Michael Wekerle: The Bay Street Trader in the Den
- Michael Wekerle
Michael Wekerle is one of the better known figures in Canadian capital markets, a co-founder of the Toronto investment dealer GMP Securities, where he ran trading.
He is a financier rather than an operator, and it shows in what he asks about: valuation, dilution and how anyone eventually gets their money back out.
Bay Street and the El Mocambo
After GMP he ran Difference Capital, a merchant bank investing in growth companies, and remained a widely quoted voice on Canadian markets.
In 2014 he bought the El Mocambo, the historic Toronto music venue, and spent years and a great deal of money restoring it before reopening it as a working live music and recording space.
His seat on the panel
Wekerle joined Dragons' Den in 2014 for the show's ninth season, one of the more colourful personalities the Canadian panel has had.
His questions come from the capital markets end of the table, which makes for a different conversation from the retailers and restaurateurs beside him. The pitches from his seasons are indexed on this site.
Products Michael Wekerle backed in the Den
Battle Sports
a padded-weapon combat sport that later grew into rage room experiences
Carly and Charley’s Odd-Sox Project
a youth-run charity that collects and donates socks to shelters
