Barry Shafran, Chesswood Group’s president and CEO, will retire on Aug. 31.  Ryan Marr, who recently joined Chesswood as a strategic advisor, was appointed Chesswood’s new president and CEO. Until his retirement, Shafran will remain a Chesswood executive and will assist with the management transition.

Ed Sonshine, O.Ont., Q.C., rejoined Chesswood’s board of directors and was appointed chairman. Sonshine, the CEO of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, is a Chesswood founder and its largest shareholder, and was a director of Chesswood (and its predecessors) from 1998 to 2012. Since that time, Sonshine has been an advisor to Chesswood’s board of directors.

Fred Steiner, another Chesswood founder and one of its largest shareholders, who has served as Chesswood’s chairman from 2012 to 2020, will continue as a member of the Chesswood board. David Obront and Shafran have stepped down as directors.

“On behalf of the entire Chesswood family, I express our warmest thanks to Barry for more than 20 years devoted to growing and transforming Chesswood into a preeminent North American equipment leasing company. We have achieved many important milestones with Barry at our helm,” Sonshine said. “We also thank David Obront for his many years as a member of our board and acknowledge Fred Steiner’s leadership as our board chair. We welcome Ryan Marr and look forward to him building on Chesswood’s strengths as we move to not only resume traditional portfolio performance but to seek to take advantage of opportunities that arise from new market realities.”

Marr is a partner and the chief investment officer of Waypoint Investment Partners, a Canadian asset manager with assets under administration in its investment funds and segregated accounts in excess of $100 million. Waypoint’s focus includes investment in alternative funding strategies. Prior to joining Waypoint, Marr spent more than 10 years managing portfolios at Gluskin Sheff + Associates, a Canadian investment management firm.

“I am honored to join Chesswood at this pivotal time in its history” Marr said. “It is a leader in its market, reflected in its strong credit culture throughout the organization. Combining Chesswood’s strong culture of credit discipline and innovation created under Barry Shafran’s tenure with additional funding and asset management disciplines presents a truly transformative opportunity.”