Our Team

Dean MacDonald

President & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. MacDonald has had a long and successful career as an operating executive and entrepreneur. His operating experience includes serving as the chief operating officer of Rogers Cable and as the chief executive officer of Persona Communications, a TSX-listed cable and internet services company. Mr. MacDonald worked with a syndicate of investment partners to turn around Persona’s operations and subsequently sold the business at a significant premium to its purchase price in 2007. Mr. MacDonald has also served as chairman of the Newfoundland and Labrador Energy Corporation, which manages the province’s oil and gas assets. He has management and investment experience in a number of industries, including advertising, marketing and communications. In 2007, Mr. MacDonald was selected as CEO of the Year by Birch Hill Capital Partners.

Keith Halbert

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Halbert joined the Fund in August 2005 as vice president and was appointed chief financial officer in December 2009. Mr. Halbert has over 20 years experience in senior financial roles in both the financial services and technology services sectors, and has primarily worked alongside the business founders in businesses ranging from early stage to established public companies. Mr. Halbert is a Chartered Accountant. Most recently, Mr. Halbert was chief financial officer of Star Data Systems Inc., PSINet Canada Inc., and Fusepoint Managed Services Inc. Previously, Mr. Halbert was employed in the audit divisions of Deloitte & Touche, Newcastle, England, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Calgary, Alberta.

Paul Hatcher

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Hatcher joined the Fund in February of 2009 and was recently appointed chief operating officer. Mr. Hatcher has over 15 years experience at a senior management level. As chief operating officer, he is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the portfolio of the Fund’s operating partnerships. Prior to joining the Fund, Mr. Hatcher was chief operating officer of Persona Communications Inc. In this role he had P&L responsibility for the organization and helped aggressively transition a financially distressed cable company into a successful, and much broader, telecommunications provider. Persona was later merged with a larger communications provider. Prior to Persona, Mr. Hatcher was the senior vice president of Marketing and Sales at 360 Networks and was responsible for all revenue-generating areas of the Canadian operation. 360 Networks had recently merged its Canadian assets with those of Group Telecom. In this role, Mr. Hatcher lead a team of marketing and sales professionals in taking a company from a court-protected CCAA process to a thriving telecommunications company. 360 Networks was later purchased and merged into BCE. Previous roles included vice president and general manager for Group Telecom’s Atlantic division and vice president and general manager of Cable Atlantic Inc., a Cable MSO operating in Newfoundland and Labrador. Mr. Hatcher is a graduate of Memorial University’s Engineering Degree program where he was a member of the Dean’s list. He currently sits on the Dean of Engineering Advisory Board and he recently completed a term on the Premier’s Business Advisory Council, was past chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries (NATI) and a past board member of the Newfoundland Science Centre.

Charles P. Hutchings

Vice President

Mr. Hutchings joined the Fund as vice president in March 2009. Prior to that, he served as CFO of Persona Communications Inc. Mr. Hutchings has a strong background in financial and corporate strategic management and is experienced in all aspects of business operations. Prior to joining Persona, Mr. Hutchings was most recently the vice president of finance and chief financial officer of Beaufort Solutions and, preceding that position, he was vice president of finance and chief financial officer of Telepix Imaging, both emerging information technology entities. Mr. Hutchings served as senior vice-president of finance and chief financial officer at Cable Atlantic for over a decade, as one of the key decision-makers and strategists who grew a small cable company into a dominant entertainment service provider in Newfoundland with established, highly competitive market positions in cable, internet and network communications. Mr. Hutchings is a member of CGA Canada and the Financial Executives Institute of Canada.

Adrian Montgomery

Chief Investment Officer

Mr. Montgomery joined the Fund as vice president in January of 2010. Prior to that, he worked at Rogers Media Inc., where he oversaw a number of business development initiatives in the fields of sports and entertainment. At Rogers, Mr. Montgomery spearheaded several landmark alliances with the National Football League, the International Olympic Committee, the FIFA World Cup, Live Nation Music, and CBS Paramount. A lawyer and member of the New York State Bar, Mr. Montgomery is active in the political process and has served as a senior advisor to politicians at all levels of government. He is also involved in a number of charitable endeavours and sits on the board of Special Olympics Canada.