Karl has over 30 years of technical and executive experience in developing and deploying innovative technologies. Karl founded Kraken in September 2012 to focus on developing Synthetic Aperture Sonar technology for high resolution imaging of the seafloor. Since then, Kraken has migrated from being a sensor company into developing underwater robotics.
Karl grew up in a small fishing village in Newfoundland where his family has a long historical connection to the sea. Since his early days as a maritime surface officer with the Royal Canadian Navy, Karl has been involved in high tech. In the 1980’s, he was a part of the Microsoft mouse project team. In the 1990’s, he formed Telepix, a leader in photo e-commerce solutions. Telepix was acquired by a major European photo equipment manufacturer in 2000.
Karl has led the development of a wide range of advanced marine technologies and products in Canada, the USA and Europe. He co-founded Marport Deep Sea Technologies Inc. in July 2003 and served as its President and CEO until December 2011. Karl was the visionary leader and inventor behind the development of Software Defined Sonar technology that’s now being used in underwater defence, commercial fisheries and ocean science applications.
Karl is a member of the Marine Technology Society as well as the Society for Underwater Technology. He has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Memorial University and twice named as a Top 50 CEO by Atlantic Business magazine. He was inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Business Hall of Fame in May 2012. Karl also serves as an entrepreneur mentor at Memorial University’s Genesis Centre.
