Natasha Hudson

• Board Member

• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

• Regional Manager, Partnerships

• [email protected]

Natasha Hudson is the Regional Manager, Partnerships, for the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) in Atlantic Canada. BDC is a federal Crown agency providing financing and advisory services to Canadian SMEs.

In this role she designs and implements partnership strategies to assist BDC leaders in achieving their business objectives. She represents BDC with stakeholders and partners across the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including industry associations, post-secondary institutions and government economic development agencies.

Natasha has spent her career building successful partnerships at the intersection of business, government and academia. Prior to joining BDC, Natasha spent over a decade in the technology sector, first joining Bell Canada and then spending 3 years with a technology start up, before assuming the role of business development lead for NATI, the NL Association for Technology and Innovation (now techNL). During her 7 years at techNL, Natasha worked with numerous ocean technology companies from across the Atlantic region to support their growth and business development goals.

Through partnering with the region’s federal and provincial government agencies and other industry associations to design and deliver business development support programs for technology firms, Natasha has built a strong track record of successful multi-stakeholder collaborations. She has a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by early stage and established firms, often acting as a guide and navigator for companies looking to leverage support through the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Though her experiences leading Atlantic Canadian delegations for numerous international trade missions throughout North America, South America and Europe from 2011 to 2017, Natasha possesses a deep understanding of international business development and the unique competitive advantage of NL’s ocean technology cluster.

Natasha holds a BA and an MBA from Memorial University. She is a member of the 2022 Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference (co-chair, Alberta Study Group) and is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Community Sector Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (CSCNL). Natasha is passionate about entrepreneurs, advanced technologies, innovation and community development.