Startup Canada Wolf Blass Lifetime Achievement Award

Gerry Pond | Co-Founder, East Valley

Winner of the Wolf Blass Lifetime Achievement Award Gerry Pond has vision. Over the course of his carreer has showcased that vision as a leader in Canada’s technology sector, from the groundbreaking work of teleco NBTel to helping build Mariner Partners from an idea to a multinational company to the launch of East Valley Ventures. He knows that growing our economy demands innovation and hard work. He has played a key role in some of the biggest startup deals in recent Canadian history with the success of Radian6 and Q1 Labs. But Gerry has been much more than an investor. He’s been a mentor to countless entrepreneurs. Much of the startup ecosystem that has taken root in Atlantic Canada can be traced back to the seeds planted first by Gerry Pond, including the Atlantic regional accelerator, Propel ICT. Of course, Gerry’s work goes well beyond the business world. He’s been on the boards of many community and charitable organizations, including co-chairing the Economic and Social Inclusion Corp, New Brunswick’s poverty reduction initiative. He also co-founded the Pond-Deshponday Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of New Brunswick, which supports the development of social and conventional entrepreneurship.