Huddle Presents: Home Office

Several years ago, I was part of a group in Saint John that started a fundraising initiative called 100 Men Who Care. The idea was to bring together men to fundraise for non-profit organizations in the community. We were inspired by a group of women who had founded a similar group in Saint John in 2013 – the 100 Women Who Care of Greater Saint John.We had a good run, hosting a series of events over a two-year period.But we didn't have the staying power of the women, who are still going strong after nearly 10 years … and close to a million dollars in funds raised for local organizations doing essential work in the community.But we didn't have a Debbie Rathwell, one of the founders of the women's group.Debbie runs a company called “Red” that does corporate event planning as part of its services – she has the kinds of skills and experience you need to make this kind of initiative successful and sustainable.I've always admired the work of this group and have been planning to have Debbie on the show when they hit the million-dollar mark.They're not there yet, but they're close as Debbie told me in our chat recorded the week after their most recent meeting.The group voted to give $26,000 to an organization called “The Compassionate Grief Centre”, which works with people struggling with illness, grief, loss and life's challenges.That meeting took the 100 Women Who Care group over the nine-hundred-thousand-dollar mark.In our chat, Debbie talks about the power and inspiration of women coming together to help people in their community.We also talk about her career journey, which began with her childhood dream of becoming a professional figure skater.And we discuss our personal connections too. I grew up down the street from Debbie - she was actually one of my babysitters when I was a kid.

The serial entrepreneur from Saint John chats with Mark Leger about her career in business and the fintech company that now employs more than 30 people and has more than 3,000 financial advisors using its platform.Loir and I work just down the street from each other – me in my home office and Lori in her office in a nearby commercial building. But on the latest episode of the Huddle "Home Office" podcast, we had to connect by video call because of the Covid-19 restrictions. It was probably for the best given how cold it was."It gives me a lot of joy," says Lori. "Entrepreneurship is challenging. People think there are these overnight successes...that is very rarely the case, if ever. I still have yet to see it myself, though I'm sure it happens from time to time.""[Being an entrepreneur] requires a lot of patience for outcomes. At the same time, you have to be planning and making decisions very quickly. You have to be relentless in making them daily. You have to be patient, you have to make decisions with limited information, so your core belief in what you're doing is really what allows you to ride the waves."

In the fourth and final chat about the three-month "Electric Summer Social Tour" of New Brunswick, Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault about how their journey of discovery would continue long after the tour ended.

On the latest in a series of conversations about their Love For Local New Brunswick "Electric Summer Social Tour," Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault chat with Mark Leger about their latest adventures on the road, including a trip to Jason's favourite campground in Woodstock and Mylène's first trip to McCain country in Florenceville.

Marcel LeBrun is best known as a tech entrepreneur, a former executive at Radian6 and Salesforce. But he's also a social entrepreneur and joins host Mark Leger for a chat about plans to build an affordable housing community and social enterprise centre on the north side of Fredericton.LeBrun's project is focused on the homeless and people in unstable living situations. But their conversation touches on housing issues generally and the challenges people are facing with increased rents across the region.

The Harvest Music Festival in Fredericton has a lot to celebrate this year. It's the 30th anniversary of the popular late summer festival and it's back after a year off because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meghan Morrison is the chair of the organizing committee. Jeff Richardson is the general manager. They're also longtime fans of the festival and join Mark Leger to chat about their favourite memories of past festivals and what to expect this year. 

On the latest in a series of conversations about their Love For Local New Brunswick "Electric Summer Social Tour," Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault chat with Mark Leger about their night at an old Dorchester jailhouse turned into an Airbnb; a tour of the lush Kingsbrae Gardens in St. Andrews; and the raucous Acadian Day celebrations in Caraquet.Huddle is a media partner for the tour that has Jason and Mylène travelling to 104 communities in 104 days. That doesn't mean Mark gets to go along for the ride, but it does mean he can connect with them on the road and live vicariously through their adventures. On the latest Huddle “Home Office” podcast, I chat with them at the end of a day in St. Andrews, as just as they're about to leave to catch the ferries to Campobello Island.

Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault have dream jobs for those of us feeling cooped up during the pandemic. They're travelling the province promoting small businesses and organizations in 104 communities, as part of Love for Local New Brunswick's “Electric Summer Social Tour.” Huddle is a media partner for the tour. That doesn't mean Mark gets to go along for the ride, but he can connect with them on the road and live vicariously through their adventures.

