Name Steven Funk | ||
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Dr. Steven Christopher Funk (; born July 5, 1950) is a Canadian entrepreneur, venture capitalist, private equity investor, and philanthropist. He is a recurring partner with the Clinton Global Initiative, recipient of the Kaufman Foundation Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the recipient of the Distinguished Graduate Award from his rural Iowa hometown.
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Early life
Funk was born and raised on a farm in Osage, Iowa. He is the eldest son of Lavern and Shirley Funk. A standout athlete in high school, Funk won a state championship as a wrestler in 1966. He later attended Purdue University on an athletic scholarship from which he holds an undergraduate degree with honors, and a masters and doctorate degree with Dean’s List distinction from the University of Iowa. Dr. Funk is a twice-recognized college scholar athlete; the first twice-elected president of the American Association of Dental Students, which placed him as the one student governance representative on a 11-member board of dental school deans. Funk relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for his oral surgery residency in 1979. Shortly after doing so, he took a one-year sabbatical to accept an offer with two Canadian entrepreneurs.
Business
He has amassed extensive experience in international investment, private equity, and real estate ownership and development. Over the course of his career, Funk built the largest fund management business in Investor Category Immigrant Funds to Canada, acquired Imperial Parking, which during his tenure rose to become one of the dominant car park management companies in North America and Asia. He founded Aspen Properties in 1995, which became the fastest growing owner and manager of one of the largest portfolios of pure city core office commercial real estate in Western Canada. He sold his North American interests in 2007, and today owns and overseas one of the largest rainforest holding in Central America, and a 50% interest in Imperial Parking (Hong Kong) Ltd., along with Funk Holdings Ltd.
Philanthropy
Funk chairs the Advisory Board of the Microcredit Summit. He founded the Race4Change model in support of Women’s empowerment in East Africa. He is also a founding director and financial underwriter of the Unitus Sustainable Investment Banking Model. He is a 3-time commitment award recipient of the Clinton Global Initiative, and an Innovations Director of the XPrize Foundation.