Raj Raheja, BBA, MPAcc, CPA-CA
Co-Founder & CEO
Dr. Mark de Wolde, MRCVS
Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer
Jeff Latimer, DVM
Director of Business Development
Matt Friesen
Director of Business Development
Michael Young
Director of Business Development
Dr. Robert Davis
Director of Business Development
Tom Wheeler
Director of Business Development
Dr. Leon Freeland
Director of Business Development
Fraser Barton, MBA
Senior Financial Analyst & Transitions Lead
Our mission is to empower every veterinary practice to earn and achieve more. Whether you are simply looking for professional insight into the workings of your hospital, or partnering for growth, or even a transition out of practice, we work as an advocate on behalf of you, the practice owner, to meet your specific needs while enhancing your value and attractiveness to prospective investors.
We know your legacy matters and preserving it is an essential part of our commitment to you.
We have worked with veterinary practice owners in various circumstances. Sometimes the goal of Practice Owners’ is focused on accelerating growth, others are impacted by human resource challenges and administrative burden and are looking for a partner to take this on, and some are wanting to preserve legacy as they scale back in anticipation of retirement. Regardless of your circumstance, we have seen it before, and we can help.
We have a team of experts and key industry partners who want to help maximize the value of your practice.
We are the team to perform your Veterinary Practice Evaluation.
Raj Raheja, BBA, MPAcc, CPA-CA
Co-Founder & CEO
Raj Raheja is the co-founder and President of myVETgroup. Raj has 16+ years of transactional and investment management experience in healthcare and private equity M&A. During this time, he has served as CFO for both veterinary and dental consolidations in the USA. With more than $350M in transactions, Raj has accelerated the organizations growth through acquisitions, operationally scaling, and successfully exiting businesses in a private equity and strategic setting.
Raj has spent his career leading and advising organizations through complex restructuring, divestitures, and capital expansions through growth and contraction business cycles. During his time as CFO he set record profitability through the Great Recession business cycle doubling EBITDA and unlevered free cash flow despite troubled times ultimately driving to the desired exit. Raj had grown the dental organization from their first acquisition to become the 4th largest in the USA and quadrupled the size of the veterinary organization within 3 years! Raj is a trusted advisor with a knack for scaling organizations through early and late maturity cycles. His work with startups involves helping entrepreneurs expand, raise capital, and setup for their next stage of the growth cycle.
Raj founded myVETgroup with the sole purpose of maximizing value for veterinary owners. Over the years Raj has gained an appreciation and passion for helping business owners achieve their personal and financial goals through a structured exit. His experience has given him inside knowledge to what corporate buyers are looking for and how best to position you and your business to maximize its return for you. When you combine Raj’s corporate consolidation experience, Mark’s veterinary practice ownership experience, and Samir’s private equity experience a perfect union representing the needs of the veterinarian was formed – myVETgroup.
Raj is a Chartered Professional Accountant, a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Scaling Ventures program, holds a Masters in Accounting from the Edward School of Business, and a Bachelors in Finance from Simon Fraser’s Beedie School of Business.
Raj spends his leisure time travelling with his wife, daughter and their forever puppy, a King Charles cavalier spaniel named Oscar. He likes to start his day with a run and make waffles with his daughter on Saturday morning. And when he can, get in a good round of golf.
Dr. Mark de Wolde, DVM, MRCVS
Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Mark A. de Wolde, born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and is a farm-boy at heart. He graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph with his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1993 after spending his externship at the Universiteit Utrecht in the Netherlands, and working part-time in Biomedical Sciences. He was honoured with the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Award and the Hill’s Nutrition Award upon graduation.
After spending six years in Southern Ontario practicing as an associate, Dr. de Wolde spent some time in Kingston Upon Thames in England, as well as a brief stint in New Zealand. In 2001, he returned to Southern Ontario, and over a period of 15 years, established 5 veterinary hospitals in the Ontario, Canada region. Dr. de Wolde co-founded the Upper Canada Veterinary Group Inc.; a company dedicated to the management of veterinary hospital operations, including business takeovers, de novo practice start-ups, medical practice standards, efficiency and profitability improvements, supplier relationships and partnerships, as well as client and staff relationships as it pertains to HR management. To this day, he continues to practice part time with continued interests in management, business development and orthopedic surgery.
