Book of Lists 2025 by Great River Media inc.

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BEST PLACES TO WORK

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Welcome to this year’s Book of Lists

The Book of Lists is one of our readers’ perennial favourites. Every year it delivers up-to-date data, listings and factoids about almost every aspect of business in Ottawa. We like to believe that the Book of Lists remains a unique source of hard-to-access information on local companies.

In this digital age where most of us are overwhelmed by the amount of information that comes at us each day, we hope this Book of Lists will serve as a reference tool and guide. We like to believe it will be useful as you follow business leads, look to expand your professional network, or simply want to know more about the local business community.

On the following pages, you’ll find detailed facts and figures on more than 600 companies. For ease of use, we’ve divided the publication into various sections that focus on the city’s key economic sectors. The rankings of the largest firms, broken down into dozens of industry categories, are at the heart of the Book of Lists. We’ve also highlighted notable business people and companies in our community.

Of course, compiling and updating this publication takes a lot of work over several months and much of the credit has to go to OBJ’s Susan Habib along with Liam Curran and our fabulous design team led by Tanya Connolly-Holmes. Once again this year we’ve put together the publication with the help of some leading-edge tech, which we think will have many benefits for us and for you, our readers.

This year’s edition is chock-a-block full of information on some of the city’s largest businesses, most innovative companies, and leading business people. We hope it will find a spot on your desk/desktop for many months to come.

Anne Howland Editor in Chief

P.O. Box 91585

Ottawa, Ontario, K1W 1K0

Tel: 613-696-9494

obj.ca

PUBLISHER

Michael Curran

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Anne Howland

VICE-PRESIDENT, SALES AND MARKETING

Victoria Stewart

FINANCE

Cheryl Schunk

CONTRIBUTORS

David Sali

James Raiswell

Jeff Buckstein

RESEARCHERS

Susan Habib

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Tanya Connolly-Holmes

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Celine Haché-Paquette

ADVERTISING SALES

Wendy Baily

Cindy Cutts

Eric Dupuis

Terry Tyo

Ottawa Business Journal is published by

PRESIDENT Michael Curran

HST No. 876285606

Printed in Canada ©

All original contents copyright 2025 by Ottawa Business Journal. The 2025 Book of Lists is published by Ottawa Business Journal, a publication of Great River Media. This publication contains information considered accurate at the time of printing. However, the publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions that may occur. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without the written permission of the publisher.

Managing through disruption: The top 20 for 2024 show the way

OBJ STAFF

How we work has changed dramatically in the past couple of years, but Ottawa companies are finding unique ways to keep up. That’s why the Ottawa Business Journal and Ottawa Board of Trade are recognizing not 10, but 20 businesses for the 2024 Best Places to Work awards.

“The workplace has really been disrupted in recent years,” said OBJ publisher Michael Curran. “That’s partially due to the pandemic and the rush to remote and hybrid work, but also because of many other factors: changing skill sets, technology innovation, the desire for diversity, etc.”

The annual program selects recipients after a thorough research project that includes extensive employer surveys and also employee engagement surveys, conducted on behalf of OBJ and OBOT by Workforce Research Group. The 2024 top 20 came out of more than 2,500 responses.

Eligible firms are required to be in business for at least a year, as well as maintain an office and have a minimum of 15 employees in the National Capital Region.

“It’s really hard to be a great employer these days,” said Curran. “That’s why OBJ and OBOT are particularly excited to announce the 2024 Best Places to Work recipients. These companies are getting it right for the sake of their employees and the success of their business.”

TPH Plumbing and Heating is leading by example when it comes to prioritizing and supporting its team members. This year, the Ottawa company’s dedication to that goal has allowed it to take the top spot in the 2024 rankings of Best Places to Work.

“TPH Plumbing and Heating is honoured to be considered for this year’s prestigious award,” the company said in its submission. “As a company deeply committed to fostering a positive and supportive work environment, we prioritize the well-being and growth of our employees.”

The 2024 recipients were celebrated at an awards brunch on Oct. 17 as part of the Best Places to Work Employer Summit. The brunch featured a keynote presentation from Sprott School of Business professor Linda Duxbury, entitled “How to Lead and Manage in Times of Disruptive Change.”

1. TPH PLUMBING AND HEATING

TPH Plumbing and Heating has a team of more than 25 plumbers and staff. TPH’s technicians are fully certified to design and install both natural gas and oil heating systems and offer specialized services that can save customers money and time.

2. SNOWED IN STUDIOS

Snowed In Studios is a video game development studio with experience working with top-level titles and independent games such as Forza Motorsport and Horizon 5, Dead by Daylight, and the Fallout franchise.

3. OTTAWA TOURISM

Ottawa Tourism highlights Ottawa as the perfect place to experience some of the country’s best attractions, celebrations and flavours in one city with a unique blend of urban and rural beauty, year-round outdoor activities, and vibrant neighbourhoods.

4. STONEWORKS TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Stoneworks Technologies has been helping clients tackle IT challenges since 1999 by creating purpose-built IT to

maximize efficiency and productivity.

5. DILFO MECHANICAL LTD.

Dilfo, a mechanical contractor in Eastern Ontario, is a second-generation family-owned business with more than 40 years of experience. The company delivers mechanical systems for projects of all sizes and complexity through collaborative partnerships.

6. GIATEC SCIENTIFIC INC.

Giatec Scientific, an Ottawa-based cleantech firm that makes wireless sensors to measure the quality of concrete during construction projects, is hoping a recent federal technology grant will help it develop foreign markets for its product.

7. RELAX MASSAGE GROUP

Over the past two decades, Relax Massage Group (RMG) has offered clinical and luxury locations, as well as a learning facility for employees. RMG is dedicated to creating a workplace that allows its massage therapists to build flourishing and exciting careers. The vision at RMG is to create therapist-first clinics, where taking proper care of its therapists means they can take proper care of their clients. This philosophy has allowed RMG to expand to become one of the largest employers of registered massage therapists in Ottawa.

8. INVEST OTTAWA

Invest Ottawa, the lead economic development agency for the City of Ottawa, has an extensive range of programs and services to assist companies launch, grow and scale-up their businesses. With the promise to all employees, veterans and new hires that they will make a big impact on their community, Invest Ottawa offers an inclusive and flexible work environment that fosters personal and professional growth.

9. MP LUNDY CONSTRUCTION

MP Lundy Construction, which built Ottawa developments such as the Dow’s Lake Pavilion and the Ottawa Little Theatre, has been one of the leading construction companies in Ottawa since 1967. With the

company motto “relationships over bricks,” no matter what size the project, Lundy’s teams of professionals prioritize client’s needs.

10. AMSTED DESIGN-BUILD

Amsted Design makes custom home design dreams become reality. For 35 years, being a part of Amsted has meant being a part of a passionate team of people who love to design and build livable spaces and homes. The company strives to be an attractive company to work for, which has allowed it to grow to 50 employees as the company expands to work on projects beyond Ottawa.

