The Seaweed and Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) Research Laboratory of
Dr. Thierry Chopin
Glenn Cooke receives an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from UNB
On May 20, 2011, Glenn Cooke received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree, at the Spring Convocation of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, to recognize his achievements as a business leader, for the company's research partnerships and for its contributions to the community. Congratulations Dr. Cooke!
Dr. Robert MacKinnon (Vice President UNBSJ), Mr. Glenn Cooke (CEO of Cooke Aquaculture Inc.) and Dr. Eddy Campbell (President of UNB).
Citation from Dr. Sarah Maier, Campus Orator
Mr. Glenn Cooke to be Doctor of Science
Glenn Cooke was born and raised in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick. In 1985, together with his father Gifford, and brother Michael, they started a new venture of raising farmed Atlantic salmon in the Bay of Fundy. Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. (now a subsidiary of Cooke Aquaculture Inc.) began with one site, two cages, 5,000 Atlantic salmon smolts and one employee.
Today, with more than 2,800 employees and operations in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Québec, Newfoundland and Maine that generate almost $500 million in sales annually, Mr. Cooke is CEO of the largest fully integrated and independent salmon farming company in North America. The company also owns Salmones Cupquelan in Chile, and through that investment, has been able to influence major restructuring in the Chilean salmon farming industry to reflect recently implemented Bay Management and biosecurity protocols developed in New Brunswick.
Mr. Cooke’s vision, entrepreneurship and business savvy have been recognized by the business community in Canada and overseas. In February 2006, Cooke Aquaculture Inc. was first named as one of the fifty Best Managed Companies in Canada and has been renamed to that list every year since then. In 2007, Glenn Cooke was named Entrepreneur of the Year for Atlantic Canada and has since been named one of Atlantic Canada’s top fifty CEOs for several consecutive years. Mr. Cooke was inducted into New Brunswick’s Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame in October of 2009, a year which also saw Cooke Aquaculture recognized by the Maine International Trade Association as the State’s International Investor of the Year, followed by a Nova Scotia Export Achievement and Community Development Award in 2010.
Dr. Eddy Campbell and Mr. Glenn Cooke.
A personal commitment to environmental sustainability has led the company to be the first in North America to achieve third party certification to the internationally recognized Seafood Trust Eco-label. This commitment goes hand in hand with a focus on innovations and numerous investments in science and research projects on topics such as DNA Traceability, Broodstock Development, Fish Health, and Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture, which goes beyond fish farming to also diversify, environmentally and economically, into seaweed and shellfish farming.
Mr. Glenn Cooke likes to say that what is important to run a successful company is to surround yourself with smart people. However, it certainly takes a smart and wise person to identify and recruit the smart people with whom to associate, in a fully integrated company and in strategic collaborations.
Dr. Thierry Chopin, Dr. Eddy Campbell, Mr. Glenn Cooke and Dr. Shawn Robinson.
Embodying his company’s motto “Refusing to go with the flow”, Mr. Glenn Cooke has taken a small family operation to a successful, world-leading business that brings tremendous social and economic benefits to the rural and coastal communities of the region. Last December, he and his employees were there, from the first day, to combat the flow of the flood that devastated SouthWest New Brunswick. Cooke Aquaculture boats, skiffs and employees were there to bring people to safety and the company has been very generous and helpful in the rebuilding efforts of families and communities in which Cooke Aquaculture is deeply rooted.
For his passionate advocacy for sustainable farming that generates healthy food, healthy communities and healthy businesses, we welcome Mr. Glenn Cooke to the UNB community.
INSIGNISSIME PRAESES, TOTA UNIVERSITAS, PRAESENTO VOBIS GLENN COOKE, UT ADMITTATUR, HONORIS CAUSA, AD GRADUM DOCTORIS IN SCIENTIA IN HAC UNIVERSITATE.
Convocation address from Dr. Glenn Cooke
Good afternoon
Dr. Thierry Chopin, Mr. Glenn Cooke and Dr. Shawn Robinson.
Members of Government; Members of the Board of Governors; Mr. President; Vice-President Emeritus; Registrar Emeritus; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen and, especially - the Graduates.
