Bob Singh Dhillon

Bob Dhillon is the founder, president and CEO of Mainstreet Equity Corp (MEQ) which owns and manages billions of dollars worth of Canadian real estate.[1] Bob Dhillon currently sits on the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Board, the biggest Canadian Crown Corporation.[2] Dhillon is the Honorary Consul General for Belize in Canada[3] and owns a private 3,000-acre island in Belize that he is developing into a world-class tourist resort. Dhillon has further interest in the country of Belize as he is the published author of the book 'Business and Retirement Guide to Belize' currently in its second edition.[4] Dhillon also currently sits on the Entrepreneur Advisory Council for the Richard Ivey School of Business.[5]

In March 2018, Dhillon partnered with the University of Lethbridge to become the eponymous founder of the Dhillon School of Business,[6] which will provide innovative approaches to education with an emphasis on futuristic learning. The Dhillon School of Business largest educational fields aimed at teaching blockchain, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and other growth industries. Dhillon completed his M.B.A. degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in 1998[7] and later received an Honorary Doctorate degree from Lakehead University in 2017[8]

Bob Dhillon CEO, Founder & President of Mainstreet Equity
Bob Dhillon is the founder, chief executive officer, and president of Mainstreet Equity. He is a leading Canadian real estate owner and asset manager with experience in acquiring and repositioning properties.

Early Life & Education

Dhillon's family comes from Tallewal in the district of Barnala Punjab.[9] His father, a trader, left for Hong Kong for business reasons and set-up the North China Shipping Company. Dhillon was born in Japan,[10] but as a small child he was sent back to India for his schooling, where he was educated at Bishop Cotton School in Shimla. At the age of 12, Dhillon migrated to Canada where he continued his education in Calgary, Alberta. After graduating from University, he went to complete his master's degree (MBA) at Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario.[11] Dhillon began his career in real estate at the age of 19 finding under-valued property and repositioning it,[12] starting by buying a pair of houses in Calgary; renovating and selling them for a profit.[13]

Mainstreet Equity Corporation

Mainstreet Tower in Edmonton, Alberta
Mainstreet Tower in Edmonton, Alberta

Dhillon founded Mainstreet Equity Corp which was listed as a Canadian publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange listed on the TSX as MEQ. Bob Dhillon is the corporation's largest shareholder, founder, CEO & president. Mainstreet Equity Corp. is based out of Calgary, Alberta and engages in the acquisition, redevelopment, repositioning and management of mid-market Canadian apartment complexes. Mainstreet Equity currently has properties in Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Fort Saskatchewan & Cochrane), British Columbia (Surrey, Abbotsford & New Westminster) and Saskatchewan (Saskatoon & Regina)[14] with current asset value exceeding $1.8 billion.[15]

Since its conception in 2000 Mainstreet has grown its portfolio from 272 units with an approximate market value $17 million to 11,566 units and approximately $1.8 billion market value in 2018.[16] Through the years, Dhillon and Mainstreet Equity have become a value creator through purchasing under-performing real estate, and renovating the properties to meet a higher standard.

Under Dhillon, Mainstreet has achieved a 1,270% return on investment from September 2003 to September 2014, making it Canada's highest performing real estate company. The company's assets consist of over 12,000 apartment units in Western Canada.

Mainstreet Equity Corporation differs from other real estate companies as it is a corporation and not a REIT, operating as a add-value consolidator of mid-market multi-family apartment buildings.[17]

Mainstreet Equity has positioned itself in the Canadian market place to specialize in the acquisition of mid-market multi-family properties. The term "Mid-market" is used to define a property by size, location, condition, and management. Generally, in the Canadian marketplace mid-market properties have less than 100 units, making them less attractive to large institutional investors. Buildings that are considered to be 'mid-market' are often mismanaged and left in relatively poor condition, often requiring renovations or upgrades to bring them to the market standard. Mainstreet Equity is able to attract renters and tenants to their properties through their innovative approach, providing renovated apartment rentals that are often below the standard market price and branded as boutique apartments.[18]

Bob Dhillon Calgary
Bob Dhillon in front of Mainstreet property in Calgary, Alberta.
Mainstreet Equity Avenue Tower
Avenue Tower a Mainstreet Equity property in Downtown Calgary on 17th Ave SW

Dhillon School of Business

Dhillon School Of Business Logo
Dhillon School Of Business Logo

In March 2018, Dhillon with the University of Lethbridge established the Dhillon School of Business, which aims to provide innovative approaches to education with an emphasis on futuristic learning.

Dhillon's generous gift of $10 million to the University of Lethbridge came with the goal of transforming the University of Lethbridge's faculty of management into one of the leading fintech schools in the country focusing on progressive and innovative fields like; blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and artificial intelligence.

The Dhillon School of Business is looking to add to the university's curriculum with the study of disruptive financial technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.[19]

Belize

Dhillon is the Honorary Consul General for Belize in Canada.[20] He currently owns a 3,000-acre private island in Belize located near Belize's largest island, Ambergris Caye, and the popular Caribbean destination of San Pedro Town.

