After spending eight years at Innovacorp, Andrew Ray has left the Halifax-based early-stage VC organization.
Ray, who most recently served as the Government of Nova Scotia-backed Crown corporation’s VP of investment and managing director of the Nova Scotia First Fund—Innovacorp’s early-stage VC fund—announced the news in a LinkedIn post on Monday.
Ray did not provide a specific reason for his departure.
Ray did not provide a specific reason for his departure. BetaKit has reached out to Ray for comment on and additional context regarding the move but had not received a response by publication time.
The move comes shortly after Nova Scotia announced plans to combine and consolidate Innovacorp and Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI)—the province’s economic development agency. Innovacorp and NSBI are being amalgamated into a single organization, Invest Nova Scotia, at the behest of the province’s Conservative government, which claimed the changes address issues of overlapping mandates, duplicate operations, and outdated legislation.
Invest Nova Scotia’s new chair, Tom Hickey, also recently left the organization, tendering his resignation two weeks after he was appointed to the role.
Prior to his departure last Friday, Ray oversaw Innovacorp’s VC activities, helping the organization find and fund innovative Nova Scotian startups.
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“It’s been a pretty amazing ride,” wrote Ray. “I’m super grateful for all the amazing people I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years that have helped deliver truly ridiculous results for Nova Scotia, I really couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Established in 1995, Innovacorp invests in early-stage companies and private funds like Build Ventures and Concrete Ventures. In addition to providing capital, the agency offers access to incubation, expert advice, and other support services to a list of target sectors that include IT, life sciences, cleantech, and ocean tech.
Before joining Innovacorp, Ray worked as a spacecraft systems engineer with MDA for nearly 10 years. Ray joined Innovacorp in 2014, serving as investment manager until 2018, when he became managing director.
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Through investments at Innovacorp, Ray has held board seats at companies like Halifax B2B sales and marketing firm LeadSift, video game tech startup Swarmio Media, enterprise software developer QRA Corp, and online proposal company Proposify, chairing the latter’s board.
Innovacorp’s portfolio also includes healthtech startup Bright, AgTech company Nexus Robotics, and cleantech firm CarbonCure, among others.
Ray stated in the LinkedIn post that he has “no less ambitious plans for the future,” telling others to stay tuned for more information.
Feature image from Innovacorp.