FAIRCOURT ASSET MANAGEMENT - Key Persons


Barry A. Tissenbaum

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the IRC
  • Chartered Professional Accountant
Barry Tissenbaum, Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), is Chair of the Independent Review Committee of Faircourt. He also serves as a Board member and Chairman of the Audit Committee of VitalHub Corp. Mr. Tissenbaum is a Corporate Director as well as a consultant for B.A.T. Consulting, which provides advisory services to numerous companies. He is an accomplished advisor to senior management and has earned a reputation for taking an entrepreneurial approach to business. Mr. Tissenbaum is a former senior partner with Ernst & Young LLP, where he headed their Retail & Consumer Products division and worked for many years in the Entrepreneurial Services Group and served as the Toronto Mid-Town Managing Partner. Mr. Tissenbaum is an advisory board member of numerous private companies; a former director and Audit Committee chair of Corel Corporation, Medworxx Solutions Inc., Universal Energy Group Ltd.; and a former director and Audit Committee member of Nobilis Health Corp. (formerly Northstar Healthcare Inc.). Mr. Tissenbaum obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in Québec in 1968 and in Ontario in 1974. He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

Charles Taerk - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
  • President
  • Co - Founder of Faircourt Asset Managment Inc
Mr. Taerk is a co-founder of Faircourt Asset Managment Inc. and has over 30 years of financial services experience. Mr. Taerk has been President and CEO since inception of Faircourt in 2002. From 1999 to 2001, Vice President and Managing Director for Charles Schwab Canada, Co., and a member of its Executive Committee. His responsibilities included leading the development of Investment Banking, Syndication as well as Institutional Research. Prior to that, Mr. Taerk was in the Corporate Finance group at Porthmeor Securities, where he worked from 1996 to 1999, rising to director in 1998. During the period 1994 to 1996, Mr. Taerk founded Faircourt Capital Corporation, a boutique corporate finance advisory business, working with private Canadian companies. Prior to that, Mr. Taerk spent eight years with a major Canadian bank in the mid-market corporate lending area. Mr. Taerk graduated with a Masters Degree from the School of International Affairs at the Graduate School of the University of Pittsburgh in 1988. He received his B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in 1986.

Christopher Panagopoulos - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Director of Finance
  • Portfolio Manager
Mr. Panagopoulos is a Portfolio Manager at Faircourt Asset Management Inc. Mr. Panagopoulos has been employed with Faircourt Asset Management Inc. for over 15 years. Mr. Panagopoulos provides analysis of companies and sectors, as well as assisting with trade execution and the implementation of option strategies. He brings over 20 years professional experience in fund management, accounting and finance to Faircourt Asset Management Inc. Prior to joining Faircourt Asset Management Inc., Mr. Panagopoulos worked as a Manager at TD Securities Inc., where he managed the accounting and reporting functions of the Global Derivatives Products Group. From 1997 to 2004, Mr. Panagopoulos worked as a Senior Auditor and Manager at BDO Dunwoody LLP where he managed audit, non-audit, consulting, unique and special engagements, including financial, strategic and operational analysis, planning, budgeting, and report preparation in a broad variety of enterprises. Mr. Panagopoulos is a CFA Charterholder (2006) and a Chartered Accountant (2000), and holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto.

Douglas Waterson - CFO

Job Titles:
  • CFO
  • Portfolio Manager
Mr. Waterson brings over 25 years of financial management experience to Faircourt. Prior to joining Faircourt, Mr. Waterson worked as a Senior Supervisor at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Canada) (OSFI), where he was responsible for monitoring and conducting risk assessments of Schedule I banks. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Waterson worked as an Analyst in the Investment Banking Group at Charles Schwab Canada, Co. where he was responsible for the initial review of prospective transactions as well as detailed due diligence, including analysis of financial models and business plans. Prior thereto he held several positions within the TD Bank Financial Group from 1996 to 1999, including two years as an investment advisor with TD Evergreen. Prior to his tenure as an investment advisor, Mr. Waterson held the position of Analyst, Finance at TD Bank Financial Group where he provided analysis and recommendations on a variety of financial issues and transactions such as securitization programs, and was involved in the management of TD Bank Financial Group's regulatory capital. Prior to his tenure at TD Bank Financial Group, Mr. Waterson held auditing positions at Deloitte & Touche from 1992 to 1994, and in the Office of the Provincial Auditor of Ontario from 1994 to 1996. Mr. Waterson is a CFA Charterholder (1999) and a Chartered Accountant (1995), and holds a B.Sc. from the University of Waterloo (1991).

James (Jim) Clark

Job Titles:
  • Senior Executive
James is a senior executive with broad pension experience that includes investment consulting, marketing, sales and client service. Mr. Clark is a former manager of the Bank of Montreal Pension Fund. He provides consulting services to large institutional clients and has worked in business development in the institutional investment business, bringing a unique perspective and a proven track record. James is currently a member of a number of investment-related boards and committees including the board of the Municipal Employers Pension Centre of Ontario, the Newfoundland Teachers' Pension Plan Investment Committee and University of Ottawa Treasury Committee. In addition, he is a Trustee for the CUPE Education Workers' Benefit Trust. Jim is a CFA charterholder, Chartered Professional Accountant and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. Jim is a CFA charterholder, Chartered Professional Accountant and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Robert P. Kanee

Job Titles:
  • Chartered Professional Accountant
Robert Kanee, Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), is Secretary of the Independent Review Committee of Faircourt. Mr. Kanee is a Corporate Director as well as a consultant for Norcount Control Corporation, which provides advisory services to various companies and individuals. He has been a director of a number of private companies involved in property management, real estate development, investment holding, manufacturing and distribution. He is was a director of Nobilis Health Corp. (formerly Northstar Healthcare Inc.) and chair of the Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Kanee was a director of Perkins Paper Limited, a TSX listed company controlled by Cascades Inc. In 2000, he chaired the independent committee that oversaw the privatization of the company. From 1989 to 1999, Mr. Kanee was a director of Women's College Hospital in Toronto, Ontario and he chaired the Finance and Investment Committee and was Vice Chair in 1998-1999. From 1991 to 1998, Mr. Kanee was Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions, of Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (formerly Abitibi-Price Inc.