I have to admit, I’d feel much more comfortable speaking to you today if I was wearing my ball cap and jeans and if I had a whiteboard and a marker to work with.
I feel a bit like the Emperor wearing his new clothes… and just as out of place as if – like the Emperor - I was standing here naked!
It’s been a long journey from when I was a kid in Blacks Harbour to this platform today!
I feel a bit like the student who never showed up for class or finished a single assignment or wrote even one exam – and still had the nerve to come to the professor at the end of the semester demanding an ‘A’ for the course.
You are the ones who enrolled in this university and are here today because you did your homework, you went to your labs, wrote papers and exams, did your field work and after a great deal of hard work – you made the grade. Congratulations to all of you – for having the dream, for making it a reality – and for graduating today.Dr. Keng Pee Ang (Vice President Research & Development at Cooke Aquaculture Inc.), Dr. Thierry Chopin, Mr. Glenn Cooke and Dr. Shawn Robinson.
I never graduated from University, nor have I ever attended. You see, when I graduated from High School in 1983, I had this idea in my head that the world was moving fast and that if I was ever going to catch up with it I needed to fast track my life. I was actually accepted in the business program in this very university to start in the fall of 1983.
That summer I made an announcement to my family that I was going to skip University and go straight into business. My father – who is here today - was furious. He had worked hard all his life at manual jobs and he was determined his children would do better.
For the next 4 years I received my education the hard way. Failing numerous times, I lost my shirt – and others’ shirts - along the way. There is not a better way to lose your pride and develop humility than to fail and become an embarrassment to your family and yourself.Dr. Robert MacKinnon, Mr. Hans Klohn (other Honorary Degree recipient), Mr. Glenn Cooke and Dr. Eddy Campbell.
At the age of 21, along with my father and brother, I became involved in salmon farming. It would be a long road back, rebuilding reputation, rebuilding business relationships.
Of all my lessons and experiences, one thing became very clear. I never wanted to fail at business again.
As Winston Churchill put it: “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”
Succeeding - Not to Fail - became my inward compass.
Today, Cooke Aquaculture is a company with almost 500 million dollars in sales, operations in 5 Canadian provinces and 3 countries. A team of more than 2,800 people make this company a world class operation.
So – this is what I have to offer you today. I’d like to tell you three short stories or lessons - about the dreams that came true in my life. I hope they will be helpful to you.
Mr. Michael Cooke, Mrs. Marjorie Cooke, Mr. Gifford Cooke, Mr. Glenn Cooke, Mrs. Pamela Cooke, Mrs. Debbie Szemerda.
The first of these lessons is cooperation.
One of the things that made Cooke Aquaculture such a great company is cooperation. Early on I realized that to build a company you need partners. My goal was to keep Cooke a family owned company. So partners would have to be in the non-traditional sense of partners.
The foremost partnership I built was with my employees. I needed good ones. I needed the best. I needed people that could make up for my weaknesses – people with the desire to work hard and build something great. Today Cooke has an incredible group of long-term employees. They are people with strong values and work ethic.
My executive team is full of the strongest personalities that you can imagine! They are anything but ‘yes’ people.
As for the people who work in the field – our operational teams – they are the ones who have truly built this company to what it is today.
Other vital partnerships that we required were partnerships with research institutions and universities. Our industry was new in 1986, had all kinds of problems we had to solve. We could not afford to hire the scientists and researchers ourselves, so we built partnerships.Dr. Sarah Maier, Campus Orator.
One of the most rewarding partnerships has been with this University, UNBSJ. Dr. Thierry Chopin has worked with the Cooke team to develop what is now known as Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture - or IMTA. It’s an ecosystem-based approach to farming the oceans. We mirror nature by using the natural nutrients that are created by feeding and growing one species – like salmon – to grow other species – like mussels and seaweeds.
This approach has attracted the attention of the science community and environmental leaders like Dr. David Suzuki. It has also led to important partnerships with customers like Loblaw (locally known as Atlantic Superstore), who now sell our farmed salmon under their WiseSource sustainable seafood-sourcing program.
