Board of Directors
Karl Kenny
Karl co-founded Marport Canada Inc. in July 2003 and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer until December 2011. Karl has over 30 years of technical and executive experience in communications, electronic navigation systems, and digital imaging. Karl co-founded Telepix Imaging Inc., a world leader in digital imaging software and photo e-commerce which was purchased by a European photo equipment manufacturer for over $50 million. Karl was twice named as a Top 50 CEO by Atlantic Business magazine. He was inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Business Hall of Fame in May, 2012. Karl also serves as an entrepreneur mentor at Memorial University’s Genesis Centre.
Larry Puddister
Mr. Puddister’s 25+ years of professional experience covers the full gamut of heavy civil expertise, from hydroelectric and wind energy developments to oil and gas, transportation, mining, infrastructure, and marine construction. As the Executive Chairman and principal owner of Pennecon, Larry has positioned Pennecon as a leading provider of integrated solutions across a diverse portfolio: heavy civil, industrial, services & maintenance, and marine. Larry is also the majority shareholder and CEO of Newcrete, which is the leading producer of construction aggregate and supplier of ready-mix concrete, precast concrete, and masonry products to the construction industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. Outside of his professional work, Larry has a long history of supporting various charities and community organizations. As founder and Board Director of The Jacob Puddister Memorial Foundation, Larry leads this organization in its mandate to provide mental health resources to youth in Newfoundland and Labrador. He has also made significant contributions to the Canadian Mental Health Association, Memorial University, the Janeway Children’s Hospital, and multiple animal welfare associations. Larry holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Hons) from Memorial University, was named Atlantic Business Magazine’s CEO of the Year for 2016 and EY’s 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year – Atlantic.
Vice Admiral Michael J. Connor
In a 35-year career in which he rose to the rank of Vice Admiral in the United States Navy, Mike Connor commanded at the ship, squadron and task force levels. His assignments included command of USS SEAWOLF, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, Submarine Squadron Eight, Undersea Forces in the Western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf. He held several concurrent titles during his last assignment; including Commander, United States Submarine Forces, Commander, Submarine Forces Atlantic and Commander, Allied Submarine Command. He served as commander of U.S. submarine forces from September 2012 until September 2015. Vice Admiral Connor led the US Navy Submarine Force into robotic undersea systems, achieving key milestones including the first operational deployment and recovery of an unmanned underwater vehicle from a submarine. He also led innovation efforts that began the shift away from undersea search operations based on expensive platforms and moved toward operations based on large numbers of inexpensive vehicles. He has written extensively on the future of undersea warfare and is a sought-after speaker on undersea warfare topics. His education includes a B.A. in Physics from Bowdoin College and an M.A. in National Security Studies from the United States Naval War College. Vice Admiral Connor is currently the CEO of ThayerMahan Inc., a company he founded to accelerate the United States’ ability to effectively and efficiently monitor ocean activity using autonomous systems.
Shaun McEwan
Mr. McEwan is President of ADGA, a professional services firm focused on the defence and security market in Canada. Mr. McEwan has more than 25 years of experience in finance and executive leadership in public and private high tech companies. These include CEO and CFO for Quarterhill Inc. (TSX: QTRH), a growth-oriented, diversified holding company focused on the Industrial Internet of Things; the Chief Financial Officer of WiLAN, an publicly traded industry leading intellectual property (IP) licensing company; CFO of Breconridge Manufacturing Solutions, and CFO of Calian Technologies Ltd. before being promoted to President and CEO. He led the IPO of Microstar Software on the TSX in 1993 and has extensive experience with corporate financings and M&A transactions.
Bernard Mills
Mr. Mills is CEO and Managing Director at Stelia North America, part of the Airbus Group and a leading manufacturer of composites and metallic structures for the aerospace industry. An internationally experienced executive specializing in defense and critical infrastructure sectors, he was previously President of Ultra Sonar Systems, leading an international business unit of over 850 staff delivering underwater sensing technologies to the world’s most advanced navies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Mills worked for another underwater systems major in Thales, with roles in both France and Australia. He is Chairman of the Board of CADSI, Canada’s leading defense industry association.
Executive Team
Greg Reid
Mr. Reid was Kraken’s CFO from June 2015 to July 2019. Mr. Reid is a seasoned executive with over twenty years of finance, investment, and business development experience, predominantly focused on the technology sector. Mr. Reid was a founding partner of Wellington West Capital Markets Inc. and led the technology and clean technology research and then investment banking efforts until the sale of Wellington West Capital Inc. to National Bank Financial in 2011. Mr. Reid is a Charted Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant, (CPA, CA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Moya Cahill
Moya joined the Kraken Robotics team as Executive Vice President of Services in July 2021 following the acquisition of PanGeo Subsea. As CEO and co-founder of PanGeo Subsea, she has over 35 years’ experience in the offshore energy sector working in Houston, Texas, the United Kingdom, Norway, and the Middle East. She is also founder of Pan Maritime Energy Services. Moya holds a B.Eng. in Naval Architecture Marine Engineering from Memorial University. Moya is on the Board of Directors of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster and the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club.
David Shea
David Shea is the Executive Vice President of Products for Kraken Robotics, based in Mount Pearl, NL. Mr. Shea has been managing the design, production and operation of underwater robots in the United States and Canada for over 12 years. He has led field teams on sea trials all over the world, and was deploying Kraken’s sonar technologies for the discovery of the HMS Erebus from the 2014 Franklin Expedition and the Raise of the Arrow Expedition in 2017 (resulting in the discover of 2 of 9 Avro Arrow models). Previously, he was the Engineering Manager at Marine Robotics Inc, as well as being the lead design engineer for the SQX-500 AUV. Mr. Shea holds a B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Victoria.
D. Joseph Mackay
Mr. MacKay joined Kraken as CFO in July 2019. Mr. MacKay has over twenty five years of finance, investment, and research experience, targeted primarily toward the technology, telecommunications and media sectors. Mr. Mackay is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) with experience in audit, accounting and management consulting. Mr. MacKay’s capital markets experience included working as a equity research analyst at Scotia Capital, Desjardins Securities and Clarus Securities. Mr. MacKay is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
