Maritime Launch Services announced today that it has appointed Sarah McLean, a founding member of its leadership team, as chief operating officer (COO). McLean takes on wider responsibility for the company’s internal operations and keeps her current job running corporate affairs.
The Halifax company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), is developing Spaceport Nova Scotia.
As COO, McLean picks up people and culture, governance, organizational effectiveness and business integration. The company said the move is meant to build up its internal capacity as it works toward orbital launches from the Nova Scotia site.
She has been with Maritime Launch since its start. As the executive in charge of corporate affairs, she has led government and investor relations, engagement with Mi’kmaw and other communities, and the company’s communications. The company said she also supported capital raising, work with regulators and the federal government’s launch services agreement with the company.
Stephen Matier, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said McLean had been instrumental in building the company from its earliest days and in establishing the relationships that underpin its progress. “Her experience, judgment and deep understanding of our business will be invaluable as we enter our next phase of growth,” he said.
McLean said the team is building infrastructure for Canada’s sovereign launch capability. “My focus now is on ensuring we have the people, systems and organizational capacity to deliver on our ambitions,” she said.
McLean has spent two decades in corporate strategy, public affairs and governance. Before joining Maritime Launch, she worked in senior and advisory roles at Canada’s largest public relations agency, a national grocery chain and the offices of federal cabinet ministers. She is a governor of Saint Mary’s University and a director of Genome Atlantic, holds a commerce degree from Saint Mary’s and is completing an executive MBA.