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Stephen K. Gunn

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Stephen K. Gunn
NationalityCanadian
EducationQueen's University (BSc, Electrical Engineering)
University of Western Ontario (MBA, 1981)
OccupationBusinessman, corporate director
CompanyDollarama
TitleChairman of the Board, Dollarama

Stephen K. Gunn is a Canadian businessman and corporate director. He co-founded the mattress retailer Sleep Country Canada in 1994 with Christine Magee and Gordon Lownds, and was its chair and chief executive officer from 1997 to 2014.[1] Since June 2018 he has been the independent Chairman of the Board of Dollarama, the Montreal-based value retailer. Before that he had been the company's lead director from the time it went public in October 2009.[2][3]

Gunn trained as an electrical engineer at Queen's University and took an MBA at the University of Western Ontario in 1981. He spent six years as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, then co-founded Kenrick Capital, a small merchant banking firm, with Lownds. Through Kenrick, the partners bought the Canadian division of Simmons Mattress in 1990. Lownds later said this purchase gave them the industry knowledge behind the Sleep Country business plan.[4][5]

Under Gunn's leadership, Sleep Country grew from a handful of stores in Vancouver to a national chain. It listed as an income trust, expanded into Quebec and Arizona, and was sold to private equity in 2008. It returned to the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015.[6][7] After stepping down as chief executive in November 2014, he was co-chair of the board until he retired from the company on May 7, 2019.[1][3]

Gunn has also sat on the boards of Canada Goose, Cara Operations (later Recipe Unlimited), Golf Town, Mastermind Toys and the Connors Bros. Income Fund. He retired from the Canada Goose board in 2025.[2][8] Shareholders re-elected him to the Dollarama board on June 11, 2026, and as of November 2026 he remains its chairman.[9][10]

Early life and education

Gunn grew up in Montreal and Kingston, Ontario.[11] Dollarama's proxy circular dated April 14, 2026 gave his age as 71. Its 2018 circular gave his age as 63.[2][3]

He studied electrical engineering at Queen's University in Kingston. Company filings describe the degree variously as a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering, and the American Marketing Association's Toronto chapter dates it to 1977.[2][4][12] He then earned a Master of Business Administration at the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business, graduating in 1981.[12][11]

Career

McKinsey & Company, 1981 to 1987

After business school Gunn joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant. He worked there from 1981 to 1987.[4] AMA Toronto's profile says that at McKinsey he worked with client organisations on sales and marketing issues.[12]

Kenrick Capital

After leaving McKinsey, Gunn co-founded Kenrick Capital and became its president. Company filings describe the firm as a private equity firm, and AMA Toronto calls it "a merchant bank involved in acquisitions".[4][12] His partner was Gordon Lownds, a former consultant. In a 2025 interview, Lownds said he formed Kenrick "in partnership with Steve Gunn, an ex-McKinsey consultant" in 1988; the Canada Goose filings give 1987 as the end of Gunn's time at McKinsey. Kenrick aimed to find leveraged buyout opportunities and then bring in outside investors to fund them.[5]

According to Lownds, the firm's first deal was a $100 million transaction financed by Wesray Capital of New York and CIBC Wood Gundy Capital in Toronto. In 1990 the partners bought Simmons Mattress Co., the Canadian division of the American mattress maker. Lownds said that sitting on the Simmons board left the two men frustrated with how mattresses were sold in Canada. Department stores made more than half of mattress sales, but that channel was not growing, while most other sellers were small independent dealers. From this experience, Lownds said, he and Gunn wrote a business plan for a national specialty mattress chain.[5]

To test the idea, they presented the plan to ten specialty mattress retailers in the United States. The last was Sleep Country USA, a 15-store regional chain in the Pacific Northwest, which Lownds said was already using a very similar strategy. Gunn and Lownds then sold their stake in Simmons to their co-investors, who helped finance the new company. They gave Sleep Country USA a small carried interest in the venture in exchange for ongoing advice.[5]

Sleep Country Canada, 1994 to 2019

Founding and growth

Sleep Country Canada was founded in October 1994 by Gunn, Christine Magee and Lownds. It opened in British Columbia with four stores and one warehouse.[12][7] In his 2025 account, Lownds said the company opened five stores in Vancouver in the autumn of 1994 with $1 million of capital. He said it soon became cash-flow positive and never took a bank loan while it expanded across the country.[5] Gunn was chair and chief executive officer from 1997 to 2014. Magee, as president, was the public face of the company's advertising.[1][6]

