techNL Welcomes New Board Chair Dan Brake

Jun 10, 2021 | News

Diversity and Inclusion Fundamental Elements for New techNL Board 

June 10, 2021 – St. John’s, NL:  techNL has added more depth of global and local experience with the addition of four new board members voted in during the recent Annual General Meeting. Dan Brake, Executive Vice President, Technology and Cohort Operations at Sequence Bio, moved into the role of Chair, replacing Craig Rowe, CEO of ClearRisk who has occupied the seat for the past two years.

“With so much momentum and potential in the technology and innovation sector, now is the time to focus on talent,” says Brake.  “We’re going to continue to expand the key components of our talent initiative, including engaging with youth across the province and encouraging the recruitment and retention of women and under-represented gender identities in tech.”

At the AGM that was held on May 27, 2021, Craig Rowe outlined the robust process that was undertaken to identify a new slate for the board including a skills assessment and gap analysis. Unprecedented response was received to the call for nominations with 39 applicants expressing their interest in a board position.

“Assembling a diverse board was a fundamental consideration,” says Rowe. “Diversity and inclusion is embedded in the techNL bylaws and is critical to not only engage a variety of perspectives but also to create more innovative and effective outcomes.”

The new board members include: Jacqueline Lee, CFO, Skyhawk; Deirdre Ayre, Head of Canadian Operations, Other Ocean Interactive; Joe Hickey, CEO/Founder, ROCK Networks; and Meshari Alwashmi, Co-Founder and CSO, BreatheSuite.

Voted in for the second term were: Sheri Wicks, Partner, McInnes Cooper; Johanna Brown, Sales Consultant, Vision 33; and Mark Cumby, Regional Director, Hatch. They join fellow board members: Ellissa Hull, VP of Finance, Verafin; Caron Hawco, President, Caron Hawco Group; and Neil Coombs, Partner and the Principal Consultant, Higher Talent.

“The wealth of diverse experience that these accomplished leaders are bringing to our board represents an impressive and diverse skill set,” says Paul Preston, techNL CEO. “I am humbled to work with these dedicated volunteers who are giving freely of their time and talents to help our team at techNL. We are also grateful to Craig Rowe for his energy and commitment as Chair for the last two years.”

The techNL 2020 Annual Report was also presented at the AGM. The link to the report can be found at technl.ca. Together with the newly created board, the techNL team will continue to focus in 2021 on delivering value in new ways to members, the technology sector, and enabling innovation and digitalization across other sectors in our province.

Media Contact:
Marlayne Hardy
marlayne@technl.ca