Weekly Coffee Chat with Special Guest: Deirdre Ayre!

Calling all entrepreneurs! Come have your Friday morning coffee with us at Startup Zone! Bring your business ideas, questions, and grievances and get some great advice from local, like-minded entrepreneurs! No registration required.

Our special guest on July 12th is Deirdre Ayre, Head of Operations for Other Ocean.

Head of Operations and Director, Other Ocean Group Canada Ltd. In 2006 Deirdre spearheaded the establishment of Other Ocean’s original videogame development studio on Prince Edward Island. In 2007 she oversaw the establishment of Other Ocean’s Quality Assurance and Community Management Company Sculpin QA on PEI, followed by the establishment of Other Ocean’s 2nd development studio in St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2013 Other Ocean’s PEI development studio was acquired by videogame corporate giant Electronic Arts. In 2016 Deirdre re-established Other Ocean’s production presence on PEI by expanding Sculpin to include development of Original IP. Deirdre is recognized for her commitment to economic and social diversification in Atlantic Canada, her collaborative efforts with educational institutions and her success in recruiting top talent from around the World. In July 2018 Other Ocean Group was nominated for an Emmy Award for their development work on the globally successful Rick and Morty franchise. In 2018 Deirdre was awarded the Association of New Canadian’s Diversity Award presented to a manager who “strives for
equality, diversity, and inclusion across all aspects of gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, and similar grounds.

Deirdre is the first Atlantic Canadian Chair of the Canadian Interactive Alliance/L’ Interactive Canadienne. She is founder and Chair of VideogamesPEI and founder and Vice President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Interactive Media Alliance. She was the first Atlantic Canadian to be elected to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada. She is a member of the University of PEI Mathematical & Computational Sciences Advisory Council. She is a member of Memorial University’s Computer Science advisory committee and the Newfoundland and Labrador Minister’s Round Table on Immigration. She is a member of the Board of Young Adult Cancer Canada and the Economic Steering Committee for the City of St. John’s. Deirdre graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Radio and Television).