Transitioning to Clean Energy

Jennifer Williams

Jennifer was appointed CEO in June 2021, having served as President of Hydro since February 2019. Jennifer had served as Hydro’s Vice President, Production, since August 2016 and held earlier positions including General Manager, Hydro Production, as well as Manager, Regulatory Engineering. Jennifer joined our team in 2014, having previously worked with both Newfoundland Power and the St. John’s International Airport Authority. A Memorial University graduate, Jennifer has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and is a member and former member of the Board of Directors of the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL). Jennifer was awarded the Fellow of Engineers Canada in 2016 and was elected as a Fellow to the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2020.

Jennifer currently sits on the Board of Directors for Cancer Care Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador as well as the Board of Directors for the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

In October 2022, Jennifer was awarded with the ‘Canadian Woman of Renewable Energy Award for 2022’ presented by Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE).

 

 

Kieran Hanley

Kieran Hanley is the CEO of econext, an association of over 200 working towards accelerating clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador. Kieran has worked within the clean technology, green economy, and environmental services sector for over ten years – making him one of the province’s subject matter experts on clean growth and the economic development associated with it.

Kieran has an MBA (Community Economic Development) from Cape Breton University, a Bachelor of Commerce (International Business) with Dalhousie University, and a Certificate in Economic Development from the University of Waterloo. Kieran has provided guidance on green economy and economic development opportunities as a member of a wide variety of provincial and regional committees.

Kieran is currently the Chair of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Net Zero Advisory Council, Chair of the City of St. John’s Environmental and Sustainability Experts Panel, and President of the Economic Development Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (EDANL).

 

Lindsay Burns

Lindsay Burns is the Manager of the Net Zero Pathways Team for the Verschuren Centre, an innovation scale-up and deployment facility located in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Lindsay leads the Carbon Transformation and Energy Systems groups to support the commercialization of clean technologies in difficult to decarbonize applications. She makes her mark by pairing her passion for our environment with her background in impactful energy communications, government advocacy and stakeholder engagement. Lindsay is a Project Manager by practice, who works collaboratively with industry, SMEs and academia to advance clean energy initiatives.

The Verschuren Centre (VC) is an independent clean technology development and deployment facility. The VC offers client-tailored services to support companies in developing sustainable solutions that meet industry needs. By working with our highly qualified team and cutting edge shared-use facility, Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) can advance their IP to commercial-scale while connecting with our network of partners locally, nationally and globally. The VC inspires a collaborative shared goal of accelerating the transition to a green and circular economy, matching technology to application and ultimately meeting net-zero targets in an efficient manner.

 

 

Sustainable Transportation

Sarah Houde

Sarah Houde spent her early career as a communications and public relations director in the private and non‑profit sectors before becoming executive director of Youth Fusion, a pan‑Canadian charity that doubled in size in its three years under her leadership. She then joined private equity firm XPND Capital as vice president of public and government affairs, steering a number of transport electrification projects. In the fall of 2017 she was named CEO of Quebec’s new cluster for electric and smart transportation and was tasked with positioning the province as one of the sector’s global leaders.

Ms. Houde holds a bachelor’s from Université de Montréal and a master’s from McGill University in political science and a graduate management diploma from HEC Montréal.

Sarah Houde œuvre d’abord comme directrice des communications et des relations publiques auprès d’entreprises privées et d’organismes à but non lucratif. C’est ensuite à titre de directrice générale qu’elle prend les rênes de l’organisme pancanadien Fusion Jeunesse dont la taille doublera pendant les trois ans de son leadership. Puis, elle se joint à l’équipe de la société de placement privé XPND Capital à titre de vice-présidente des affaires publiques et gouvernementales ; elle y pilote plusieurs dossiers en électrification des transports. À l’automne 2017, elle devient présidente-directrice générale de la nouvelle grappe des transports électriques et intelligents avec le mandat de positionner la province parmi les leaders mondiaux du secteur.

Mme Houde est titulaire d’un baccalauréat de l’Université de Montréal, d’une maîtrise en science politique de l’Université McGill, ainsi que d’un DESS en gestion de HEC Montréal.

Rick Pilgrim

Rick is a well-rounded leader with deep rooted experience in developing technology based companies.  Most recently, he developed and led a startup in the drilling technology space.  QuickSilver Technologies LLC. focused on developing a proprietary drilling technology that was sold to the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor.

Previously, he was vice-President (Engineering) Letoureau Technologies Inc., a design and manufacturing division of Rowan Companies Inc. (NYSE:RDC) where the management team was tasked with monetizing the company.  Joy Global Inc.   (NASDAQ:JOYG) purchased Letoureau from Rowan for $1.1 billion.

 

 

 

 

 

Port Development for the 21st Century

Jon Nass

Jon Nass currently serves as the Executive Director and CEO of the Mississippi State Port Authority at Gulfport and joined the MSPA in June 2021, overseeing the operations and development of the Port of Gulfport.  Prior to joining the MSPA, Jon was the Chief Executive Officer of the Maine Port Authority where he helped develop Northern New England’s only container terminal.  Previously, he served as the Deputy Commissioner at the Maine Department of Transportation, and has worked as a senior policy advisor in the State of Maine Governor’s Office.

