OWNERSHIP TEAM
Mike McCarther - President, Partner
A trusted sales leader in the technology and construction industry. With over fifteen years in the ProAV, Commercial Security and Communications Cabling space, Mike has built a reputation on delivering results to his customers while leading his colleagues through aggressive growth phases. He is passionate about technology and its role in transforming organizations into more competitive and innovative workplaces. Prior to the launch of Verge Technologies, Mike transformed the sales and operations teams of the ICS Division of VistaCare Communications, which led to a management buyout of that group to form Verge Technologies along with his new partners.
Mike provides leadership and vision to both Advatek Systems & Verge Technologies through their aggressive growth and transition phases. Mike continues to drive profitable results and strategic direction to the companies while having regular oversight of the sales, operations, and administration & finance teams. Mike also chairs the Advisory Board.
Phil Diochon - Partner, Advisor
Phil Diochon has spent more than a decade with the Barrington Consulting Group as a Senior Consultant. During his professional career, he has gained considerable consulting experience in government service delivery, focusing on business analysis, process mapping, leading project application testing and training delivery. Prior to his consultant experience, Phil led the operations of a large Service Desk organization, managing vendor relationships with telcos across the USA, acting as an incident manager and supervising large teams of over 50. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from Saint Francis Xavier University. He’s certified in Prosci Change Management, Adult Learning Principles from Dalhousie and is a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma process improvement.
Phil is a key shareholder in both Advatek Systems and Verge Technologies and active member of the advisory board and executive committee where he holds an officer and director role.
Ryan Corkum – Partner, CFO
Ryan began his career in commercial banking at HSBC, where he worked for 7 years supporting customers in a variety of industries. He was then asked to join one of his customers and has gone on to hold various CFO roles over the past number of years. This has ranged from small startups where everything has been bootstrapped to large organizations with hundreds of employees. Throughout these engagements, he has established a track record of driving growth, developing improved systems & processes, and fostering an engaged team atmosphere.
Ryan provides financial oversight to Advatek & Verge’s controller for routine operation and strategic financial advisement to support aggressive growth phases for both Advatek & Verge.
Paul LeBlanc - Partner, Advisor
Paul grew up in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He’s a serial entrepreneur, having started up multiple successful companies over a 30-year span. At 19, he co-founded Coastal Communications with his father which he sold in 1996. He then founded the marketing firm, Arrivals+Departures (formally “Extreme Group”), now one of Canada’s largest independent marketing agencies with offices in Toronto and Halifax which he sold in 2021. Paul also co-founded other ventures like Karma Gaming, behuman clothing, Iconic Brewing and is a shareholder in VistaCare Communications. In 2017, he purchased Charlottetown Metal Products. CMP produces custom food processing equipment for major food producers around the world like McCain Foods. After doubling CMP’s revenue and profits in just under two years, in January 2019 Paul sold CMP to Food Process Solutions, a global food processing manufacturer. He recently invested in Verge Technologies of Halifax and Advatek Systems of Moncton.
Paul is a member of YPO. He is a recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 Award in Canada and has been awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young. He’s in the Top 50 CEO’s Hall of Fame and has been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Influential Marketers. He is also a Mentor at the Wallace McCain Institute.
Paul Jenkins - Partner, Advisor
Paul completed his Pharmacy degree in 2000. He opened his first pharmacy in 2003 and expanded in several sites until the sale of the Friendly Pharmacy in 2009 to Sobeys Inc. Paul continued to work for Sobeys as their Director of Business Development for Atlantic Canada until April of 2021. In addition, he started The Mount Continuing Care Community. This is an intergenerational facility with nursing care, community care, physicians' offices, a private school, and a daycare, all under one roof. In 2024, Paul acquired the Berkley Retirement Communities and expanded his retirement living and long-term care network into Nova Scotia. Paul continues to be active in the real estate development market throughout PEI and is an active community member.
Paul enjoys partnering with and mentoring younger entrepreneurs to help them drive new business opportunities while coaching them through the various phases of the business journey. Outside of his very successful business life, Paul is an avid road biker and golfer and enjoys spending time with his daughter, Chloe.