11. REWIND

Rewind is on a mission to protect all business-critical cloud data. More than 25,000 organizations trust Rewind to safeguard their data from changes, attacks, and compliance faults, and that trust evolves from the diverse skills and perspectives of the Rewind team. Rewind’s company culture values work-life balance while prioritizing career growth by offering career tracks for all roles and $5,000 annually for professional development. Rewind also offers employees flexible health-care plans, three weeks of vacation, a four-week paid sabbatical, summer Fridays off, and a $1,000 annual wellness allowance.

12. KNAK

Knak is one of Canada’s fastest growing SaaS (software as a service) companies and a leading martech (marketing) platform that allows marketers to build onbrand, no-code, marketing campaigns quickly. Before Knak became an expert in developing no-code email and landing page creation, the company believed that marketers’ natural creative talents should be at the forefront of all that they do. Knak believes in unleashing the creativity of all its employees.

13. POMERLEAU CONSTRUCTION

Pomerleau Construction has grown from its roots in Quebec to become one of the largest shopping centre design-build companies in Canada. It prioritizes a culture that promotes well-being and growth. It views itself as not just a company, but a community through its commitment to ensuring employee success and happiness.

14. FELLOW INSIGHTS INC.

Fellow Insights is an AI meeting management firm that helps companies with strategies to keep their remote teams connected.

15. OTTAWA GENERAL CONTRACTORS

Ottawa General Contractors (OGC) offers homeowners affordable and successful renovation projects within the Greater Ottawa region.

16. KRP PROPERTIES

KRP Properties owns and manages 33 buildings in the Kanata Research Park and Kanata North Technology Park.

17. J.L. RICHARDS & ASSOCIATES LIMITED

The story of J.L. Richards & Associates (JLR) unfolds in 1955 with three young entrepreneurs and some rented space in downtown Ottawa. These three engineers had a vision to provide consulting engineering services. Almost 70 years later, they are an employee-owned multidisciplinary firm of more than 400 employees, spanning seven offices across Ontario, with completed projects in more than 75 countries.

18. COLONNADE BRIDGEPORT

Colonnade BridgePort is a real estate investment and management company that maximizes its clients’ real estate asset potential beyond the balance sheet because of a commitment to creativity and fresh thinking.

19.

seoplus+

Seoplus+ is a digital marketing partner for companies that want to utilize data to grow and expand their businesses. It helps companies set marketing goals and achieve those goals. Its culture, encapsulated by its PACT values — Play, Accountability, Collaboration, Transparency — fosters a supportive and enjoyable work environment.

20.

MODERN NIAGARA OTTAWA INC.

Modern Niagara helps building owners and managers by meeting all the needs of their properties across six major centres in Canada: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Southwestern Ontario, and Ottawa. Modern Niagara combines capacity and agility to successfully complete the biggest and most complex jobs. Leading the way in the construction of health-care facilities and the decarbonization of buildings, Modern Niagara’s people push the norms and develop new and important advancements.

CANADA’S CLEANERS

Proudly serving Ottawa and all of Canada for over 55 years

Our business is taking care of yours. Expertise in spaces from retail, industrial, educational, o ce, commercial residential, healthcare, airports, and more!

Customized services based on your unique needs.

Guided

Award-winning green cleaning and sustainable practices.

No matter the nature of your business, BDO is here to help

Whether you’re pursuing growth, contemplating succession, M&A, or planning a new technology solution, BDO’s professionals have the relevant industry experience to enable your organization as it moves through its next corporate milestone.

We may be one of Canada’s largest full-service professional services firms, but we remain committed to the communities we serve. As the corporate environment evolves, we will continue to provide practical solutions to our clients and support their competitive advantage

Always moving forward.

www.bdo.ca

THE LIST

Company/Address

Deloitte Canada

1600-100 Queen Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5T8

613-236-2442 / 613-236-2195 deloitte ca

BDO Canada LLP

1700-180 Kent St Ottawa, ON K1P 0B6

613-237-9331 / 613-237-9779 bdo ca

PwC

710-99 Bank St Ottawa, ON K1P 1E4 613-237-3702 / 613-237-3963 pwc.com/ca

KPMG LLP

1800-150 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K2P 2P8 613-212-5764 / 613-212-2896 kpmg.ca

5 Ernst & Young LLP (EY) 1200-99 Bank St Ottawa, ON K1P 6B9 613-232-1511 / 613-232-5324 ey com

6 Welch LLP 350 Albert Street, Suite 700 Ottawa, ON K1R 1A4 613-236-9191 / 613-236-8258 welchllp com

7 Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton 200-1900, City Park Drive Ottawa, ON K1J 1A3 613-236-2211 / 613-236-6104 rcgt com

8 MNP LLP

800-1600 Carling Ave Ottawa, ON K2A 4B2

613-691-4200 / 613-726-9009 mnp ca

Marcil Lavallée

400-1420 Blair Towers Pl. Ottawa, ON K1J 9L8

613-745-8387 / 613-745-9584 marcil-lavallee ca

Baker Tilly Ottawa LLP

400-301 Moodie Dr Ottawa, ON K2H 9C4

613-820-8010 / 613-820-0465 bakertilly ca/en/ottawa-ontario

GGFL LLP

287 Richmond Road Ottawa, ON K1Z 6X4

613-728-5831 / 613-728-8085 ggfl.ca

Hendry Warren LLP

200-881 Lady Ellen Pl. Ottawa, ON K1Z 5L3

613-235-2000 / 613-235-2643 hwllp ca

Logan Katz LLP 105-6 Gurdwara Rd. Ottawa, ON K2E 8A3 613-228-8282 / 613-228-8284 logankatz.com

Andrews & Co 540 Lacolle Way Orleans, ON K4A 0N9 613-837-8282 / 613-837-7482 andrews ca

ACCOUNTING FIRMS

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES)

and

Full-service firm, operating through five service lines: audit & assurance, tax & legal, advisory (deals, management & risk consulting), enterprise (private company advisor), digital and ESG (environment, social and governance).

Full-service: assurance, IT audit, fraud investigation, advisory services, cybersecurity, domestic/cross-border tax, transfer pricing, transaction advisory, emerging growth services, private client services, not-for-profit, government

Full-service firm providing audit & assurance, tax & advisory services; U.S./cross-border tax; SR&ED tax credits; M&A; valuation; corporate finance; cloud bookkeeping & controller services; government audit, risk & intergenerational wealth advisory

Firm specializing in audit, tax, strategy and performance consulting, IT audit, contribution audit, tax credit, business succession and continuity, business valuation, sales and acquisitions, recovery and reorganization (business and individual).

Accounting, tax, consulting, succession, enterprise risk, corporate finance, valuations, forensics, M&A, corporate recovery, bankruptcy, technology advisory, digital solutions, cyber security, data analytics, HR, process improvement consulting.