The founders set out "to earn the customers' trust and exceed their expectations when they purchased a new sleep set", according to AMA Toronto's profile. By about 2005 the chain had 89 stores and eight distribution centres, more than 600 staff, and operations in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.[12] In May 2005 a Crescent School notice described Gunn as chairman and CEO of a public company with more than 100 stores. It said he would talk about funding, advertising, brand building, and "transitioning into a publicly traded income trust".[11] The trust traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol Z.UN.[6]

By August 2008 Sleep Country had 133 stores under its own name. It also had 27 stores in Quebec under the Dormez-vous Sleep Centres banner and 46 stores in Arizona under the Sleep America banner, making it Canada's largest chain of mattress stores.[6]

2008 private equity buyout

On August 14, 2008, the Toronto investment firms Birch Hill Equity Partners Management and Westerkirk Capital made a friendly offer for the Sleep Country Canada Income Fund. They offered $22 per unit, 37 percent above the previous day's closing price, valuing the deal at $356 million. The trust's board supported the bid. The Canadian Press reported that Magee and Gunn had both signed agreements to stay with the company. In a joint statement, the two said they were excited to lead Sleep Country "into the next phase of the company's growth and development supported by a great set of financial partners".[6]

Analysts quoted by The Canadian Press pointed to several reasons for the sale. The trust's unit price was weak. Sleep America was struggling in Arizona, a market badly hit by the subprime mortgage crisis. A weaker exchange rate was reducing the value of US earnings, and income trusts faced a 2011 deadline to convert to corporations.[6] Birch Hill and Westerkirk completed the buyout and took the company private in 2008.[7] In April 2010 Dollarama's annual report still described Gunn as chair of the board and chief executive of Sleep Country Canada Inc.[13] He held both posts until November 2014.[3][14]

2015 return to the stock market and co-chair role

Gunn stepped down as chief executive in November 2014 and became co-chair of the board in 2015.[3][1] On July 16, 2015, Sleep Country Canada Holdings returned to the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker ZZZ. Birch Hill and Westerkirk sold 17,650,000 shares at $17 each, raising at least $300 million. CBC News then described Sleep Country as Canada's largest mattress seller, with 215 locations.[7] Dollarama's 2018 circular said Gunn had been on the board of Sleep Country Canada Holdings since its inception.[3]

Retirement

On April 2, 2019, Sleep Country announced that Gunn would retire as co-chair at its annual general meeting on May 7, 2019, ending 25 years with the company. Magee became sole chair. By then the company had 265 stores and 16 distribution centres across Canada, under the Sleep Country Canada, Dormez-vous and Endy banners.[1] In the announcement, Gunn said:


Magee said that the company "would not be where it is today were it not for his guidance, talented abilities, and dedication".[1] Lownds said that the company Gunn co-founded was sold to Fairfax Financial Holdings for $1.7 billion about 30 years after it opened.[5]

Dollarama, 2009 to present

Lead director, 2009 to 2018

Gunn joined the board of Dollarama in 2009. On October 16, 2009, as the company went public, he was named lead director and chair of the audit committee.[13][3] On January 5, 2010, John J. Swidler replaced him as audit committee chair, but Gunn stayed on the committee. He also joined the compensation committee on February 17, 2010.[13] Founder Larry Rossy was then both chair and chief executive. As lead director, Gunn's job was to make sure the board could act independently of management and to lead the independent directors in protecting the interests of all shareholders.[13][3]

By April 2014 Gunn was lead director, chair of the nominating and governance committee, and a member of the audit committee and the human resources and compensation committee. He attended all 19 board and committee meetings that year. Shareholders at the 2013 annual meeting re-elected him with 97.56 percent of votes cast.[14] At the 2017 meeting he received 96.96 percent.[3]

Chairman, 2018 to present

On March 29, 2018, Dollarama announced that Gunn would succeed Larry Rossy as Chairman of the Board after the annual meeting on June 7, 2018. Rossy was to become Chairman Emeritus and leave the board.[15] The company's 2018 circular said that succession planning had been a board priority for several years. It said Gunn's appointment completed the transition of the roles held by the founder and that, from June 7, 2018, the chair would be an independent director.[3] On his appointment, Gunn said:


He described Larry Rossy as "an inspirational Canadian entrepreneur who has transformed Canada's retail landscape".[15]

As of the company's 2026 circular, Gunn was independent chairman, chair of the nominating and governance committee, and a member of the human resources and compensation committee. He attended all 13 board and committee meetings in fiscal 2026. Under a written position description, the chairman is responsible for board and shareholder meetings, director development, and communication with shareholders and regulators.[2] He and chief executive Neil Rossy are the two proxyholders named in the company's form of proxy.[2]

