A Toronto-based business executive and investor, Donato Sferra is the co-founder, chief corporate development officer and executive vice president of Above Food.

Donato has more than 20 years of experience in finance, with specialties in mining, gaming, cannabis and the consumer-packaged goods industry.

Donato Sferra has taken dozens of companies public as a banker and venture investor. In 2017, he co-founded Hillcrest Merchant Partners, an angel investment firm focused on a number of industries, including cannabis, blockchain, mining and tech.

Within the financial sector, Donato worked for firms including TD Securities, Macquarie Group and Dundee Capital Markets. At Dundee, Donato started as director of institutional sales, then grew into a role as managing director of investment banking where he had his first exposure to the cannabis sector.

He worked as the director of institutional sales at Toronto investment bank Macquarie Group from 2009 to 2011, gaining important knowledge about Canadian equities and North American institutions.

In his investment career, Donato handled equity research analyst at TD Securities, specializing in auto parts, solar and automation.

He worked as a chartered accountant at global accounting firm Arthur Andersen, serving as a senior auditor from 1998 to 2002. A chartered accountant and chartered financial analyst, Donato studied accounting at the Schulich School of Business at Toronto’s York University.