Who We Are

Barry has been the President and CEO of Industrial Rubber for over 40 years with that primary company developing rubber-molded and protective rubber and ceramic coating products via processes that meet industry needs for sectors including mining, forestry, and defence.

The business has clients in more than 15 countries in North and South America, Scandinavia, Western Europe, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Within the last 10 years, Barry became President of FFG Canada Ltd. and, under a partnership with a leading German defence contractor, set up a manufacturing plant in Bathurst.

Barry was awarded Top CEO for Atlantic Canada five times by Atlantic Business Magazine and has also been inducted into the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame. He has been on the Board at Mount Allison University for seven years and was Board Chair at the Port of Belledune for three years and a director for six years. Barry is currently a member of the New Brunswick Business Council and is involved with several New Brunswick charities and non-profits.

Andrew McLaughlin is the VP–Legal Affairs, General Counsel and ESG Lead at Major Drilling Group International Inc. (TSX:MDI), the largest global drilling services provider to the mining industry. He previously served as a diplomat at the Canadian embassies in Havana and Mexico City and was a Canadian foreign service officer from 2006-2015.

In recent years, he has been making the case for lawyers to lead the charge on ESG, with his publications featured in the Globe and Mail and Canadian Lawyer Magazine where he serves as an Editorial Board Member. As a result, he has become a highly sought after presenter on this topic.

In 2023, he chaired the ESG Summit that brings together leading sustainability executives from across the country. In 2018, he was named a Lexpert Rising Star for leading Canadian lawyers under 40, and as part of the Banff Forum’s “Emerging Canadian Leaders Under 40.”

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Mount Allison University, an LLB from the University of New Brunswick, and an LLM in International Business Law from the University of London (QMUL/UCL).

Gilles brings with him a wealth of accomplishments, including over ten years in academic leadership positions both in Canada and abroad. For 22 years he worked for Université de Moncton, with five of those years as Dean of Engineering. He is also a former Dean of Engineering at Alfaisal University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he established its inaugural College of Engineering advisory board. He was previously the Dean of Engineering and Acting Chief Academic Officer at the American University of the Middle East in Kuwait. He is now self-employed as an Industrial Engineering and Educational Consultant.

Kathryn is one of New Brunswick’s top technology entrepreneurial leaders, joining Beauceron Security in 2017 as the second full-time employee, and quickly rising to become their Chief Operating Officer. In 2018, she led Beauceron Security’s participation in Cylon; the world’s top early-stage cybersecurity accelerator centered in the United Kingdom.

Kathryn has worked hand-in-hand with clients to develop people-focused cybersecurity cultures that dramatically reduce risk and improve organizational resilience. As Chief Operating Officer, Kathryn leads Beauceron Security’s go-to-market teams in sales, marketing, product, and delivery. Under her leadership, Beauceron Security’s annual revenue has grown over 10-fold, from $300,000 to more than $3.4 million, and now has more than 600 customers worldwide.

Kathryn is an alumnus of Venture for Canada and a member of the Wallace McCain Institute. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce, with a minor in Mathematics, from Mount Allison University. As a proud New Brunswicker, Kathryn loves creating meaningful employment opportunities in her home province with a guiding focus on diversity, equality, and inclusion, for which Beauceron Security has received recognition.

Gordie Lavoie worked in various roles in Sunny Corner Enterprises Inc. for 32 years, 16 of those as the CEO and President. After semi-retiring in 2023 he continues to serve as a director with the company. During his tenure, he played an active role in strategic planning for the company, positioning Sunny Corner as a regional leader in the Construction, Manufacturing, Industrial Supply and Rental businesses.

Over the years Mr. Lavoie has been a member of the New Brunswick Business Council and participated in many boards and committees in the Miramichi area. He was inducted into the NB Business Hall of Fame in 2018.

As CEO of Propel, Kathryn leads Atlantic Canada’s virtual accelerator serving over 90 companies last year. Her mission to raise baby unicorns is empowering founders across the region. She recently led a cross-regional team to launch Startup Atlantic, a pan-regional brand representing the region with a single voice. Previous to Propel, she was the Vice President of Growth and Corporate Strategy at JVPLabs, a MedTech startup focused on telemedicine. She has deep experience scaling young technology companies.

Kathryn holds an MBA from Harvard Business School as well as a Bachelor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Leadership from the University of New Brunswick’s Renaissance College.  Her work experience began in Toronto where she launched and grew the first technology division for a now global Human Capital Management during which she relocated to Europe, where she later ran her own start-up based in Oldenburg, Germany as well as led strategic growth for another start-up in Munich. Back in Canada she then served as the Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Bluedrop Learning Networks based in St. John’s. She is a regular guest speaker at startup events, chairs the Board of ReportMate, and is passionate about mentoring women in business. Kathryn and her family are based in Saint John.

Cade Libby is a graduate from the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Forestry (Class of 1999). After graduation, Cade was employed by the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and worked within the department for the next 17 years. During this time, Cade held a variety of positions including manager and director roles. He also received Lean Six Sigma black belt training during this timeframe.

Cade joined the Regional Development Corporation in early 2017, where he held the positions of director and then Vice-President of the Development Division. In November 2019, Cade was appointed as Acting President of the Regional Development Corporation and Acting Deputy Minister of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. In September 2020, Cade was appointed as President of the Regional Development Corporation, Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Affairs (now known as the Department of Indigenous Affairs)  and Deputy Minister of the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs which includes Francophonie and Official Languages. Cade was also Deputy Minister of Environment & Climate Change for approximately 2 years during this time. In January 2024, Cade was appointed as Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Energy & Development and continues as Deputy Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

Cade and his wife Jayne live in Waasis, New Brunswick and have two children (Austen and Summer). Cade enjoys spending his free time in the great outdoors.

Natasha Ostaff is the current General Manager Business Operations of the Moncton Wildcats Hockey Club and has more than 20 years’ experience in business, financial, and operations planning including most recently as Branch Manager for Fero Waste & Recycling, Director of Finance & Administration for the Greater Moncton International Airport, and Senior Manager Assurance Services for KPMG. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and has a Bachelor of Commerce from Mount Allison University.

Natasha has been very involved in the community in Greater Moncton having served as a committee member for Events Moncton and the boards of the many organizations including the Horizon Health Network, the YMCA of Greater Moncton, 3+ Corporation, Headstart Moncton, the Moncton West and Riverview Rotary Club, Riverview Boys & Girls Club, and Hospice Southeast New Brunswick. In recognition of her outstanding community service Natasha is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth ll Platinum Jubilee Medal and the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International.

Tom Liston is a technology investor and analyst, a CFA charterholder and founder of Water Street Corp. He currently serves on several Boards of Directors for public and private technology companies, including WELL Health Technologies (WELL-TSX) and Tantalus Systems (GRID-TSX). Prior to his current roles, he was the Chief Investment Officer of a leading technology-focused venture capital firm, which provided growth capital to late-stage private companies.

Mr. Liston began his career as an Equity Research Analyst covering public Software and IT Services companies. As a technology analyst, Mr. Liston has been consistently ranked among the top technology analysts in several surveys, including StarMine, Brendan Wood, Greenwich Associates and Reuters. He completed a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Arts in Economics and Finance from Queen’s University. He was a recipient of UNB Faculty of Management’s Certificate of Achievement in 2017 and was recognized with the Proudly UNB Alumni Award of Distinction in 2020.