Mark McQueen

Background

About Mark McQueen

For 35 years, Mark has held roles in both business & government, in each case moving from the "shop floor" to the executive suite: as a Ministerial Special Assistant to Chairman of two Crown Corporations, and from Teller and investment banking Associate to CEO of a specialty finance firm and, later, as a senior executive of a Chartered Bank. As an entrepreneur, Mark led the growth of Wellington Financial LP, a venture debt fund, from conception in to the firm's acquisition by CIBC in January 2018. Prior to its acquisition, Preqin named institutionally-backed Wellington as one of the most consistent Top Performing Private Debt funds in the world. As a senior bank executive, Mark lead the growth of CIBC Innovation Banking as its President, with 14 offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Durham, London, Menlo Park, Montreal, New York, Reston, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver. CIBC Innovation Banking is a full-service business that delivers strategic advice and funding to North American technology and innovation clients at each stage of their business cycle, from start up to IPO and beyond. Over his five-plus year tenure, the group committed >$10 billion to tech and life science companies globally, grew from a team of 16 to >85, and became the #2 bank lender to U.S-based Series A-C VC-backed companies. Loan losses are <10 bps/annum, and at the time of his departure in February 2023 the business generated run-rate Net Income Before Tax of $190 million, up from $59 million in FY21. Mark started his working life as a professional news photographer while in High School. By the time he was 16, his photographs had appeared in such publications as Time Magazine, The Globe & Mail and The Toronto Star.