On Friday, we began collecting tributes to the late Gerry Pond, the investor and former Chair of Mariner Partners, with the hopes of presenting them on a single page.
There has been an outpouring of personal remembrances of Pond on social media – far too many for us to collate. So here is a selection of just a few of the tributes:
Susan Holt
Premier of New Brunswick
Gerry Pond was a pioneer and leader in the ICT sector, from his days as CEO of NBTel to his successful business ventures and his role in co-founding numerous ICT powerhouses in our province. appointed to the Order of New Brunswick in 2013 and an Order of Canada recipient, Gerry’s impact on New Brunswick and Canada was profound.
He leaves behind a legacy of entrepreneurial spirit, hard work, and tenacity.
On a personal note, Gerry was a mentor, a challenger, an inspiration and a friend to me. I will miss our conversations and the twinkle in his eye. (Taken from the Premier’s social media post)
Barry Bisson
Board Chair of Propel
Gerry will always be the father of Propel. Gerry founded what would become the region's pan-Atlantic technology accelerator, built on a simple but powerful belief: when technology founders become exceptional leaders and master sales, they build exceptional companies. Those companies create jobs, attract investment, and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
That philosophy continues to define Propel today. Every founder we support, every company that scales, and every entrepreneur who chooses to build from Atlantic Canada carries forward the legacy Gerry envisioned from the beginning. We are deeply honoured to continue building upon the foundation he created and to ensure his vision lives on through the next generation of Atlantic Canadian innovators.
Claudio Rojas
CEO of the National Angel Capital Organization
Gerry Pond was one of my earliest mentors at the National Angel Capital Organization. He cared deeply about entrepreneurs and gave generously of his time and experience to help founders grow their companies. After a career in telecom leading NBTel and Aliant, he became one of Atlantic Canada’s most influential technology investors, helping launch a series of successful companies through Mariner Partners and East Valley Ventures, among them Radian6, Q1 Labs, iMagicTV and Shift Energy. In 2020, NACO was honoured to recognize Gerry with its Lifetime Achievement Award, for the many ways he served founders and strengthened Canada’s innovation economy. His legacy lives on through the entrepreneurs, senior leaders and angel investors he mentored and championed.
Benjamin Bergen
CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association
Gerry's passing is a hard loss for New Brunswick and for the founders he spent his life backing. He met them at his office in Saint John and put his own money behind them, back when the region had almost no venture capital to offer. He backed scores of companies around the Maritimes.
Radian6 and Q1 Labs were among his early bets. CVCA named the Radian6 exit its Venture Capital Deal of the Year in 2011. The upside that came back stayed in New Brunswick and went into the next founders, and into Propel ICT and the Pond-Deshpande Centre at UNB, which he co-founded.
Our condolences to his family, and to the many people across Atlantic Canada who knew him well.
Jeff White
CEO of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation
Gerry Pond's impact on New Brunswick's startup ecosystem is impossible to overstate. He didn't just build successful companies - he built people, he built confidence, and he helped build an entire ecosystem that continues to create opportunities for entrepreneurs across our province.
Personally, Gerry was my mentor, my trusted advisor and one of the most influential people in my career. He challenged me to think bigger, believe in people, and focus on what could be built rather than what stood in the way. Those lessons continue to shape how I lead today.
For NBIF, Gerry's legacy is woven into our history. He served on our Board during pivotal years, helped shape our direction, and believed deeply that New Brunswick founders could build globally competitive companies. That belief remains at the heart of everything we do.
His passing is a tremendous loss for our province, but his influence will continue to be felt through every founder he encouraged, every leader he mentored, and every company that exists because Gerry opened a door and believed it was possible.
Cathy Simpson
CEO of TechImpact
Gerry believed deeply in people and their abilities in a way that made you feel seen and that made him a remarkable mentor, investor, leader, and friend. The size of the Atlantic Canadian tech industry and the innovation that has come out of the region has so many threads that lead back to him. We were fortunate to have a champion who believed in what could be achieved long before we believed it ourselves.
Senator Colin Deacon
Not much has been left unsaid about Gerry Pond other than the fact that he inspired the non-biblical use of the term “archangel.” He led the creation of unicorns before we called them “unicorns.” His intentions, efforts and investments were all aimed at inspiring us all to aim higher and to keep strengthening our Region — to achieve our potential. Quite an astonishing legacy.
