Florian Villaumé, CEO of industry association techNL for the last four years, has announced he is stepping down a year earlier than originally planned. The association is now seeking a new leader.

In a statement, techNL said that Villaumé has made a significant and lasting impact on the group and the broader ecosystem.

"My commitment has always been to leave techNL in a significantly stronger position than when I arrived—stronger in terms of impact and operations," Villaumé said in a LinkedIn post. "I also believe leadership renewal is healthy for organizations, and I have long viewed a five-year timeframe as an appropriate horizon for a CEO role in similar organizations."

The organization said Newfoundland and Labrador’s tech sector is experiencing momentum:

• Contributing more than $1.8B annually to the provincial economy

• Growing 24 per cent in less than a decade

• Accounting for nearly 80 per cent of Atlantic Canada’s investment deals in 2025, raising $295.5.

Villaumé said that in the last four years, techNL's achievements include delivering the largest project in techNL’s history, Find Your Future in Tech, training over 4,000 people across the province. It has also built the Co. Innovation Centre and the Tech Sector Group Health Plan has been launched, helping provincial startups access group health benefits.
 
Villaumé said he has identified a few priorities that he believes are important:

1. Launching defence-focused programming for local tech companies not yet active in the defence sector.

2. Creating a SaaS sales curriculum to address a recurring gap in the sector. 

 3. Piloting a relocation subsidy to increase the availability of senior talent locally, strengthening mentorship capacity for recent graduates entering the workforce, and deepening the roots of tech companies in the province.

Villaumé said these priorities do not require another 1.5 years to complete. He said he has spent almost four years at techNL and a total of 10 years supporting the creation and growth of tech companies in the province.

He said: "While I have deeply valued this work — and still do — I’m increasingly drawn to contributing from within a tech company, as another path to accelerate the growth of the NL tech sector."