Zita Cobb, , is a Canadian businesswoman and

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of ...

. In 2006, she established Shorefast, a Canadian

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ca ...

, with her brothers Anthony and Alan Cobb on

Fogo Island, Newfoundland Fogo Island is a town located on Fogo Island, the largest of the offshore islands in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. History The Town of Fogo Island was incorporated on March 1, 2011 following the amalgamation of four tow ...

Early life and education

Cobb is an eighth-generation Fogo Islander. Cobb has six brothers, and her father was an inshore fisherman. She grew up in a household with no electricity or running water. She battled and survived

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

at the age of six, which she credits for the confidence that she carried with her later into her career. Cobb studied business and graduated from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

in Ottawa.

Career

Cobb started working with various oil companies in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, and traveling in Canada and Africa. She worked at Ottawa-based JDS Fitel for ten years and became the CFO. The company merged with the U.S. company Uniphase in 1999 to become

JDS Uniphase JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU) was an American company that designed and manufactured products for optical communications networks, communications test and measurement equipment, lasers, optical solutions for authentication and decorative applica ...

. In 2001, she exercised stock options worth US$69 million, and left the company to sail around the world for 4 years.

Fogo Island Inn

In 2006, Cobb and her brother Andy founded Shorefast, a Canadian social enterprise, in response to the economic and cultural difficulties her

Newfoundland outport An outport is the term given for a small coastal community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador other than the chief port of St. John's. Originally, the term was used for coastal communities on the island of Newfoundland, ...

home had experienced over the past decades. She contributed $10 million of her own money to the organization. The Canadian government contributed $5 million, and the provincial government contributed another $5 million. Shorefast built the

Fogo Island Inn The Fogo Island Inn is a hotel located on the northern shore of Fogo Island in Newfoundland, Canada. The inn consists of an outbuilding and main building that totals 4500m2 in area. The main building includes 29 guest rooms, a restaurant, Finnis ...

, which opened in 2013 and continues to be operated by Shorefast Social Enterprises Inc. The inn is a 100%

social business Social business was defined by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and is described in his books. In these books, Yunus defined a social business as a business: * Created and designed to address a social problem * A non-loss, no ...

, and all operating surpluses are reinvested in the community of Fogo Island through the projects and programs of Shorefast. The inn aims to build another leg on the existing economies of the island and to provide employment.

Honours and awards

On June 30, 2016, Cobb was made a Member of the Order of Canada by Governor General

David Johnston David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commis ...

for "her contributions as a social entrepreneur who has helped revive the unique rural communities of Fogo Island and

Change Islands Change Islands is an outport community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The community spans two small islands of the same name which lie off the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland between Notre Dame Bay and the La ...

through innovative

social engagement Social engagement (also social involvement, social participation) refers to one's degree of participation in a community or society. Definitions Prohaska, Anderson and Binstock (2012) noted that the term social engagement is commonly used to r ...

and

geotourism Geotourism is tourism associated with geological attractions and destinations.Dowling, R. & Newsome, D. (Eds.)(2006) ''Geotourism'' ; Elsevier, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Geotourism deals with the abiotic natural and built environments.Sadry ...

." She has been recognized with honorary doctorate degrees from

, Memorial University of Newfoundland,

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

and

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

. Cobb was inducted into the

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learning ...

Business Hall of Fame in May 2018. On November 12, 2019, Cobb interviewed 44th President of the United States

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

for a public event at the

Mile One Centre Mary Brown's Centre (formerly Mile One Centre) is an indoor arena and entertainment venue located in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The arena opened in May 2001, replacing Memorial Stadium. At full capacity the arena ca ...

in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which was hosted by the St. John's Board of Trade. More than 5,000 people attended the discussion, which covered topics of community, climate change and democracy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobb, Zita Canadian women in business Living people Members of the Order of Canada Year of birth missing (living people)