Al Sturgeon, product marketing manager at Radian6/Salesforce in Fredericton, has been named Propel ICT’s second Entrepreneur In Residence.

Propel ICT—which advertises on Entrevestor—is an Atlantic Canadian accelerator for startups. It hosts Build, a Moncton-based accelerator for mature companies, and Launch, which is for seed-stage startups and is in Halifax, Fredericton and St. John’s.

A blog post on the Propel ICT website announced that Sturgeon will work directly with Build and Launch participants. With his experience in marketing, he will advise them on market/product fit, product development, hiring and sales.

“It’s just such a good time to be here,” he said. “I think in a few years, people will look at Atlantic Canada and say, ‘They’re doing it right. We want to be like them.’”

Sturgeon’s contract as Entrepreneur In Residence extends indefinitely. Though he will stop working at Salesforce, he will remain in Fredericton to work with Propel ICT.

Sturgeon has worked with several successful startups. These include Titus, an Ottawa-based information platform, Safenet, a data-protection software company, and Appzero, an app migrations company. All three are now large companies and have offices across the globe. 

“Al Sturgeon brings a tremendous combination of experience and enthusiasm to the role of Entrepreneur In Residence,” said Gary Dinn, Propel ICT’s CEO, in a press release. “His proven success in building successful startups will ensure he provides great hands-on insights and mentorship to our entrepreneurs.”

On June 1, Sturgeon will join the program. He will join Ying Tam, the first Entrepreneur in Residence, who is based in Halifax. “It’s great because it’s two people with the same goal,” Sturgeon said, “but in two different cities.”

Trevor MacAusland, the former Vice-President of Business Development, will oversee the Build program in Moncton this summer, and Propel CEO Gary Dinn will work out of St. John’s.