Ed Martin, former CEO at St. John’s-based edtech startup Zorbit’s Math, has been appointed Director of the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship at Memorial University.

As director of the MCE, Martin will lead an organization that has worked with dozens of students at the region's largest university to launch growing startups. Its programing intiatives include the annual Mel Woodward Cup, which provides about $25,000 to a leading student startup each year.  The Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship has helped launch companies like Mysa Smart Thermostat and CoLab Software, both of which raised more than $20 million last year.

Martin replaces outgoing director Florian Villaumé, who occupied the role for six years before leaving to run industry group TechNL.

“I think my diverse work experience has served me well as an entrepreneur and will continue to do so in this new role,” said Martin in a statement. “I look forward to bringing people from different faculties and backgrounds into the centre and introducing them to the world of entrepreneurship.”

Zorbit’s, which was sold to Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Learning in April, 2021, developed software that offered interactive math lessons for primary and middle-school students.

Before that, Martin was president of media company Best Boy Entertainment, where he wrote and produced childrens’ shows and documentary series. 

He also previously founded the Memorial chapter of charitable organization Engineers Without Borders.

Martin holds an engineering degree from Memorial and a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University in Ontario.