Canada Goose, 2017 to 2025

Gunn joined the board of Canada Goose Holdings in February 2017. He sat on its audit committee.[4] In the company's 2025 management information circular, he was listed on the audit committee and the nominating and governance committee, with full attendance at seven board meetings and four meetings of each committee in fiscal 2025. His director compensation for that year was $275,463.[16] Shareholders re-elected him on August 8, 2025, with 99.98 percent of votes cast.[17] On November 6, 2025, Canada Goose announced that Gunn had retired and resigned from the board. Belinda Wong had joined the audit committee effective October 1, 2025, and the board shrank from ten to nine members.[8]

Leadership and management style

Sources describe Gunn's approach mostly through the strategy he and his partners used at Sleep Country, along with his own retirement statement. In that statement he said the founders "set out to establish a Company that would succeed by delighting our customers with outstanding customer service".[1] AMA Toronto's profile credits the company's success to listening to customers, offering a wide choice of products, and making the experience before, during and after a sale an enjoyable one.[12]

Lownds said that he and Gunn built their strategy around what the customer "would value" rather than what the customer "needed". The parts he described were a large assortment of about 50 mattresses where competitors sold eight to ten, a price-match guarantee, free next-day delivery with set-up and removal of the old mattress, a comfort guarantee, low-pressure selling, and heavy broadcast advertising.[5] Before launching, the partners tested the plan by presenting it to ten established US mattress chains. They then gave one of them, Sleep Country USA, a small carried interest in exchange for ongoing advice.[5]

Both companies' announcements stressed governance in describing Gunn's contribution. Dollarama's 2018 announcement cited "extensive retail industry, strategic planning, business development and corporate governance experience".[15] Sleep Country's 2019 release used almost the same words, and Magee called him "a strong leader, a charismatic mentor" and "a fantastic business partner".[1] Canada Goose's board listed his top skills as finance, strategy, marketing, human resources, retail, and financial services, banking and markets.[16]

Major deals and strategic decisions

  • Simmons Canada buyout (1990). Through Kenrick Capital, Gunn and Lownds bought the Canadian division of Simmons Mattress. They later sold their stake to co-investors, who helped finance Sleep Country.[5]
  • Founding of Sleep Country Canada (1994). The chain opened in British Columbia in October 1994 with four stores and one warehouse.[12][7]
  • Expansion into Quebec and Arizona. By 2008 Sleep Country owned the 27-store Dormez-vous chain in Quebec and the 46-store Sleep America chain in Arizona.[6]
  • Sale to Birch Hill and Westerkirk (2008). The trust's board backed a $356 million offer at $22 per unit. Gunn and Magee agreed to stay on as managers.[6]
  • Second initial public offering (2015). Sleep Country Canada Holdings sold 17,650,000 shares at $17 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, raising at least $300 million. Gunn was co-chair.[7][1]
  • Dollarcity (2019 and 2024). On August 14, 2019, while Gunn was chairman, Dollarama bought a 50.1 percent stake in the Latin American value retailer Dollarcity, paying US$40.0 million upfront, with the rest of the price set by a formula. The company called it the creation of a second growth platform.[18] On June 11, 2024, it raised its stake to 60.1 percent and agreed to terms for expansion into Mexico.[19]
  • The Reject Shop (2025). Dollarama agreed on March 26, 2025 to buy the Australian discount chain The Reject Shop for A$233.6 million, and completed the deal on July 21, 2025.[19]

Financial and market performance

In its fiscal year ended February 3, 2019, Gunn's first full year as chairman, Dollarama operated 1,225 stores in Canada and reported sales of $3.549 billion.[20] In fiscal 2026, ended February 1, 2026, it reported consolidated sales of $7.3 billion and net earnings of $1.3 billion. It had 1,691 stores in Canada and 402 in Australia, and Dollarcity ran 732 stores in Latin America.[19] In June 2026 the company said it had more than 43,000 employees in seven countries.[9]

At Sleep Country, store numbers rose from the first handful in 1994 to 206 across three banners by August 2008, 215 at the 2015 offering, and 265 in April 2019.[6][7][1]

Shareholding and compensation

At the end of Dollarama's fiscal 2026, Gunn held 71,095 common shares, valued at $13,045,932 in the company's circular, and vested deferred share units worth $2,916,916. The circular put the total at $15,962,848, or 92.5 times the annual retainer, against a target of three times.[2] His director compensation was $377,500 in fiscal 2026 and $351,500 in fiscal 2025. Of the fiscal 2026 total, $247,500 was a cash retainer and $130,000 was paid in deferred share units. Most non-executive directors took their whole cash retainer in deferred share units, but Gunn chose cash.[2] In the year ended January 28, 2018, before he became chairman, he received $158,000.[3]

