CBC has announced that Kelowna's own Lane Merrifield, and Vincenzo Guzzo will join the DRAGONS’ DEN lineup for season 13, premiering fall 2018. Merrifield and Guzzo bring a wealth of knowledge and skill to the show with first-hand experience establishing and growing multi-million dollar businesses. These two new Dragon investors will join Arlene Dickinson, Jim Treliving, Michele Romanow and Manjit Minhas, as financier Michael Wekerle and fashion icon Joe Mimran depart the series. Wekerle is leaving to focus on the re-opening of Toronto’s iconic live music venue, the El Mocambo, while Mimran will continue to devote his time to Gibraltar Ventures.
“I am happy to welcome two very impressive new Dragons to the team this season,” said Jennifer Dettman, executive director, Unscripted Content, CBC. “With their extensive experience launching innovative and game-changing businesses, Lane and Vincenzo will bring fresh vision and energy to the Den. We thank Michael and Joe for their commitment to the series and developing Canadian entrepreneurs over the past several years. They will always be a part of the Dragons’ Den family, and we wish them continued success with their new ventures.”
“I am thrilled to be joining the incredible lineup of Dragons in the Den this season,” said Merrifield. “I’ve been fortunate enough to experience the power and adventure of entrepreneurialism throughout my life, and I can’t wait to share that joy and experience with others. We are privileged to live in a country where entrepreneurs are given a platform like this and I’m honoured to be a part of it.”
“As a fan of Dragons' Den, I've watched the series from my couch for the past 12 seasons and been forced to hold my tongue," said Guzzo. “Today, this changes - and I am both excited and honoured to be joining the series as a Dragon investor on lucky season 13. I look forward to guiding some of Canada’s best and brightest entrepreneurs and make some amazing deals.”
Merrifield is a Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year award winner, and the creator of Club Penguin, the world’s largest children’s social network. At 28 years of age and just 18 months after launching the network, he sold it for $350 million and accepted his next challenge as one of the youngest executive vice presidents at the Walt Disney Company, where he grew Club Penguin to the billion dollar brand it is today. After departing Disney, he launched FreshGrade, a learning assessment tool that is currently being used in 80% of school districts across Canada.
The only son of Italian immigrants, Guzzo always believed he could turn his dad’s small theatre business into the mega-scaled empire it is today - he just needed to take on the big guys. In 1998, Guzzo did just that, when he took on the biggest movie theatre competition in Canada to gain equal opportunity for the little guy to show first-run releases - and won. Twenty years later, Vincenzo is the President and CEO of Cinemas Guzzo, the number one operator in Quebec and the third largest movie exhibitor in Canada.