As an elementary school kid, he learned to create prize-winning software. As a teenager in Fredericton, he sold hockey cards and made enough money to buy a car, and then launched an arcade and pool business. On this week's episode, Mark Leger talks to Jody about how he went on to work for and launch many tech startups. He's now the founder and CEO of Introhive, a software company that employs around 350 people in the Maritimes, U.S. Europe and India. And it's poised to grow even more with a recent $100-million (U.S.) investment. 

The Saint John-based company has an innovative product - a tea flash-frozen within hours of being picked that is the best way to preserve freshness and maximize antioxidant properties. Huddle has covered the various stages of Millennia's growth, from their appearance on Dragons' Den, to a venture capital raise of more than $500,000, to the tea being sold in Sobeys and Safeway stores across the country. When Mark Leger heard the news that Millennia TEA would be sold in Whole Foods Canada stores, he decided it was time for a chat, fittingly, in the old Red Rose Tea factory in Saint John.

The publishing and entertainment company has 90 million monthly users and stories on its platform. Some of those stories have been published as books and turned into shows and movies for places like Netflix and Hulu. Mark Leger chats with the co-founder and CEO about Wattpad being acquired by Naver for more than $600-million (U.S.) and its plans for accelerated growth of the company and its Halifax headquarters.

Mark Leger has been a fan of Dartmouth's Joel Plaskett's for 20 years, listening to his albums and going to his live shows in small suburban coffee shops and arenas with The Tragically Hip. Joel also runs a production studio where he's worked with Maritime musicians like Jimmy Rankin, David Myles and Mo Kenny. He runs a local coffee shop and record store run in partnership with Taz records. He's an entrepreneur, a Juno and ECMA-award winner, and a really interesting guy to talk to about music, family, the challenges of the pandemic, and life in the Maritimes.

Jennifer Wagner is the president of CarbonCure, the Dartmouth-based company on a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the construction industry. It has developed a system to inject carbon dioxide into the mixing process. The Co2 is converted into a mineral, makes the concrete stronger and reducing carbon emissions. Through venture capital funds, CarbonCure has received investments from Amazon, Microsoft, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg. And Amazon is also a CarbonCure customer, using the technology in the construction of its new buildings.

In this edition of The Quick Huddle, associate editor and staff writer Cherise Letson reads her piece "How Skinfix Is Taking The Skincare World By Storm From Halifax".

The Halifax-based entrepreneur suffered from anxiety as a boy growing up in a small village outside Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It went untreated for years until he finally asked for help in Grade 12. Joel eventually made a lasting breakthrough in therapy years later and ultimately left his job as a financial analyst to pursue something more aligned with his values and passions. His startup Tranquility is an online platform that helps people manage anxiety and depression.

Do I need to be wearing a mask at work or not? Outside or not? In a restaurant seated at a table or going to the restroom? What if I don't look down and see the arrows on the ground? What if there are no arrows?! Mark Leger admits he's still confused more than a year into the pandemic.

There's been a lot of talk about people moving to the Maritimes to escape the rising housing costs and fast-paced life in the bigger cities. But it takes a real sense of adventure to pack up your family and move east in a pandemic. On this week's episode, Mark Leger chats with Jordan and Jess Owens, who moved from Toronto to Saint John last fall with their daughter Irie and the family dog. They've been chronicling their new life in a series of popular YouTube videos.

Once an old-school newspaper guy, Mark Leger is now a fully digital creature, as a consumer and producer of news and current affairs content for web sites, e-newsletters and his now-favourite medium, podcasts.

Here's a preview of Huddle's newest show: Insights with Don Mills and David Campbell. First episode drops April 8. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. 

There have been bumps along the way for the growing cannabis industry in New Brunswick. Cannabis NB lost money in its first year and was almost privatized. Homegrown companies like Organigram had ups and downs. But industry leaders say a sector that now employs 2,000 people is primed for growth. Mark Leger wanted to know what that future looked like, so had a chat with Brennan Sisk the New Brunswick Cannabis Office and Tanner Stewart of Stewart Farms.

There are so many compelling aspects to TJ Galiardi's life and Dartmouth-based business that takes discarded produce from farms and grocery stores and makes protein supplement products.   He's a former NHL hockey player with several teams, including the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche. The company landed a large supplier in Sobeys, which is also a major retail partner along with Sportchek. It also recently secured a $10-million investment from two venture capital source, including Arlene Dickinson from Dragons' Den.

