Podcast Episode 5 with Michael Lee-Chin
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With guest: Michael Lee-Chin
Founder and Chairman of Portland Holdings
Michael Lee-Chin is widely regarded as a visionary entrepreneur whose philosophy of “doing well and doing good” has resulted in extraordinary business success and inspiring philanthropic initiatives. Michael is Founder and Chairman of Portland Holdings, a privately held investment company that manages public equity and private equity, and has an ownership interest in a collection of diversified businesses operating globally in sectors including financial services, insurance, consumer goods, media, tourism, agriculture, real estate development and targeted radionuclide therapy.
Born in Port Antonio, Jamaica in 1951, Michael immigrated to Canada in 1970, to study Civil Engineering at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario. After beginning post‑graduate studies, Michael’s trajectory changed and, at the age of 26, he became a financial advisor, quickly progressing to the position of Branch Manager.
In 1983, at the age of 32, Michael borrowed money to purchase $500,000 worth of Mackenzie Financial Corporation stock. Four years later, the stock appreciated sevenfold and Michael used the profits to make his first acquisition - a small Ontario-based investment firm, AIC Limited. At the time, Advantage Investment Counsel (a division of AIC Limited) had assets under management of just $800,000. Within 20 years, AIC grew from less than $1 million in assets to more than $15 billion under management, at its business peak. In 2009, AIC’s retail investment fund business was sold to a leading Canadian financial services group.
Portland is committed to “building strong indigenous businesses” and, equally important, these businesses must also seek to improve the social well being of the communities in which they operate.
Among his many personal accomplishments, Michael has received Doctor of Laws degrees from a number of distinguished universities in Canada and Jamaica. He has been profiled in Forbes, Fortune, Canadian Business, Black Enterprise and Time Magazine, to name a few. From 2011 – 2016, Michael held the esteemed position of Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University. Michael is recipient of the Order of Jamaica and the Order of Ontario and, in 2016, he was appointed Chair of the Government of Jamaica’s Economic Growth Council (“EGC”) in an effort to bolster economic development.