April 8, 2015, FREDERICTON (GNB) – Opportunities NB announced appointments to its board today in support of job creation and economic growth.
“Our priority is job creation and therefore we are happy to have these individuals from the private sector join the Opportunities NB board so we can continue to focus on growing our economy,” said Premier Brian Gallant. “It is exciting to have these dedicated and talented New Brunswickers helping us seek out high-growth opportunities, and delivering seamless, integrated and responsive services in support of business development across the province.”
The members named to the Opportunities NB board are:
- Roxanne Fairweather, chair (Saint John);
- Jim Baumgartner (Naples, Florida);
- Earl Brewer (Fredericton);
- Lily Durepos (Grand Falls);
- Gloria Jollymore (Sackville);
- Dennis Flood (Saint John);
- Raymond Théberge (Moncton);
- Michael J. Campbell (Florenceville-Bristol); and
- Lynn Albert (Caraquet).
“Opportunities NB is one of the most comprehensive economic growth vehicles in Atlantic Canada,” said Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet, who is also minister responsible for Opportunities NB. “The organization is expected to realize significant gains in export development, capacity building and growing small and medium-sized businesses. It will work to create an environment where innovation and entrepreneurship can flourish.”
Opportunities NB will have an enhanced regional presence. Staff at the regional level will be providing dedicated client service to support high-growth files and to facilitate access to a broad range of business support services.
Legislation was introduced in December to create the new Crown corporation and received royal assent on March 27.
Following are the biographies of the board members:
Roxanne Fairweather
Fairweather is best-known as one of New Brunswick’s most-accomplished business executives, having contributed to several companies, boards and groups in New Brunswick. She is the co-CEO and co-owner of Innovatia Inc., which is headquartered in Saint John, and has been involved in many business interest groups, including Propel ICT. Fairweather also served as board chair during the amalgamation of all non-clinical shared services in the regional health authorities by FacilicorpNB Ltd. She is past chair of the University of New Brunswick board of governors. She has served as a director of Brunswick Pipeline and LearnSphere Canada. Her passion for education has led her to forge a partnership between Innovatia and the Elementary Literacy Friends program, which focuses on increasing literacy throughout the province by providing volunteer tutors to Grade 2 students. Fairweather was named one of the Atlantic Canada’s 50 most accomplished business executives by Atlantic Business Magazine in 2005, 2013 and 2014. She was also named EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 for the Atlantic region, has been inducted into the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame and was named to the Order of New Brunswick in 2014.
Jim Baumgartner
Baumgartner is a financial services industry expert with more than 29 years of experience in the payments industry. As CEO and president of Moneris Solutions Corporation since 2001, he has helped the company become one of North America’s largest providers of payment processing solutions, with more than 350,000 merchant locations generating close to three billion transactions annually. He joined Moneris from J.P. Morgan Chase’s Commercial Payments Systems business, of which he was president. At J.P. Morgan Chase, he grew a startup business into one of the world’s largest commercial card issuers. Prior to that, he was president of US Bancorp’s Commercial Payments Business. At US Bank, he grew the startup commercial card business into the largest issuer of corporate and purchasing cards in the world, in addition to driving the Merchant Processing Business to become the sixth largest acquirer in the United States. A member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, he was also senior manager with Ernst & Young where he focused on the financial services industry. In 1999, he was named one of the 25 most influential executives by Business Travel News. In addition, he was called one of American Banker’s 10 most admired leaders in the bank card business and in 2005 was designated as the Electronic Transaction Association’s Member of the Year. A Canadian and American citizen, he is native of Minneapolis.
