NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear members,

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to announce the appointment of David Duplisea as our new Executive Director.  David will start this role later this month.

A native of Saint John, David has more than 20 years of marketing, business development and technology industry experience and has held senior executive positions in Saint John, New York and Toronto.  An experienced small business entrepreneur, David was also a founding member of the Board of Directors of Propel ICT where he helped design the business model that propelsj implemented to establish a business technology incubator in New Brunswick. He most recently served as a Policy Advisor in Renewable Energy and Energy Innovation, and Senior Advisor in Smart Grid Technology and Innovation with the New Brunswick Department of Energy.

David’s top priority will be to further the Saint John Board of Trade’s mission to make Saint John the best place in Canada to start, run and grow a business. After an extensive recruitment effort, we feel fortunate to have found such a qualified candidate. We know our members and our team at the Saint John Board of Trade will benefit from David’s experience, vision and leadership.

The Board also wishes to acknowledge and thank Dick Daigle, who has served as our interim Executive Director over the last six months. Dick has kindly offered to assist us as David transitions into his new role.

Eric Poirier, Chairman

Saint John Board of Trade

e-mail: epoirier@sjboardoftrade.com