About

Who we are

Apex is a boutique M & A advisory and strategic consulting firm founded by experienced entrepreneurs that have sat on both sides of the table in financing and M & A transactions. Our advisors have built, operated and sold successful technology, business service or industrial businesses and understand the pain points of business founders. We have been in your shoes many times and understand the blood and sweat that goes into building a company and pride ourselves on the fact that none of our advisors are actually career investment bankers. We are business operators and entrepreneurs at heart that are now helping other entrepreneurs build or monetize what is often the largest investment of their lives.

We work exclusively with Canadian SMEs ranging from $5M to $100M in enterprise value and only work in verticals where we have direct experience. Collectively our team has been involved in over $1.2B in M & A or finance transactions. We take an extremely hands-on approach, and all projects are undertaken by one of the principals of the firm and not handed off to junior associates or analysts. We only take on a select number of transactions each year so that you always get a senior experienced advisor that will know your industry and understand your business.

The Team

Terry Mocherniak

Founder and Managing Director

Terry has over 25 years’ experience in the technology, industrials and business service sectors and is a serial entrepreneur having founded and grown several businesses with two successful exits including one to global giant Siemens. He has extensive M & A, venture capital and corporate transaction experience having been directly involved in transactions with a value in excess of $400 million.

Terry currently serves as an Advisor at MaRS, is a Director and investor in 2 software start-up companies, member of the Presidents Club at St. Mikes Hospital and previously held the role as Executive Director at York Angels. He is a corporate lawyer by training and has an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Garry Innanen

Senior Consultant

Garry has over 30 years of strategy, sales, marketing and leadership experience serving the business needs of private and public organizations. He has founded 5 service organizations for over 20 years of P&L responsibility. Vertical expertise includes cleantech, distribution, not-for-profit, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, government and financial organizations. Significant clients include MNP, IBM, GE, CGI, Sony, Nortel Networks, Imperial Oil, JD Irving, eHealth Ontario, NavCan, Kraft, Empire Life, Noranda, Falconbridge, Dofasco, and Manulife Financial.

Garry is a Founding Director for the Ontario Conservation Accelerator and past Director of Spark Angels, ProVision, Daisy Intelligence and The Nature Conservancy of Canada. Garry has also been an active Angel investor for 20 years and has been involved in the funding of over 35 organizations with 5 exits. Garry has a B.Sc. from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business.

Howard Thomas

Senior Consultant

Howard is an accomplished senior marketing executive with over 30 years of experience in Fortune 500 organizations, global advertising agencies and as Principal of his own consulting firm. His prior experience includes VP of Marketing & Brand Management at CIBC, CMO for Samsung Canada, and President of Canadian American Transportation Systems LLC. During his advertising career, he served as President of Vickers & Benson (prior to their acquisition by HAVAS) and also worked for Saatchi & Saatchi and Young & Rubicam in senior client management roles. Vertical expertise includes all forms of media and communications, banking, technology, governments and NGOs, retail, CPG and consumer goods. Howard is a graduate of the University of Toronto and a national Board Member of Ovarian Cancer Canada.

Barry Papoff

Senior Consultant

Barry has 20+ years’ experience in the technology sector, having held senior management roles in engineering and operations at technology start-ups and publicly traded companies. Previous roles include COO of ARCX, V.P. Operations of Encelium Technologies, V.P. Engineering of Leitch Technologies and President/Co-founder of Baranti Group Inc, a Deloitte Fast 50 & Profit 100 winner. Barry has overseen the design, commercialization, manufacture, fulfillment and support of hundreds of products in electronics, automation, IoT, video, wireless, control systems and fintech. Barry also has extensive M&A experience working with multiple start-ups from ideation through scaling to exit.

Brandon Kerr

Senior Associate

Brandon is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in venture capital, private equity, and e-commerce. He has held several leadership roles, including serving as President of the supplement and nutraceutical vertical at Dane Creek Capital, a private equity firm specializing in the pet industry. He also has experience as a co-founder of a B2B telehealth software company and has successfully launched and managed multiple profitable e-commerce businesses. Brandon has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Brock University and was an investment analyst for Treliving Management services where he screened companies for the television show Dragon’s Den.

Marty Hall

Director, Corporate Development

Marty has over 25 years of experience in the Consulting Services space and 20 years specifically with Microsoft Business Applications. He was one of the Founding Partners at Purely CRM and was the Managing Director for the past 9 years. Marty grew the company over a 9-year period and then successfully sold the business in 2023. He has touched almost every vertical industry including not-for-profit, financial services, retail, manufacturing and healthcare.

Contact Apex Today

If you are in need of any of our services, please contact us and one of our representatives will be in touch with you shortly.