New chief takes helm of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster

Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) has appointed Kendra MacDonald as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead the initiative towards the goal of making ocean economy one of the Canada’s most significant and sustainable value-creating economic segments.

Skilled in engaging key stakeholders across international networks to accomplish outstanding results, Kendra MacDonald has led projects in a wide variety of industries including public sector, power and utilities, marine transportation, and others with a focus on large public companies.

“It is an honour to be the inaugural CEO of the Ocean Supercluster and to have the opportunity to lead an organization that will have such a dramatic impact on Canada’s ocean economy. Together, with the support of our diverse partners, I look forward to building on the current momentum to realize the untapped potential of our oceans,” MacDonald said.

The OSC is an industry-led collaboration that is created around a critical mass of ocean-based companies in Atlantic Canada to tackle the shared challenges of multiple ocean sectors through a collaborative program of innovation activities.

The core strategic priorities for the OSC are to formulate a shared innovation map to guide technology leadership projects, and to undertake a program of cluster building to enhance the quality of collaboration, while also extending their benefits widely.

The OSC is a national undertaking, with investment from companies in eight provinces and one territory, and linkages initiated with indigenous groups and international partners.

It is one of five superclusters that received federal support as part of the Innovation Superclusters Initiative, which allocated a small number of high-value, strategic investments in the form of non-repayable contributions to industry-led consortia.

Selected superclusters will benefit from contributions totaling up to C$950 million in funding that will be matched with private sector investment for maximum impact.