It is with mixed emotion that we announce that Don Grant stepped down as the Executive Director of the Ocean Startup Project effective today. He felt it was important to stay until OceanFest launched successfully yesterday in Montréal. Don has accepted a new position and is leaving our amazing team to work with a private sector company.

The Ocean Startup Project stemmed from an idea some Atlantic Canadian partners had to make Atlantic Canada the best place in the world to start and grow an ocean technology company. Don Grant joined us in early 2020 as the Executive Director to build a team and bring this vision to life. In Don’s first few months on the job, he was hit with the effects of a pandemic on what we devised would be a largely in-person focused plan to get innovators across the region out to explore opportunities in the ocean space.

Don was quick to organize his team and pivot. Since that time, he has led a dedicated team of passionate people to not only bring the vision to reality, but to far exceed the vision our partners had. Don has expanded the scope of the project to a pan-Canadian project and has enabled their team to work with companies and partners from across Canada, and in fact, around the world.

The Ocean Startup Project would not be where it is today if not for Don’s steadfast leadership, relationship-building, tenacity and strategic thinking. We wish Don every success in his new role!

The Steering Committee of the Ocean Startup Project