After nearly two decades of service to Genesis, Fred Cahill, President & CEO, The Cahill Group, will be stepping down from the role of Chair of Genesis’ Board of Directors on June 30th, 2022. Fred’s impact on Genesis and its’ clients has been immeasurable. Now in its twenty-fifth year as an innovation hub, Fred helped to lay the crucial groundwork for Genesis’ path early on in its’ mission of building amazing companies. Since he first starting volunteering, companies such as Verafin, Genoa Design, Rutter, Mysa and Milk Moovement have put Newfoundland & Labrador on the international stage and boosted the vibrant local tech sector that we see today.

An engineer and longtime business leader, Fred brought his combined passion for innovation, entrepreneurship and community service to his role with Genesis. He helped to advise on the strategic vision of the organization, which grew the portfolio from a single program with a handful of clients to today’s slate of five programs, hundreds of clients, two locations and countless partnerships. Fred brought his experience from serving on Memorial’s Board of Regents and the Engineering & Applied Science Advisory Council, as well as countless boards in the local business community, and helped to bridge the worlds of academia and industry that positioned Genesis as a leader in commercializing technology-based ideas. Genesis and its’ clients, have benefitted tremendously from his impact. Today, the organization and the client base stands united in wishing him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Stepping into the role of Chair as of July 1st is longtime Director Sherry Walsh, (Partner, Assurance & Advisory - Atlantic, Deloitte LLP). Having served on the Board since 2010, Sherry has been instrumental to Genesis’ sizable growth. Her experience advising both the public and private sectors with Deloitte offers Genesis a deep bench of knowledge, particularly in finance. Sherry’s countless hours of volunteering in the local community include past roles with the St. John’s Board of Trade and United Way. Genesis is fortunate and excited to be guided by such an experienced advocate for local business, in addition to the existing board of directors.

Michelle Simms, president & CEO of Genesis, reflected positively on the leadership transition. “Working with Fred has been an honour and a privilege. Fred has contributed significantly to the strategic direction and priorities of Genesis, its programs and its board. His leadership has made us all stronger and has opened up significant programming opportunities which benefit our client base. While we will miss Fred’s steady guidance at the table, we are excited to have Sherry Walsh stepping up into the Chair role. Sherry has a great history with Genesis and a solid understanding of our vision. We are looking forward to reaching new heights with Sherry’s guidance.”

To see the complete list of board members, please visit our Board of Directors page.