At their annual awards dinners held last fall, the faculties of business administration and computer science on the Fredericton campus recognized alumni who are making an impact in their fields. Julien Albert (BBA'74) and Tom Liston (BBA'96) received certificates of achievement from the faculty of business administration; and the faculty of computer science recognized Mary Goggin (BScCS'82) with a Distinguished Alumni Award.
Tom Liston is managing partner at Difference Capital Financial, a technology focused venture capital firm. He is responsible for leading the firm’s investments in Software-as-a-Service FinTech, eCommerce and health care IT fields. He serves as a director on a number of private and public boards and has a strong track record of shareholder value creation in that capacity.
Liston is an active volunteer. He has been involved with UNB’s Student Investment Fund for over a decade and has served as chair for the Toronto advisory board. He has raised over $100,000 for the MLSE Foundation as a member of its President’s Club. He was a top 100 fundraiser (out of 7,000 riders) in his first two years of the Ride to Conquer Cancer, raising over $23,000 and cycling over 400 kilometres.
Julien Albert worked in the banking industry with RoyNat for almost two decades. He began in Moncton, NB, then moved to St. John’s, NL, and then to Edmonton, AB, opening and managing an office in Red Deer, AB, before finishing his career at the Calgary District/Regional offices.
In 1989, Albert returned to New Brunswick to acquire and operate Johnson Moving & Storage Group of Companies (Allied Van Lines & North American Van lines). Under his guidance, Johnson Moving & Storage expanded and grew significantly in northern New Brunswick.
At the same time, he developed several seafood-based companies. One of them, St. Laurent Halibut provides pure salt water accessed from a delineation well beneath the Bay of Chaleur. The land-based, grow-out facility was the first of its kind in New Brunswick to raise live halibut and has become a model for other aquaculture locations in Atlantic Canada.
Albert is also president of St. Laurent Gulf Products Ltd (ABC Fishmeal) of Caraquet, NB, which specializes in high protein fish and crustacean meals, and fish oils, and is a pioneer in developing dried crab and lobster shells for China’s chitin/chitosan industry.
Mary Goggin worked for more than 30 years in the information technology field as a business owner, project manager, business analyst and software developer.
Goggin is co-founder of Accreon Inc., one of the largest, privately held IT and business solutions companies in Atlantic Canada, with over 150 employees. From 2008 to July 2015, Goggin was vice-president, responsible for services delivery and corporate programs.
She has extensive experience in systems integration and software development and was instrumental in the creation and growth of Accreon, formed by the consolidation of three companies with the vision of establishing a full-service technology company with the capacity to service large technology initiatives and invest in innovation.
