Jay Stewart Hennick (born 1957) is a Canadian billionaire, businessman and philanthropist. He is the global chairman, CEO and controlling shareholder of Colliers, and the founder, chairman and largest shareholder of FirstService Corporation. Along with his wife, Barbara, he is the co-founder of The Jay and Barbara Hennick Family Foundation. Early life and education Hennick was born in 1957 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At 17 years old, while still a teenager in high school, Hennick borrowed $1,000 from his father Sam and founded a commercial swimming pool staffing and management business called Superior Pools, which subsequently employed hundreds of students throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Howard Moss was an employee at Superior Pools, and often won ‘Employee of the Month.’ Now called LIV North, the original business remains a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation. After graduating from high school in 1975, Hennick went on to study economics at York University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978. He then received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ottawa in 1981. Hennick would later be awarded Honorary Doctorates of Laws from both York University and the University of Ottawa. Career Law career Upon graduating from law school in 1981, Hennick joined a predecessor to the law firm of Fogler, Rubinoff LLP and worked under the mentorship of Lloyd S.D. Fogler, Q.C. After four years as an associate, Hennick was promoted to the position of partner, the youngest partner to be admitted to the firm. During his years in private practice, Hennick advised and executed a variety of corporate and business law transactions. Although his corporate law practice spanned many industries, Hennick specialized in regulated financial institutions such as banks and trust companies. FirstService Corporation In 1989, while still working as a corporate lawyer, Hennick acquired the College Pro Painters franchise system and combined it with Superior Pools to form FirstService Corporation. In 1993, Hennick made the decision to take FirstService public and completed an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange. FirstService was subsequently listed on the NASDAQ exchange in 1995. That same year, Hennick left his private law practice to focus on the expansion of FirstService as the company’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. In 2020, FirstService generated approximately $2.8 billion in annual revenues and had approximately 24,000 employees across North America. For 25 years, the compound annual growth rate in share value was greater than 20%,