By Fred Sgambati (’83)
Business leader Cathy Simpson promotes female empowerment and private sector growth in Atlantic Canada
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ACADIA BULLETIN SPRING 2020
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fter nearly 30 years as a leader in the telecom and IT sector, two questions continue to inform Cathy Simpson’s (’90) work and excite her passion: how can she help others realize the power of technology to grow jobs and enhance the economy in Atlantic Canada? What can she do to get more young women interested in the tech sector? The questions are not mutually exclusive. Although one speaks directly to her mandate as CEO of the not-for-profit TechImpact and the other to her side hustle, Up+Go, both govern where she is personally and professionally at this point in her life and career and occupy much of her time and attention. TechImpact is a private sector-led organization focused on growing the technology industry in Atlantic Canada. Founded in 2009, its membership is comprised of the CEOs, CTOs, and CIOs of the larger technology companies and the largest IT consumers of technology in the region. For the past five years, Simpson has also been the Board Chair of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF), an independent non-profit corporation that specializes in venture capital and research investments in NB. Up+GO is a social enterprise that she launched in 2015. As her career path as
Photo: Fred Sgambati
Tech Impact