Earl Brewer
Brewer is chair of Plaza Retail REIT. He was also chair of Greenarm Corporation and Greenarm Management, principally involved in office building development. He has extensive experience in the real-estate business, having worked in the sector since 1984. He has been part of many organizations including the board of governors of the University of New Brunswick; the Atlantic Salmon Federation; the New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation; and as Honorary Consul for Sweden. He serves on the board of the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation and on the board of governors of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
Lily Durepos
Durepos is a founding shareholder of Alliance Assurance Inc., which began operating in 1972. Working with her husband Pat and their children, they also operate companies with holdings in software development, real estate and financial products. She has a wealth of experience in the insurance industry and has been a member of various insurance and broker councils for companies such as AXA Insurance, Intact Insurance and Waterloo Insurance. Durepos holds a degree in social sciences from the Université de Moncton. She has received numerous awards for her business accomplishments as both an entrepreneur and a financial broker. She actively supports community organizations and is past chair of the Women in Business Network. Durepos was also a director of the Edmundston Regional Hospital Foundation and serves on the board of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Gloria Jollymore
Jollymore is vice-president of university advancement at Mount Allison University. Prior to joining Mount Allison in 1996, she held a number of marketing positions in both Western and Atlantic Canada, including director of marketing in Atlantic Canada for Tim Hortons Donut Ltd. She is a 2014 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award winner of the Women’s Executive Network. She serves on the board of Brigadoon, a recreational camp for children with chronic illnesses. Jollymore holds a bachelor degree from Mount Allison, a master’s degree in business administration from Saint Mary’s University and also studied at the Women’s Leadership Forum at Harvard Business School (executive program).
Dennis Flood
Flood has been in the financial services industry for more than 20 years and has spent the past 15 years in progressively senior positions with ScotiaMcLeod. He holds a bachelor degree in economics from St. Francis Xavier University, a master’s degree in business administration from Memorial University and a Certified Investment Management Analyst designation from Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the board of governors of Saint Francis Xavier University.
Raymond Théberge
Théberge is the president and vice-chancellor of l’Université de Moncton. He is originally from Manitoba, and has worked for the government of Ontario as an assistant deputy minister. He holds a doctorate degree in linguistics from McGill University (1984), a master’s degree of arts in applied linguistics from the University of Ottawa (1976) and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University College of St. Boniface (1973). Throughout his career, he has held many leadership positions in the academic and governmental spheres. In addition to his research record and significant management experience, he was a member and vice-president of the board of the Canadian Education Association. He was a member of UNESCO’s Council of the International Bureau of Education and a member of the working group for the preparation of the International Conference on Education.
Michael J. Campbell
Campbell is vice-president, general counsel and secretary of McCain Foods Ltd. He joined McCain Foods in 1991. He obtained both his bachelor’s degree in communications (1971) and his bachelor’s degree in law (1974) from Queen’s University. He was admitted to the Ontario bar in 1974 and the New Brunswick bar in 2009. Before joining McCain Foods, he was an associate with Blake, Cassels & Graydon, a partner at Perry, Farley & Onyschuk, and an associate partner at Kingsmill Jennings. He is a former chair of the New Brunswick Museum and past president and director of the Metropolitan Toronto Association of Community Living. He is a director of the Community Industries Employment Vocational Association in Woodstock and a member of the Canadian Red Cross Society Pension Committee. He is also a director and chair of Special Olympics New Brunswick, as well as a director and vice-chair for Homestead Land Holdings Ltd. in Kingston, Ont. and chair of its audit committee.
Lynn Albert
A native of Caraquet, Albert earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in management in 1991. She then went on to teach English in Japan for seven years. Coming from a family that worked in the fishing industry, she knew early on that she wanted to work as an exporter in the fisheries’ sector. When she returned from Japan, she was hired by a Halifax-based Japanese company that specialized in the export of sea urchins. She worked there for two years. She then founded her own frozen fish export company, LA Trading Co. Inc. She exported various species of fish to Asia, Europe, the United States, and a number of other locations. In 2009, she opened a food truck, LA Homard Mobile, where the main goal was to showcase local lobster. Also in 2009, she established another company, LA Pince Rouge Inc., which purchases lobster from fishermen and processes it. In March 2014, she purchased two plants on the Magdalen Islands, which allowed 400 employees to keep their jobs.
MEDIA CONTACT(S):
Shawn Berry, Office of the Premier, 506-453-2144.
Sheila Lagacé, media relations, 506-453-3030.
