Kristi Miller
Kristi Miller, MBA, is Vice President and co-founder of First West Capital. Kristi has almost 20 years of financial industry experience, ranging from senior debt to private equity and including 14 years in the specialized area of subordinated debt. In these various roles, Kristi has completed a dozen equity, 75 subordinated debt and over 500 senior debt transactions. Kristi provides financing to support rapidly growing businesses, companies undergoing changes of ownership (including acquisitions) and those seeking to recapitalize their balance sheets or refinance existing debt. Like First West Capital itself, Kristi works with successful businesses across Western Canada across a wide range of industries.
Prior to co-founding First West Capital, Kristi spent ten years with another B.C.-based subordinated debt fund. She has also worked with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Small Enterprise Equity Fund of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Kristi is an experienced and entrepreneurial capital provider who brings rigorous investment analysis, structuring, negotiation and execution to the First West Capital team.
Kristi holds a Master of Business Administration in International Business from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Russian studies from McGill University. She is Vice Chair of the Vancouver International Marathon Society, past-president of the AWF Association of Women in Finance and former chair of the B.C. Provincial Child Care Council.
Contact Kristi
Phone: 604-501-4264
E-mail: kmiller@firstwestcapital.ca
Linked in: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/kristilmiller
Featured Posts
Part 2 in a series on the business-capital provider relationship
Negotiating the actual financing is important when funding a business’ trajectory, but like a marriage, the deal itself only represents the beginning of the relationship. That's why striking a balance is at the foundation of how deal terms are established when a business seeks financing. What are the business’ needs and ability to repay debt, and how is this balanced with the...
When assessing its upcoming financing needs, Port Coquitlam-based Westcan Industries Ltd realized that its existing sub-debt loans were set to mature within the next few months. Rather than simply renewing its relationship with its current lender, Westcan, one of the largest suppliers of pumps and after-market pump repair and maintenance services in Western Canada, took the opportunity to look into alternative financing options.
The company had first borrowed from the BDC...
Who are the most important suppliers to your business? Components manufacturers, employees, service providers? Certainly. But have you also considered that banks and credit unions supply a critical input to your business? You guessed it: money. Just like other important suppliers, your capital provider is a critical partner to your business. And, just as in personal relationships, your relationship with the bank is about more than just the wedding (by which I mean the transaction of...
Background
With the baby boomers reaching retirement age, a large number of companies will change hands in the coming years. Many of these entrepreneurs will sell to family members, which is precisely the situation this business owner found himself in.
Situation
The company
Pacific Restaurant Supply is a full service dealer of high-quality commercial food equipment based in...
In 1863, Canada’s first diamond on record was found in glacial debris in Ontario. However, it wasn’t until 135 years later, in 1998, that Canada’s first diamond mine officially opened in the Northwest Territories. Despite this slow start, the Canadian diamond industry has seen aggressive growth over the last 14 years.
Leading the growth charge is Crossworks Manufacturing, the operator of three Canadian-based (Vancouver, Sudbury and Yellowknife) diamond polishing...
After almost three years of recession, things were really looking up for Canadian companies. By mid-2011, business confidence was on the rise, employment had been given a shot in the arm, and commercial lenders were starting to loosen their purse strings.
Accordingly, the small business sector—one of the economy's top contributors—anticipated easier access to credit, as evidenced by the responses to a survey conducted by the Canadian Financial Executives Research...