Full-service bilingual firm providing audit, tax compliance and tax planning (personal, corporate, estate), consulting, risk management, business acquisitions (acquisitions and divestitures), accounting/bookkeeping and financial advisory services

Full-service firm: audit and assurance, taxation (personal Canadian and US, corporate, estate, international), business valuations, financial advisory, and other consulting and entrepreneurial services for private enterprises

GGFL provides a comprehensive range of tax, accounting and business advisory services for growing and established business owners, healthcare professionals and high-networth individuals and their families

Full-service firm for small and medium-sized businesses and high net worth clients; taxation planning and compliance services including corporate restructuring, purchase

THE LIST

Company/Address

Phone/Fax/Web

Akran Marketing 12-2000 Thurston Drive Ottawa, ON K1G 4K7 613 739 4000 / 613 739 4444 akranmarketing.com

seoplus+

825 Exhibition Way, Suite 209 Ottawa, ON K1S 5J3

613-866-9327 / 866-980-7587 https://seoplus com

Acart Communications 400-171 Nepean St Ottawa, ON K2P 0B5 613-230-7944 / 613-232-5980 acart com

4 Banfield 35 Armstrong St Ottawa, ON K1Y 2V4 613-722-6832 banfield.agency

Alphabet Creative

300-20 James Street Ottawa, ON K2P 0T6 613-244-0858 alphabetcreative com

6 BLACKBOOK Lifestyle Westboro Ottawa, ON K1Y 2N6 Please email www.blackbooklifestyle com

55 1997

52 2012

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING AGENCIES

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOCAL EMPLOYEES)

Mikas Agarwal, Chief Digital Officer

Gary Howard, Business Development Manager

Monica Channa, Director of Operations

Raman Agarwal, President & CEO

Eddy Abou-Nehme, Co-Founder / Chief Executive Officer

CHEO, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Government of Canada

Brock Murray, Co-Founder / Chief Operating Officer WND

Andrew McWiggan, Partner & Chief Revenue Officer

Theresa Forman, Partner & Chief Strategy Officer

1973 Timothy Jones, President

2000 Tony Lyons, President & Chief Strategy Officer

2010 Daniel Mackinnon, Owner

Great River Media PO Box 91585 Ottawa, ON K1W 1K0 613-696-9494 / 613-696-9494 greatriver ca 24 2003

8 spark*advocacy

6-71 Bank St Ottawa, ON K1P 5N2 613-367-5513 sparkadvocacy ca 23 2016

8 Xactly Design & Advertising Inc. 204-311 Richmond Rd. Ottawa, ON K1Z 6X3 613-745-2225 xactlydesign.com

Mediaplus Advertising

Anne Howland, Editor-in-Chief Terry Tyo, Publisher Tanya Connolly-Holmes, Design Director

Cheryl Schunk, Finance Manager

Victoria Stewart, Vice-President Sales and Markeitng

Perry Tsergas, President and CEO

Partner

23 2002

103-141 Catherine St Ottawa, ON K2P 1C3 613-230-3875 / 613-230-1458 mediaplusadvertising.com 22 1984

TRUEdotDESIGN

100-145 Spruce St Ottawa, ON K1R 6P1 613-800-8368 truedotdesign.com

Initiate Marketing

130 Terence Matthews Cr Ottawa, ON K2M 0J1 613-369-8333 www getinitiated.ca

150 Elgin St. Floor 8 Ottawa, ON K2P1L4 613-729-0500 mediaforce ca

Orkestra Marketing

37 St-Joseph Blvd. Gatineau, QC J8Y 3V8

819-205-1782 orkestra.ca

100-57 Auriga Dr Ottawa, ON K2E 8B2 613-723-2057 /

Ottawa Senators Hockey Club, New Directions Aromatics, Egg Farmers of Canada, Elections Canada, Canadian Gas Association, Calypso Waterpark, OC Transpo

National Arts Centre, Health Canada, Public Safety Canada, Communication Security Establishment Canada, Ingenium, Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Institute for Health Information, Reckitt Royal Canadian Legion

Canadian Construction Association, Canadian Real Estate Association, CADSI, Canada Green Building Council, CPF, CDIC, Electricity Canada, Hydro Ottawa, Tourism Kingston, RTO9, Ottawa Tourism, Sparks Street BIA, Minto Communities

Bayshore Shopping Centre, Otto's Ottawa (BMW, Subaru, Collision Centre), Ottawa Dental Society, Ashbury College, Mapleview Centre, Embassy Hotel & Suites, Cooper's Creative Kitchen, Manulife Centre National Capital Tennis Association

Ottawa Senators, Ottawa Tourism, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Kanata North Business Association, Invest Ottawa, City of Ottawa, Casino Lac-Leamy, EY, Welch LLP, Perley-Robertson Hill & McDougall, Mark Motors

Adrian Jean, Chief Creative Officer, Partner WND

Denis Sabourin, CEO

Laura Williams, Director

Steve Harding, Director Blair Burchill, Director

Don Masters, President/Creative Director Christine Kincaid, COO

Justine Penaud, Client Director

Sacha Lauzier-Bonnette, Creative Director

Frédérique Dumont, Director Colin Laramée-Plouffe, Copresident Alex Van Dieren, Copresident

CAA, Vodkow, Drop, Goldbar Whiskey, Palladium Insurance, Merkley Supplies, Segway, Heart Institute Mindbridge, Ringette Canada, Inside Edge Properties, Boyd, ADGA, Amsted, TCU Developments, Royal Canada Milk, Mercury Filmworks, Fresh Founders

Ottawa Tourism, Canada Post Corporation, Ottawa International Airport Authority, Bruyère Health, OC Transpo, Tartan Homes, Chicken Farmers of Canada, Royal Canadian Legion, Downtown Rideau BIA, Heart of Orleans BIA, Atlético Ottawa, Glebe BIA

We'd love to shout out everyone we collaborate with, but here just a few of the incredible names we work with: Hobin Architecture, Uniform Developments, Glenview Homes, Main+Main, RSR, The Precast Group, Canada Lands Company, Chmiel Architects, BPA!

Akran Marketing helps you stand out with custom uniforms, branded products, seamless e-commerce solutions, creative design, kitting & fulfillment, and meaningful awards & recognition.

SEO, paid search and social advertising, content marketing, digital marketing.

Brand architecture, video + animation, demand generation, campaign strategy, brand strategy, GTM (Go-to-market) strategy, programmatic, (DSP/SSP) media desk (buying and planning), Conversion rate optimization (CRO), brand design, campaign execution

Strategic planning, research, social media, media strategy, brand development, creative development and execution, digital services, motion and video

Brand integration consulting, Integrated marketing services: brand visioning, creative strategy advertising campaign planning and execution, content marketing, digital marketing, media planning and buying, custom technology solutions

Strategic planning, brand development, media relations, media buying, promotional, product and brand launches, strategic advertising, promotion and publicity, web/graphic design, social media management, community relations

With 30 years of local media experience, Great River Media provides content marketing, custom publishing, digital marketing (social, display, programmatic and email), video production, design and event production.

Full-service integrated marketing agency specializing in branding, design, advertising campaigns, social media, media buying and web development for clients interested in awareness, reputation and advocacy

Full service retainer style agency creating big ideas campaigns with results, and managing brands through strategy, content & design.

Advertising, content, branding services

Strategic marketing, brand development, web design and development, digital marketing, SEO and SEM, social media strategy and management, graphic design, wayfinding, public relations, event planning, copywriting, advertising and way more

Branding, corporate collateral (print and digital), video, trade show creative, infographics and fullservice web design and development

Bagel Ville de Laval

Government of Ontario, Canadian Wood Council, Standards Council of Canada, Canadian Seed Growers' Association

Campaign strategy and execution, brand and corporate identity, video and photography, web design and development, motion graphics and animation, content development, advertising, digital and traditional design and layout

THE LIST

Company/Address

Phone/Fax/Web

karmadharma

200-346 Richmond Rd.

