Gerry Pond: Code Father
This week’s Huddle “Insights” podcast features a conversation with arguably the most influential IT leader in Atlantic Canada: Gerry Pond.
Pond, the chairman and co-founder of Mariner Partners and co-founder of East Valley Ventures, chats with co-host David Campbell about his career starting out in the mid-1960s at NBTel, dealing with “party line” complaints in rural New Brunswick, rising to CEO of Aliant, and then nearly two decades of founding and investing in IT startups across Atlantic Canada, including Radian6 and Q1 Labs.
He weighs in on everything from the pipeline for tech entrepreneurs in the region, the role of government to help encourage tech startups, and why he is bullish on the Ocean Supercluster initiative led out of Halifax.
“There’s a lot of invention and innovation there,” says Pond. “I, unfortunately, have no interest in that, meaning I have no investments in companies [in that area]. I guess I’m an old man with a lack of adventure. But if I were a young man I would be right in the middle of that.”
Pond also talks about the tendency of the region’s top tech firms to sell out to national and international firms and what this means for the economy moving forward.
You can listen to their conversation in the player above or search for “Huddle Insights” on a podcast platform like Apple or Spotify. Follow the show and never miss an episode. You can also listen to past episodes on those platforms.
The “Insights” podcast combines the experiences of an economist, David Campbell, and a social scientist, Don Mills, to explore the challenges and opportunities facing Atlantic Canada, to promote data-driven decision-making among policymakers, and to encourage a wider dialogue and debate leading to greater prosperity for the region.
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