NORTHBASE - Key Persons
Ms. Mielnik is responsible for the financial management and strategy of Northbase, and leads financial, treasury, accounting and risk management aspects of the business. She is a senior finance and accounting professional with over 15 years of experience in financial and infrastructure industries. Ms. Mielnik joined Northbase from Element Fleet Management, the largest pure-play automotive fleet manager in the world, where she was Vice President, Funding. In this role, she was responsible for ensuring ready access to diversified and cost-efficient capital, provided leadership for capital structure optimization, managed relationships with banking partners, debt investors, and rating agencies. Prior to Element, her experience includes finance and treasury roles with ECN Capital and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.
Ms. Mielnik holds a Bachelor's Degree (Economics) from York University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA).
Job Titles:
- President and Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Investment Committee
Dean Willner is the President and Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Investment Committee of Northbase.
Mr. Willner is responsible for the strategy, oversight and growth execution of all Northbase business and operating units. Mr. Willner has more than 15 years of senior management experience in the finance industry. For the last 10 years, he was a Managing Director, Investment Banking at Stifel FirstEnergy and sat on the firm's management committee. He was responsible for all aspects of corporate finance origination and execution including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, reorganizations and restructurings, as well as both private and public equity and debt financings, completing over $15 billion of transactions. Prior to Stifel FirstEnergy, Dean held a similar position at another energy-focused, independent, investment bank.
Mr. Willner received an MBA from the University of Alberta with a specialization in Natural Resources & Energy, a Bachelor's Degree, Commerce from McMaster University and holds the Partners, Directors and Officers accreditation.
Mr. Heffernan has more than 12 years of infrastructure focused M&A, market research, and capital markets experience. For the past 3 1/2 years, he led the Corporate Development group at Steel Reef Infrastructure Corp., a private, Canadian-based midstream growth company. He was responsible for mergers and acquisitions as well as developing fundamental and market research. During his tenure in this capacity, the Corporate Development group was instrumental in achieving the company's growth objectives, expanding its asset base, and increasing earnings by successfully closing multiple strategic transactions and ultimately deploying more than $700 million in capital. Mr. Heffernan's experience also includes 7 years of capital markets, sell-side equity research experience at an energy-focused, independent investment bank as well as a global Canadian bank.
Mr. Heffernan holds a Bachelor's Degree, Commerce (Finance) from the University of Alberta.
Nick Heffernan is the Vice President of Northbase and sits on the Investment Committee.