Alejandro Riquelme and Anne You just wanted some empanadas. Now, they're the owners of Buena Pie Co., sharing authentic Chilean flavours with all of Halifax. Huddle's Trevor Nichols tells the story. 

Rhiannon and Cathy are two of the founders of Sandpiper Ventures, which provides investment capital and mentorship to Atlantic Canadian companies led by women. It was named Sandpiper because the migratory bird is known for taking the lead and establishing and defending its territory, and because the venture capital firm wants to help women entrepreneurs soar with their growing businesses. Mark Leger chats with Cathy and Rhiannon about their entrepreneurial backgrounds, and then they dig into the work of Sandpiper and funding and mentoring women building companies in the region.

Low-wage workers deserve respect and more money, something that was emphasized in the early days of the pandemic. On this edition of 'Quick Huddle,' Mark Leger says we clearly need to bring that generous spirit into our policy formulations after the announcement last week of a meagre increase to New Brunswick's minimum wage.

The local poet and playwright was bothered by a series of murals in the city centre that featured eight historical figures – all white. It inspired him to produce “We Were Here”, the stories of eight black Canadians brought to life on the stage in partnership with the Saint John Theatre Company.   On this week's episode, Clyde chats with host Mark Leger about historical figures like Cornelius Sparrow, an escaped slave from Virginia who owned a barbershop and saloon in the mid-19th century, and Lena O'Ree, a housekeeper at a local hotel who took a stand and walked through the front door when even black celebrities like Louis Armstrong had to use the back door.

For 35 years, the owners of Chenpapa have been known, not only for their great Asian cuisine but for their kindness and generosity. On Saturday, February 6, Yi Chiao Chen and Pi Yeng Chen served the last of their customers before retiring. But, true to their nature, the couple did one last act of generosity by donating $5,000 of the money they made on their last day to IWK. Huddle staff writer Derek Montague tells the story. 

Otito Atansi and Lily Lynch are the cofounders of Sankara, an online food marketplace serving Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton and Halifax. Otito is originally from Nigeria and Lily is from Halifax. They started a Nigerian food stall at an outdoor Saint John market several years ago, surrounded by other vendors selling food from around the world. That inspired them to create an e-commerce and marketing platform to help those vendors grow their businesses and share their food and culture more widely.

The CEO and President of New Brunswick's storied candy and chocolate company has worked there since she was a teenager on the “peppermint line” one summer. Part of the fifth generation of family members to operate the business that's nearly 150 years old and now employs around 300 people, Mark Leger chats with Bryana about the innovations and expansions at a company that remains an important player in the province's economy. And, of course, we also talk about what it's like to work for a chocolate company and have a birthday on Valentine's Day.

In this edition of "The Quick Huddle", editor Mark Leger reflects on how residential construction is booming across the region despite Covid-19. He's happy about that even though it's costing him the waterfront in front of his house.  

The CEO of Major Drilling has been with the company for 26 years. An accountant by training, Denis Larocque joined the Moncton-based company when it went public in the mid-1990s and helped it establish operations around the world. Now the head of a publicly-traded global firm with a market cap of more than $575-million and stock price on the rise since the early-day lows of the pandemic, Denis chats with host Mark Leger about his time with Major Drilling and its emerging opportunities in the “green economy,” in particular.

The award-winning singer-songwriter moved home from Halifax at the same time as touring was slowing down during the pandemic. He tells host Mark Leger that it allowed him to reconnect with his community and spend more time with his family. But he has nonetheless stayed active in the music business, releasing one album and getting ready to put out another. He's also launched “Myles From Home” a live talk show on YouTube that features interviews with leaders in the Canadian cultural scene like Tom Power of the CBC radio show, Q, and musician Alan Doyle.

On this edition of The Quick Huddle, staff writer Derek Montegue reads his piece A Happy Ending For Sydelle's Fish and Chips In Bedford, about a popular Halifax-area restaurant that burned to the ground last August, but through community support and hard work, rebuilt bigger and better in a new location.

We are introducing a new feature called “The Quick Huddle” this week to complement our long-form interviews with Maritime community leaders and entrepreneurs. From week to week, “The Quick Huddle” will feature shorter interviews and readings of stories and columns by our staff members. First up is a commentary by Huddle editor and podcast host Mark Leger on books on Maritime entrepreneurs that have been featured on the podcast over the last week months.

