Mariner Opens Fredericton Office To Tap Into More Public Sector Clientele
FREDERICTON – Mariner Partners, the technology company headquartered in Saint John, has opened a new office on Carleton St. in Fredericton.
Monica Gaudet-Justason, VP Public Sector and Major Accounts, says it’s a strategic move to get closer to government clients, although it will also work with private clients in the city.
“In the past, Mariner had not invested a lot of energy into government, but as the years went on, we realized we have a lot to contribute,” she said. “We’ve assisted very large clients in large transformations of their businesses, whether it be digital or how they deliver service. And so we see that government are faced with similar challenges…So [Mariner] very strategically decided to open up a Fredericton office and grow our presence here based on customer demand basically.”
The new office will focus on cybersecurity, change management and supporting clients’ resource needs.
“Based on what we’re seeing in the market, [cyber security and change management] are very high need areas. We’re seeing clients trying to mitigate risk, and cybersecurity is, of course, a very significant part of that. That drives our own innovations as far as the services we provide clients,” Gaudet-Justason said.
“And we’re seeing clients privately and through government living through major transformations. Industries are shifting completely and so change management is becoming that much more relevant to ensure that organizations are able to transition to the new ways of doing things that are sustainable – so that organizations become changeable. In our world, change is constant.”
Mariner shares its Fredericton office with Beauceron Security, a cybersecurity startup. Mariner is invested in Beauceron through its venture capital firm East Valley Ventures.
“We’re very engaged and involved with Beauceron. We’re in fact a reseller of their service. And so, we’re co-located with them,” Gaudet-Justason said.
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Currently, the Fredericton office has around a dozen employees. Gaudet-Justason herself joined the Mariner executive team in February to help bring innovative thinking and solutions to public sector customers, including federal, provincial, municipal, agencies, and other government bodies.
Mariner is still hiring, with six job vacancies posted on its website for the Fredericton location, including for a security analyst, an automation specialist, a project manager and a change management specialist.
“We’re investing more in the area based on this demand of clients, and we’ll look at growing the office here in Fredericton,” Gaudet-Justason said.
Going by the client demand the company currently sees, Gaudet-Justason said Mariner could hire another dozen people in the next year to 18 months.
Founded in 2003 by Gerry Pond, Curtis Howe and Bob Justason, Mariner serves clients in Canada and abroad. More than 200 people work across its four lines of business, including Mariner xVu, Shift Energy, Mariner Innovations and East Valley Ventures.
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