John Higgins

Chief Executive Officer, Owner/Founder

John C. Higgins, C.Dir. is a senior executive with more than 40 years’ experience in leadership roles with Cervus Equipment Corporation, Signature Tractor Inc. and J.D. Irving, Limited. He has a wealth of expertise with particular strengths in areas that include Strategy Development and Execution, Cultural Integration, Leadership Development, Operational Excellence and Mergers and Acquisitions, in both public and private company settings.

With an abundance of acquisition and acquisition integration experience, John has a strong understanding of and a proven track record for advancing growth and value creation.

John joined Cervus Equipment in 2007 as Vice President Operations, leading the company’s successful expansion into the Heavy Truck, Materials Handling and Construction Equipment markets. Cervus Equipment owns and operates sixty-eight John Deere, Bobcat, JCB, Clark, Doosan, Sellick and Peterbilt equipment dealerships in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, New Zealand and Australia. Before joining Cervus, John was a General Manager with Signature Tractor Inc., running seven John Deere Agricultural and Consumer product dealerships throughout Québec and New Brunswick. Prior to that role, he spent more than 25 years as a core member of the J.D. Irving, Limited team, holding senior leadership positions in finance, operations, sales management and general management for the company’s transportation, heavy equipment, forest products, retail and heavy trucking divisions.

Since 2017 John has been the CEO of The SCP Group, helping private companies, private equity and family offices identify growth and consolidation opportunities and guiding in the execution of their strategies.

In 2013, he completed the Executive Education Program at the Harvard Business School. In 2012, he obtained the Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation from McMaster University. In 2008 and 2009 respectively, he completed the Executive Development program at the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School, and the Executive Education program at Queen’s School of Business.

John currently provides mentorship to several Senior Executives and is a regular guest lecturer on Strategy, Culture and Leadership at the University of New Brunswick’s MBA program. John currently sits on the Board of First Truck Centers and Chairs the Governance and Compensations Committees. He is a member of The Institute of Corporate Directors and a published Business Case Author with Harvard and Ivey Business Schools. In 2010, he was awarded the Presidential Citation from the University of New Brunswick.