Shareholder votes

Support for Gunn at Dollarama's annual meetings fell from 96.96 percent in 2017 to 88.75 percent at the 2025 meeting.[3][2] The 2026 circular noted "relatively lower support for certain longer-tenured directors". It added that Gunn, as chairman and chair of the nominating and governance committee, had received more support in 2025 than in the year before.[2] At the June 11, 2026 meeting he was re-elected with 91.55 percent of votes cast, the lowest share among the nine nominees.[9]

Board memberships and outside roles

Organisation Role Period
Dollarama Lead director; Chairman of the Board from June 2018 2009 to present[2]
Sleep Country Canada / Sleep Country Canada Holdings Chair; later co-chair 1997 to 2019[1]
Canada Goose Holdings Director, audit committee member February 2017 to 2025[4][8]
Cara Operations (later Recipe Unlimited) Director; chair of audit committee by 2017 2013 to 2022[3][2]
Golf Town Trustee of Golf Town Income Fund, later director of Golf Town Canada 2005 to 2007; later term dates differ by source[13][4]
Mastermind Toys Director 2012 to January 2023[2]
Connors Bros. Income Fund Trustee 2004 to 2007[13]
Crescent School, Toronto Board of Governors 2005[11]

Gunn was a director of Cara Operations from 2013, two years before it went public in April 2015, and had become chair of its audit committee by 2018.[3] Dollarama's 2026 circular lists his public directorship of Recipe Unlimited, as Cara was renamed, as running from 2015 to 2022.[2]

Dollarama's filings name two insolvencies at companies whose boards Gunn sat on. Golf Town Canada and some of its Canadian affiliates obtained protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act through an Ontario Superior Court of Justice order dated September 14, 2016.[3] The sources do not agree on his Golf Town dates. Canada Goose's 2017 annual report said he was a director of Golf Town Canada from 2008 to 2016, while Dollarama's 2026 circular says 2016 to 2018. Dollarama's 2010 annual report gave an earlier term from 2005 to 2007.[4][2][13] Mastermind Toys filed for protection under the same act in November 2023, ten months after Gunn left its board.[2] According to the 2026 circular, Gunn has not been subject to any securities-related penalties or sanctions.[2]

Personal life

In 2005 a Crescent School notice described Gunn as married with a daughter and three sons, some of whom attended the Toronto boys' school. It listed his interests as golf, sailing and skiing.[11] Dollarama's filings list him as a resident of Ontario.[2]

Recognition

  • 1998: Ontario Entrepreneur of the Year, Retail/Wholesale, Financial Post, awarded to Sleep Country Canada and listed among its honours by AMA Toronto.[12]
  • 2003: Hall of fame induction. A 2005 Crescent School notice called it the Canadian Sales Hall of Fame.[11]
  • 2004 or 2005: Canada's Marketing Hall of Legends. The Crescent School notice gives 2004, and AMA Toronto lists the Sleep Country founders' entry on a page headed "2005 Inductee".[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 "Sleep Country Canada Announces Retirement of Co-Chair Stephen K. Gunn from Board of Directors". Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. via CNW. April 2, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 "2026 Management Proxy Circular". Dollarama Inc.. April 14, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 "2018 Management Proxy Circular". Dollarama Inc.. 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 "Canada Goose Holdings Inc. Annual Report (Form 20-F) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. June 6, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 "Never Pause to Admire a Problem: Interview with Gordon Lownds, Co-Founder of Sleep Country Canada". Adam Mendler. August 15, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 "Sleep Country Canada gets $356-million friendly takeover offer". August 14, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 "Sleep Country Canada rejoins TSX on Thursday after $300M IPO". July 16, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Canada Goose Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results (Exhibit 99.5 to Form 6-K)". Canada Goose Holdings Inc. via U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. November 6, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Dollarama Announces Election of Directors". Dollarama Inc.. June 11, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Corporate Governance and Responsibility". Dollarama Inc.. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 "Alumni Newsletter, May 2005". Crescent School. May 2005. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 "Christine Magee: 2005 Inductee, Sleep Country Canada". AMA Toronto, Canada's Marketing Hall of Legends. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 "Dollarama Group Holdings L.P. Annual Report (Form 20-F) for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2010". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. April 29, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "2014 Management Proxy Circular". Dollarama Inc.. 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Dollarama Announces Changes to its Board of Directors". Dollarama Inc. via PR Newswire. March 29, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Canada Goose Holdings Inc. Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Management Information Circular (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 6-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. June 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Canada Goose Announces Election of Directors (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 6-K)". Canada Goose Holdings Inc. via U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. August 8, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  18. ↑ "2020 Annual Information Form". Dollarama Inc.. 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "2026 Annual Information Form". Dollarama Inc.. 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  20. ↑ "2019 Annual Information Form". Dollarama Inc.. 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
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