Ottawa, ON K2A 0E8

613-728-4404 karmadharma.ca

Sequence Marketing

342 MacLaren St Ottawa, ON K2P 0M6

613-237-5757 sequencemarketing.ca

Stiff 101-9 Gurdwara Rd. Ottawa, ON K2E 7X6

613-683-4102

Blackiron Agency

400-300 Richmond Rd. Ottawa, ON K1Z 6X6

613-236-5444 blackiron.agency

Nexus Digital 105 Murray St Ottawa, ON K1N 5M5 613-276-5452 nexusdigital.co

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING AGENCIES

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOCAL EMPLOYEES)

Karen Bramhill, Chief Experience Officer

Annik Daoust, COO Peter Georgariou, Founder and CEO

John Bishop Veronique Soucy, Agency Principals

Karen Moores, General Manager

Rob Barber, CEO Brady Rynyk, Vice President

BGC Ottawa, CHEO foundation, Circle of Care, Coaching Association of Canada, Circle of Care

Lapensee Mattress, Slush Puppie Canada, Bel-Air Automotive Group, Trillium College, Piicomm

CFNU, Canadian Construction Association, Carleton University, Ontario Nurses’ Association, New Brunswick Nurses Union, DCC, City of Ottawa, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, NSIRA, IMC, Canadian Heritage, CMA, AlgomaU, OCH, Health Research BC, YMCA.

Colonnade BridgePort, Hard Rock Ottawa, Ottawa Airport Authority, Ferguslea Properties Ltd./Accora Village, Universal Appliances, PAI Medical Group, Produce Depot, Infinity Convention Centre, Brookstreet Hotel

Strategy: Navigate complex challenges with focused insights. Creative: Build memorable brands and marketing that captivate and connect. People: Strengthen team dynamics, fostering harmony and engagement for a thriving workplace

Bilingual full-service agency including: conventional/ digital media strategy and placement, brand development, logo design, conventional and digital graphic design, word press website development

Full service strategic communications and design: Branding, research, digital marketing, campaign development, graphic design and layout, video production, web design and development, copywriting and editing, plain language audits, writing training.

Branding, strategic planning, graphic design, creative strategy, writing, video/photography, advertising & campaign development, execution, digital & traditional media planning & placement, web design & development, partnership marketing

Lawrence College, ECampus Ontario, Leisure Days RV, Digital marketing, custom strategy, creative, digital media and analysis, branding, awareness and conversion. Video creation and editing. 25

Aragona Agency 592-1000 Innovation Dr Ottawa, ON K2K

25 Cayenne

1343 Labrie Ave Ottawa, ON K1B 3M2 613-288-2121 cayennecreative ca

Cyan Solutions 200-58 Arthur St Ottawa, ON K1R 7B9 613-860-4444 cyansolutions com

Godzspeed Communications Inc. 299 Bank St Ottawa, ON K2P 1X7

613-406-2537 godzspeed.com

Ascribe Marketing Inc.

Fully remote Ottawa, ON K1J 8H4 613-238-3595 ascribeinc.ca

SCS (Schiefer Chopshop)

Strategic and creative marketing services for B2B technology clients from six capability areas: Marketing Research and Analysis, Strategies, Writing and Content, Design, Digital Marketing, Program Management

Design and Web development, UX and UI specialists, App development, strategy, content writing, photography, video production, digital marketing.

Full-service bilingual creative agency. Brand (strategy, creative and development), UX & UI design for Web + full development (AA Web accessibility), SEO/SEM, advertising (strategy, writing, creative, production, media and more).

Full-service Marketing agency featuring Design Website development, video production, Trade show planning and production and Marketing strategy and campaign execution.

Business strategy, brand strategy, personal branding, creative strategy, design, video/film production, commercial photography, marketing campaigns executive team training and workshops, curated events and panels

Corporate communications, annual and strategic reports, blogs and articles, brand messaging and taglines, content/editorial planning, copyediting and proofreading, event coverage and reporting, marketing campaigns etc. 30

200-55 Murray St Ottawa, ON K1N 5M3 613-699-6870 wearescs com

30 Skyfall Blue 2212 Gladwin Crescent Ottawa, ON K1B 5N1 613-286-3289 skyfallblue com

Star Marketing Group 7-1149 Shillington Ave Ottawa, ON K1Z 7Z3 613-759-4400 starmar ca

TAAG Marketing + Design

1999 Braden Bailey, Chief Executive Officer Aaron's, Amy's Kitchen, Baldwin Hardware, Battery Tender, Borla, Brand Innovators, Falken Tire, Good 'N' Fun, Irvine Company, Kwikset, Mothers Polish, Realtree, Vans, Visit Laguna Beach, Weiser

8 2012 Fadi Ghaby, CEO

Argyle and associates Dsq construction Rgz Cambridge Ritz Carlton JW MARRIOTT SHERATON CAREFOR

Integrated Strategy, Performance Marketing, Brand Solutions, Creative & Production, Media Buying, Digital Product & Platform Development, eCommerce, UX, Content Development, Social Marketing, AI & Innovation. Part of the Ionik Group

Skyfall Blue is a boutique agency with specializing in social media marketing, copywriting, brand restructuring, online and offline advertising and website development

Branding, graphic and web design, marketing strategies, media planning and placement, advertising campaigns, awareness campaigns, print co-ordination, promotions/special events, trade show personnel and support services 33

700-251 Bank St Ottawa, ON K2P 1X3 613-907-8580 taag.ca/services/marketingdesign

1987 Melanie Williams, Director

Government of Canada (many Departments and Agencies), City of Ottawa, Ottawa Board of Trade, Canadian Council of Academies, Standards Council of Canada, RCMP, Capital Prosperity Foundation, Rubicon Strategy, Grand Council of the Cree, BioteCANADA

Strategy development, creative direction, brand and visual identity, graphic design, content creation, digital marketing. Integrated products include traditional, web, digital, social media, video, book, magazine, and report publication services 35 Northern Army 487 Lewis St Ottawa, ON K2P 0T2 613-369-8370 northernarmy

Current clients include: WWF, University of Ottawa, United Nations, Payments Canada, Sumo Logic, The Ottawa Mission, RCMP, eCampus

is about Talent and Potential. TAP

Clients come to TAP because we care about your success - and it shows. We have the experience and team of certified professionals and other specialists to partner with you to help you acheive your goals.

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THE LIST

Company/Address Phone/Fax/Web

Boyden 300-979 Bank St Ottawa, ON K2P 0C2 613-742-3220 boyden.ca

Business Sherpa Group (virtual HQ) Ottawa, ON K2H 8R2 613-656-3499 businesssherpagroup com

Mercer (Canada) Limited 550-55 Metcalfe St Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5 613-230-9348 mercer ca

HR CONSULTING FIRMS

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOCAL EMPLOYEES)

Jim Harmon, Managing Partner, Ontario Michael Naufal, Managing Partner

The National Capital Region's most prominent and respected organizations including technology companies, public sector institutions, social impact entities and industry leaders

Senior-level executive/board search, leadership/board advisory services, and interim management

Margo Crawford, Founder & Chair Todd Luckasavitch, CEO Ottawa Senators Hockey Club Pirurvik Preschool Welch LLP

Regulatory compliance, HR policy, onboarding and offboarding, compensation/organization reviews, payroll, benefits, staff engagement, senior HR leadership, professional development, recruitment/executive search.

