Lewis Rose – Activities
As CEO and Chairman of BakerStone International since 2013, Lewis was responsible for establishing the company’s strategy and corporate structure. He has been instrumental in the development and growth of this unique, consumer product business from a Kickstarter concept with a single SKU five years ago, into a global, branded and patented BBQ accessory business today, sold in over 15 countries and by the largest retailers in the world. BakerStone, an innovation leader in the category, was sold to a strategic purchaser in December 2017/ January 2018.
Previously Lewis Rose led the Farber Turnaround Management Practice of Farber Financial Group, a professional financial services firm with over 100 staff based in Toronto , focussed on providing solutions to businesses. Farber Turnaround Management restores challenged businesses back to sustainable profitability by developing and then implementing the strategic plan of action. Examples of public and private company turnarounds range from a global Precision Agriculture business to a North American home furnishing manufacturer and distributor.
Lewis Rose is the former President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of CryptoLogic Inc., a publicly traded global software development company listed on the London Stock Exchange, the TSX and NASDAQ. Under his leadership, CryptoLogic became known as the “Blue Chip” regulated software provider to the global Internet market. During his five year tenure, CryptoLogic won numerous industry awards for innovation and world class software and customer support; partnered with customers such as William Hill plc ( $3 billion market capitalization), Holland Casino (the Government of the Netherlands) and The Ritz Club London (the exclusive hotel in London, England); secured exclusive licenses with Marvel Entertainment (for the creation of The Hulk, X-Men, Daredevil, Blade, and Silver Surfer games) and Bejeweled; and launched new revenue streams. With Mr. Rose as CEO, CryptoLogic’s market capitalization grew from $90 million to over $400 million, with operations in Toronto, London, Dublin, Singapore, Cyprus, Vancouver, Alderney and Curacao. CryptoLogic Inc. relocated its executive offices to Ireland in 2007. Mr. Rose assisted in the transition and left CryptoLogic immediately afterward, choosing not to assume the impact the move to Ireland would have had on his family.
Lewis Rose was appointed President and a Director of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., the Academy and Emmy award-winning international creator, producer and distributor of television and motion pictures, with ownership interests in a number of specialty broadcast television networks, upon its creation in 1998. Mr. Rose led the structure and financing of the merger of Alliance Communications and Atlantis Communications to form Alliance Atlantis Communications, which achieved $20 million p.a. in post merger integration savings. Alliance Atlantis was subsequently acquired by CanWest Global and Goldman Sachs for $2.3 billion.
As Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Board Director, Lewis Rose was instrumental in the creation of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., the largest publicly traded food processing company in Canada with revenues in excess of $5 billion and 24,000 employees – the result of the reverse takeover of Canada Packers Inc. by Maple Leaf Mills Limited in 1990. In his eight years with the group, Mr. Rose served as Director of publicly traded baked goods manufacturer Canada Bread Ltd. and retail franchisor Country Style Food Services (subsequently acquired by CAI Capital Management) ; had financial responsibility for real estate development and the Caribbean operations ; and as President of Maple Leaf Grocery Products Division, he spearheaded the profitable turnaround of the consumer branded and private label manufacturing, sales and distribution business from a loss in 1994 to a profit in 1995.
Lewis Rose was Assistant Vice President at Wood Gundy Inc. (now CIBC World Markets) from 1984 to 1987, first in Treasury and Operations Management and then in the Mergers and Acquisitions/Corporate Finance Department, before joining Maple Leaf Mills as CFO and a Director in 1987.
