Kevin O'Leary (entrepreneur)
Encyclopedia
Kevin O'Leary is a Canadian entrepreneur
, venture capitalist, investor
, and television personality.
, a suburb of Montreal, to a salesman father and seamstress mother.
His father was Irish and his mother was of Lebanese descent. O'Leary's parents divorced when he was young, and his father died shortly after that. His mother later re-married.
He studied for two years at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean followed by the University of Waterloo
.
home along with partners John Freeman and Gary Babcock. His mother provided the seed investment of $10,000, which he used to start software publisher SoftKey
. In 1999, The Learning Company
was acquired by Mattel
in a $3.8 billion stock swap.
In 2003 he became co-investor and a director in Storage Now, a developer of climate controlled storage facilities. Through a series of development projects and acquisitions, Storage Now became Canada’s third largest owner/operator of storage services with facilities located in eleven cities serving such companies as Merck
and Pfizer
when it was acquired by the In Storage REIT in March 2007 for $110 million.
In March 2007 O'Leary joined the advisory board of Genstar Capital
, a private equity
firm that focuses on investments in selected segments of life science and healthcare services, industrial technology, business services and software. Genstar Capital appointed O'Leary to its Strategic Advisory Board to seek new investment opportunities for its $1.2 billion fund. O’Leary also serves on the executive board of The Richard Ivey School of Business
at the University of Western Ontario. He is a member of the investment committee of Boston’s 107 year old Hamilton Trust and an investor of EnGlobe, a TSX listed company. He is a former co-host of SqueezePlay on Business News Network
, Canada’s national business television specialty channel. O’Leary is currently working as the entrepreneur/investor co-host for the Discovery Channel
’s Discovery Project Earth, a project that explores innovative ways man could reverse climate change.
O'Leary, serves as foil and expert on business affairs to Journalist Amanda Lang on The Lang and O'Leary Exchange
on CBC News Network. He is also a venture capitalist on the Canadian version of Dragons' Den
, which airs on CBC Television
and CBC News Network, and a "shark" on the United States' version of Dragons' Den airing on ABC, Shark Tank
.
In January 2008 he co-founded O'Leary Funds Inc., a mutual fund company that targets buy and hold investors. He is the company's chairman and lead investor.
During a segment on the Occupy Wall Street
protests on the October 6, 2011 episode of the CBC News Network's The Lang & O'Leary Exchange, O'Leary said to multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges
that he was "sounding like a left-wing nutbar." Hedges accused O'Leary of "character assassination" and compared the quality and nature of the interview to the likes of "FOX News". Hedges closed by stating that "it will be the last time [he appears on the show]." CBC's ombudsman found O'Leary's behavior to be a violation of the public broadcaster's journalistic standards.
Aside from a network apology, no action was taken against O'Leary.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, venture capitalist, investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
, and television personality.
Early life and education
O'Leary was born in Mount Royal, QuebecMount Royal, Quebec
Mount Royal is a town located on the northwest side of Mount Royal, north of downtown Montreal, on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The town is completely surrounded by Montreal. The population was 18,933 at the 2006 census...
, a suburb of Montreal, to a salesman father and seamstress mother.
His father was Irish and his mother was of Lebanese descent. O'Leary's parents divorced when he was young, and his father died shortly after that. His mother later re-married.
He studied for two years at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean followed by the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
.
Career
Kevin started a software company in the basement of a small TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
home along with partners John Freeman and Gary Babcock. His mother provided the seed investment of $10,000, which he used to start software publisher SoftKey
SoftKey
SoftKey International was a publisher and distributor of CD-ROM based personal computer software for Windows and Macintosh computers during the 1990s. Their products typically consisted of software intended for home audiences, especially compilation discs containing various freeware or shareware...
. In 1999, The Learning Company
The Learning Company
The Learning Company is an American educational software company, founded in 1980. It produced a grade-based system similar to Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart series. The products for preschoolers through second graders feature Reader Rabbit, and software for more advanced students features The...
was acquired by Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
in a $3.8 billion stock swap.