Group health/wellness benefits, pension/ retirement savings/ investments, total rewards/compensation design, pay equity, employee engagement/ digital platforms, change management, workday implementation 4

CareerJoy 461 Churchill Ave N Ottawa, ON K1Z 5E1 613-291-5550 careerjoy com

TalentMap 500-1000 Innovation Rd. Ottawa, ON K2L 1T9 613-801-1999 talentmap com 20 0 0 1

Claire Cotton, Director of Operations Alan Kearns, Managing Partner and Head Career Coach

Technology, Healthcare Financial services, Manufacturing, Non-profit, Government, Municipalities

Culture development (agility, coaching, learning, belonging, performance); leadership development (commitment, character, competencies); restructuring & outplacement; recruitment/retention strategy

Stratford Group 100-350 Legget Dr Kanata, ON K2K 2W7

613-868-4514 stratford.group 14 15 6 1 2008

TAP

201-110 Didsbury Rd. Ottawa, ON K2T 0C2 613-222-2499 tapstrategyandhr com

Korn Ferry

515-135 Laurier Avenue W Ottawa, ON K1P 5J2

613-238-4785 / 1-888-210-6976 kornferry com

iHR Advisory Services

F2-130 Terence Matthews Cr Ottawa, ON K2M 0J1

613-686-6364

Sean Fitzpatrick President & CEO

Jordan Pynn, Vice President, Stratford Intellectual Property Myriam Davidson, Vice President, Stratford Intellectual Property Natalie Giroux, President, Stratford Intellectual Property

Bruce Weippert, CHRE Terri Harrison, President

Government, education, healthcare, not-for-profits, financial, technology

Miovision Lee Valley, Green Beaver, Klir, EarthFresh, Martello, Adaptiv Networks, COSM, Fluid AI, Fluitec, Swidget, True Context, Nord Quantic, Polyanalytics, Boreas, Noibu, Nokia, Mysa, Voyant, Jana, Orion, ThinkRF, Mysa, Edge Signal, Neuroscaping

Government; healthcare; notfor-profit; tech; community and social services; associations; construction.

TalentMap helps organizations harness the insights of employees to increase engagement, develop inspiring leaders, make the organization more effective and ensure it is a great place to work.

IP strategy review & design, Fractional IP department, Patent drafting and prosecution, Trademark preparation and prosecution IP management, patent searching, trade secrets management

End-to-end HR services, HR program development, leadership coaching, organizational review/design; workforce planning; change management, compensation planning/design; policies

Jan Kennedy, Senior Client Partner

Public sector; Crown corporations; mining industry/natural resources; tech; pharmaceutical

Talent management; career frameworks; recruitment; leadership assessments; coaching; succession; executive pay/ governance; pay benchmarks; job evaluation.

THE LIST

Company/Address

Phone/Fax/Web

Emond Harnden LLP

707 Bank St Ottawa, ON K1S 3V1

613-563-7660 / 613-563-8001 ehlaw ca

Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l.

1400-340 Albert St Ottawa, ON K1R 0A5

613-238-2022 / 613-238-8775 perlaw ca

RavenLaw LLP

1600-220 Laurier Ave. West Ottawa, ON K1P 5Z9

613-567-2901 / 613-567-2921 ravenlaw com

Nelligan Law

300-50 O'Connor St Ottawa, ON K1P 6L2 613-238-8080 / 613-238-2098 nelliganlaw ca

Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP 2600-160 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K1P 1C3 613-233-1781 / 613-563-9869 gowlingwlg.com

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP 1300-55 Metcalfe St Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5 613-236-3882 / 613-230-6423 fasken.com

Hicks Morley 2000-150 Metcalfe St Ottawa, ON K2P 1P1 613-234-0386 / 613-234-0418 hicksmorley com

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

500-99 Bank Street Ottawa, ON K1P 6B9

613-780-8661 / 613-230-5459 nortonrosefulbright com

Champ & Associates 43 Florence St Ottawa, ON K2P 0W6

613-237-2441 / 613-232-2680 champlaw ca

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

1300-100 Queen St Ottawa, ON K1P 1J9

613-237-5160 / 613-787-3558 blg.com

Kelly Santini LLP 2401-160 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K2P 2P7 613-238-6321 / 613-233-4553 kellysantini.com

Soloway Wright LLP

700-427 Laurier Ave. W Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y2

613-236-0111 / 613-238-8507 solowaywright com

Bird Richard 508-130 Albert St Ottawa, ON K1P 5G4 613-238-3772 / 613-238-5955 lawyersforemployers ca

LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW FIRMS

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS PRACTICING LOCALLY)

55 Lynn Harnden Jacques Emond, Partners 1987

25 Joël M. Dubois Partner 1971

23 Kim Patenaude, Partner 1992

16 Janice Payne, Partner 1963

9 Mark Josselyn, Partner 1887

8 Sébastien Lorquet Partner 1980

8 Siobhan O'Brien, Partner 2001

8 Tate McLeod, Local Chair, Employment and Labour 1984

7 Paul Champ, Principal Lawyer 2009

6 Dan Palayew, Partner 1952

6 Sean Bawden , Partner 1976

6 Christopher Edwards Alan Riddell, Partners 1946

4 Caroline Richard, Partner 1999

4 Catherine

Employment and labour law for unionized and non-unionized employers, wrongful dismissal claims, human rights and harassment complaints, human resources training, employment contracts, workplace policies, sick leave management, WSIB, OHS

Grievance arbitration, pay equity, judicial review, disciplinary proceedings, employment contracts, wrongful dismissals, human rights, labour relations collective bargaining, disability claims, employment disputes and recruitment practices

Union-side labour law, employment law, human rights law (including pay equity), constitutional law (including the Charter) and judicial review of government action.

Wrongful dismissal, severance packages, constructive dismissal, layoffs employment contracts, human rights and discrimination, harassment and workplace violence, union representation, class actions, pension, benefits, occupational health and safety, employment standards

Counsel and representation in multiple aspects of employment law, labour relations, human rights, respect and safety in the workplace, and employment standards

Strategic advice and representation for Employers in all areas of labour relations, employment law and human rights: wrongful/constructive dismissal; arbitration; collective bargaining; organizing and certification; workplace investigations; restructuring; employment agreements; compensation.

Human resources law and advocacy for employers. Full service in both official languages, with expertise in labour relations; employment law; pension and benefits law; human rights; litigation; regulatory prosecutions; WSIB matters

Full-service management-side: employment contracts/disputes, pay and employment equity, wrongful dismissals, human rights, labour relations, grievance arbitrations, OHS, severance packages, executive compensation/liability, collective bargaining

Employee-side representation in all areas of the law, including labour, wrongful and constructive dismissal, severance advice, privacy, and human rights. Also federal public-sector labour law

Full service: employment contracts, wrongful dismissals, human rights, severance package advice, executive compensation/liability, collective bargaining, disability claims, employment disputes, benefit plans, occupational health and safety, harassment, arbitrations, union organizing.

