2017 CPA Manitoba Member Recognition Spotlight MemberRecognitionSpotlight2017 | Page 9

Fellow CPA (FCPA)
John Cole, FCPA, FCA
John became the Chief Operating Officer at Palliser Furniture Holdings Ltd. in 2015.
Reporting to the President and Chairman of the Board, he works with company
shareholders and management to maximize value for the companies’ furniture
manufacturing, retail and real estate assets.
John began his professional career at EY. After spending eight years in public practice
where he reached the level of Senior Manager, he joined Palliser Furniture in 1997 rising to
the level of Senior Director.
Over his first eight years with Palliser, John supported the development of strategic,
operational and financial plans for various companies in the group to support their global
operations.
To broaden his experience, he then held senior finance roles
as CFO of the Arnold Group of companies as well as
Corporate Controller with IKON Office Solutions, an NYSE
listed company, through its acquisition by Ricoh.
In 2009, John assumed the role of Senior Vice-President
and CFO at Loewen Windows and Doors. Over his six-year
tenure he led Canadian and US finance, HR, customer
service and IT functions during a turbulent time for the
global economy. He also played a key role in facilitating the
sale of the company, its refinancing and ultimately the
repurchase of the company, a process which was
completed in 2013.
In addition to John’s outstanding work in the
private sector, he has consistently given back
to the co mmunity. He serves as Past President
for the board of Financial Executives
International (Winnipeg) and Treasurer for
the Duke of Edinburgh Awards (Winnipeg).
In 2015, John acted as a Co-Chair for FEI
Canada’s Sponsorship Committee for the
National Conference and attained the best
results in FEI’s history to date.
John also volunteers regularly for various
other non-profit organizations.