Jon served for seven years in the U.S. Congress, most recently as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security. He previously advised U.S. Senator Susan Collins on matters of transportation, natural resources, and international trade.  In 2008, Jon deployed to Iraq to serve on a U.S. Department of State team as a field officer embedded in a U.S. Army infantry battalion. While in Iraq, he served as a rule of law advisor working with the Iraqi judiciary and at Embassy Baghdad before returning to Maine in 2010.

Jon has practiced law in Maine and Washington, DC as a litigator and government services attorney.  He received his Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America and he majored in history and government at St. Lawrence University.

 

Scott Penney

Mr. Penney was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Argentia in September 2020. Post Covid, the Port has seen tremendous growth in both the US offshore wind market as North America’s first and only monopile marshalling port; and, with the unanimous support of the entire management team, employees, and dedicated Board of Directors, the Port is aggressively leading the charge to become Newfoundland’s first hydrogen export hub to Europe.

Mr. Penney is also a Director of Argentia Capital Inc., a newly created subsidiary between the Port of Argentia and Torrent Capital. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, having graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1998.

Mr. Penney started his career in the telecommunications industry, then in 2012, he joined former Premier, the Honorable Dwight Ball, as his Executive Assistant. Mr. Penney later joined the Hebron Project at Bull Arm for two (2) years before moving to Pennecon Marine Base in Bay Bulls in March 2015. In four short years, he ascended multiple roles to become the General Manager of Pennecon’s Marine Division.

Mr. Penney has served as Chairman of the Board of the Bay Bulls – Bauline Athletic Association (BBBAA), a not-for-profit organization which provides after school and summer programs and overall recreation infrastructure investment to the seven communities the board represents. The BBBAA has invested over $1M through its programming revenues, charitable fundraising events, and government funding initiatives. Mr. Penney resides in Bay Bulls with his wife Jennifer and daughters Emma and Lauren.

Troy Kearns

Troy has spent more than 20 years dedicated to leadership and management excellence across many industry verticals such as telecommunications, R&D, software, and energy and utilities where he’s held senior roles delivering value to national and international customers.

As Head of Siemens Power Technologies International (PTI) business segment, Troy is responsible for strategy, business development, operations, and delivery of our PTI Consulting business. From strategic advisory to technical consulting and cyber security, Siemens PTI offers a holistic approach to mastering the technical, economic and security challenges of today’s and future energy systems.

A former graduate of UNB’s Technology Management and Entrepreneurship program, Troy has been teaching Managing Engineering and IT Projects at the university since 2004 where he was recognized with the Leadership in Education Award. Troy likes to volunteer time in the industry and community and currently sits on the boards of the Smart Grid Innovation Network Treasurer) as well as Triathlon New Brunswick (Past-President) and is a mentor with Energia Ventures, an accelerator for entrepreneurs in the energy, clean tech, and cybersecurity sectors.

 

 

Monitoring and Observation for Asset Protection

Steve Dodd

Stephen Dodd holds an MBA and BA in Political Science from Memorial University. He has been in ocean technology management since 1990 managing various business development and operations including 25 years with GRI Simulations Inc. He has been a part-time lecturer at Memorial University’s Faculty of Business in the areas of entrepreneurship and small business management and is very proud of the Marine Technology Society’s Compass Award in 2017 recognizing GRi’s outstanding contribution to the advancement of science and engineering in the areas of oceanography and marine technology.

 

 

 

 

Michael Maguire

Michael Maguire is the President and CEO of Copsys Technologies Inc., an Atlantic Canadian start-up company advancing a novel paint based-digital “feeling” skin to market to transform asset integrity management. Mike is a professional engineer with subject matter expertise in risk and safety, asset integrity, regulatory affairs, innovation management, and technology advancement developed over a career spanning more than 3 decades in offshore energy, marine transportation, and ocean technology. Career highlights include: certification of offshore oil and gas new developments in the UK, Australia and Canada, including Canada’s first two harsh environment Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facilities; establishing and leading an innovation portfolio to advance safe and efficient remote harsh environment operations; drafting Canada’s next-generation offshore energy regulations; and leading a multi-stakeholder change management process to support Canada’s transition from prescriptive to performance-based regulation. Mike is a member of Lloyd’s Register’s Offshore Technical Committee, chairs the Board of Springboard Atlantic and is Past Chair of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Ocean Technology Cluster, OceansAdvance.

 

 

Dan Sweeney

Dan Sweeney holds a Bachelor of Technology and a Diploma in Ocean mapping from the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland.  Dan is currently leading the Customer Success Group and managing local, national, and international service delivery projects at Kraken Robotics, a marine technology company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador.   He has been with Kraken Robotics for more than three years and has held various positions within the offshore and onshore survey team and regularly supports business development initiatives throughout the world.

Dan has more than eight years combined experience in the Offshore Energy, Defense, and Marine Robotics sectors. Most recently, he has led several offshore campaigns that involved monitoring and observation for client asset protection.