Derby County Reveals Canadian Investor
Canadian entrepreneur W. Brett Wilson has been revealed as a leading investor in Coca-Cola Championship football club Derby County.
The 51-year-old businessman is part of the international consortium that owns Derby and is managed by General Sports and Entertainment.
Wilson, whose track record of success has made him a panellist on the Canadian version of TV show Dragons’ Den, will work on building the appeal of the Midlands club on an international basis.
Wilson said he was attracted to invest in Derby by the club’s size and potential for further development – and the loyal fan-base.
In 1993, Wilson co-founded FirstEnergy Capital Corp., a Canadian brokerage firm that provides investment-banking services to Canada’s oil and gas sector.
FirstEnergy is an industry leader, having participated in thousands of financing and M&A projects worth over $150bn.
Wilson retired from FirstEnergy in 2007, but retains his role as non-executive chairman of the company.
He is also managing director and president of Prairie Merchant Corporation, a private merchant bank focused on business opportunities in the energy, agriculture, real estate, sports, and entertainment industries.
He is also owner of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, a Southern League baseball team based in Jackson, Tennessee.
