Venn Innovation has named Tammy Godfrey Sauveur as the first female Chair of its Board of Directors, and named three women to its board.
Godfrey Sauveur, who is Senior Director of People and Transformation at gambling machine maker IGT, succeeds Pablo Asiron, Director of Business Development for Europe at mCloud Technologies Corp., as Chair. Venn also said Ken LeBlanc, the Founder and CEO of PropertyGuys.com was the new Vice-Chair.
The new board members are: Melissa Lunney, of Appdigenous Development; Mrugakshee Palwe, of Atlantic Blockchain; and Yvonne Pilon, of WE Tech Alliance. Based in Moncton, Venn is an innovation hub and tech association focused on helping innovative, tech-based entrepreneurs start and grow their companies.
“A well connected ecosystem benefits all of us and that’s why Venn’s work is very important,” said Godfrey Sauveur in a statement. “I’m also proud, looking around the table and seeing not just gender diversity, but also diversity of skills, experiences and thoughts that represent our future direction.”
The new board members are:
- Melissa Lunney is a Mi’kmaw entrepreneur whose Fredericton-based startup Appdigenous has developed a mobile app called Doorable, which opens accessible doors wirelessly and maps barrier-free environments. This app will provide evidence-based data to enable better informed decision-making in accessibility infrastructure to help cities develop solutions to create a more inclusive community. She is also the Market Access Officer at the Joint Economic Development Initiative.
- Mrugakshee Palwe in the Co-Founder and CEO of Halifax-based Atlantic Blockchain. Educated as a computer scientist, she has led many tech and programming workshops for kids, teens, and women switching careers to tech. She also has her very own cryptocurrency podcast.
- Yvonne Pilon is the President and CEO of WEtech Alliance, one of seventeen Regional Innovation Centres funded by the Ontario government. At 29, she became the youngest female to lead a Regional Innovation Centre, reflecting her passion to grow thriving companies and entrepreneurial communities. In 2019, she hosted the ‘Tech In The City’ podcast and was recognized as a top social media influencer in Canadian Tech.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have these three dynamic women joining our Board of Directors,” said Venn CEO and President Doug Robertson. “They bring tremendous experience and will help make the board more reflective of the youth and diversity we see in the tech community, and in the broader regional and national tech ecosystem that Venn is a part of.”
