Zita Cobb, CM , is a Canadian businesswoman and social entrepreneur [1] [2] who grew up on Fogo Island, a small outport fishing community off the North East coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Cobb is the co-founder and CEO of the registered Canadian charity, Shorefast, which she launched with her brothers Anthony and Alan Cobb, on Fogo Island in 2004. [2] [3] [4] She is also the innkeeper of the luxury Fogo Island Inn. [5]
Cobb has been recognized for her contributions to the Canadian economy and business world.
Cobb is an eighth-generation Fogo Islander. [6] Cobb has six brothers, [7] and her father was a 7th generation inshore fisherman. She grew up in a household with no electricity or running water. [7] She survived tuberculosis at the age of six during a year spent at a sanatorium. [8] [9] Cobb studied business and graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa. [10] [7]
Cobb started working with various oil companies in Alberta, and traveling in Canada and Africa. [7] She worked at Ottawa-based JDS Fitel for ten years and became the CFO. [7] The company merged with the U.S. company Uniphase in 1999 to become JDS Uniphase. [11] [7] In 2001, she exercised stock options worth US$69 million, and left the company to sail around the world for 4 years. [7]
In 2006, Cobb and her brother Anthony founded Shorefast, a Canadian social enterprise. [12] [7] , including an investment of $10 million from the Cobbs. [7] The Canadian government contributed $5 million, and the provincial government contributed another $5 million. [7] Shorefast built the Fogo Island Inn, which opened in 2013 and continues to be operated by Shorefast Social Enterprises Inc. [13] [14]
On June 30, 2016, Cobb was made a Member of the Order of Canada by Governor General David Johnston for "her contributions as a social entrepreneur who has helped revive the unique rural communities of Fogo Island and Change Islands through innovative social engagement and geotourism." [15]
She has been recognized with honorary doctorate degrees from Carleton University, [16] Memorial University of Newfoundland, [17] McGill University [18] and University of Ottawa. [19]
Cobb was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame in May 2018. [20]
On November 12, 2019, Cobb interviewed 44th President of the United States Barack Obama for a public event at the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which was hosted by the St. John's Board of Trade. [21]