Who We Are
Northbase is a specialty finance company that leverages capital from financing partners to provide clients with unique, flexible capital solutions for essential operating assets.
Northbase consists of highly-skilled and experienced experts in the finance, energy, midstream, industrial and equipment manufacturing sectors. We understand the challenging capital framework companies in these industries work within, and we’re aware that these constrained capital environments limit the ability for companies to pursue high returning investment opportunities. With Northbase, capital is available for essential operating assets.
John Forgeron
Executive Chairman
Mr. Forgeron has served as Chairman of Northbase Finance since its founding in 2020 and assumes the role of Executive Chairman after six years of guiding the company’s strategic direction.
Mr. Forgeron is a co-owner and Chief Executive Officer of Compass Energy Systems, a global leader in compression, gas processing, and power systems. He joined Compass in 2005 and founded several privately funded oilfield rental companies, which united under the Compass Compression banner three years later. Over the following decade, the company evolved beyond gas compression to become Compass Energy Systems, and in 2020 further strengthened its North American position by acquiring Exterran Corporation’s U.S. compression assets — bringing with it significant talent, facilities, and compression history. It was this same entrepreneurial vision that led Mr. Forgeron and his partners to establish Northbase Finance in 2020, recognizing the need for flexible capital solutions for clients operating essential infrastructure assets.
Mr. Forgeron is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta and holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. He began his career in gas compression in 1991 and is a recognized industry expert, having held earlier positions at Enerflex Systems and Toromont Industries. In 2011, Mr. Forgeron and his partners were recognized with Canada’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Eva Kiefer
President and Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Kiefer is responsible for the financial management and strategy of Northbase, and leads financial, treasury, accounting, and risk management aspects of the business. She is a financially responsible strategic executive with a sound understanding of financial, business and operational objectives. She has over 15 years of experience in financial services and energy industries and has helped scale multiple businesses from infancy to $500M+ valuation. Most recently, Ms Kiefer co-founded Akira Impact, an essential assets investment firm and was instrumental in the creation of a renewable natural gas developer and operator with a ~$3B project pipeline. Prior to this, she served as CFO of an oil & gas production company, leading growth from start-up to a go-public transaction at a ~$1Bl valuation. Prior to this, she served as CFO of a ~$1Bln energy investment firm.
Ms Kiefer is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (with Distinction) from the University of Calgary, and has completed the PDO accreditation. Eva serves on the Board of Governors for the University of Calgary, including Vice Chair of Investment Committee.
Nick Heffernan
Executive Vice President, Corporate Development
Mr. Heffernan has been with the company for over 5 years, and is responsible for origination, business development, underwriting, and credit risk management, with a focus on growing Northbase’s asset-backed equipment lease financing portfolio across the energy, compression, and infrastructure sectors in Canada and the United States.
Mr. Heffernan has 20 years of infrastructure-focused M&A, market research, capital markets, and equipment lease financing experience. Prior to Northbase, he led the Corporate Development group at Steel Reef Infrastructure Corp., a private, Canadian-based midstream growth company, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions and fundamental and market research. During his tenure, the Corporate Development group was instrumental in achieving the company’s growth objectives, expanding its asset base, and increasing earnings by successfully closing multiple strategic transactions and ultimately deploying more than $700 million in capital. Mr. Heffernan’s experience also includes corporate strategy and fundamental analysis at a public US-based midstream company and seven years of sell-side equity research at an energy-focused independent investment bank and a leading Canadian global bank.
Mr. Heffernan holds a Bachelor’s Degree, Commerce (Finance, with Distinction) from the University of Alberta.