerle cbc
Business career
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Wekerle spent a year studying at York University before dropping out and taking a job at the Toronto Stock Exchange. He subsequently joined First Marathon, rising to become head trader for the firm. In this capacity, he was one of the key figures in Rogers Communications' takeover of Maclean-Hunter in 1994.
He left First Marathon in 1995 to join Griffiths McBurney and Partners. In his role with GMP, he was closely involved with the 1997 initial public offering of Research in Motion.
In 2010, Wekerle experienced a bout of depression after his then-wife Lea-Anne died of a heart attack. His behaviour became increasingly erratic over the next several months; at a charity fundraising roast for Newcap Broadcasting CEO Rob Steele that summer, he drunkenly interrupted host Rex Murphy, and in October he arrived drunk at a hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, and allegedly engaged in rowdy and disorderly behaviour. A valet with the hotel filed a lawsuit against Wekerle in 2013, alleging that he had suffered a permanent injury as a result of Wekerle's behaviour.
Wekerle left Griffiths McBurney in 2011, and launched his own merchant banking firm, Difference Capital, in 2012 to invest in technology startups. His investments through Difference Capital include the film and television studio Thunderbird Films, the data analysis firm Appinions, the medical technology firm BrainScope, the social media management service HootSuite, and the technology firm Vision Critical. In 2014, he announced the launch of a new business incubator in the Waterloo Region that would offer venture capital funding to new tech startups. He subsequently began buying high-tech commercial buildings in Waterloo, a number of which had previously been owned by BlackBerry.
Dragons' Den
He was announced in March 2014 as one of two new Dragons, along with restaurateur Vikram Vij, who would be joining Dragons' Den in its ninth season following the departures of Kevin O'Leary and Bruce Croxon. In one of his first dragon deals on the series, he invested in Covergalls, a new line of workwear designed for women in industrial jobs.
Other activities
Separately from Difference Capital, he is a partner in the Canadian franchise expansion plans of Mark Wahlberg's Wahlburgers chain of restaurants, and purchased El Mocambo, a live music venue in Toronto.
In 2013, he was a participant in the Humour Me Comedy Classic, a charitable event in which business executives train to perform stand-up comedy routines as a fundraiser for Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. He is also a sponsor of "Wekfest" and "Wektoberfest", annual charitable fundraising music festivals in Waterloo.
Personal life
He lives part-time in Caledon, Ontario.
Wekerle’s Porsche 918 Spyder burst into flames at the Esso gas station on 28 September 2014 in Caledon while he was filling up his gas tank. Some gas overfilled, which caused the explosion. Nobody was hurt during the occurrence.