CVCA New Member Profile: WhiteHaven Ventures Inc.

January 31st, 2023

We’re continuing our new member series on CVCA Central which profiles our new members and providing insight on these invaluable organizations in our community.

The latest new member we are excited to profile is WhiteHaven Ventures Inc.

We caught up with the WhiteHaven team to find out more about the organization.

Tell us about WhiteHaven, its history and vision?

The WhiteHaven Group was founded in 2014 in Laval, Quebec.

As a private, independent investment group, WhiteHaven has no external parent company or public shareholders. With offices in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec, WhiteHaven offers a range of financial products, from equities and fixed income to alternative investments, through its extensive network of representatives. In addition, we offer discretionary portfolio management services and implement leverage strategies to grow our clients’ portfolios.

In 2018, we launched WhiteHaven Ventures to help entrepreneurs make their money work for them in the best way possible. We work with investors who understand the marketplace, who share the entrepreneur’s passion to make a difference, who can identify the potential of a great idea and above all, help unlock its commercial success.

With a culture rooted in the understanding of continuous innovation, risk management and investment research, our goal is to achieve superior returns for our investors by sourcing opportunities that offer:

Capital efficiency
Profitability
An exit strategy
High growth potential

WhiteHaven Ventures was recently designated by the Canadian government to help entrepreneurs set up a business in Canada, becoming an accredited organization in their Start-up Visa Program. The latter provides assistance to immigrant entrepreneurs with the skills and potential to build businesses in this country. As such, WhiteHaven Ventures can receive and evaluate business proposals from entrepreneurs who are innovative, who can create jobs in Canada and can compete on a global scale.

As one of the key venture capital organizations to support the Start-up Visa Program, WhiteHaven Ventures is poised to play an important role in Canada’s economic development by investing in, or supporting, possible start-ups. We look forward to contributing to the development of innovative projects that also enable immigration and job creation in Canada.

Tell us more about the WhiteHaven Ventures Inc. team.

Tommy Baltzis, President & CEO

Tommy Baltzis serves as the President, CEO and portfolio manager of the Quebec- based investment firm that he co-founded, WhiteHaven Securities Inc. Tommy has over 20 years’ experience in corporate finance and, over the last decade has, specialised in financial services in Canada. Under his leadership, WhiteHaven has a combined assets under management of CDN$ 1.4B and has pioneered democratizing alternative investments to the retail market through the exempt market. Tommy is the Chairman of the Private Capital Markets Association of Canada (“PCMA”) and director to the Board of Governors of the Conseil des fonds d’investissement du Quebec (“CFIQ”). He is also a PwC Alumni and held senior roles with Lallemand, one of the largest international private yeast manufacturing corporations for 7 years. Tommy received a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the John Molson School of Business and has earned the rights to use the CFA designation and the CPA, CA designation.

Christopher Koklas, Analyst

Christopher is an investment professional with a strong background in financial modeling and experience in the public markets. At WhiteHaven Ventures, he plays a crucial role in identifying and evaluating potential investment opportunities that align with the company’s vision and strategic goals. Christopher is responsible for conducting due diligence on potential investments, developing financial models, and making recommendations to the investment team. Prior to joining WhiteHaven, Christopher gained valuable experience as a financial modeling consultant, working with large institutions to develop and optimize their financial strategies.