In 2003 he became co-investor and a director in Storage Now, a developer of climate controlled storage facilities. Through a series of development projects and acquisitions, Storage Now became Canada’s third largest owner/operator of storage services with facilities located in eleven cities serving such companies as Merck
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
and Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
when it was acquired by the In Storage REIT in March 2007 for $110 million.
In March 2007 O'Leary joined the advisory board of Genstar Capital
Genstar Capital
Genstar Capital is a private equity firm focusing on leveraged buyout transactions in middle-market companies in the United States. Genstar invests primarily in growth industries including life sciences, healthcare services, industrial technology, software and business services.Based in San...
, a private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firm that focuses on investments in selected segments of life science and healthcare services, industrial technology, business services and software. Genstar Capital appointed O'Leary to its Strategic Advisory Board to seek new investment opportunities for its $1.2 billion fund. O’Leary also serves on the executive board of The Richard Ivey School of Business
Richard Ivey School of Business
The Richard Ivey School of Business is located on the University of Western Ontario campus in London, Ontario, Canada, and is consistently rated as the top business school in Canada. It is offered, along with a range of other programs, by the University of Western Ontario, but is managed separately...
at the University of Western Ontario. He is a member of the investment committee of Boston’s 107 year old Hamilton Trust and an investor of EnGlobe, a TSX listed company. He is a former co-host of SqueezePlay on Business News Network
Business News Network
Business News Network ' is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel. BNN broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. As of December 2010, the station is based from 299 Queen Street West in Downtown Toronto and is owned by Bell Media...
, Canada’s national business television specialty channel. O’Leary is currently working as the entrepreneur/investor co-host for the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
’s Discovery Project Earth, a project that explores innovative ways man could reverse climate change.
O'Leary, serves as foil and expert on business affairs to Journalist Amanda Lang on The Lang and O'Leary Exchange
The Lang and O'Leary Exchange
The Lang and O'Leary Exchange is a Canadian business news television series, which airs weekdays on CBC News Network. Hosted by Amanda Lang and Kevin O'Leary, the series presents a summary of the day's major business stories in a manner similar to Lang and O'Leary's earlier Business News Network...
on CBC News Network. He is also a venture capitalist on the Canadian version of Dragons' Den
Dragons' Den (Canada)
Dragons' Den is a Canadian television reality show, based on the internationally franchised Dragons' Den format, in which aspiring entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hopes of securing business financing. The show debuted on October 3, 2006 on CBC Television...
, which airs on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
and CBC News Network, and a "shark" on the United States' version of Dragons' Den airing on ABC, Shark Tank
Shark Tank (TV series)
Shark Tank is a reality television series based on the Sony TV/BBC TV Dragons' Den. It premiered on ABC television in August 2009 and features a panel of five wealthy entrepreneurs who are called "sharks"...
.
In January 2008 he co-founded O'Leary Funds Inc., a mutual fund company that targets buy and hold investors. He is the company's chairman and lead investor.
Controversies
In October 2010 O'Leary used the term "Indian Giver" during a live Lang and O'Leary Exchange. After a complaint from an aboriginal, Alex Jamieson, and condemnation from the CBC Ombudsman, O'Leary offered an apology for his use of the term.During a segment on the Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...
protests on the October 6, 2011 episode of the CBC News Network's The Lang & O'Leary Exchange, O'Leary said to multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges
Chris Hedges
Christopher Lynn Hedges is an American journalist, author, and war correspondent, specializing in American and Middle Eastern politics and societies...
that he was "sounding like a left-wing nutbar." Hedges accused O'Leary of "character assassination" and compared the quality and nature of the interview to the likes of "FOX News". Hedges closed by stating that "it will be the last time [he appears on the show]." CBC's ombudsman found O'Leary's behavior to be a violation of the public broadcaster's journalistic standards.
Aside from a network apology, no action was taken against O'Leary.
External links
- Biography Environmental Management Solutions
- The Lang & O'Leary Exchange
- CBC's Dragon's Den bio
- ABC's Shark Tank bio
- O'Leary Funds Inc.