Management Team

James J. Lawson
President and Chief Executive Officer

Prior to joining Westerkirk, Mr. Lawson was one of Canada's leading commercial lawyers. Most recently a Partner at Torys LLP, he has served over the course of his career as a Partner at Davies, Ward & Beck, and as the Senior Vice President of XO Communications Canada. Mr. Lawson currently sits on the board of directors of a number of companies, including Algoma Steel Inc., a TSX company and one of Canada's largest integrated steel producers; and Zargon Energy Trust, an energy trust listed on the TSX with oil and natural gas operations in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota. Mr. Lawson also sits on the Board of Stewards of the Jockey Club of Canada. Mr. Lawson has an LLB from the University of Western Ontario and an AB-Economics from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.

Douglas Bradley
Managing Director

Mr. Bradley has extensive experience as both a business executive and a professional advisor, most recently serving as Chief Executive Officer of Cosmetica Laboratories, a Westerkirk portfolio company. Mr. Bradley is a former senior corporate development executive at TrizecHahn Corporation. Previously, he was a Managing Partner and Board member at one of Canada’s leading international accounting firms. Mr. Bradley has also served on the Boards of public, private, and not-for-profit corporations.

David Nowak
Managing Director

Prior to joining Westerkirk, Mr. Nowak was a lawyer with Torys LLP in Toronto, where he practiced corporate and securities law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and corporate restructurings. Mr. Nowak's experience includes advising clients on public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, merchant banking, venture capital investments, shareholder arrangements, public takeover bids, plans of arrangements and private acquisitions and divestitures. Mr. Nowak has served on the board of directors of a number of private companies.

Mr. Nowak has an M.B.A. from Duke University where he graduated as a Fuqua Scholar.

Peter Winters
Managing Director

Prior to joining Westerkirk, Mr. Winters was Vice President at TD Capital, the independent private equity arm of TD Bank Financial Group, where he helped oversee the management of its $2.6 billion portfolio that encompasses approximately 200 investments worldwide. Mr. Winters had previously been a Senior Consultant and Manager with the Strategic Services Practice of Andersen Consulting (now known as Accenture), where he worked on a variety of engagements for clients in the telecommunications and financial services industries.

Mr. Winters is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and has an M.B.A. (with Distinction) from the Johnson School at Cornell University, an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School and a B. Comm. (with Distinction) from Mount Allison University.

Joanne Ranger

Managing Director – Finance

Prior to joining Westerkirk, Ms. Ranger served as senior vice president and chief accounting officer at Trizec Properties Inc., a major U.S. real estate investment trust. She also spent several years at both TrizecHahn Corporation and Bramalea Limited.   Ms. Ranger is a chartered accountant with 15 years experience in accounting, financial reporting and financial control.