Toronto-based Cannex Financial Exchanges Ltd. announced on Thursday that co-founder and president, Alex Melvin, who led the company’s Canadian businesses, passed away on Dec. 24, 2015.

Lowell Aronoff, the firm’s co-founder and CEO, has assumed Melvin’s leadership responsibilities for Cannex and client relationships in Canada.

“The Cannex family is deeply saddened by Alex’s passing,” says Aronoff in a statement. “A close friend and business partner for 32 years, Alex was an exceptional man and leader. He will be deeply missed by those who knew him and who had the privilege to work with him.”

Melvin co-founded Cannex in 1984 with Aronoff and helped build the company into a provider of financial data tools and automated transaction-processing services for financial advisors, companies and the media in Canada and the U.S. By creating transparency of investment, bank and annuity product pricing, he played a key role helping clients, advisors and the media compare and understand the value of financial products.

Prior to co-founding Cannex, Melvin was superintendent of Maritime Life’s Ontario agencies. He was a member of several industry committees including the Canadian Investment Funds Standard Committee since its inception in 1998. He received his MBA from Queen’s University.