Stephen Smith, First National Financial (Canada)

Stephen Smith, First National Financial (Canada)

Market: CA

Company: First National Financial

Job title: CEO

Stephen Smith is the founder, chairman and CEO of Canadian mortgage lender, First National Financial. Smith launched the company in 1988, just four years after being personally bankrupt, and took it public in 2012. He also owns about half of Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company and a stake in publicly-traded Canadian bank Equitable Group. In 2018, he bought half of Walmart Canada Bank from Walmart and put up over $110 million to start the private equity fund Peloton. In 2015, he donated $50 million the Queens University, where the business school is named after him.