Keith McIntosh is the founder and CEO of PLATO Testing, an Indigenous-led and staffed software testing firm based in Fredericton. Imelda Perley is a Wolastoqey elder from Tobique First Nation and Elder-In-Residence at UNB. Together they lead a Gathering Circle of Indigenous leaders and business people like Marcel LeBrun, David Alston and Andrea Feunekes. They have specific goals, like advocating for an inquiry into system racism in the province. But they tell host Mark Leger that they are mainly interested in bringing people together to talk, foster understanding and trust, and amplify the voices of the Indigenous people.

Host Mark Leger has been absorbed by books about successful Maritime entrepreneurs over the past few months, interviewing the authors of books on K.C. Irving and the founders of Radian6 and Q1 Labs, companies that sold for more than a combined $1-billion in the last decade. On this episode, Mark chats with Tareq Hadhad of Peace By Chocolate in Antigonish. Tariq and his father Isam lost the family business, a chocolate factory bombed during the war in Syria, but have since rebuilt it in Nova Scotia. Their perseverance and optimism in the face of great challenges are chronicled in a new book by Halifax journalist Jon Tattrie.

Huddle recently published a story on plans for a new solar-powered neighbourhood in Moncton that was read by more than 10,000 people. A couple of years ago, Carl Duivendvoorden's commentaries on the costs and benefits of buying an electric car generated the same level of interest. And just two weeks ago, he took another step toward a fossil-fuel-free life when he installed a solar-power system to power his home and charge his car. A writer, speaker and sustainability consultant, Carl chats with host Mark Leger about why going green is easier, cheaper and more popular than you might think.

The former major junior league hockey player has built a successful retail clothing and tourism business, selling the virtues of life in rural Canada through his companies Country Liberty and Liberty Village. In a few short years, he's reached $2.5-million in sales and scored two investors for $150,000 during a recent episode of Dragons' Den on CBC TV. Sawyer joins host Mark Leger to chat about the joys of growing in small-town New Brunswick and how he's leading a business through a period of rapid growth despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Alicia Ismach was on the ground floor when Israel started building its now booming fintech sector. The entrepreneur-in-residence at Venn Innovation in Moncton sees the potential for the same kind of success here.   Alicia joins host Mark Leger to chat about her entrepreneurial and personal journey from Argentina to Israel and now Moncton. Alicia says the $2.75-billion Verafin deal puts the region on the global fintech map. Now she says we must leverage that success to help grow a sector that now includes more than 100 companies across the region.

Host Mark Leger has always wanted to connect with Mario Thériault for a chat about his wide-ranging career. Mario was a broadcast journalist in the early days, a published poet and short story writer, a communications adviser to his brother and one-time premier of New Brunswick, Camille Thériault, and for the last 20 years, the founder and CEO of the Moncton market intelligence firm ShiftCentral. Mario sold the company to U.S.-based LAC Group in 2019 and stayed on as Chief Business Development Officer. Mark finally caught up with Mario after he was recently named chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. They talked about politics, writing, and building a business that reaches global markets from the Maritimes.

The UNB economics professor accepted his job to come here from Alberta just as MacLean's was publishing its much-loathed article, “Can anything save New Brunswick?”, about whether the province's economy was in permanent decline. On this week's episode, Herb tells host Mark Leger he arrived here to find that all was not lost. We just need to understand that the foundations of our manufacturing economy are strong and that traditional businesses need to be appreciated and nurtured, not cast off as “sunset” industries dominated by big players unfairly labelled as “monopolies.”

On the September 25 episode, host Mark Leger chatted with Gordon Pitts about “Unicorn in the Woods”, his new book about the creation and eventual sale of cybersecurity firm Q1 Labs and social media company Radian6, which together sold for more than a billion dollars.   On this episode, Mark chats with new Propel CEO Kathryn Lockhart and Peter Moreira, business journalist and owner of Entrevestor, about nurturing “baby unicorns” too. Mark chats with Kathryn and Peter about the region's emerging success stories, the challenges and opportunities of Covid-19 for the tech sector, and how to create a “baby unicorn farm.”

