About our Resources
Our online resources were born from decades of hands-on coaching, mentoring, and thought leadership dedicated to Canadian students, imigrants, entrepreneurs and executives. Through our interviews, speaking engagements, podcasts, and event sponsorships, we’ve guided Canadian business owners through their first acquisitions, growth financing, recapitalizations, turnarounds, and eventual business sale.
This deep educational commitment naturally led to the founding of the Shaughnessy Group in the fall of 2017. Our team brings decades of real-world experience in start-ups, scaling, restructuring, mergers, and acquisitions across a wide range of industries. We have originated, arranged, structured, and closed complex M&A, equity, debt, and securitization transactions for many of Canada’s best-known public and privately held companies. Having successfully led organizations and strategic deals through Black Monday (1987), the Russian Financial Crisis (1998), the Dot.com collapse (2000), the Global Financial Crisis (2008), and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), the new global trade order (2025), we offer battle-tested insight that few can match.
In 2025, we have intentionally separated our thought-leadership and educational initiatives from our core corporate finance, mergers, and acquisitions advisory practice. This focused structure allows us to deliver even greater clarity, depth, and value to Canadian business owners at every stage of their journey while we publish our first book Selling Your Canadian Business: A Step-by-Step Guide to Maximizing Value and Securing Your Legacy
About the Author
Karl E. Sigerist Jr., ICD.D, is the Founder of The Shaughnessy Group, a boutique corporate finance advisory firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions for lower middle-market Canadian businesses ($5M–$50M in revenue).
With over 30 years of experience building, transforming, and exiting businesses, Karl offers unique operational and transaction insights. As a founder-operator of eight startups in technology, finance, and insurance, he has driven 80x asset growth, 25x revenue growth, and 18x earnings growth through organic expansion, M&A, and alliances.
He served as President and CEO of Crelogix Credit Group Inc. (2007–2017), earning multiple PROFIT 500 rankings (#187 in 2015) and Canada's Top SME awards (2015–2016) for exceptional workplaces. Previously, he was COO and SVP at Travelers Financial Group (2004–2007) and led turnarounds at Credit Acceptance Corporation's UK operations.
In transactions, Karl has raised billions in capital and executed deals exceeding $4B, including debt/equity raises, recapitalizations, mergers, and acquisitions. At The Shaughnessy Group, he guides Canadian owners through sales, blending financial rigor with empathy, from valuation to closing, to maximize value and legacy.
Holding the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors (via University of Toronto, Simon Fraser, and York University), Karl excels in governance, fiduciary duties, and board effectiveness. He serves on corporate and nonprofit boards, informing his advice on buyer expectations.
Karl is active in key M&A organizations: Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA), Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), and M&A Club. As a thought leader, he speaks at Business Transitions Forum and TechExit Forum, educating entrepreneurs on exit preparation, valuations, and emotional aspects.
Committed to community, Karl founded the Canadian Lenders Association to advance credit professionals and mentors business school graduates, immigrants, and entrepreneurs on career and exit strategies, donating hundreds of hours annually to foster Canadian innovation and leadership.
Karl 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.