Dr. Eddy Campbell and Mr. Glenn Cooke.
This brings me to my second lesson, sustainability.
We hear a lot about sustainability today. I am a believer that what we do on this earth, in our brief life, should leave a positive impact.
We live here. We’re from here. We will be here for generations to come.
The beauty and unique environment of the Bay of Fundy – one of the world’s great wonders – is the lifeblood of our business and so many others.
As a company, we decided to seek third party certification to both quality and eco labels.
I made a personal commitment to becoming a ‘green’ aquaculture company a number of years ago. We now have this commitment embedded in our company’s operations and corporate culture.
This doesn’t mean that we have ‘arrived’ or accomplished all that we need to do. It means that we are committed to continuous improvement and that both management and employees are taking responsibility for that improvement.
In 2009 our company became the first North American aquaculture company to be eco-certified by a recognized third party organization.Dr. Glenn Cooke receiving his Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Dr. Eddy Campbell and Dr. Robert MacKinnon.
We are very proud of that achievement.
We need to create wealth from our natural resources. But we also need to protect these resources so that our children and communities will be able to enjoy them for generations to come.
Our natural resources need to be sustainable but it’s also very important that our communities are sustainable. We need make sure their way of life is maintained and enhanced.
It is our corporate responsibility.
Winston Churchill – a man I’ve always admired – once said: “You make a living by what you earn, you make a life by what you give.”
I believe it is up to us as business leaders and Atlantic Canadians to create jobs and prosperity for our own people and for our communities.
We have to take charge of our own destiny.
Where would we be in Atlantic Canada if we waited around for big businesses from other parts of Canada and the world to make things happen? You only have to look around us, to see that I am in good company – that other Atlantic Canadians have built family companies that are innovative and successful.
Together we are building a prosperous Atlantic Canada – one that will provide good jobs and opportunity for our young people.
Dr. Glenn Cooke giving his Convocation Address.
The last lesson I would like to offer a few comments on is competitiveness.
I’m going to be frank with you. When you run your own company you get used to speaking your mind. That doesn’t mean you are always right… but here it goes.
I get tired of hearing that we can’t compete… that things can be produced cheaper somewhere else in the world. You see, it doesn’t matter what you manufacture or grow, there is always going to be somewhere in the world where things can be produced for less money due to cheap labour and lower environmental regulations. But that doesn’t mean our region should be less competitive. Quality, marketing and perception are what can and does make our region different and our products stand out.
Yes, as a business leader you need to try harder, you need to be creative. But our region is sitting on the largest market in the Western World within a few hours drive. If you manufacture quality, if you drive the marketing and you build the relationships with customers you can be competitive.
If we are looking for some large General Motors - like company to come in and drive Atlantic Canadian prosperity, we are on the wrong track. It will take people who care about the region to ensure its economic growth…Dr. Glenn Cooke during his Convocation Address.
…People that care that communities like Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Shelburne, Nova Scotia, or Harbour Breton, Newfoundland, will survive and prosper.
…People that understand that sometimes we need to think outside the box – that we need to try harder – that it’s OK to refuse to go with the flow.
I believe in Atlantic Canada. I believe in its future. But, I am a firm believer that it is the people of Atlantic Canada that hold the keys to that future.
I would encourage you today to run hard with your dreams. Life is short and you should not waste time. Surround yourselves with good people, listen to sound advice, seek out the expertise you need to further your cause. Make sure that what you do betters yourself, your surroundings and is good for your community. Find out what makes you unique, and sets you apart and then you will be ready for competition.
Atlantic Canada needs strong businesses so that we will have a strong tax base to support the infrastructure that our communities need to prosper.
Dr. Shawn Robinson, Dr. Keng Pee Ang, Dr. Thierry Chopin and Mr. Rodney Weston (Member of Parliament for Saint John).
But strong businesses need good leaders – and they need hard-working and skilled people.
People with heart.
We live in an amazing place. There are opportunities and challenges for you here. Together we can make Atlantic Canada prosperous and sustainable.
Thank you again for this great honour!
God bless.
See the article: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/city/article/1408398
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