44 BCBusiness february 2016
"I feel that in my soul. Everybody is nec-
essary to what we do." In a telling trib-
ute, the marine lab at Hakai is named not
after some brilliant scientist but Hakai's
chief carpenter, Matt Griswold.
After completing his MSc, Peterson
went on to do a PhD at Sussex University
in the U.K. (where he met Munck, who
worked there as a research technician)
and then completed a postdoctoral fel-
lowship in neuroscience at Harvard. A
stint in academia as a teaching scientist
at McGill left him searching for a less
structured work environment, which
ultimately brought him to the burgeon-
ing tech hub of Waterloo and life as an
entrepreneur.
Mitra, launched in 1991, quickly
became a pioneer and leader in the
world of digital medical imaging; its
technolo¬y allowed patients to stay put
and have their medical images travel
instead. It grew into big business but was
also a cause that Peterson and Mitra's
sta' all believed in: the faster Mitra could
make medical imaging les move across
hospital computer networks and cyber-
space, the faster doctors could diagnose
patients and help save lives.
Rick Stroobosscher, who worked as
Mitra's chief technolo¬y o²cer and is now
president of Karos Health, describes how
Peterson was always on the lookout for
opportunities in a space that wasn't too
crowded but where a real need existed.
"He would look at a problem and
say, how can we not only solve it, but
how can we turn it into a larger oppor-
tunity that we can benet from?" When
Stroobosscher rst heard of Hakai, he
thought, "This is exactly what I would
expect of Eric. The man wants to be
making changes that are signicant."
Prior to founding Hakai, Peterson had
never been at a eld station, nor had he
ever taken an ecolo¬y course. Still to this
day you won't nd him wearing hip wad-
ers electroshing or dragging a seine net
to sample plankton; his is a more organi-
zational role, communicating his vision
to sta' or headhunting the next Hakai
scholars. Yet his deep love of the coast
and respect for science permeates every-
thing Hakai does.
"I've always felt that Eric's grand
vision is so authentic and connected to
the wonder of the coastal community. He
and Christina have a genuine desire to
be a part of its fabric as opposed to being
afar looking in," says Katharine Harrold,
vice-president of communications and
advancement at Royal Roads University,
who worked closely with the couple as
director of development at the Nature
Conservancy of Canada, B.C. region.
"He's not doing this for a thank you. This
is an investment in something they just
care deeply about."
The looming question, is how long
can the investment last? How much
bigger can Hakai get? And how will
Peterson be able to continue bankroll-
ing its $10 million in annual costs? So far,
The looming question is, how long can the
investment last? How much bigger can Hakai
get? And how will Peterson be able to continue
bankrolling its $10 million in annual costs?
