Famed Canadian investment banker Gene McBurney says joining Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. is a “very good fit” after building his reputation at a rival Bay Street firm.

“Like Tom Brady, I decided to move on,” McBurney told BNN Bloomberg’s Jon Erlichman Friday, two days after Canaccord announced it was hiring him to co-lead its investment-banking operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, and in reference to the star NFL quarterback who recently decamped for Tampa Bay after winning six Super Bowls for New England.

McBurney, who’s based in the Bahamas, recently retired from the board of GMP Capital Inc., where his roots ran deep as one of the firm’s co-founders.

Stifel Financial Corp. bought GMP’s advisory and trading business late last year, leaving the firm to focus on wealth management.  

“When GMP entered into their arrangement with Stifel, Stifel did not want anything to do with the Caribbean. So I stayed on at the GMP Capital board level through the transition,” he said.  

McBurney said jumping to Canaccord is the right opportunity at the right time.

“I love their culture. I love their spirit of entrepreneurship. I think they’ve done a wonderful job of integrating their wealth management with the investment banking side,” he said. “So it was a very good fit.”

As McBurney steps into his new role, he commented on where a few sectors could be headed in wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

For example, McBurney believes the pot sector is going to come back “in a very strong way” but noted there will likely be “a lot of roadkill” as only the strongest companies are likely to survive.

He also said he isn’t very bullish on Canada’s energy sector, but that Calgary should not be written off.

“It’s a very, very entrepreneurial business scene there –  and I think that will come back,” he said.