Dhillon is currently developing the island into a world-class tourist resort. Outside of active investment in Belize, Dhillon has further interest in Belize as he is the published author of the book 'Business and Retirement Guide to Belize' currently in its second edition.[4]

Belize Philanthropy

Bob Dhillon's influence in Belize has been seen through infrastructure projects and philanthropy including donations towards San Pedro Town and raising money for underprivileged children.

Notable Achievements

  • Recipient of the Ernst & Young 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year for the Prairies Real Estate & Construction category [23]
  • Recognized as one of the 2015 RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award winners[24]
  • Recipient of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal
  • Recognition by Alberta Venture magazine as one of Alberta's 50 Most Influential People
  • Recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential Indians in North America[25]
  • Recipient of the Sikh Awards (London, UK) 2016 Business Man of the Year[26]
  • Recipient of the India Centre of Manitoba / University of Winnipeg 2016 Lifetime Achievement award[27]
Bob Dhillon Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2015
Bob Dhillon Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2015

Philanthropy

  • $10,000,000 gift to the University of Lethbridge Faculty of Management[28]
  • Establishing a Richard Ivey School of Business scholarship[29]
  • Donating $500,000 to the town of San Pedro, Belize[21]
  • Raising $60,000 for underprivileged children in San Pedro[22]
  • Donated free apartment suites to victims of the Fort McMurray and Slave Lake, Alberta fires[30]
Bob Dhillon Ambergris Caye Belize
Bob Dhillon next to his Costa Del Sol Development on Ambergris Caye, Belize

References

  1. ↑ "Mainstreet Equity Corp. (MEQ)".
  2. ↑ "Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corporation Board".
  3. ↑ "Belize Honorary Consul General".
  4. 1 2 Bob Dhillon, Fred Langan (2018). Business and Retirement Guide to Belize. Dundurn.
  5. ↑ "Advisory Council | Richard Ivey School of Business".
  6. ↑ Critchley, Barry (March 14, 2018). "Bob Dhillon 'gives back' with $10 million donation to the University of Lethbridge". Financial Post.
  7. ↑ Newman, Peter C. (July 2, 2009). "Dhillon Dollar Strategy".
  8. 1 2 "Lakehead University announces its 2017 Convocation Ceremonies' Honorary Doctorates and Fellows | Lakehead University". Lakehead University. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  9. ↑ "Canada's top businessman Bob Singh Dhillon donates $10 mn to University of Lethbridge". The Economic Times.
  10. ↑ Lehail, Jessie (January 31, 2014). "Bob Dhillon – Chapters of the First Sikh Billionaire". Darpan Magazine.
  11. ↑ "Bob Dhillon, EMBA '98". University Of Western Ontario | Ivy School Of Business. 1998.
  12. ↑ Sthankiya, Nayan (October 27, 2011). "Calgary's Bob Dhillon reinvents the apartment-building business". The Globe & Mail. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Mainstreet Equity (MEQ) Management Team".
  14. ↑ "TMX Money (TSX)". TMX Money. April 4, 2018.
  15. ↑ "[MEQ] Mainstreet Equity Q1 2018 Results". Feb 13, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Mainstreet Equity Company Overview".
  17. ↑ Borzykowski, Bryan (May 26, 2014). "Stock pick: Mainstreet Equity Corp (MEQ) buys fixer-upper rentals for double-digit growth". Canadian Business.
  18. ↑ "Mainstreet Equity (MEQ) Company Overview".
  19. ↑ Davis, Anthony A. (March 26, 2018). "The University of Lethbridge's $10-million fintech transformation". Maclean's Magazine.
  20. ↑ "Embassy Pages".
  21. 1 2 "Costa del Sol donates BZ$500K to San Pedro, Belize News, San Pedro Sun". www.sanpedrosun.com. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  22. 1 2 "Canadian Multi-Millionaire donates to Underprivileged Children". Ambergris Today. 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  23. ↑ "EY announces 2015 Prairies Entrepreneur Of The Year™ program finalists".
  24. ↑ "Canadas Top 25 Immigrants 2015". Canadian Immigrant. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  25. ↑ "Bob Dhillon | Immigrant Services Calgary". immigrantservicescalgary.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  26. ↑ "Bob Singh Dhillon receives Business Man of the Year at The Sikh Awards 2016". www.darpanmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  27. ↑ "Bob Dhillon recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award | University of Winnipeg | News Centre". news-centre.uwinnipeg.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  28. ↑ "University of Lethbridge receives record donation, launches Dhillon School of Business | Watch News Videos Online". Global News. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  29. ↑ "Bob Dhillon, EMBA '98". Ivey Business School. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  30. ↑ "Mainstreet Equity offers 100 apartment units to victims of Fort McMurray fire". Financial Post. 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  • Gurmukh Singh (2006-11-12). "A billion-dollar dream come true". Tribune India. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  • MainstreetApartments (2018-03-14), University of Lethbridge Major Gift Announcement, retrieved 2018-09-10
  • MainstreetApartments (2016-11-20), Bob Dhillon Mainstreet Equity Corp., retrieved 2018-09-10
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