Dr. de Wolde is the currently the President of Lenio Pharmaceuticals Inc., past President of the Kingston Regional Pet Hospital Corporation, contract investigator for the College of Veterinarians of Ontario, a business consultant for Drug Smart Pharmacies and a consultant for numerous design-build projects in the veterinary field. He is a past member in good standing with Veterinary Study Groups, which is a select group of elite professionals that candidly and honestly share information, data, management experiences, ideas, resources, problems, solutions, successes, and failures; providing support and motivation which help to challenge members attain a higher level of success as practice managers and leaders. And most recently, Dr. de Wolde has helped to facilitate nearly $200M for private veterinary practice owners transitioning to corporate consolidators.
The City of Kingston honored Dr. de Wolde as the Business Person of the Year, and in 2018 he was honored at the annual Ontario Veterinary Medical Association convention in Toronto with the prestigious OVMA Award of Merit.
Dr. de Wolde, who values family first, is married to his compassionate wife Jessica, and together they have two kind boys, Owen & Benjamin. Their house is filled with their rescued Husky X (Porter), a purebred Whippet (Ivy), a rescued miniature Poodle (Persie), a rescued toy Poodle (Rosie), a chronically happy Pomerian (Yoshi), a Fancy Bearded Dragon (Red Bull) and an African Pigmy Hedgehog (Ally). Outreach and charity are important to the de Wolde family, as they are avid contributors to World Vision, Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Kingston Humane Society, Canadian Cancer Society, Children’s Aid Society, Home Base Housing and the Kingston Christian School. Over the years, Dr. de Wolde has been active in the fitness community, and he enjoys many activities outside of the home, including playing numerous sports, watching movies, watch collecting and experiencing both local and international cuisine.
Samir has over 13 years of experience in private equity M&A, where he has supported fast growing businesses with capital and strategic guidance in North America and Europe. Most recently, Samir was a private equity investor with the owner of one of the largest veterinary corporate groups in North America.
Samir has a significant amount of experience on the “other side of the table”, allowing him to provide helpful insight on how to maximize the value of your practice with corporate buyers.
Samir holds a Honors in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business.
Jeff Latimer, DVM
Business Advisory Partner
Jeff is a celebrated veterinary practice owner, animal lover and compassionate caregiver with a strategic business mind. He is an avid kayaker, mentor to many, husband and proud father.
With 25+ years of experience in veterinary medicine and management he is one of many celebrated veterinary practice owners in Ontario. As an OVMA Award of Merit winner, his veterinary practice was one of the top 15% of well-managed veterinary practices in the province.
From humble beginnings in 1995 with one part time employee, he grew two busy hospitals with 25+ employees, purchased and sold two other hospitals and helped to create and to manage two local emergency hospitals. Jeff enjoys giving back to his profession, by mentoring within the veterinary industry. He currently facilitates veterinary study groups for Veterinary Study Groups Inc. and for Amerivet Veterinary Partners in the United States. He consults with the Atlantic Veterinary College, MyVetGroup, MentorVet. He provided his services to VetStrategy and to others in North America.
Jeff continues to enjoy each step of his professional journey. When not working with colleagues to achieve their goals, he can be found along the shores of Lake Ontario, kayaking, and enjoying quality time with his family.
Matt Friesen
Director of Business Development
Matt has over 20 years of veterinary industry experience in food, pharma, and mergers & acquisitions. Matt is dedicated to developing and fostering relationships through personal interactions. Honesty, integrity, and authenticity drive Matt’s desire to help others achieve their goals. He is committed to guiding and supporting practice owners through each step of their personal succession planning journey. Matt is a trusted advisor focused on the best interests of practice owners, their practice, and practice teams. Matt will work with you to find the best partnership while ensuring maximum value for your practice.
Matt grew up in Alliston, Ontario and attended Queen’s University. He currently resides in Toronto with his wife, Marisa. He is an avid sports fan who enjoys traveling, food & drink, and a good laugh!
Michael Young
Director of Business Development
Michael is an impassioned professional who enjoys working with entrepreneurs while leveraging his decades of experience in small business management, people skills, and hospitality to assist veterinarians with succession planning and achieve the best solution for their business goals.
With a career that began in the hospitality industry Michael has experience in such roles as General Manager, Director, and Vice President of Operations with both independent and multi-unit brands over 20+years. In addition to traditional working environments Michael has also been involved with exciting projects such the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, brand concept development, new builds and large events.
Transitioning from the hospitality industry to the veterinarian industry, Michael has successfully helped over 60 clinic owners across the Country find a great new future for themselves and for their clinic.
Michael is looking forward to meeting more veterinarians and listening to their stories of how they started, including the struggles and accomplishments of running a business and to helping hard working doctors & entrepreneurs achieve their next steps in both their personal and professional lives.
