THE LIST
2021 FORTY UNDER 40 (LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Roberto Aburto
Kevin Brennan
partner, Gowling WLG Business: Law firm Biggest business achievement: Rose to partnership quickly and helped build one of the largest municipal law teams in eastern Ontario. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: Be gentle to yourself and to others. Everyone is going through various challenges – we will not always be our best self every day
general manager, Cavanagh Concrete Ltd. Business: Concrete forming and material supply Biggest business achievement: Exceeded all financial targets on the MHLH Helicopter Facilities, Lansdowne Live and OLRT tunnel projects while being named the Top Value Added Salesman of the Year across Lafarge Eastern Canada in 2014. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: Empathy and consistency. Understand how people react differently to fear and ensure everyone is provided sufficient resources and support to cope with it.
Darryl Arvai corporate controller, Shopify Business: E-commerce Biggest business achievement: Helping the company raise billions of dollars in financing, including its 2015 IPO. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: Try and find positives in hard situations. Working from home has afforded me the opportunity to have lunch with my wife and kids, Facetime distant family more often and have greater ownership over my time.
Jonathan Atwill-Morin president Atwill-Morin Ontario Business: Historical building restoration Biggest business achievement: Winning the contract for the north walls on the Centre Block rehabilitation project. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: Take the time to stay close to all the people around you. Give a nice friendly call to a client or a partner, and make sure your employees are well.
Matthew Carr president, Gifford Carr Insurance Group Business: Property and casualty insurance brokerage Biggest business achievement: Took over and managed the business when my dad was terminally ill. Then took over the business during a pandemic. In both cases, I grew the business the following year. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: Own it. Making decisions and trying to get consensus at the start of the pandemic was difficult with things changing hourly. I ultimately had to make decisions, move forward and adjust if necessary.
Sean Cochrane president, TCC Canada Business: Serviced offices, coworking and business support Biggest business achievement: Grew an embattled coworking firm to a $10 million a year enterprise that’s been growing at more than 100 per cent a year for the past five years. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: Look after one another! We’re all in this together and are all so much stronger together!
Cynthia Benoit CEO, CB Linguistic Services Inc. Business: Sign language linguistic services Biggest business achievement: Founding a consulting firm that has grown annual revenues by 750 per cent over the past four years and employs four full-time deaf employees, three part-time deaf employees and more than 60 deaf and hard-of-hearing freelancers across Canada. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: Agility and the team’s mental health and overall well-being truly matters.
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Dr. Tracy Dalgleish psychologist, Integrated Wellness Business: Psychological health services Biggest business achievement: I founded Integrated Wellness, starting as one clinician. It’s now a collective of eight female mental health care providers. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: In order to move through something, you need to be willing to allow yourself to sit in uncomfortable feelings without a true knowing of the outcome.
Bradley Bezan
Gareth Davies
CEO and founder, Spark Lifecare Business: Healthcare matchmaker Biggest business achievement: The lives we’ve changed at Spark. We can successfully help a child overcome a cancer diagnosis, help someone walk again after a catastrophic accident or be there when a senior has their last few breaths when they have no friends or family. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: In a post-COVID economy, the companies that take care of their people the best when nobody is watching will be the most successful ones.
CEO and founder, Maker House Co. Business: Retailer selling a curated collection of furniture, homewares and gifts from Canadian makers. Biggest business achievement: Founded a retail startup and social enterprise that’s grown to $1.5 million in annual revenue, employs 10 people, sources products within Canada and has donated more than $100,000 to Ottawa community organizations through the #CraftChange Fund. Biggest lesson learned during COVID-19: That what we do as a business is essential to people’s lives.
BOOK OF LISTS 2022
obj.ca OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL
