techNL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board Slate 2024-2025
All Regular techNL members will be receiving an email inviting them to vote in the techNL 2024 Board of Directors Election using an online election system. As per the Bylaws, to help ensure a diverse and inclusive Board, we are asking each member to vote on the overall slate and NOT individual members.
The proposed techNL Board Slate for 2024-2025 includes:
All Regular techNL members will be receiving an email inviting them to vote in the techNL 2024 Board of Directors Election using an online election system. As per the Bylaws, to help ensure a diverse and inclusive Board, we are asking each member to vote on the overall slate and NOT individual members.
2nd Term Board members:
- Randy Billard
Proposed New Board members:
- Ayon Shahed
- Isaac Adewujon
- Laura Aguirre Polo
- Lindsay Winters
The Board conducts a robust candidate nomination and selection process, including a Board skills assessment to identify skills required of new Board members. At all times the process includes maintaining our commitments to diversity and inclusion. Potential nominees are identified for candidate interviews before the final slate is selected and presented to the Board and then to the membership for approval.
There were many amazing people who applied and techNL is grateful to all who have expressed interest in participating.
Proposed New Board Members
Ayon Shaded
Ayon is a strategic leader with over 15 years of experience spanning the realms of health, technology, social enterprise, housing, and public policy. With extensive business development, strategic planning and facilitation experience, Ayon brings a critical focus to ensuring strong communication and inclusive spaces that embrace divergent and convergent thinking.
As President of Branch Innovations & VP of Innovation and Business Development at Seafair Capital, he spearheads transformative initiatives grounded in a deep focus on impact for community wellbeing, the healthcare system, and on entrepreneurial success. A skilled collaborator, Ayon forges strategic partnerships across government, private, non-profit sectors, navigating complex systems to drive ambitious, people-centred solutions. Prior his work with Seafair Capital, Ayon held influential leadership roles at Choices for Youth and Engineers Without Borders Canada.
Ayon’s leadership extends to his active involvement in various boards and committees, including previous governance positions with the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, the St. John’s Tool Library, the City of St. John’s Affordable Housing Committee, and the Catherine Donnelly Foundation. He is currently serving on the board of MusicNL and supporting DEIB initiatives in Newfoundland and Labrador’s technology ecosystem.
Ayon holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. In 2021, he completed the Strategic Innovation Programme at the Oxford University Saïd Business School. In 2019, he received an Engineering Excellence Award from Queen’s University; and in 2015, Ayon was named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 Under 40.
Isaac Adejuwon
Isaac is a Nigerian-Canadian who immigrated to Canada in 2010 to pursue his education. He studied at Memorial University and graduated with a B.Eng in Electrical Engineering in 2016. During his studies, he identified a problem with web data collection which inspired him to found Metricsflow, a data analytics software for marketers. Together with his co-founder and team, they developed and deployed the technology across Canada, the USA and Japan. Isaac has raised capital from angels and VCs in Canada and Silicon Valley. Throughout his journey, Isaac has participated in startup programs at hubs such as Genesis Centre in St. John’s, Propel ICT in Atlantic Canada, Communitech in Waterloo and Creative Destruction Labs in Montreal.
Isaac is currently the CEO & Founder of Metricsflow. In addition to his company, Isaac mentors startups at the Founder Institute and is a board member of the Canadian Marketing Association. He has been a startup judge for founders at the Evolution program at Genesis Centre and Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship.
Isaac is the first tech startup founder to be granted the Startup Visa in Newfoundland and Labrador. This visa enabled him to continue his path with entrepreneurship. In 2018, his company Metricsflow was selected as a finalist for the most promising startup award in Canada by NACO and in 2022, Isaac was the winner of the Bridget Foster Cultural Business Icon Award.
Laura Aguirre Polo
Laura is a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and immigration. With a Master of Public Health and a Graduate Diploma in Community Health & Social Justice, she brings a global perspective to her work.
Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Laura’s journey led her to the USA at the age of 16 to learn English and pursue higher education. In 2018, she moved to Newfoundland and Labrador for graduate school, where she quickly fell in love with the province and its people, solidifying her decision to call NL home.
Currently, Laura leads the Amal Newcomer Employment and Support Services program, a provincial initiative designed to empower newcomers and employers across the province with meaningful employment opportunities. Fueled by her passion for NL and its tech sector, she tirelessly works to enhance the region’s business and tech landscape, focusing on supporting the advancement and representation of equity-priority groups.
Laura’s dedication to community building and support shines through in her work as she continuously seeks opportunities to promote Newfoundland and Labrador as a unique destination for businesses and professionals.
Prior to her role at Amal, Laura played a pivotal role at Genesis, the Newfoundland and Labrador Tech Innovation Hub, where she led the Belonging Initiative. Through this endeavour, she championed diversity, equity, inclusion, and immigration opportunities within the tech and entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Lindsay Winters
Lindsay is an AVP Sales Executive with Nasdaq Verafin. She brings over twelve years’ of various experience, including in the areas of business strategy and people leadership. The majority of her time at Nasdaq Verafin has been spent focused on driving existing business sales revenue across the organization through deploying contract renewal strategies and delivering return on investment strategies in a customer centric environment.
Lindsay’s leadership has directly impacted the successful growth of Verafin being acquired by Nasdaq in 2021, now formally known as Nasdaq Verafin.
Lindsay graduated from St. Mary’s University with a degree in the Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology. She also holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Memorial University. After teaching for several years in the Newfoundland and Labrador school system, she joined the Verafin team in 2012 where she extended her education experience by joining the Training Team. In 2014, her focus shifted to join the Sales Team, where she continues to focus today.
Returning Board Member
Randy Billard
Dr. Randy Billard is President and CEO of Virtual Marine. He is the original founder of the company has been with the company since it started in 2004. He is a P. Eng, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering from Memorial University of Newfoundland, with expertise in small vessel motion and wave modeling. He has a Ph.D. in Engineering at Memorial University with a research concentration in measuring human performance in simulation-based training programs.
Randy is responsible for leading Virtual Marine’s team in the continuous development of small craft simulation technologies. He has expertise in oil and gas and military simulator development and project management and is actively involved in ocean engineering and simulation R&D communities. He has experience in managing technical product development from earlystage prototypes to commercially ready systems which includes validation and testing of simulators at various technology readiness levels. His work has included human factors studies to assess the effectiveness of simulation-based training programs and measurement of learning and skill retention in marine training programs. He has published research papers on vessel and wave numerical modelling, human performance modelling, and simulator training transfer. He is currently leading the development of the company’s automated tracking and adaptive learning software.