A celebration of the life of Brian Flood, a co-founder of the pioneering cybersecurity startup Q1 Labs, will be held Monday, Nov. 25, at 5 p.m. at the Wu Conference Centre at the University of New Brunswick.

Flood, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 63, teamed up with Chris Newton, Dwight Spencer and Sandy Bird in 2001 to found Fredericton-based Q1 Labs. Flood was the first CEO of the company, which developed technology to solve UNB’s cybersecurity problems then sold the solution to other enterprise users. They sold the company to IBM in 2012 for a reported price of more than $600 million.

Though he was best known at the time as a champion rower, Flood had a keen business acumen and was the first to understand the commercial potential of what had been developed at UNB.

“Newton . . . understood that Brian was not just about getting rich,” wrote author Gordon Pitts in his book Unicorn in the Woods. “He was about turning New Brunswick around, and if he made some money in the process, that was fine too.”

Earlier this month, the Q1 Labs founders were inducted into the InnovateNB Hall of Fame. At the ceremony on Monday, a panel of Flood’s Q1Labs colleagues will share personal stories about his entrepreneurial journey.

“Brian’s perseverance and positive attitude were hallmarks of his life, which allowed him to excel in both athletics and business,” said a post from UNB. “Brian's legacy includes his induction into both the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame and the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.”

Beyond his professional achievements, Flood was a devoted family man. He is survived by his wife Carolyn (Demers), his daughters Dr. Brittany Flood (Daniel MacLellan,) and Dr. Meghan Flood (Jakub Bundil), and his four granddaughters (Quinn and Bree MacLellan, and Mica and Alexis Bundil), as well as his brother, sisters and several other family members.

To register to attend the tribute, please go to this link.