How Reece Tomlinson Is
Redefining M&A in Alberta
Long before Calgary became part of Reece Tomlinson’s national expansion strategy for RWT Capital, Alberta shaped the way she thought about business.
Early in her career, she worked alongside companies tied to Alberta’s energy sector and saw firsthand how founders built businesses through commodity cycles, economic uncertainty and relentless hard work. She also learned that behind every successful business was a deeply personal story. That experience has stayed with her and continues to shape how she approaches dealmaking today.
As thousands of Alberta business owners approach retirement and begin considering what comes next, succession planning is becoming one of the defining issues facing the province’s business community. Tomlinson has built one of Canada’s fastest-growing boutique M&A firms by focusing on a segment of the market that is often underserved: founder-led and mid-market businesses that represent far more than a financial asset.
While larger institutions tend to concentrate on major transactions, RWT works primarily with entrepreneurs and business owners who have spent decades building companies, creating jobs and contributing to their communities.
“These businesses are often someone’s life’s work,” says Tomlinson. “Our job is to help owners achieve their financial objectives, but also their personal ones. In many cases, legacy matters just as much as valuation.”
That philosophy is one reason Calgary became a natural fit for the firm’s continued growth.
For Tomlinson, Calgary wasn’t simply another office location. It was an opportunity to deepen RWT’s presence in one of Canada’s most entrepreneurial markets and strengthen the firm’s expertise in sectors that remain critical to the country’s economic future, including energy, industrials and manufacturing.
“Calgary was a very deliberate choice for us,” she says. “It’s become one of the most dynamic business hubs in Western Canada, with a concentration of businesses operating in industries that drive Canada’s economy.”
Today, RWT continues to invest in its Calgary team as it expands across the Prairies and beyond. What makes Alberta particularly compelling is the nature of the businesses themselves. Many are founder-led, family-owned and deeply connected to the communities they serve. As ownership transitions accelerate, Tomlinson believes successful deals require more than financial engineering.
“Many owners want to know their employees will be looked after, that their customers will be supported and that what they’ve spent decades building will continue to thrive,” she says.
That philosophy was recently reflected in RWT Capital’s advisory role on the sale of H2Oil Energy to GFL Environmental, one of several notable transactions completed amid growing M&A activity across Canada’s energy sector. For Tomlinson, the transaction reinforced a trend she sees across Alberta’s mid-market: founders increasingly looking beyond price alone and focusing on finding partners who can support the next chapter of the business.
“The best transactions create value for everyone involved,” she says. “Price matters, but so do people, culture and the long-term future of the company. When both sides feel they’ve achieved their objectives, that’s usually a sign you’ve found the right partner.”
It’s a perspective that also influences the way she leads.
Tomlinson has built a reputation for taking a relationship-driven approach to both sides of the transaction, believing empathy and financial discipline aren’t competing forces but complementary ones. Understanding motivations, navigating uncertainty and building trust are often what determine whether a deal succeeds or fails.
That approach has helped distinguish both Tomlinson and RWT in a competitive marketplace while challenging some long-held assumptions about leadership in finance.
As one of the few women leading a national M&A advisory firm in Canada, she’s often found herself in rooms where she was the only woman at the deal table. Rather than seeing that as a disadvantage, she’s learned to view it as a source of strength.
“Once you start betting on yourself and your ability to succeed, your differences become an advantage,” she says. “The people who might underestimate you become a lot less intimidating.”
When she’s not advising clients, Tomlinson can often be found running along the Bow River before sunrise or heading west toward Canmore and Banff to recharge. It’s a routine that keeps her grounded amid the demands of growing a national firm.
As Alberta enters a new era of business ownership transition, Tomlinson believes the most successful advisors will be those who remember what many founders already know. A business may have a valuation on paper, but for the people who built it, its value is about more than the numbers.