About Assure and Todd Stephens
Senior-level attention. Practical judgment. Discreet execution.
Every business is different. Assure's role is to understand what makes the company valuable, identify what may be holding that value back and help the owner make a well-informed decision about what comes next.
Boutique by design
Leave the owner with a stronger business and a clearer path forward.
Sometimes the answer is a transaction. Sometimes it is financing, an acquisition, a turnaround or another period of growth. The objective is the same: leave the owner with a stronger business and a clearer path forward.
Transactions are as much about people, judgment and momentum as they are about spreadsheets. We stay engaged from preparation through diligence, negotiation and closing.
Strategic insight
We see the business as an owner and a buyer would — where value is being created, and where it is being lost.
Practical solutions
Growth, financing, a turnaround or a sale — the path is chosen around the owner's real objectives, not a predetermined outcome.
Lasting value
Create, protect and realize: value strengthened before the market is asked to recognize it.
Who we work with
Built for founder-led and privately held businesses.
Assure is best suited to owners facing a meaningful strategic decision — particularly where the business has substantial growth potential, complexity that is not immediately obvious, or value that may not be fully reflected in its current earnings.
- Founder-led and privately held companies
- Lower middle-market businesses
- Industrial services and manufacturing
- Energy, infrastructure and specialized business services
- Owners considering a sale, recapitalization, growth plan or transition
Leadership
Todd Stephens
President & CEO
Todd Stephens is a corporate advisor and entrepreneur with extensive experience working alongside owners of privately held businesses through periods of growth, transition and significant corporate transactions.
Over the course of his career, Todd has advised business owners on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, growth strategy, operational improvement and business turnarounds. His experience spans the full transaction lifecycle — from preparing and positioning companies for sale and identifying strategic buyers through negotiation, due diligence and closing.
Todd’s approach to M&A extends beyond simply taking a business to market. He works with owners to understand what makes their company valuable, identify opportunities to strengthen the business and reduce transaction risk, and determine which strategic partners are most likely to recognize its future potential.
He has worked extensively with founder-led and privately held businesses, particularly in engineering, industrial services, manufacturing, energy services and other specialized sectors. His work frequently involves businesses where technical expertise, specialized capabilities, customer relationships and growth potential create strategic value that may not be immediately apparent from the financial statements alone.
In addition to transaction advisory, Todd has significant hands-on experience working with management teams to improve operating performance, develop new markets and revenue opportunities, strengthen organizations and access capital. This operating perspective gives him a practical understanding of the issues business owners face well before a transaction ever begins.
Prior to his business career, Todd served in the Canadian Armed Forces. That experience continues to influence his practical, team-oriented approach to leadership, problem solving and working through complex situations.
Todd is based in Calgary, Alberta and works with business owners, investors, professional advisors and strategic acquirers across Canada.
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