About the author
Karl E. Sigerist, Jr., ICD.D
Born to entrepreneurial parents who immigrated to Canada in the early 1970s, Karl developed an enduring appreciation for the courage it takes to build something from nothing in a new country. Over a career spanning more than 30 years, he served as a founding member and leader of companies, business units and organizations across the technology and financial services industries in Canada and Europe, providing debt, credit and capital solutions to entrepreneurs. In 2016, he became the founding chairperson of the Canadian Lenders Association.
From 2001 to 2022, Karl was an active angel investor and served as a board member of Equation Angels and Angel One. The culmination of his life experiences led naturally to his advisory work helping entrepreneurs and their families navigate their eventual exit or pursue growth through acquisition, the foundation on which his practice was built. He is also an active supporter of the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition community across Canada.
A regular writer on mergers and acquisitions topics, Karl is a sought-after media commentator on the Canadian M&A landscape and a speaker and advisor at TechExit and Business Transitions Forum events across Canada. That perspective informs his first book, "Selling Your Canadian Business: A Step-by-Step Guide to Maximizing Value and Securing Your Legacy," published in January 2026. A French edition is in development with Ugo Dionne, president of M&A Club Canada
Karl mentors university students, newly arrived business executives and startup and growth-oriented entrepreneurs. He holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and is active in ACG Toronto, M&A Club Canada and TEC Canada alumni networks.
He lives and works in Toronto, Ontario.
Publisher
Our online resources were born from decades of hands-on coaching, mentoring and thought leadership dedicated to Canadian students, immigrants, 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 startups, 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), the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) and the new global trade order (2025), we offer battle-tested insight that few can match.
In 2025, we 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.