A true marriage of hearts and minds, Blair and Rosalyn met through Junior Achievement in Halifax and talked about starting a business together on their first date. More than 30 years later, they co-own Mrs. Dunster's, a much-loved food business that continues to grow through new product lines and acquisitions of other companies like Kredl's Corner Market in Hampton and McBuns Bakery in Moncton. Blair and Rosalyn join host Mark Leger to chat about their plans for expansion in Moncton and their desire to see the regional food sector grow as it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Atlantic Canada's airports got more bad news this week with WestJet indefinitely suspending service to Moncton and Fredericton and cutting back on service to Halifax and St. John's. Derrick Stanford is the CEO of the Saint John Airport and president of the Atlantic Canada Airports Association. Derrick joins host Mark Leger to talk about why airports are an essential part of a robust, growing economy, and how we can do more to support them. Mark and Derrick also look forward to a time when the industry is on the rise again and they can rest easy in a sun destination of their choice.

The president of the Atlantica Centre for Energy says the sector is complex, a “bowl of spaghetti” that includes interconnected power grids and energy sources across the Atlantic region. But one thing is clear, she says, consumer demands are changing the landscape, forcing the region to look at low-carbon alternatives like wind farms and small modular reactors that aren't “your dad's Buick,” old-style nuclear reactors. Colleen joins host Mark Leger to talk about economic opportunities in this post-Energy East environment and they also chat about their shared love of hiking and travelling.

Huddle editor Mark Leger has chatted with many business leaders on “Home Office” bullish about their views to safely open up the economy as the Covid-19 caseloads have dropped across the region.   On our first podcast, Marcel LeBrun and David Alston presented a plan of their own, a week before New Brunswick rolled out the official one. Then we talked to business leader and columnist Don Mills, who didn't want to see Nova Scotia left behind and was an early advocate for the “Atlantic Bubble.”   This week Mark chats with Halifax Chamber CEO Patrick Sullivan, who says our cities are hurting, particularly the downtown cores where restrictions need to loosened so the workers can repopulate the largely empty office buildings and eat at area restaurants again.

Fifteen years ago, journalist and author Gordon Pitts wrote “The Codfathers”, a book about regional business tycoons like the Irvings, McCains and Sobeys. He's back now with “Unicorn in the Woods”, a book about the region's tech titans. The story revolves around the creation and eventual sale of cybersecurity firm Q1 Labs and social media monitoring company Radian6. Gordon joins Mark Leger to talk about his page-turner, a compelling story about the founders, and how they grew globally competitive companies out of Saint John and Fredericton and influenced a generation of tech entrepreneurs across the Atlantic region.

Atlantic Canadians see the Irvings as a regional economic powerhouse. But since the family's beginnings in northern New Brunswick in the 19th century, they have never seen themselves that way. K.C. was a “David”, not a “Goliath” - a tenacious entrepreneur who built a network of gas and service stations in the depression and an oil refinery in a competitive global environment. This is a subject of Donald Savoie's new book on Irving Oil, “Thanks for the Business” and he joins Mark Leger to talk about it. They talk a little politics too, with the results of the N.B. election fresh in their minds. The Irving book chat starts at around the 25-minute mark.

In the final “Home Office” conversation with party leaders, Huddle editor Mark Leger speaks with PC leader Blaine Higgs about a range of issues, including the decision to cut ties with a candidate who shared a social media post promoting violence against the transgender community; his opposition to funding abortion services at a private clinic; a proposed ban on glyphosate spraying; and economic growth in a province feeling good about its ability to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the fourth of five “Home Office” conversations with party leaders, Huddle editor Mark Leger speaks with NDP leader Mackenzie Thomason about working in the hotel industry and what it teaches him about paying New Brunswickers adequately for the work they do. Mackenzie also talks about the dangers of concentrated corporate power and how he does door-to-door campaigning in a safe, respectful way for voters.

In the third of five “Home Office” conversations with party leaders, Huddle editor Mark Leger speaks with Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers about transforming the N.B. economy in cybersecurity, nuclear and tourism sectors; growing the population to 1 million people; advancing a progressive social vision by doing things like funding abortion services at the Clinic 554 in Fredericton…and cycling the backroads and main streets of the province.

In the second of five “Home Office” conversations with party leaders, Huddle editor Mark Leger speaks with People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin. The party is best known for its criticisms of official bilingualism, but Austin also argues for lower business taxes, and responsible development of natural gas resources and the Energy East pipeline. Like David Coon of the Green Party, Austin believes a minority government works best for the people of the province.