DES FITZGERALD

Des has had a long running interest in the role of leadership in successful enterprises and has been involved in many start ups as both a partner, founder, employee and consultant. He moved to Maine in 1978 and founded Ducktrap River Fish Farm the following year. In 1999 Des sold a portion of his company to Continental Grain and a year later was named CEO of ContiSea, a holding company made up of Ducktrap River Fish Farm and Atlantic Salmon of Maine. ContiSea had 200 +/- employees with over 50 million in annual sales. Des sold his remaining shares in ContiSea and left the company in 2002. He worked as a management consultant with Brimstone Consulting for 2 years and co-taught a class on “Leadership for the 21st Century” at the University of Maine, Orono Business School through 2007. In 2006 he co-founded Dirigo Wind, a regional land based wind development company, along with 4 other partners and was also the co-founder and CEO of BlueMarvel Inc., an HD video company. In December of 2008, Des became the VP of Business Development for Principle Power Inc. a deep-water wind technology company based in Seattle, Washington. Des joined the Maine Venture Fund in December 2012 and was their Entrepreneur In Residence in 2015.

Des has had a long relationship with volunteer boards serving on the board of The Natural Resources Council of Maine, The Camden International Film Festival, The Camden Conference, The Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, Maine Businesses For Social Responsibility, Coastal Mountain Land Trust and two local school boards