After graduating in 1986 with a double major in accounting and marketing, Mark spent a couple of informative years as an accountant in a mid-sized audit and business services practice.
In 1989 Mark moved to investment banking where over time he became an Executive Director and shareholder of a number of Australian based stockbroking and corporate finance businesses. Through these roles Mark gained extensive experience in M&A and capital and debt market transactions including public company IPO’s.
In 2000 Mark led the MBO of Symex Ltd from ICI PLC as advisor and investor and oversaw the transformation of the business to a successful ASX listing in 2002. Mark was a Non-Executive Director of Symex (now Pental Ltd) from 1999 to 2010. Pental is Australia’s largest soap manufacturer and also owns a range of consumer goods including the White King brand.
In 2003 Mark founded and was Managing Director of Kids Campus where he oversaw the growth of the company from 4 to 120 childcare centres in 3 states. After completing a backdoor listing on the ASX in 2004 Kids Campus was acquired by ABC Learning for an enterprise value of over $200m in 2006.
In 2006 Mark and Chris Chambers started Normanby Capital with the intention to provide growth capital and strategic advice to fast growing companies. Mark continues today as Chairman of Normanby which employs 6 staff supporting Mark and Chris’s entrepreneurial endeavours focussed on childcare and healthcare.
In 2007 Normanby founded Dental Corporation and Mark was the major investor while holding the position of Executive Chairman focussed on strategy development, growth and financing and having overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations.
Mark was the driving force behind Dental Corporation from a start-up concept to one of the largest dental service providers in the world in less than 10 years. Today the Dental Corporation businesses have over 600 dental practices in Australia, New Zealand and Canada employing over 5000 people with annual revenue of over $1.5 billion.
In 2010 Dental Corporation won the ANZ/ BRW award for Australia’s Fastest Growing Company with turnover greater than $100m and was runner up in 2011. In 2011 Mark was a national finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2015 Dental Corporation Canada won the Deloitte “Best Managed Company” award.
In 2013 Mark oversaw the takeover of Dental Corporation by Bupa for an enterprise value exceeding $600m and continued with the business as Managing Director. In May 2016 Mark resigned from a full time roll at DC staying with the business in a part-time executive capacity until the end of 2016 to oversee the management transition.
In 2014 Mark oversaw the sale of Dental Corporation Canada to a Toronto based private equity firm for an enterprise value exceeding $300m. Dental Corporation Canada is now the largest dental service provider in Canada and was acquired in April 2018 by a major US based PE firm for an enterprise value exceeding $1.6 billion. Mark resigned from the Dental Corporation Canada board following the completion of that transaction.
Mark was a founding shareholder of Dacland Pty Ltd in 1999. Dacland is a Melbourne based residential land developer. Mark resigned from the board of Dacland in June 2018 when the business was sold to a larger industry participant.
In 2015 Mark joined the board of the Western Bulldogs Football Club (Australian Football League) as a non-Executive Director and is currently Chairman of the Finance, Audit and Risk committee and a member of the Football Management Committee.
In 2016 Mark re-entered the childcare market, developing and operating several centres culminating in the establishment of Edge Early Learning in 2017. Mark continues as the major shareholder and Executive Chairman of Edge which currently operates 16 centres and is developing another 10 centres in South-East Queensland. Edge aims to have 40 – 50 centres in the SE Queensland market in the next 3 – 4 years.
In 2019 Normanby founded Tattoo Removal Partners (TRP) which invested in 3 of the largest tattoo removal business in the USA and 1 in Canada. In late 2019 TRP merged all 4 businesses to form The Removery. Mark is Chairman of Removery which has set up its headquarters in Austin, Texas. Removery is the largest tattoo removal clinic operator in North America with over 40 clinics and has plans to build its network to 200+ over the next 3 – 5 years and is expanding to Australia in 2021.
In 2020 Normanby founded Salon Suites. Salon Suites plans to establish an Australian network of flexible working spaces for the health and beauty industry.
In 2020 Normanby was a founding partner in HEAL Partners. HEAL is an early/mid-stage growth acceleration investment vehicle focused on revenue generating growth businesses in the health, education and lifestyle sectors with the potential for global scale or industry disruption. Led by a team of proven founders, investors, portfolio managers and operators, we are focused on capitalising on opportunities created by new specialties in developed markets.
Mark has been married to Fiona for over 25 year and they have 2 children. Mark has a wide variety of interests including snow skiing, water skiing, golf and travel.
Mark can be contacted on +61 418 372 849 or mark@normanbycapital.com.au