Employment contracts, termination packages and wrongful dismissal, noncompete and non-solicitation clauses, employment policies and procedures, employment standards claims, human rights and discrimination, harassment and investigations

https://solowaywright com/service/employment-labour-and-public-law/

Management-side labour and employment law providing advice and representation on human rights, workers' compensation, labour relations, occupational health and safety, collective bargaining, workplace violence/ harassment investigations 13 Dentons Canada LLP 1420-99 Bank St Ottawa, ON K1P 1H4 613-783-9600 / 613-783-9690 dentons com

McMillan LLP

2000-45 O'Connor St Ottawa, ON K1P 1A4 613-232-7171 / 613-231-3191 mcmillan.ca

Merovitz Potechin

1565 Carling Ave

ON K1Z 8R1 613-563-7544 or 1-877-612-1123 merovitzpotechin.com

THE LIST

Company/Address

Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP 2600-160 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K1P 1C3

613-233-1781 / 613-563-9869 gowlingwlg.com

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP 1300-100 Queen St Ottawa, ON K1P 1J9 613-237-5160 / 613-787-3558 blg.com

Emond Harnden LLP 707 Bank St Ottawa, ON K1S 3V1

613-563-7660 / 613-563-8001 ehlaw ca

Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l. 1400-340 Albert St Ottawa, ON K1R 0A5

613-238-2022 / 613-238-8775 perlaw ca

Dentons Canada LLP 1420-99 Bank St Ottawa, ON K1P 1H4 613-783-9600 / 613-783-9690 dentons com

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP 500-99 Bank Street Ottawa, ON K1P 6B9 613-780-8661 / 613-230-5459 nortonrosefulbright com

7 Smart & Biggar 55 Metcalfe Street, Suite 1000, P O. Box 2999, Station D Ottawa, ON K1P 5Y6 613-232-2486 / 613-232-8440 smartbiggar ca

8 Nelligan Law

300-50 O'Connor St Ottawa, ON K1P 6L2 613-238-8080 / 613-238-2098 nelliganlaw ca

Kelly Santini LLP 2401-160 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K2P 2P7 613-238-6321 / 613-233-4553 kellysantini.com

Soloway Wright LLP

700-427 Laurier Ave. W Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y2 613-236-0111 / 613-238-8507 solowaywright com

Mann Lawyers LLP 300-11 Holland Ave Ottawa, ON K1Y 4S1 613-722-1500 / 613-722-7677 mannlawyers com

LaBarge Weinstein LLP 800-515 Legget Dr Ottawa, ON K2K 3G4 613-599-9600 / 613-599-0018 lwlaw com

Sicotte Guilbault LLP 1-5925 boul. Jeanne D'Arc Blvd. Ottawa, ON K1C 6V8 613-837-7408 sicotte ca

K1P 6L5 613-236-3882 / 613-230-6423 fasken.com

LAW FIRMS

Full-service

Shane

management, WSIB, OHS, pension and benefits

Antitrust and competition, banking and finance, construction, corporate, M&A and securities, employment, environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), insurance, IP, litigation and disputes, real estate, regulation and investigations

Patents, Trademarks & Brand Protection, Copyright & Media, Industrial Designs, Litigation & Enforcement, Licensing & IP Transactions, Life Sciences, IP Management & Strategic Counselling, Marketing & Advertising, Domain Names & Internet Law

Multi-service including: employment law, personal injury, family law, litigation, real estate and development, estates law, and labour

Since opening its doors in 1946, Soloway Wright LLP has established a proud history of serving its clients and community. Today, they build on that history while always looking to the future for how to best meet the needs of their clients

Celebrating a Century of Trusted Service

Now in our 100th year, our family owned and operated company continues the commitment to serve this community with the respect, dignity and caring that underscore our history. For more about our story and our services, visit hpmcgarry.ca

THE LIST

Company/Address

Phone/Fax/Web

Chateau Lafayette of Ottawa Ltd.

42 York St, Ottawa, ON K1N 5S6 613-241-4747 https://www thelaff ca/

A.H. Fitzsimmons 1878 Co. Ltd.

200-66 Colonnade Rd. Ottawa, ON K2E 7K7 613-238-2100 / 613-238-7456 ahfitzsimmons com

Carefor Health & Community Services

760 Belfast Rd, Ottawa, ON K1G 6M8 613-749-7557 / 613-749-4002 carefor ca/

J.T. Bradley's 1220 Colonial Rd. Navan, ON K4B 1J4 613-835-3781 jtbradleys com

Pye & Richards - Temprano & Young Architects Inc. 824 Meath St Ottawa, ON K1Z 6E8 613-724-7700 prty ca

E.R. Fisher Ltd. 199 Richmond Rd. Ottawa, ON K1Z 6W4 613-829-8313 erfisher com

7 McIntosh & Watts

855 Industrial Ave., Ste 1 Ottawa, ON K1G 4L4

613-233-2332 / na mcintoshshop com

315 McLeod St Ottawa, ON K2P 1A2

613-233-1143 / 613-233-9166 hpmcgarry ca

Scrivens Insurance and Investment Solutions 270 MacLaren St Ottawa, ON K2P 0M3

613-236-9101 / 613-236-0856 scrivens ca

3100 Swansea Crescent Ottawa, ON K1G 3W4 613 744 0970 / N/A www willstransfer com

3187 Albion Rd. S Ottawa, ON K1V 8Y3 613-739-2919 / 613-739-7334 taggartgroup ca

OLDEST OTTAWA COMPANIES

ON K2G 5X3 613-225-0770 uniformdevelopments

Mohr Ltd. P O. Box 34009 Ottawa, ON K2J 5B1 613-838-5042 goldiemohrltd.ca

1510 Walkley Rd.

ON K1V 6P5 613-731-2500 / 613-731-5677 glovertrade com

THE LIST

Company/Address Phone/Fax/Web

Encore Canada 3020 Hawthorne Rd., Unit 300A Ottawa, ON K1G 3J6 613-526-4414 / 613-526-0850 encore-can.com

Duoson Multimedia 1177 Newmarket St Ottawa, ON K1B 3V1 613-742-7474 / 613-742-3434 duoson.com

Davidson Violette & Associates Inc. 488 Gladstone Avenue Ottawa, ON K1R 5N8 613-225-2798 / 613-224-6214 dvai.ca

Epiphan Video 400 March Rd.Suite 510 Kanata, ON K2K 3H4 613-599-6581 / 613-482-4613 epiphan.com

AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT DEALERS

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOCAL EMPLOYEES)

Key

175 Robert Yaworski Regional Director, Production Centre and Venues Brent Beatty, Director of Sales - Capital Region David Laramee, Drector of Operations 1 250 1983

40 Helene Drolet, President 1 5 1989

25 Adam Tubman John Davidson Gilles Violette, Partners

23 Mikhail Jiline, CTO / Co-founder Jeff Kushner, CFO

Interactive Audio Visual 6-5459 Canotek Rd. Ottawa, ON K1J 9M3 613-748-9388 / 613-742-7738 interactiveaudiovisual.com

