Invest Nova Scotia, the provincial agency formed from the amalgamation of Innovacorp and Nova Scotia Business Inc., has a president and CEO: NSBI veteran Peter MacAskill.

Since the merger last summer, Invest Nova Scotia has been headed by minister of economic development Susan Corkum-Greek. MacAskill was previously COO for Invest Nova Scotia, and before that, he held vice president and COO roles at NSBI.

Innovacorp was the Nova Scotia venture capital Crown corporation, and in addition to investing directly in startups, offered a range of grants and accelerator programs. Invest Nova Scotia has so far continued with that programming.

Before the merger, Innovacorp was helmed by Malcolm Fraser, who is now managing partner at industry group Natural Products Canada’s venture capital arm. Vice president of investment Andrew Ray and cleantech investment specialist Michael Dennis also departed in the past year or so. 

MacAskill, whose multi-decade career was spent almost entirely at NSBI and Invest Nova Scotia, other than a stint at investment advisor TD Waterhouse in the 1990s, will have sizeable shoes to fill. Fraser presided over the largest exit in Innovacorp’s history when it sold its shares in advanced manufacturing startup Meta Materials in 2021 for $104 million — a 35 times return on its investment.

“Invest Nova Scotia is changing how we drive sustainable economic growth and development across the province,” said Corkum-Greek in a statement. “Mr. MacAskill’s vast experience helping businesses at all stages and across all sectors to increase their productivity, sustainability and competitiveness will serve him well in this new position.”