A Nova Scotian businessman, Colin MacDonald has worked in many jobs such as licensed plumber, mining prospector, biologist, laborer, lobster packer and truck Driver. He has spent 45 years building a business, Clearwater Seafoods Inc. only to sell it on January 25th, 2021 because he was 72 years old at the time and wanted to protect the 2500 or so jobs the company represented in Atlantic Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia (primarily China and Japan).
On the same date, January 25th, 2021, his first grandchild, granddaughter Hayley Grace, arrived 10 days early to ease the separation with her beautiful smile. Love to him became real with the birth of his sons and now it has been redoubled with his two granddaughters, Bella arriving on December 21, 2023.
Since 2016 he has been transitioning to his two sons, Nicholas and Luke (father of Hayley) with the philosophy “it is his past and their future”.
He created a family office, “HanMac Capital Corp.” which operates under the auspices of a 4-person board, his two sons, his wife of 45 years, Carol Hansen and himself.
They are invested in several businesses, a CNC Rotor Company AGG CNC Corp., in which his son Luke is CEO and Chairman of the Board, as well as being majority owners in a Health Products supply business, as well as a Beauty Products Product business, also a Marine supply company as well as a venture capital company with three other family organizations with several investments.
His time now, besides being his wife’s Uber driver and delivery man, is mainly focused on charitable and community boards. His charitable interests are supporting the disadvantaged in our society, the elderly, the handicapped, children and generally those who have lives that are less than they should be in our wealthy economy. He has great respect and support for those who carry a larger burden as First Responder to our community and families’ emergencies.
His wife of 45 years (they met on a kibbutz in the Jordon Valley of Israel in 1975) has since his retirement, doubled down on her art skills, dedicated herself to creating incredible acrylic paintings and has opened an Art Gallery in a historic building they own in a small community of Chester, called the Captain’s House because of the original owner when it was built in the 1820’s.
Colin graduated from Dalhousie University in 1969 with a BSc in Biochemistry and spent 4 years as a prospector in British Columbia and then entered the business world with my partner John Risley in 1976 after spending 3 years travelling in Africa and the Middle East as a long-haired bearded hippie. Not your normal path to the business world, I am sure.