VICTORIA – VIATEC originally announced a planned addition of three new positions but the quality of the candidates was so impressive, they decided to create a fourth role to make room for their top choices.
“VIATEC has had an exciting history,” said Dan Gunn, VIATEC’s CEO. “We are one of the first organizations of our kind in the country and, thanks to an amazing community, we have a reputation for getting a lot done with a small crew. As our tech community has grown in size and prominence, so has the potential and expectations of VIATEC. All of this momentum has led to this watershed moment. We have worked hard to capture the imagination of our partners from the Private and Public sector and, thanks to their belief in our vision of supporting the growth of the local tech sector to $10 billion in revenue by 2030, we are surging forward with a significant expansion in capacity, resources and programming. The level of interest and quality of candidates that came forward was beyond our expectations and we are excited to welcome four more incredible people to our crew.”
Lindsay Richmond has been hired as the Director of Leadership & Learning. Originally from Toronto, Lindsay brings over a decade of experience designing training solutions for a wide range of clients, including TELUS, Bell and Voodoo Games. She got a taste of Victoria’s tech community when attending this year’s VIATEC Awards and has been hooked ever since. Her goal at VIATEC will be to inspire leaders to tackle challenges in creative ways and apply new skills to achieve sustainable success, while also working directly with members to address more specific learning and development needs.
“I’m thrilled to advance the development of VIATEC’s Leadership Program. The creation of a sustainable program to support our highest potential leaders will benefit the entire community,” said Richmond.
Jacquelyn Novak has been hired as the Director of Talent. A world traveller via her career and overseas sports coaching, Jacquelyn brings a solid background in human capital consulting at Deloitte, with a specialization in strategic talent. She’s passionate about optimizing talent and her work has already had a tremendous impact on the organizations and industries she’s worked with. Jacquelyn will develop and optimize talent acquisition strategies and create talent pipelines for future hiring needs for the local tech community, including executive and leadership roles.
“I am thrilled to join the VIATEC team and help our members tackle one of their biggest challenges… people. Not just people, but amazing, talented people that will help this industry continue to grow at an impressive rate!”
Sadie Evans has been hired as the Marketing & Communications Manager. Joining VIATEC from Ingrooves Music Group, Sadie is a people-person with strong project management and communication skills, along with a creative arts background writing and performing with Victoria’s artistic community. Sadie will build and maintain relationships with the tech community by sharing their stories, letting everyone know what VIATEC is up to and supporting VIATEC’s strategic plans, communications and events.
“I am excited to dive in and really get to know VIATEC’s membership and community,” said Evans. “VIATEC is an essential component of Victoria’s ecosystem and I could not be more thrilled to be joining this
bustling environment and exceptional team.”
Carly McGregor has been hired as the Community Engagement Manager. With a resume and presence that just couldn’t be ignored, VIATEC created this additional position in order to add Carly’s skills in outreach, logistics and fundraising through the MS Society, to its roster. Carly’s goals will be to create stronger connections with members and partners, help them create more impact through VIATEC Foundation initiatives and to strengthen the connections members have to VIATEC.
“I look forward to learning more about the creativity and passion our local tech sector
boasts, and strengthening relationships to build an even stronger tech community in Victoria,” said McGregor.
“As a result of these new roles, VIATEC will have more than 50 per cent more resources dedicated to serving our tech community,” continued Gunn. “That alone is a big leap, but I’m confident that as our new crew members ramp up new programming and enhanced communications and engagement, this is going to provide even more impact and value to our members.”
VIATEC’s strategic goal is focused on helping Victoria’s tech sector from $4 billion to $10 billion in revenues by 2030. VIATEC believes the biggest thing holding back the growth of the tech community (just like everywhere), is the ability to attract experienced, senior talent. The tech community needs people who have scaled big, know what it takes and how to do it.
The emergence of more locally founded and built anchor companies is a long-term goal, and in the meantime, VIATEC has set out to identify the highest potential leaders and companies and provide them with advanced skills training. They’re not turning their back on medium sized companies, lifestyle ventures or start-ups; They’re focusing on building great leaders and every organization needs those. Programs that support the highest potential leaders and ventures will benefit the entire community.
Imagine Greater Victoria’s $4.06 billion tech sector and its 16,775 employees were one entity. That would make it a Fortune 500 company (or at least close). The vast majority of companies that size have programs designed to identify their top performers and their highest potential team members so that they can provide them with professional and personal development and training.
