Chris Payne – Independent Director

Chris Payne is a retired professional accountant (MBA, CPA) who spent 28 years working for the Province of Nova Scotia.  He began his career in 1987 as a Tax Auditor and then with Finance running the tax credit programs.  While at Finance he was asked to work with partner organizations to develop and enable the Community Economic Development Invest Fund (CEDIF) program.

While with Economic Development he worked closely with colleagues at Finance and the NS Securities Commission to bring forward the enabling regulations to launch the CEDIF program.  After launch and for the following years, he engaged with communities throughout the Province outlining the program and encouraging communities to invest in themselves.

In addition to experience in the public sector, he also was a founder of a startup company and was the CFO and the lead for the financial disclosure for its sale to a public company (the purchasing company later became web.com).

He was a former director for the Investing in NS Cooperative that grew the Credit Union lending program to more than $100 million in lending as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Management Accountants of Nova Scotia.

He retired from the Provincial government in 2015.  He lives in Halifax with his wife Lori and their Duck Toller (Kona).