Regional tech accelerator Propel ICT has rounded out its management team by hiring Gillian McCrae, former CEO of Charlottetown-based GetGifted, as a vice-president.

Now based mainly in Halifax, McCrae will work with President Gary Dinn and the accelerator’s entrepreneurs-in-resident to develop new curriculum. She will also be responsible for business development, which includes increasing sponsorship, finding community partners and planning community events.

Having begun 12 years ago as a tech association in Saint John, Propel has grown to span the region. It is now conducting programs in Moncton, Fredericton, Halifax and St. John’s and plans to launch 420 companies in five years. The hiring of McCrae adds experience to a management team that faces the challenge of meeting these goals and overcoming the geographic distances involved in Propel’s footprint.

She also will focus on developing mentors in the Propel network, and on getting the Propel alumni more involved in the accelerator’s programs.

For McCrae herself, the new job is a bit of a homecoming, as she took GetGifted through the Launch36 program (the forerunner of the current Propel ICT Build program) in 2013.

“It feels like the perfect fit for me,” said McCrae in an interview. “My mandate is to help these early startup companies grow, just like I received support when I went through Launch36. I couldn’t be more pleased with the position.”

McCrea started GetGifted in 2012 to help local merchants in Charlottetown to get customers in their door. The company sent out email blasts each Tuesday offering gifts from merchants, as long as the customers went in to the outlet within two weeks to collect the prize. Though there was strong take-up in the Maritimes, the model proved problematic in big cities so the company shut down earlier this year.

McCrae has remained active in startup circles, headlining a Startup Grind event in Halifax and joining a panel discussion at St. John’s recent startup week.

She began holding discussions with Propel recently and Trevor MacAusland, the former executive director, put in a recommendation for her.

“Gillian is a talented, passionate entrepreneur who brings a real sense of energy and enthusiasm to Propel ICT,” said Dinn in a statement. “We are growing in the scope of our operations and programming and it is important to add people of Gillian’s quality to our team.”

As well as Dinn, McCrae will be working closely with entrepreneurs in residence Ying Tam in Halifax and Al Sturgeon in Fredericton.