Merchant Banker, Meridian Canada strengthens Vancouver office
Local businessman with international expertise named as Managing Director
Afshin Ardalan, Managing Director, Meridian Canada Vancouver
Vancouver, BC & Calgary, AB (February 12, 2010) -- Meridian Canada today announced that
Mr. Afshin Ardalan has been named Managing Director of the Vancouver and lower mainland
Meridian office. His primary responsibility will be business development and client relationship
management.
“We have operated a Meridian corporate finance office in Vancouver for the past fours years,”
comments Keith Turner, President and CEO. “Today, we are excited to partner with Afshin to
strengthen and lead this new Branch Office that will focus on new client development throughout
the lower mainland. In Afshin we are very fortunate to attract a seasoned international business
executive who has practical, hands-on experience as a small business owner.”
The Meridian Vancouver office will focus its marketing and customer service efforts on companies
in the $5 million to $250 million revenue range.
Afshin Ardalan has nearly 20 years of global experience in setting up and managing branch
offices for various multinational companies. The bulk of these worldwide experiences were
based in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
An MBA graduate from the prestigious IMD institute in Lausanne, Switzerland, Ardalan spent
several years in the Far East working on the expansion of a Norwegian pharmaceutical
company in Asia-Pacific. While there, he was charged with opening offices in Australia,
New Zealand and a number of Asian countries. He also managed an extensive network of
agents and distributors.
As a senior manager with Metro International, a Swedish based publishing company, Ardalan
was responsible for establishing the company's presence and operations in more than a dozen
countries including France and Italy where he also acted as general manager and oversaw all
aspects of the company’s operations.
Ardalan's experience also includes management responsibilities at Nestlé’s international
headquarters in Switzerland, the world's largest food and beverage company. As a project
manager working on outsourcing projects valued in excess of $100 million USD, he was
responsible for corporate savings of more than 20 percent.
Recently, Afshin owned and operated a local business in Vancouver. His entrepreneurial
acumen and business ownership experience coupled with his years of international experience
working for larger corporations brings a unique blend of entrepreneurial spirit and corporate
discipline that will be a valuable asset in ensuring the success of Meridian's Vancouver office.
“Vancouver is a major internationally connected city whose business community will be
showcased on the world stage during the 2010 Winter Olympics,” explains Randy Lennon,
Managing Director of Branch Network Development. “Afshin Ardalan is the perfect fit
for developing relationships with potential clients in an increasingly cosmopolitan business
environment throughout BC’s lower mainland.”
About Meridian Merchant Capital Canada Ltd.
Meridian Merchant Capital Canada Ltd. is a Canadian merchant banking firm that
provides sophisticated corporate finance advisory services and access to private capital to
established, mid-market companies in order to achieve their vision. Meridian is a European
style Merchant Bank which means that it takes a long-term view of growing a company’s
business by offering the right people, the right capital, at the right time. www.meridiancanada.com
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For more information, interviews or hi-rez photo, please contact:
Mr. Neil Bousquet, APR, Public Relations, Meridian, (403) 256-8834 neil.bousquet@prwizard.ca
Mr. Afshin Ardalan, Managing Director, Meridian, Vancouver (604) 642-6141 afshin@meridiancanada.com
Mr. Randy Lennon, Managing Director, Branch Network Development, Marketing & Public Relations, Meridian,
(403) 538-2130 randy@meridiancanada.com
