Village Gamer

High Street Partners announced today it is opening a new international office in Toronto, Canada, further indication of the company’s growing prominence in the global SaaS industry. Currently, High Street Partners operates in Hong Kong, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo, and in multiple locations in the United States. The Toronto office will help Canadian companies wishing to expand and operate in the US, and in countries outside of North America. HSP also announced today it has tapped sales industry veteran Tom Gardner to lead the HSP Canada team, responsible for driving sales in one of the world’s most business-friendly economies.

In 2012, Forbes magazine ranked Canada as #5 in its annual list of the “Best Countries for Business,” describing it as “an affluent, high-tech industrial society in the trillion dollar class” and that it “resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards.” In 2011, Canada was #1 on the list.

“Canada is one of the best countries in the world when it comes to investor protection, trade freedom, and ease of starting a new business, and these are just the types of businesses that typically follow opportunities overseas,” says John Clancy, Executive Vice President for High Street Partners. Beyond doing business in Canada, we think there is also tremendous untapped potential among Canadian companies wishing to expand and operate overseas, be it to the US, China, Brazil, Europe, India, or Mexico – demand driven by prospective market size, growth opportunities, and access to new customers. Tom’s years of experience working for Canadian multinationals, along with his impressive track record in sales, makes him an ideal choice to lead our Toronto office.”

Gardner has more than 25 years of experience transforming corporate visions and strategies into profitable, sustainable revenue for clients in a range of industries around the world. Prior to starting at HSP, he was the Vice President of Sales and Client Service at Canada’s Berkeley Payment Solutions, where he was responsible for sales growth and the implementation of customer retention and satisfaction initiatives, and previously worked as the Vice President of Relationship Management at Ceridian, where he helped to build the fully outsourced mid-market HR services business from a startup in 2003 to over $21M in revenue in 2011.

“HSP has helped hundreds of companies in other markets expand beyond their borders, and we know there is pent up demand in Canada for assistance in expanding overseas,” says Gardner. “HSP helps companies get in-market faster, with far lower risk and in complete local compliance. I look forward to spreading the word in Canada about HSP and what we have to offer. Helping companies grow outside of Canada – to the USA but also globally – is an exciting opportunity.”