W. Brett Wilson: The Calgary Financier in the Den
- W. Brett Wilson
W. Brett Wilson trained as an engineer before moving into finance, and in 1993 co-founded FirstEnergy Capital in Calgary, an investment bank built specifically around the energy sector.
FirstEnergy became a significant financier of Canadian oil and gas companies, and Wilson went on to run Prairie Merchant Corporation, his own private investment firm.
Investing, and giving
Prairie Merchant holds interests across energy, agriculture, real estate and sport, a deliberately broad spread rather than a single operating business.
Wilson has been one of Canadian business's more public advocates for planned philanthropy, arguing that giving belongs inside a business career rather than at the end of it, a theme he wrote about in Redefining Success.
Three seasons at the table
He joined Dragons' Den in 2008 and appeared for three seasons, which are indexed on this site alongside every other run of the Canadian show.
As the panel's investment banker he pushed founders on how a deal was actually structured, a different instinct from the operators and brand builders sitting next to him.
Products W. Brett Wilson backed in the Den
