Aaron Kennedy

Aaron Kennedy is a healthcare and lower-middle-market investor who founded Granite Shore Partners (GSP) in 2022 after a successful career in private equity and investment banking. He graduated with distinction and on the Dean's Honor List from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University (University of Western Ontario), where he also played Varsity Rugby and won a provincial championship. While still at university, he co-founded VNTG Apparel, a vintage-style apparel brand, and received a prestigious scholarship for entrepreneurship.

Kennedy began his career as an Analyst at Barclays Capital in Toronto, where he worked with financial sponsors and corporate clients across telecom, power and utilities, consumer retailing, industrials, infrastructure, and business services. He then joined DW Healthcare Partners (DWHP), a healthcare-focused private equity firm with over $1.5 billion in assets under management, where he spent approximately six years and was promoted to Vice President in 2019. At DWHP, he was responsible for leading all aspects of the deal process -- sourcing, diligence, transaction execution, and post-closing portfolio management -- and helped deploy over US$170 million in equity across six platform investments and more than thirty add-on acquisitions. He served as a board member for three portfolio companies, including Caregiver and WillowWood. Four of his six platform investments achieved successful exits with average annual growth exceeding 30%.

In 2021, Kennedy relocated from Toronto to North Vancouver with his wife Cal, and in 2022 he founded Granite Shore Partners. GSP targets BC-based small to medium-sized businesses with revenue exceeding $5 million and annual cash flow above $1 million, focusing on acquisitions where ownership is looking to transition out. The firm operates across multiple sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, business services, software, food and agriculture, and environmental services.

• Strategy: Acquires and operates small to mid-sized businesses in British Columbia, with a preference for companies with loyal, diversified customer bases and clear expansion opportunities.
• Sectors: Healthcare (behavioral health, home health, medical aesthetics), Manufacturing (contract machining, fabrication), Business Services (HVAC, pest control, security, training, call centers), Software, Food & Agriculture, Environmental Services, OEM Products.
• Target Profile: Revenue >$5M, cash flow >$1M, demonstrated growth and profitability, operating in sizeable and growing markets with fragmented competitive landscapes.
• Track Record: Personally completed 50+ acquisitions, deploying over $250 million in equity capital across his career.
• Approach: Hands-on operational involvement; works with management teams on growth strategies and add-on acquisitions; emphasizes speed and flexibility in deal execution.