Long-time entrepreneur Jill Earthy has been appointed as the first chief executive officer for the newly-formed InBC, a crown corporation responsible for a $500 million investment fund created by the government of British Columbia.
Earthy will assume the position in mid-December, bringing over 20 years of experience in the investment, community, and social sectors focused on supporting women. She is currently the CEO of WeBC (formerly Women’s Enterprise Centre), a non-profit organization that supports British Columbia-based women-led businesses.
Earthy is the former chief of growth officer at FrontFundr, which offers an equity crowdfunding platform, until she took on the role of advisor for the company in July 2018. She is also a strategic advisor for the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub at The Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship.
The entrepreneur also supported female founders as head of growth for Female Funders from July 2018 to October 2019. Acquired by Highline BETA in 2017, Female Funders offers Angel Academy, an investor accelerator program designed for female corporate and innovation leaders.
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Earthy co-founded The RAISE Collective in May 2017 to foster connections between women investors, and collaborated with partners to provide learning and investment opportunities, resources, and networking events.
Reporting to the board of directors in her new position at InBC, Earthy’s immediate priorities will include advancing the operational readiness of the organization and the appointment of a chief investment officer and other executive positions.
InBC is overseen by a board of directors appointed by the provincial government. The InBC board of directors report to the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation.
The investment fund was created as part of the Government of British Columbia’s budget released in April 2021 to help scale small and medium-sized BC businesses, as well as to encourage a low carbon economy, support reconciliation with Indigenous people, and achieve greater diversity and inclusion.
InBC revealed the nine members joining its board of directors in May. The board includes people from BC’s private sector, research community, and provincial government, chaired by Christine Bergeron, president and CEO of Vancity, a BC-based credit union.
Image from Women of Influence