Stephan Crétier is the founder, president and CEO of GardaWorld, a Montreal-based private security and cash services firm. He founded the business in 1995 with $25,000, which he raised by putting a second mortgage on his house. He took the firm public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2003 and then took it private alongside private equity firm Apax Partners in 2012 at a $1.1 billion valuation. In 2019, he recapitalized the firm with private equity firm BC Partners at a $3.9 billion valuation. Six years later, he took back a majority stake in a deal that valued the firm at $9.8 billion. Besides its core security and cash services businesses, GardaWorld also owns intelligence platform Crisis24, cash management firm Sesami, and remote surveillance outfit ECAM.