Michael, his wife Jessica, son Hudson, and ‘stubborn as the day is long’ rescue bulldog Bubba, enjoy summer weekends at the cottage as well as travelling whenever possible.
Let’s connect!
Dr. Bob Davis
Director of Business Development
Dr Bob Davis has over 40 years of experience in Veterinary Medicine, business management and regulatory affairs. He designed, built and owned the Ashland Animal Care Center, a state of the art Small Animal Hospital and Pet Care Facility in the Boston area.
For 14 years Bob served as Chairman & board member for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Licensing & Regulatory Board for Veterinary Medicine.
Bob was a member of VMG 15, a Veterinary Management Group. VMG is a professional membership organization dedicated to helping Veterinary Hospitals perform at the highest of standards.
In 2015, Bob and his partners sold their hospital to a corporate veterinary buyer. He continued as their Chief of Staff for 2 years, and as a staff veterinarian for an additional 3 years. Bob then launched his consulting career as a Veterinary Management Consultant for AlphaSights, Third Bridge, and The Ackerman Group.
Bob is a member of MVMA, AVMA, and AAHA. He holds a BS and DVM degree from Michigan State University
Tom Wheeler
Director of Business Development
Tom Wheeler worked in the animal health industry for 28 years and has long been recognized as an accomplished and insightful leader with a successful track record in directing multiple, complex, business functions within a wide array of corporate settings. Tom is a people oriented professional, whose broad-based career includes over a decade of service on “C” suite leadership teams at Akina, NVA, VCA & Novartis. Tom provided strategic direction and operational oversight as he built out the Animal Health division for Akina, has spent over seven years leading region hospital acquisitions and operations, and has over six years experience representing Veterinarians by leading, advising and guiding them successfully through their practice transactions.
Tom’s prior companies included Ackerman Group, Akina Pharmacy, Alpine Investors, Bain & Company, Broad Branch Advisors, Glazer Capital, LLC, Novartis Animal Health, and VCA.
Dr. Leon Freeland
Director of Business Development
With over 35 years of experience in the veterinary field, Dr. Leon Freeland brings a wealth of expertise and a proven record of success in veterinary leadership roles. His passion lies in developing veterinarians to reach their full potential, nurturing their leadership skills, and facilitating their transition to new goals.
Leon has gained diverse experience in various veterinary settings. He started his career as an emergency clinician in Des Moines, Iowa. From there, he entered general practice as an associate veterinarian. He opened and operated his own practice in Indianapolis in 1999.
After 14 years, he sold his practice to a corporate veterinary group. He continued serving as medical director for the next 10 years while filling various roles as needed for the corporate owner.
Leon promises to be diligent, dedicated and focused on developing lasting relationships, resulting in a successful succession plan for veterinarians.
He is an active member of AVMA, INVMA, and AAHA. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys attending sporting events. However, his greatest joy is spending time with his family and friends.
Fraser Barton
Senior Financial Analyst & Transitions Lead
Fraser has 6+ years’ experience investing across a wide range of geographies and industries. Prior to graduating business school in May 2020, Fraser was an investment associate at the Soros Economic Development Fund.
Before joining Soros, Fraser worked at Area One, an agriculturally oriented PE firm in North America. Fraser holds a BA from the School of Oriental & African Studies and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Lisa Gibson is the Client Service Manager for myVETgroup and brings over 8 years’ of experience in the veterinary consulting industry to her role. Prior to working for one of the leading consulting firms in the US, Lisa owned her own business for more than 10 years, giving her a unique perspective and appreciation for the challenges of managing a business.
Lisa resides in Calgary, Alberta with her husband and can be found enjoying the outdoors with her Entlebucher dog, Tate. She also looks forward to visits from her adult children. With her extensive background and expertise, Lisa is well-equipped to provide exceptional service to our clients.
Hamza was previously at TPG Growth, a leading private equity fund focused on growth equity and middle market buyout investments. Prior to TPG Growth, Hamza worked at Helios Investment Partners and J.P. Morgan in investment banking in London completing several transactions with an aggregate enterprise value of over $7 billion.
Hamza holds a Master in Management from ESCP Europe.
Dawson MacDonald
Senior Analyst
Dawson was previously at BDO Canada specializing in mid-market transaction advisory. He brings 2+ years of buy side due diligence experience in the veterinary industry to myVETgroup. Prior to BDO, he studied at the University of Waterloo and holds a Bachelor of Accounting & Finance, and is actively working towards the CBV designation.
Beyond his professional life, he is an enthusiastic cyclist who has raced in Australia, U.S.A., and across Canada. Dawson is excited about the prospect of working with you and seeks to make the transition process as seamless as possible.