Baldwin Audio Visual Solutions 9 Capella Crt Ottawa, ON K2E 8A7 613-235-5263 / N/A www.baldwinav com

Advantage Audio Visual Rentals Ltd 102-190 Menten Pl. Nepean, ON K2H 9G3 613-727-9200 / N/A advantageav com

17 Ian Smith, President 1

16 Alex CoonMr, General Manager 2 2 1984

Creative services, lighting, projection including mapping, scenic services, special events and entertainment, interactive technology

Event staging, rentals and sales of language interpretation, conference mics, projectors, monitors, cameras, microphones, sound systems, lighting, computers, podiums, stage risers and drapery

Meeting and Conference Room AV, Control Systems, Outdoor and Large Venue Sound, Presentation Spaces, Voice Communications, Sound Masking, Wireless Collaboration, Audience Engagement, Podcast Studios, 24/7 Bilingual Service Desk

High resolution audio/video capture, encoding, recording and streaming hardware; USB video grabbers; Cloud solutions, professional streaming and recording systems. Award-winning AV hardware and software solutions

Turnkey A/V and unified collaboration solutions; complete design, integration and support; presentation, web conferencing, video streaming, command and control, auditoriums, stadium, digital signage. Crestron, Extron, QSC/QSYS certified. AV-as-a-Service; Canada-wide & U.S.-wide project deployment capabilities

LCD projectors; plasma displays; video conferencing; audio conferencing; sales, rentals, and service; simultaneous interpretation; virtual events of all kinds

Services for computer presentations

Wi-Fi and Internet; computer rentals; presentation management; online events including streaming, webcasting and videoconferencing

Design, strategic planning and onsite operation of multimedia switching and routing, projectors and monitors, virtual meetings and multilanguage online events webcasting and videoconferencing

Wired and Wireless Conferencing, Professional Audio, Public Address Systems, Projectors and Displays, Video-overTwisted Pair, AV-over-IP

Products offered enable lecture recording and broadcasting, multiple overflow hall broadcasting, remote attendee viewing and video conferencing.

Projection systems; large format displays and video walls, interactive collaboration displays; complete audio systems for small to stadium sized applications, audio and video streaming and recording; mobile audio production equipment

HD Projectors, LCD Screens, Videos Walls, Bilingual presentations

Services for traditional A/V presentations Other presentation products

Flat screen displays

Design, strategic planning and onsite operation of event technology for conferences, trade shows, rallies, workshops and news conferences, onsite recording, room drawings

AV Furniture (podiums, credenzas, racking), Room and Workspace Scheduling, Teams, Zoom and Google certified solutions

Products for live event switching, recording and streaming. Solutions for Education, Houses of Worship, Corporate Medical, Government, Courts and Legal

All forms of audio and video signal selection and distribution, including network based AV-Over-IP; remote monitoring, reporting and analytics; AV-solutionsas-a-service (AVaaS); digital signage and way-finding; broadcast video production equipment

Mobile apps; online events; social media; interactive technology including interactive kiosks, e-posters, audience response and voting systems

Rigging, line array speakers, teleprompters, videoconference codecs, conference telephones, audience voting, meeting timers, remote controls production intercoms electrical distribution

Video Walls, Professional Cameras and Webcams Automated Attendee Framing and Speech Tracking Solutions, Audience Engagement and Crowd Microphones

Video recording, medical imaging, webcasting, conference recording

Live and on-demand video streaming for mission critical and broadcast applications; court systems; operating theatre AV; service level agreements (up to 24/7/ 365); on-site staffing support

Conferences, TownHalls, AGM's, Virtual Services, Hybrid Events, Creative Services Audio-Visual Products

15 Jeff Waito, Founder 1 0 1994

Rental of all AV equipment; simultaneous interpretation for any size of conference, meeting or presentation, web conferencing abilities, staging, tradeshow drapery & tables, electrical services for tradeshows

Rental of LCD/ multimedia projectors, LCD and LED monitors, computer monitors and laptops

Rental of all traditional AV including delivery/ pickup and installation/ dismantling

Teleconferencing, video conferencing, simultaneous interpretation services, audio and video recording, multimedia duplication services streaming services via any platform, rigging services, acrylic podiums

Optimal Show Experience (OSE) 2491 Kaladar Ave Ottawa, ON K1V 8B9 613-686-1179 oselive com 15 Peter Gilroy, President Ying (Livia) Zheng, Director of Finance & Administration 1 0 2010

Produces medium to large size of festival, meeting, conference, Convention, live musical performance; event layout software studio so planners can design conferences in 3D. Mobile and portable staging.

LED video wall and different size of LED monitors. Laptops in stock that connect to projectors, laptop interfaces that allow audio presentations direct from laptops Different model of projectors

LED Video Wall, various projectors, different size of screens, televisions perfect cues, full audio include Bose sound systems, wireless microphones, full concert production, staging and lighting

Video conference,3D rendering, line array speakers, high-lumen projectors, LED video wall design and setup 9

Signature AudioVideo LTD 126 Iber Rd. Stittsville, ON K2S 1E9 613-831-7140 / 613-831-7094 sigav com

7 000-square-foot retail/design center; sales, installation, design; supports audio; video; theatre; lighting; shading; automation; furniture; service; networks

Projectors, screens, remote controls, speakers, amplifiers, microphones, furniture

THE LIST

Victor Insurance Managers Inc. (Victor Canada)

500-1400 Blair Towers Pl.

Ottawa, ON K1J 9B8 (613) 786-2000 / (613) 786-2001 www victorinsurance ca

Cowan Insurance Group

7th Floor-1420 Blair Pl.

Ottawa, ON K1J 9L8

613-741-3313 / 613-842-4206 cowangroup ca

Assurances Palladium

2712 St Joseph Blvd. Ottawa, ON K1C 1G5 613-824-0441 / 613-824-7344 palladiuminsurance ca

4 Mercer (Canada) Limited 550-55 Metcalfe St Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5 613-230-9348 mercer ca

Capcorp Financial 1050 Morrison Dr., 3rd floor Ottawa, ON K2H 8K7

613-226-1964 / 613-226-8402 capcorp ca

5 Gallagher 410-11 Holland Ave Ottawa, ON K1Y 4S1 613-670-8488 ajg.com/ca

David Burns & Associates (DBA) 105 Fourth Ave Ottawa, ON K1S 2L1 613-563-1281 / 613-563-0443 david-burns com

Meldrum Horne and Associates 301-222 Queen St Ottawa, ON K1P 5V9 613-233-9105 / 613-233-9105 meldrumhorne com

Mindstride Labs Inc.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FIRMS

and engagement, compensation consulting, human resources consulting, employee communications, multinational benefits, organizational wellbeing.

Group benefits, wealth management, pension plans, individual insurance, U.S. and international benefits, benchmarking, retirement planning.

