Board of Directors

Bruce MacRae : Chairman

Prior to joining Hastings Equity Partners, Bruce co-founded Parthenon Capital where he led numerous investments in the business services, distribution, manufacturing, and publishing sectors. Before Parthenon, Bruce was the CEO/Director of Flow Control Equipment, Inc., an oil field & gas pipeline equipment manufacturer located in Houston, Texas. While leading Flow Control, Bruce was responsible for developing and executing a strategic plan that involved M&A, an expansion of international distribution, and a reduction of manufacturing costs - all of which led to a 50% growth in revenues and nearly 4x increase of earnings in less than two years. Other professional experiences include working as a senior strategy consultant at The Parthenon Group and CSC Index (where he received the Chairman’s Technology Award), a business analyst at the BOC Group, and a development engineer at AT&T where he led the design and implementation of JIT automated manufacturing processes.

Bruce holds a BSME with honors from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a MSIE from Purdue University. In addition, he received his M.B.A. with distinction from the University of Michigan.

Brian Tobin, PC : Independent Director

Brian served as the Federal Minister of Industry from October 2000 to January 2002. During his tenure as Minister of Industry, Brian worked with all sectors of the Canadian economy to improve Canada’s innovation performance.

Previously he served as the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1996 - 2000. He won two consecutive majority governments in provincial elections held in February 1996 and February 1999. As Premier, Brian set an aggressive development agenda. Newfoundland and Labrador's economic turnaround was dramatic during his tenure. Brian served as a Member of Parliament from 1980 - 1996 and served as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in the federal cabinet from 1993 - 1996.

Brian is currently a Senior Business Advisor with Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP in Toronto and a member of the firm's Public Policy Group.

Derrick Rowe : Independent Director

Derrick served as CEO of Fishery Products International (TSE: FPL) Ltd. from 2002 through 2005. FPI Limited was one of North America’s largest seafood companies engaged in the harvesting, processing and global sourcing of quality seafood. Derrick has led corporate operations that span the globe, and has extensive experience with business in highly complex regulatory and operating environments. He was founder, Chairman and CEO of Stratos Global Corporation (TSE:SGB) and built the company from start-up to a successful public corporation that generates revenue of over $400 million.

Karl Kenny : Chief Strategy Officer

Karl co-founded Marport Canada Inc. and was appointed its President & Chief Executive Officer in July 2003. He has been involved in high technology since 1980 in a wide variety of technical and executive roles. He served as a Canadian Navy maritime surface officer and has significant expertise in communications, electronic navigation systems and digital imaging. During the 1980’s he was part of the Microsoft mouse project team with responsibilities for offshore manufacturing. In 1996, he co-founded Telepix Imaging Inc., a world leader in digital imaging software and photo e-commerce. In 1999, Telepix was purchased by a European photo equipment manufacturer for over $50 million. Karl currently serves as an Advisory Board Member at the National Research Council’s Institute for Ocean Technology and is an entrepreneur mentor at the Genesis Centre of Memorial University.

Rear Admiral Millard Firebaugh, USN (ret) : Independent Director

Rear Admiral Millard Firebaugh, USN (ret) is currently Minta Martin Professor of Practice at the University of Maryland (since 2007), an independent consultant in technical matters related to defence and energy (since 2006) and a member of the Management Committee of Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC (since 2006), a company focused on ocean energy projects. Between 2005 and 2006, Admiral Firebaugh was President and Chief Operating Officer of SatCon Technology Corp., a company that develops power conversion solutions. Admiral Firebaugh served for more than 33 years in the United States Navy as a Engineering Duty Officer, retiring from the United States Navy in 1995 as a Rear Admiral. Admiral Firebaugh obtained the following degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: BS (Physics, 1961), MS (Electrical Engineering, 1966), Naval Engineer (1966) and SC (Ocean Engineering, 1972). Admiral Firebaugh has received numerous awards and recognition throughout his career and holds the American Society of Naval Engineers’ Gold media, the US Navy Distinguished Service Medal and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Ted Patton : Independent Director

Mr. Ted Patton is a Managing Director of Hastings Equity and has been with Hastings Equity since March 2004. He is also a Managing Member of Marport Investors. Prior to starting Hastings Equity, Mr. Patton helped start Boston Light Software Corp., an internet technology company, in 1998, which was sold to Intuit Inc. in 1999. Mr. Patton helped grow the company from four to 80 people, grow revenues to $5 million in three years, make two acquisitions of add-on service providers and negotiate 15 strategic partnerships. Prior to that Mr. Patton ran the QuickBooks business at Intuit Inc., an e-finance company. Mr. Patton has also worked at Intel Corporation, FMC Corporation and Goldman Sachs & Co. in Mergers & Acquisitions. Mr. Patton was an Olympics Bronze medalist at the 1988 Olympics and was inducted to the US Rowing Hall of Fame in 1991. He received his MBA from Northwestern University and his BA from Brown University. He is the Founder and President of Caring from a Distance, a national, non-profit focused on long distance caregivers, and is a Trustee of the National Rowing Foundation.

Oskar Axelsson : Executive VP - Sales

Oskar co-founded Marport in 1996 and is responsible for the development of the commercial fishing business and the first generation of Marport sensors. He is actively involved in all new product development and has a vast knowledge of the industry and end user requirements He currently manages global sales and distribution for the Company from its sales and support office in Reykjavik, Iceland. He has been involved in the marine electronics industry since 1979. He co-founded and operated Ennco sf, an Icelandic marine electronic service center from 1981-1986. He was Chief Electronic Technician at Radiomidun from 1987-1992 and served as Sales Manager at R. Sigmundsson Marine Electronics.