Executive Team

Rick Heddle

Chief Operating Officer

Rick Heddle is the founder, owner and Chief Operating Officer of Heddle Shipyards.

Since 1987, Rick has owned, operated and grown his namesake company, from a two-person start-up to a multi-location corporation employing more than 200 permanent, fulltime employees.

An accomplished entrepreneur with more than 25 years of leadership experience, Rick has significant expertise in the technical aspects of running shipyards including logistics and managing production.

Rick is both a certified millwright and hoisting engineer with extensive knowledge in vessel production and machinery, along with comprehensive experience in fabrication and engineering.

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Shaun Padulo

President

Shaun Padulo joined Heddle Shipyards in 2017 and assumed the role of President in June 2018.

Shaun brings 10 years of experience in the marine and offshore contracting sectors. Starting his career as a deckhand on tugboats sailing on the Great Lakes, Shaun departed Canada in 2011 and held various commercial roles for the Dutch firms Dockwise Shipping B.V. and Boskalis Offshore B.V.

During his time at Dockwise, Shaun lived and worked in the Netherlands where he specialized in logistical management as well as the transportation and installation of offshore production structures. While at Boskalis, Shaun lived and worked in Houston, Texas, and focused on offshore installation projects, offshore decommissioning projects and subsea inspection, repair
and maintenance projects.

Shaun is an alumnus of the Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and McMaster University in Hamilton. Shaun holds a Master of Science in Maritime Economics and Logistics.

As President, Shaun leads the Executive Team and is responsible for developing, communicating and implementing the company’s strategic plan, culture, values and vision.

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Erick Begin

Vice President Finance & CFO

Erick Begin joined Heddle Shipyards as Vice President of Finance & Chief Financial Officer in October 2018.

Erick is a CPA, CMA and also holds an MBA (Finance). With over 15 years’ experience in senior leadership positions, he has worked across a variety of industries including heavy equipment fleet management, manufacturing and financial services.

Erick has led successful business turnarounds, acquisitions and integrations, divestitures, and system and business process transformations.

As Vice President of Finance & CFO, Erick oversees the Finance, Procurement and Information Technology functions.

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Jared Newcombe

Chief Strategy Officer

Jared is an accomplished shipyard executive with over 30 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Irving Shipbuilding, one of the most respected shipyards in North America, and held various management positions there. In 2013 Jared joined Chantier Davie as Chief Operating Officer and then served as Chief Executive Officer from 2016 – 2019.

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Ted Kirkpatrick

Director of Business Development and Government Relations

Ted Kirkpatrick joined Heddle Shipyards in 2019 and assumed the role of Director of Business Development and Government Relations in 2020.

Ted comes to Heddle Shipyards from the commercial shipping industry and has served as both a Captain and Navigation officer through out the Great Lakes, East Coast and Canadian Arctic. Starting out as a deckhand in 2012 with McKeil Marine, he secured his officers certificates the
old-fashioned way, studying at while sea and completing exams during shore leave.

Over his career, Ted has worked on all types of vessels from tugs and self-unloaders to pneumatic cement carriers and has been involved in both the maintenance and operational aspects of vessel operation and cargo handling. With deep connections through-out the Canadian commercial shipping industry, Ted brings a vessel-operators understanding to our business relationships.

As Director of Business Development and Government Relations, Ted is responsible for developing Heddle’s position in the marketplace as well as managing client and government relationships.

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Alicia Nash

Director of Project Management

Alicia Nash joined Heddle Shipyards as Director of Project Management in May 2019.

Alicia has worked in the marine industry for 10 years starting her career with Lloyd’s Register (LR) as a Marine Surveyor. Alicia gained worldwide shipbuilding experience with Lloyd’s while working in their Shanghai, UK and Toronto locations. During that time, she held project management roles on a large variety of ship types such as; tugs, ferries, bulk carriers and ice
class vessels. Prior to joining Heddle, Alicia managed the Lloyd’s Register Americas engineering team and was LR’s Global Artic Specialist.

As Director of Project Management, Alicia oversees the project management teams across Heddle’s Ontario facilities.

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