Jay S. Hennick

Early life

Hennick was born in Toronto in 1957. At 17, he borrowed $1,000 from his Father and founded a commercial swimming pool staffing and management company, which eventually employed hundreds of students throughout the Greater Toronto area. That business, now called LIV North, is a subsidiary of FirstService.

Education

Hennick received a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from York University in 1978. He received a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Ottawa in 1981 and received Honorary Doctorates of Law from both York University and the University of Ottawa.

Career

After graduating from law school, Hennick joined a predecessor to the law firm Fogler, Rubinoff LLP and worked under Lloyd S.D. Fogler. After four years as an associate, he was promoted to partner, becoming the youngest partner in the firm. While still working as a corporate lawyer, Hennick acquired the College Pro Painters franchise system in 1989 and combined it with his pool staffing company to form FirstService Corporation. In 1993, Hennick took FirstService public. The company was subsequently listed on the NASDAQ in 1995. That same year, he left his law practice to focus on FirstService. In June 2015, FirstService split into two stand-alone publicly traded companies: FirstService and Colliers. Following the spinoff, Hennick became Global Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Collier and Chairman and Founder of FirstService.

Net Worth

As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Colliers, Hennick’s total compensation is $3,166,480. Hennick has an estimated net worth of $32 million.

Achievement

Hennick serves on the board of the Sinai Health System. In 2015, he oversaw the merger of Mount Sinai Hospital and Bridgepoint Active Healthcare to create Sinai Health System. Hennick has received numerous awards: Canada’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 1998; Canada Business Magazine’s CEO of the Year in 2001 and the 2019 International Horatio Alger Award. Hennick joined the Order of Canada in 2019. Hennick and his wife’s foundation The Jay and Barbara Hennick Family Foundation donates to education, health care and arts, primarily in Canada. Hennick is also a documentary film producer having co-produced the 2021 Netflix documentary Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art.