We are an empathetic team of trusted advisors who believe in supporting your financial success.

On a podcast episode with Judy Aldous on Alberta@Noon CBC Radio (Highlights), Dean Koeller, CEO and President of Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corporation discussed what it was like taking over the family business. Throughout the episode, he shares some of the key things that he and his brother, Dale Koeller, Chief Risk Officer at Calvert Home Mortgage, have learned along the way.

The family business was founded to fill the gap between what banks offer and what some borrowers need to be able to access capital to purchase a home or real estate investment. Their focus is on short-term financing solutions that meet these needs.

Being a family business has its challenges, but it’s more important to lean on each other’s strengths rather than criticize each other’s weaknesses. “Using outside advisors can be so helpful to building the right level of respect to have conversations that go in a healthy direction,” says Dean.

He highlights Family Enterprise Canada (FEC), an advisory designation where participants learn how to work with families in an effective manner. It allows families to bring forward any conflict and the expectations that exist, to ensure things are dealt with in a productive manner and not in a way that pulls the family apart.

Dean also shares how they sought out organizations such as the aforementioned FEC and also the Alberta Business Family Institute (ABFI), which he now serves as a board member, to be able to find advisors that really understood the dynamics of family businesses to help them find direction. “Once we found that direction, the ability of our business to be able to connect with our clients and do the great work that we do has allowed us to have so much success as a family and as a business.”

Learning how to work together has cultivated a strong culture, and in turn, has resulted in Calvert Home Mortgage being awarded one of Canada’s most admired corporate cultures. This is an award we are very proud of.

If you’d like to hear more, tune into the full episode here.