Board of directors

Collectively, the Board of Directors has extensive experience in mortgage lending, real estate, strategic planning, governance and finance.

Moray Tawse, Executive Chairman

Moray Tawse is the Executive Chairman, Senior Executive Vice President and Co-founder of First National. Mr. Tawse directs the operations of all of the Corporation’s commercial mortgage origination activities. With over 40 years of experience in the real estate finance industry, Mr. Tawse is one of Canada’s leading experts on commercial real estate and is often called upon to deliver keynote addresses at national real estate symposiums.

Nicholas Bigelow

Nick joined Birch Hill in 2017. Nick is on the board of Park Lawn Corporation. He has played a key role in Birch Hill’s investments in Campus Energy Partners, GDI Integrated Facility Services, Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd., and Uni-Select. He also made substantial contributions as a member of the HomeEquity Bank investment team.

Prior to joining Birch Hill, Nick was an Analyst in the Energy Group at CIBC Capital Markets in Calgary, where he worked on mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings, and strategy with large public and private oil and gas corporations. Nick received his BCom Honours in Investment Management (first class honours) from McGill University.

Justin Brenner

Justin Brenner is Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Smith Financial Corporation and serves as a director of Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company. Prior to joining Smith Financial in 2024, Mr. Brenner led private equity investments in financial services across North America and Europe at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). Mr. Brenner has held prior roles at Blackstone, J.P. Morgan, and Bank of America. He earned an MBA from the University of Virginia (Darden), a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley and is a CFA charterholder.

Benjamin Farrow

Benjamin Farrow is a Managing Director in Brookfield's Private Equity Group. In this role, he has key leadership responsibilities in Brookfield's Special Investments strategy, including structuring, negotiating and executing transactions for the strategy globally. Mr. Farrow has also led several corporate business development initiatives for Brookfield Asset Management. Prior to joining Brookfield in 2018, Mr. Farrow worked in the private equity and restructuring groups at a global law firm. Mr. Farrow holds a Juris Doctor degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering degree from Carleton University.

Matthew Kunica

Matt joined Birch Hill in 2003, when the group was still part of TD Capital. Matt currently serves as Chair of ERCO and as a Director of Yorkville University. He has also served on the Boards of Aquaterra Corporation, Bio Agri Mix, CCM Hockey, Hi-Pro Feeds, HomeEquity Bank and Uni-Select. Matt also played a key role in several other Birch Hill investments, including Lift Technologies and Persona Communications. Prior to joining Birch Hill, Matt worked in the investment banking groups of both Credit Suisse First Boston and BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto. Matt received his Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) in Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Paul Lepage

Paul Lepage is a Managing Director in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group. In this role, he is responsible for due diligence, operational and financial performance of Brookfield target and portfolio companies broadly, with particular focus on the healthcare, technology and software sectors.

Prior to joining Brookfield in 2021, Mr. Lepage served as President and CEO of Intelerad Medical Systems. He was previously President of TELUS Health and Payment Solutions and Chairman of TELUS Ventures. He also was President and CEO of MediSolution (a Brookfield Portfolio Company).

Mr. Lepage holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University, a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from École Polytechnique at University of Montreal and the ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto. In 2016, Mr. Lepage received an honorary doctorate from the University of Montreal for his contributions in the fields of engineering, technology innovation and health IT.

Robert Mitchell

Robert Mitchell is a director (and was formerly Executive Chair and Chair of the Investment Committee) of Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc., a Vancouver-based investment management company. From 2000 to 2020, he was President of Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. and although he retired from Dixon Mitchell in June, 2023, he still serves as a member of the board. Prior to that, he was Vice President, Investments at Seaboard Life Insurance Company and is a former board member of Equestrian Canada. Mr. Mitchell is also a member of the investment committee for the First Nations Child and Family Compensation Trust and holds an MBA from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the University of Calgary; he is also a CFA charterholder.

Erson Olivan

Erson Olivan is a Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group. In this role, he is responsible for due diligence, transaction execution and monitoring, and evaluation of investment opportunities globally.

Prior to joining Brookfield in 2010, Mr. Olivan worked at a leading global investment bank, where he was involved in a number of mergers and acquisitions advisory mandates, as well as multiple private and public financings.

Mr. Olivan holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Steven Ranson

Steven Ranson FCPA, FCA retired as President and CEO of HomeEquity Bank on June 30, 2024. He joined the bank’s predecessor, Canadian Home Income Plan, in 1997 and founded the bank in 2009. Over his career, he grew annual reverse mortgage originations from $36 million to over $1 billion and total assets from $100 million to $8 billion. He was elected to the Canadian Mortgage Professionals Hall of Fame in 2024 and in 2025 he was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Canadian Mortgage Awards. He has served as a director of public and private companies and is on the board of the YMCA of Greater Toronto, the largest YMCA in the world. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from York University. He was selected as a Fellow of CPA Ontario in 2021 for outstanding service to his community and the accounting profession.

Brendan Smith

Brendan Smith is Vice President at Smith Financial Corporation. Prior to joining Smith Financial in 2025, he held various roles within the Commercial Lending group at Equitable Bank, most recently as Director, Specialized Finance. Prior to that, he worked as a Commercial Mortgage Underwriter within the Commercial Finance Group. Mr. Smith holds a BCom from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University and is a CFA Charterholder.

William Stone

Prior to becoming an Associate in 2022, Will spent his first year with Birch Hill as a Senior Analyst in the Data Science Group. Will previously worked as a Senior Associate in the Financial Advisory practice at Deloitte.

Will received his Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from McGill University.

Stephen Smith, Chairman Emeritus (hon.)

Stephen Smith co-founded First National Financial Corporation (“First National”) in 1988, serving as CEO until 2022 at which time he was appointed Executive Chairman. Mr. Smith stepped down from the First National board in October 2025 and was awarded the title of Chairman Emeritus in recognition of his years of service and significant contributions to First National.

Throughout his career, he has been an innovator in the development and utilization of various securitization techniques to finance mortgage assets and a leader in the development and application of information technology in the financial services industry.

Mr. Smith is the Chairman and CEO of Smith Financial Corporation (“SFC”). He is the Chairman of Peloton Capital Management, a mid-market North American private equity firm; Glass, Lewis & Co., a leading global proxy advisory firm; and Fairstone Bank of Canada, a 250+ branch bank focused on consumer lending. He served as Chair of Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company from 2010-2023.

Through SFC, he has significant equity investments in a range of financial entities: Canada Guaranty, Fairstone Bank, First National, and Peloton Capital Management.

Mr. Smith is Chair of Historica Canada, the creator of the Heritage Minutes and publisher of The Canadian Encyclopedia. He is the member of the Boards the C.D. Howe Institute, E.L. Financial Corporation, and is a Honourary Governor of the Royal Ontario Museum.

In 2015, Queen’s University announced the naming of The Stephen J.R. Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in honour of Mr. Smith and his then historic $50-million donation to the school. In 2019, Mr. Smith was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2023, Mr. Smith pledged $100-million to the Queen’s faculty of engineering, now named Smith Engineering, the largest gift ever made to an engineering faculty in Canada.

Mr. Smith holds a B.Sc (Hons.) in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University and a M.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics. In 2017, Queen’s University awarded him an honourary LL.D.

Committees of the Board

The Board of Directors has created an Audit Committee and a Governance Committee to further the effective functioning of First National's corporate governance strategy.

View committees