Inaugural InnovateNB Awards impress and inspire
SAINT JOHN — InnovateNB Celebration, a collaboration between several NGOs in the province’s innovation sector, held its inaugural event on Tuesday, with a trade show, an investor showcase, and speaker sessions on topics like green energy and digital health.
The event culminated in an awards ceremony in which The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation CEO Jeff White announced a new investment strategy for New Brunswick start-up and scale-up companies.
“Since I have a captive audience of people who care passionately about innovation, I thought it would be a good opportunity to give you a sneak peek at the New Brunswick Innovation Foundations’ new expanded investment strategy,” White told the audience at the InnovateNB awards ceremony held at the Hilton.
The ten-year investment strategy will inject $20 million in new funding, which aims to address the needs of the province’s maturing tech sector/ It includes investments to scale existing businesses as well as new limited partnership investments, new accelerator investments, and a new venture capital fund.
The InnovateNB Awards take over from the KIRA (Knowledge and Innovation Recognition) Awards, which were founded by Ignite Fredericton in 1998. TechImpact, Envision Saint John, Propel and The McKenna Institute at the University of New Brunswick were also founders and organizers of InnovateNB Celebration.
“Innovation is the path to the future and events like this ensure that we are engaged and supporting each other, which is critical to the growth in our region and in New Brunswick,” said Paulette Hicks, CEO of Envision Saint John.
The event featured an Innovation Trade Show and Recruitment Showcase, a Thought Leadership Session, a Meet the Investors event, and the InnovateNB Awards.
Entrepreneur Marcel LeBrun delivered the awards ceremony keynote address. LeBrun is known for his work as the co-founder of iMagicTV, vice president at Alcatel, vice president at Mariner Partners Inc., and CEO of Radian6 Technologies.
“So New Brunswick, which way do we go? This way, that way, invest here, invest there?” LeBrun mused in his address, harkening back to the Robert Frost poem The Road Not Taken.
“It’s one of the most misinterpreted poems because he’s really saying that he had no idea which way to go. I think innovation is like that, it’s easier to recognize in the past than it is to try to explain how to figure it out in future.”
New Brunswick tech guru Gerry Pond’s induction as the first member into the InnovateNB Hall of Fame was a highlight of the evening.
“Although honoured and humbled to have received the Order of Canada and the Order of New Brunswick, this InnovateNB Hall of Fame induction stacks up higher than the others,” Pond said via a prepared statement, delivered in his absence.
A sense of urgency, building trust, and connecting the dots are among the ideals he identified as being crucial to being a good innovator.
Here’s a rundown of the award winners:
- The Emerging Innovator award went to Agunbiade Seun Richards;
- The Diversity and Inclusion Champion award went to Justin Ryan – NB Multicultural Council;
- The Premier’s Award for Innovation went to Jerome Foster, Executive Director, Innovation and e-Health Branch Health, and Mark McAlister, Verosource, for their collaboration on the MyHealthNB project;
- The Productivity Improvement by Adapting Technology award went to Saint John Energy;
- The Innovation in Academia and Research Award went to, Zhen Lei – University of New Brunswick;
- The Most Innovative Startup award went to Potential Motors;
- The award for Most Innovative Product or Service went to ChinovaBioworks;
- The Innovation Champion award went to Brilliant Labs;
- The Economic Impact through Innovation award given to Jody Glidden – Introhive;
There was also the Ones to Watch mentions made to “budding innovative individuals who show promising signs for the future of innovation in New Brunswick, but who are still working on achieving their full potential” with over 20 individuals recognized.
InnovateNB Celebration will take place in Fredericton in 2023 and Moncton in 2024.
Editor’s note: this story was last updated on November 24, at 4:10 pm.
Alex Graham is a Huddle reporter in Saint John. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].