Don Wishart, FCPA, FCMA

Don Wishart is President of SEAMARK Asset Management Ltd, a Halifax-based investment management firm. Don graduated from Mount Allison in 1979 with a BComm, after which he earned CMA and CFA accreditations in 1983 and 1986. He began his career as an Accounting Systems Analyst at NBTel, moving rapidly up the ranks of the telephone company and its parent Bruncor, and serving as both its Treasurer and Comptroller. A key role included oversight of the corporation’s defined benefit pension plan, as well managing the work of investment managers and the actuary; the role also included providing explanations and interpretations for Executive management and the Board of Directors. He left Bruncor to establish companies in equipment leasing and information technology, before joining SEAMARK in 2002. He has held a variety of senior roles at SEAMARK including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer when the company was publicly traded.

Don lives in Bedford, Nova Scotia with his wife of 37 years, Sarah. They have two sons who reside in Toronto and a six-year-old grandson. He is active in his community, serving on the investment committee of the IWK Hospital Foundation; as director and chair of the investment committee of the charitable organization Chalice Canada; as Director of the Centre for Financial Studies at the University of New Brunswick; and as Member of the Financial Executives Institute’s national pension committee.

In the past, he has been a director of companies in the equipment leasing, semiconductor, and real estate industries, and of the Pension Investment Association of Canada. His greatest joy as a volunteer was in 1994, when he led the construction and initial operation of the Imperial Theatre in Saint John, NB. He also created a Foundation to support the theatre and led a successful effort to raise its first 2 million dollars. Earlier in 2019, he received the CFA Society of Atlantic Canada’s Terry Milne award, which is presented annually to an individual for his/her extraordinary contributions as a volunteer either in his/her profession or community. 

Don loves sports and was a provincial champion in hockey, soccer, and baseball. He hopes to live long enough to see the Leafs win the Stanley Cup again!