About the Author

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Is the Founder of The Shaughnessy Group, a boutique corporate finance advisory firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions for lower middle-market Canadian businesses with revenues between $5 million and $50 million.

With over three decades of experience in building, transforming, and successfully exiting businesses, Karl brings a rare combination of operational expertise and transaction experience to his advisory work. He has lived both sides of the M&A table—as a founder and operator who built companies from the ground up, and as an M&A advisor who has guided dozens of business owners through successful exits.

Karl's operational credentials are extensive. He has been a founding member of eight start-ups across the technology, finance, and insurance sectors, and has led the growth of several business-to-business organizations through organic expansion, mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances. His proudest operational accomplishments include building high-performing teams that delivered extraordinary results: 80x growth in assets, 25x growth in revenues, and 18x growth in earnings.

Most notably, Karl served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Crelogix Credit Group Inc. from 2007 to 2017, where he was directly responsible for setting strategy and vision, developing culture, building teams, and allocating capital resources. Under his leadership, Crelogix was recognized multiple times on the PROFIT 500 list of Canada's fastest-growing companies (ranking as high as #187 in 2015) and received Canada's Top Small & Medium Enterprises award in both 2015 and 2016 for creating an exceptional workplace.

Prior to Crelogix, Karl held senior leadership positions including Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President at Travelers Financial Group (2004-2007) and senior roles at Credit Acceptance Corporation in the United Kingdom, where he led the successful turnaround of the European subsidiary.

Throughout his career, Karl has overseen the raising of $965 million in capital and has advised on, executed, or led transactions with a combined value exceeding $4 billion. This deep transaction experience—spanning debt and equity raises, recapitalizations, turnarounds, restructurings, mergers, and acquisitions—gives him unique insight into what buyers look for, how deals get structured, and where sellers often make costly mistakes.

Since founding The Shaughnessy Group, Karl has specialized in helping Canadian business owners navigate one of the most important and complex decisions of their lives: selling the business they have built. His approach combines rigorous financial analysis with deep empathy for the emotional journey sellers experience. As his clients consistently note, Karl is actively involved in every step of the process—from initial valuation through negotiation, due diligence, and closing—ensuring that owners maximize their company's value while honoring their legacy.

Karl holds the ICD.D (Institute of Corporate Directors - Director) designation, a prestigious credential that represents completion of a comprehensive year-long program in corporate governance offered through leading Canadian universities including the University of Toronto, Simon Fraser University, and York University. This designation acknowledges his expertise in fiduciary responsibility, duty of care, and effective board governance—knowledge that applies directly to helping business owners understand buyer perspectives and governance expectations during the sale process.

He currently serves on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards, bringing his strategic and operational expertise to help organizations navigate growth, governance, and strategic decision-making. His board experience provides invaluable insight into how institutional buyers evaluate acquisition targets and what they expect from well-governed businesses.

Karl is an active member of the M&A community's leading professional organizations:

• Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA): A premier international organization of middle-market M&A professionals.
• Association for Corporate Growth (ACG): The global community for middle-market M&A dealmakers and business leaders.
• M&A Club: Canada's premier networking organization for M&A professionals, investors, and advisors.

These affiliations ensure Karl stays at the forefront of M&A best practices, market trends, and valuation methodologies while maintaining a robust network of deal professionals across Canada and internationally.

As a recognized thought leader in business transitions, Karl is a frequent speaker at Canada's most prominent exit planning and M&A events:

• Business Transitions Forum: Presenting coast-to-coast across Canada on preparing businesses for sale, maximizing valuations, and navigating the emotional journey of exiting.
• TechExit Forum: Speaking to technology entrepreneurs about the unique challenges and opportunities in selling tech businesses.

Through these speaking engagements, Karl has educated hundreds of Canadian business owners on the realities of the M&A process, helping them make informed decisions about their exit timing, preparation strategies, and what to expect throughout the sale journey.

Karl is deeply committed to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders through multiple volunteer roles:

Equation Angels - Karl served on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer, having previously served on the Selection Committee. Equation Angels is an angel investment network that supports early-stage entrepreneurs. In this capacity, Karl helps evaluate investment opportunities, provides governance oversight, and mentors founders preparing for angel investment rounds.

University Innovation Center Advisor - Karl serves as an advisor to the Vice President of Research, providing guidance on the direction and operations of The Hub, a university innovation center. He mentors founders, delivers lectures on preparing for startup investment (particularly during times of economic uncertainty), and helps shape how the innovation center supports student ventures from concept through commercialization.

Canadian Lenders Association - As founder of this association, Karl created a forum for professionals, executives, journalists, regulators, and investors interested in the Canadian consumer and commercial credit space. The association's members include commercial and consumer financiers from banks and finance companies who advocate, collaborate, and educate to advance their organizations and the industry forward across Canada.

Mentorship - Karl is particularly passionate about mentoring business school graduates and newly immigrated Canadian executives on their personal and professional growth, helping them navigate the complexities of building careers and businesses in Canada. His mentorship extends to entrepreneurs at various stages, from students exploring startup ideas to established business owners preparing for exit.

Through these volunteer roles, Karl contributes hundreds of hours annually to supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and business leadership development across Canada.

Karl wrote The Complete Guide to Selling Your Mid-Market Canadian Business because he saw too many business owners making preventable mistakes that cost them millions of dollars and years of regret. Having personally experienced the emotional and financial complexities of building, growing, and exiting businesses—and having guided dozens of clients through successful sales, Karl recognized the need for a comprehensive, practical, and honest guide specifically for Canadian business owners navigating the lower middle-market M&A landscape.

This book distills three decades of hard-won lessons,both his own and those of the entrepreneurs he has advised, into a step-by-step roadmap that maximizes value, minimizes stress, and helps owners build fulfilling next chapters after the sale.

What sets this book apart is Karl's unique perspective: he is not a theoretical academic or an investment banker who only sees deals from the buy side. He is a former CEO who built and exited businesses himself, who understands the sleepless nights that come with customer concentration, the pride of building a great team, and the conflicted emotions of letting go of something you have poured your life into. He has also advised dozens of Canadian business owners through every phase of the sale process, from the initial "should I sell?" question through post-sale life planning.

Drawing from his coast-to-coast speaking experience at Business Transitions Forum and TechExit events, Karl has heard thousands of questions from business owners and learned what keeps them up at night when contemplating a sale. This book answers those questions with brutal honesty, practical guidance, and the deep empathy that comes from walking this path himself.

Karl's approach is characterized by straight talk, deep empathy, and relentless focus on outcomes that matter not just the highest price, but the right deal with the right buyer that honors the seller's legacy and sets them up for long-term success and satisfaction.

To learn more about Karl's work with The Shaughnessy Group or to explore how he might help with your business sale or growth objectives, visit www.shaughnessy.group .

For speaking engagements, workshops, or consultation inquiries, Karl can be reached through The Shaughnessy Group offices in Toronto at 647 794 6167.

Karl E. Sigerist Jr., ICD.D, is based in the Greater Toronto Area. When he is not advising business owners or serving on boards, he enjoys mentoring entrepreneurs, speaking at business conferences across Canada, and exploring what makes a successful transition from business ownership to a fulfilling next chapter.