The regional IT accelerator Propel has announced the creation of a sales award in recognition of Gerry Pond and his contribution to the Atlantic Canadian innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Pond co-founded Propel in 2003 and has played an integral role in the organization, which helps launch tech startups in Atlantic Canada.
The Gerry Pond Sales Award will be presented each year to a Propel Incite Phase 2 company that excels in creating a repeatable and scalable sales process.
“Everyone who knows Gerry is well aware of his passion for three things: entrepreneurship; sales and Atlantic Canada,” said Propel CEO Barry Bisson in a statement. “We could not think of a better way to recognize him than with an award to further encourage entrepreneurship and excellence in sales execution in the Atlantic provinces.”
Pond believes sales execution is an area where many Atlantic Canadian founders need to improve.
“Sales execution is often the difference between being a successful venture and one that does not realize its full potential,” said Pond in the statement.
“It is with honour and humility that I accept this recognition as I believe it will further help to achieve and bring awareness to the need for sales professionalism in successful Atlantic Canadian ventures.”
The winner of the new award will gain a $25,000 cash prize and the option of a combined investment from Innovacorp and NBIF totaling $30,000.
The winner will be chosen by a third-party selection committee. Judging criteria will include: monthly sales growth; growth in number of customers; and demonstrated ability to push leads through the funnel in a structured way.
The first winner will be announced during a ceremony following Propel’s Demo Day on May 30 in Saint John. Pond will be honoured by Frank McKenna, Deputy Chair of TD Bank Group. McKenna is also a former Premier of New Brunswick and a former ambassador to the U.S.
Born in Quebec and raised in New Brunswick, Pond has over 45 years of experience in the ICT sector. As the CEO of NBTel and the President of its successor, Aliant Telecom, Pond was at the helm during a period of significant deregulation in the Canadian industry. Under his leadership, NBTel emerged as an international ICT leader.
He is currently Chairman and Co-Founder of Mariner Partners and has co-founded a number of successful ICT start-ups, including iMagicTV, Q1 Labs, Brovada Technologies, Radian6, Shift Energy and Cirrus9.
Pond is also the Co-Founder of the Pond-Deshpande Centre at the University of New Brunswick, and the Co-Founder of East Valley Ventures, an accelerator for Atlantic Canadian startup companies. He is a Director of Upside Foundation, the NB Business Council and the National Angel Capital Organization.
His many awards include being appointed a Member of the Order of Canada; being named the first ever Business Development Bank of Canada Entrepreneurship Champion; receiving the Order of New Brunswick; being inducted into the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame and winning the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.
The new award is being sponsored and supported by businesses and leaders who have a strong connection with Pond. They include: Frank McKenna; the UNB Saint John MBA program; Beers Neal; Innovatia; Mariner Partners; Cirrus9; Resson; Sunny Corner; Elias Management Group and EY.
