Accelerate Okanagan has announced its acting CEO will be taking on the role full time.
Brea Lake, who has been acting CEO for the past nine months, has been appointed by the Accelerate Okanagan board as the new CEO for the organization, effective immediately.
The company calls itself a tech accelerator, leading the development and growth of a strong entrepreneurial, creative, vibrant and engaged technology community.
The search saw over 120 candidates considered, but the board was unanimous in appointing Lake to the leadership role.
“We had some incredible candidate apply for this position but Brea stood out above the rest. We are fortunate to have someone with her vision, team leadership, and ability to build community lead our organization through this next stage of growth,” said Quinton Pullen, board chairman.
After former CEO Raghwa Gopal left in January, Lake stepped in and made her mark with a five-year strategy for the company that reimagines its future. Through this work, the company has built a new set of strategic priorities.
“There is no question that big things are happening in Okanagan tech,” said Lake. “As a community, we’ve set some big goals and I am looking forward to leading our team and supporting the entire ecosystem in achieving them.”
Accelerate Okanagan’s new strategy will see them, within the next five years, have an economic impact of $5 billion, a level five Techstars Community Score, and a five times larger membership.
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