Chairman
Hon. John D. Reynolds, P.C.
The Hon. John D. Reynolds has taken on the role as a Senior Strategic Advisor at McMillan LLP, a leading North American business law firm serving public, private and not-for-profit clients across several industries in Canada, the United States and internationally. Mr. Reynolds has nearly 40 years of experience at the highest levels of national and provincial government and in a diverse range of cross-border business enterprises with expertise in the advisory of corporate and business clients on concerns involving public policy advocacy, natural resource development, and growth opportunities in markets throughout North America, Asia/Pacific and Africa.
Prior to joining McMillan LLP in 2006, Mr. Reynolds spent 10 years in the House of Commons serving numerous shadow cabinet roles as well as holding the positions of Official Opposition Whip and House Leader and Leader of Her Majesty’s Official Opposition. Mr. Reynolds also served as Chair of Stephen Harper’s Leadership Campaign and Co-Chair of Prime Minister Harper’s 2006 Election Campaign.
Management Advisors
Neil Johnson, CFA
Executive Director & CEO
Neil Johnson has served as an Executive Director and Abingdon Capital’s Chief Executive Officer since he founded the company in 2016. Mr. Johnson is primarily responsible for leading the delivery of strategic advice on global market structures as well as providing successful mid-market investment solutions. Mr. Johnson has over 20 years of investment banking experience, most notably taking on the roles as Head of Corporate Finance (Europe) and Global Head of Technology at Canaccord Genuity’s London division. During his tenure at Canaccord, Mr. Johnson was an instrumental force behind the firm’s breakout as a nominated adviser for AIM and regulated London Stock Exchange listings and led Canaccord’s initiative to attract North American firms to list in London. In the time Mr. Johnson served as Head of Canaccord’s European operation, firm revenues grew from less than £5 million to over £50 million with over 100 transactions completed that raised in excess of £3 billion for North American companies listed in London. In 2012, Mr. Johnson also co-founded Difference Capital Financial, a Canadian publicly listed merchant bank, and served as Chief Executive Officer until his transition to Abingdon.
Mr. Johnson is a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and holds the designation as a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Ajay Shivdasani, MBA
Principal, Investments
Ajay Shivdasani is responsible for the oversight of all stages in the investment evaluation and due diligence processes. Mr. Shivdasani has over 3 years of LBO transaction and deal origination experience he obtained in a previous role as an associate at DW Healthcare Partners, a Toronto-based private equity firm with over $800 million under management. Mr. Shivdasani also spent 4 years of his career at Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm, where he advised leading financial services organizations. Most recently, Mr. Shivdasani also led the corporate development function of Altima Dental, the second largest dental service organization in Canada.
Mr. Shivdasani received a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from INSEAD University.
Steven Russo, J.D./MBA
Principal, Investments
Steven Russo is responsible for conducting Duke Royalty’s investment evaluation process, including all due diligence efforts. Prior to joining Abingdon, Mr. Russo spent six years working primarily on mezzanine debt and select equity growth capital transactions as a former Vice President at Difference Capital Financial Inc. Before joining DCF, Steven completed his articles at Wildeboer Dellelce LLP in Toronto. Prior to that, he served as a summer law student at the National Hockey League Players’ Association where he assisted on player contract negotiations and salary arbitration.
Mr. Russo obtained his J.D. and MBA from Queen’s University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, with honours, from York University. Mr. Russo is employed by Abingdon Capital Corporation which has a support services contract with Duke Royalty Limited.
Jonathan Sirota, CFA
Vice President
Jonathan Sirota is the Vice President of Abingdon Capital. Mr. Sirota focuses on the execution and monitoring of corporate finance advisory clients, leading the due diligence process of evaluating prospects. Prior to joining Abingdon Capital, Mr. Sirota spent 5 years working as an investment associate for G3 Capital Corp, a Toronto-based investment firm, where he was responsible for completing investment due diligence for both public and private corporations.
Mr. Sirota received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and holds the designation as a Chartered Financial Analyst
Tommy Stamadianos, CFA
Associate, Investments
Tommy Stamadianos is responsible for conducting Duke Royalty’s investment evaluation process, including all due diligence efforts. Mr. Stamadianos started his career at Scotiabank in Toronto, where he worked in the Investment Banking group for roughly two years. He has since held investment roles at both Alberta Investment Management Corporation(AIMCO) and Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF), focusing on buyout and growth equity investments in North America and Western Europe. Mr. Stamadianos holds a BCom in Finance and Economics from the University of Toronto.
Mr. Stamadianos is employed by Abingdon Capital Corporation which has a support services contract with Duke Royalty Limited.
Magda Tarnowska
Magda Tarnowska is the Executive Assistant to the CEO at Abingdon Capital. Prior to joining Abingdon, Ms. Tarnowska spent two years in the executive assistant role in Captor Capital Corp., supporting its CEO and the Board of Directors. Ms. Tarnowska also worked as a Duty Manager for six years at the Strathcona Hotel in Toronto. Concurrently, she worked as a Hospitality Management Instructor in the Upper Career College of Business and Technology in Toronto. Ms. Tarnowska received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Philosophy from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland.
Advisory Board
Charlie Cannon-Brookes
Charlie Cannon-Brookes works alongside the CEO on deal origination, due diligence and structuring. Mr. Cannon-Brookes has over 15 years investment experience and currently holds the position of Investment Director at Arlington Group Asset Management Limited (AGAM), an FCA authorized and regulated company that Mr. Cannon-Brookes acquired in 2004. Prior to AGAM, he worked for Arlington Group plc, an AIM quoted investment company and managed all of its public equity portfolio, as well as Jupiter Asset Management, ABN Amro and Barclays de Zoete Wedd. Mr. Cannon-Brookes has extensive fund management experience and has advised or sat on the board for a number of different funds, trusts and other operating public companies.
David Campbell
David Campbell is a former Partner in the Health & Life Sciences practice of Oliver Wyman. He works with the Abingdon board in relation to the identification, analysis and acquisition of investment interests. Mr. Campbell has advised clients and governments on more than $US1.4 Billion in royalty-related transactions in the biopharma and healthcare space in North America, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining Oliver Wyman, Mr. Campbell practiced strategy consulting with the Boston Consulting Group.
Mr. Campbell holds an Honours Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University, where he co-developed a biomedical device for neuro-muscular disease diagnoses as his engineering thesis.
Justin Cochrane, CFA
Justin Cochrane works with the Advisory Board members on deal origination and structuring. Mr. Cochrane is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. Prior to that, he was the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for Sandstorm Gold Ltd., where he was responsible for sourcing, negotiating and executing royalty and stream financing solutions across the globe. Mr. Cochrane was instrumental to Sandstorm’s transition into one of the largest royalties and stream financing companies in Canada. In addition, Mr. Cochrane has over 9 years of investment banking experience where he held the position of Vice President at National Bank Financial and managed primary coverage of BC based clients across multiple sectors as well as provided advice to clients on merger and acquisition transactions.
Mr. Cochrane holds the designation as a Chartered Financial Analyst and received a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of British Columbia.