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Company History

Creating value one step at a time since 1989

We are a company with a rich entrepreneurial history. Our story began when our Founder and Chairman, Jay Hennick, launched a commercial swimming pool and recreational facility management business as a teenager in 1972. His early success led him to acquire other property services companies, which formed the basis for FirstService Corporation.

FirstService became a publicly traded company in 1993 via an initial public offering on The Toronto Stock Exchange in 1993 and subsequently listed on the NASDAQ Exchange in 1995. On June 1, 2015, the businesses currently owned by FirstService today were separated from Colliers International via a spin-off transaction and FirstService became a new, independent company publicly traded on the TSX and NASDAQ.

Over the past 32 years we have developed and refined our unique approach to grow our operations through both internal growth and acquisitions.

Key milestones in the development and growth of FirstService include:

1989

Jay Hennick established FirstService with a Toronto-based swimming pool management company

FirstService acquired College Pro Painters franchise system and established FirstService Brands

1995

Scott Patterson joined FirstService as Vice President, Corporate Development and soon thereafter became Chief Financial Officer

1996

FirstService established FirstService Residential platform by acquiring two Florida-based property management firms, with follow-on acquisitions in the New York City and Northeast U.S. regions shortly thereafter

1997

FirstService Brands acquired Paul Davis Restoration franchise system

FirstService Financial was established as part of the FirstService Residential platform

1998

FirstService Brands acquired California Closets franchise system

2005

FirstService Brands exceeded 1,000 franchises

2007

FirstService Brands exceeded $1 billion in system-wide sales

2008

FirstService adopted Net Promoter System (NPS) across all of its businesses

2009

FS Energy was launched to add to FirstService Residential's comprehensive services

2010

FirstService Residential expanded into Canada

Charles E. Chase was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer of FirstService Brands

2013

Charles M. Fallon was named Chief Executive Officer of FirstService Residential

FirstService Residential rebrands 18 property management companies under the FirstService Residential name

2014

California Closets formalized its strategy to establish a platform of company-owned operations

2015

California Closets opened its Western Manufacturing Center in Phoenix, Arizona

Paul Davis Restoration launched its company-owned strategy and acquired its first

2016

FirstService acquired Century Fire Protection

2017

California Closets opened its Eastern Manufacturing Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan

FirstService Brands exceeded $2 billion in system-wide sales

2019

FirstService acquired Global Restoration Holdings

FirstService eliminated dual class voting structure as part of settlement of long-term incentive arrangement with its Founder and Chairman

2021

Global Restoration re-branded to FIRST ONSITE