Group benefit and pension consulting services, health spending accounts, benchmarking, employee wellness programs, HR strategies, U.S. and international benefits, executive compensation, and tax deferral strategies for business owners 7

1111 Prince of Wales, Suite 100 Ottawa, ON K2C 3T2 3438095972 / 343.809.5972 mindstride.ai

Prime Benefits Group 205-460 West Hunt Club Rd. Ottawa, ON K2E 0B8 613-897-7463 primebenefitsgroup com

Oegema Nicholson Financial 1453 Woodroffe Ave Ottawa, ON K2G 1W1 613-686-6338 onfin.ca

34 Summitview Dr Kanata, ON K2M 2V9 613-727-0424 / 613-727-6952 bennettinsurance ca

Mindstride provides innovative mental health solutions through a tech-driven platform, offering rapid access to virtual and in-person care, personalized care pathways, and comprehensive wellness resources for organizations and their employees

your big ideas

Your intellectual property is the cornerstone of your success. Ensure every aspect of it is protected with the unparalleled expertise of Osler’s Intellectual Property team. Whether it’s patents, trademarks, domain names, or copyrights, our lawyers bring together legal acumen, sharp analytical skills, and a business-oriented mindset to secure the value of your groundbreaking ideas. Trust us to help protect what matters most to you.

For more information about Osler’s Intellectual Property practice, visit osler.com/ip

J. Bradley White Partner and Chair,

Intellectual Property bwhite@osler.com 613.787.1101

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt llp Toronto Montréal Calgary Vancouver Ottawa New York osler.com

Barry Fong

Partner, Intellectual Property bfong@osler.com 613.787.1097

THE LIST

Company/Address Phone/Fax/Web

Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP

2600-160 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K1P 1C3

613-233-1781 / 613-563-9869 gowlingwlg.com

Smart & Biggar 55 Metcalfe Street, Suite 1000, P O. Box 2999, Station D Ottawa, ON K1P 5Y6

PATENT AND TRADEMARK FIRMS

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOCAL PATENT AND TRADEMARK AGENTS)

40 Stuart Ash, Partner Cynthia Elderkin, Partner 1887

613-232-2486 / 613-232-8440 smartbiggar ca 33

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP 1300-100 Queen St Ottawa, ON K1P 1J9 613-237-5160 / 613-787-3558 blg.com

Moffat & Co.

715 - 11 Holland Ave Ottawa, ON K1Y 4S1 613-232-7302 / 613-235-2508 moffatco com

Marks & Clerk Canada 1900-180 Kent St Ottawa, ON K1P 0B6 613-236-9561 / 613-230-8821 marks-clerk.com

MBM Intellectual Property Law LLP 1400-275 Slater St Ottawa, ON K1P 5H9 613-567-0762 / 613-563-7671 mbm.com

Andrews Robichaud PC 215-1673 Carling Ave Ottawa, ON K2A 1C4 613-237-1512 / 613-237-9580 andrewsrobichaud.com

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

100 Queen Street, World Exchange Plaza, Suite 320 Ottawa, ON K1P 1J9 613-235-7234 / 613-235-2867 osler com

Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l.

1400-340 Albert St Ottawa, ON K1R 0A5 613-238-2022 / 613-238-8775 perlaw ca

BRION RAFFOUL LLP

329 Churchill Ave. N Ottawa, ON K1Z 5B8 613-521-8844 / 613-249-7207 brionraffoul.com

Stratford Group

100-350 Legget Dr Kanata, ON K2K 2W7 613-868-4514 stratford.group

Aventum IP Law LLP

Jonas Gifford, Practice Group Leader for Patents: EICT Graham Hood Trademarks Practice Group Leader

Daphne Lainson, Practice Group Leader for Patents: Life Sciences & Chem/Bio Matthew Zischka, Managing Director 1906

Andrew Sojonky, Regional Group Manager - IP

14 Joe Ulvr, Managing Partner Joe Ulvr, Managing Partner 1970

Local, national and international businesses of all sizes/stages of development, public sector/ government agencies, academic/ research institutions, inventors

Universities, SMEs, large/ multinational companies innovating in: computer hardware/software, AI, telecom; industrial/mechanical engineering and life sciences/biotech.

Research laboratories, biotech and

and

government,

Canadian and multi-national

Patents, industrial designs, trademarks, copyrights, IP litigation. Key sectors include pharma, biotech, technology, manufacturing.

Patents, trademarks, copyright and media, industrial designs, litigation, licensing and IP transactions, life sciences (regulatory and compliance), IP management and strategic counselling.

Patents, trademarks, industrial design, copyright, domain names, chemical engineering, computer technology, bioscience, IT, telecom, IP litigation, licensing

Patents, trademarks, copyright and industrial designs, prosecution.

104-555 Legget Dr., Tower A Ottawa, ON K2K 2X3 613-232-5300 / 613-563-9231 aventum.law 4

Dentons Canada LLP

1420-99 Bank St Ottawa, ON K1P 1H4

613-783-9600 / 613-783-9690 dentons com

7 Pierre Robichaud Partner Mike Andrews, Partner

6 Barry Fong, Partner, Trademarks J. Bradley White, Chair, National Intellectual Property Department

6 Alain D Bourassa, Head

5 Natalie Raffoul, Managing Partner

5 Natalie Giroux, President, Stratford Intellectual Property

Victoria Carrington Chantal Bertosa Managing Partner, Owner, Lawyer and Trademark Agents

Pierre Robichaud Partner Mike Andrews, Partner 2003

1946

Anthony P McGlynn, Co-Chairman & Partner Aaron Rubinoff Co-Chair & Partner

Natalie Raffoul, Managing Partner Art Brion Founding Partner

1971

& Gamble, Huawei, AVON, Cuban Government - Cohiba, U-Haul, Abbott, Sierra Wireless, Plasco, Tweed

Local, regional, domestic and international clients in the fields of tech, life sciences, chemical, industrial, R&D, entertainment fashion, and consumer products and services

Canadian and multinational companies in pharmaceuticals, technology, biotech, life sciences, apparel, electronics, consumer products, entertainment, sports, food services

Corel, Energizer Brands, North Face, Ralph Lauren, Club Monaco Blackberry

2008 Government agencies; multinational companies; universities, SME's and startups

Jim Roche, President & CEO, Stratford Group 2008

Victoria Carrington Chantal Bertosa, Managing Partner, Owner Lawyer and Trademark Agents 1963

Miovision Lee Valley, Green Beaver Klir, EarthFresh, Martello, Adaptiv Networks, COSM, Fluid AI, Fluitec, Swidget, True Context, Nord Quantic, Polyanalytics, Boreas, Noibu, Nokia, Mysa, Voyant, Jana, Orion, ThinkRF Mysa, Edge Signal, Neuroscaping

Practice solely in IP: patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, licensing and IP, transactions, litigation/dispute resolution, regulatory practice, tradesecret programs, due diligence

Full service domestic and international firm focused on the protection, enforcement, exploitation, financing and commercialization of intellectual property and other knowledge-based assets

Patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name disputes, industrial design, plant breeders' rights, IP litigation, pharma, biotech, chemistry and mechanical, chemical and software engineering

Patents; trade-marks; copyrights; industrial designs; licensing; trade secrets; validity and infringement searches; opinions and related litigation

IP portfolio management, licensing and dispute resolution; patent drafting and prosecution for telecom, electronic, software, mechanical, medical; copyright, trademark and design registration

ICT, Lifescience, Software, Consumer products, Physics

Canadian and international clients in all industry sectors, including tech startups to SMSEs to Fortune 500 companies AI, cannabis, pharma/biotech, chemical, petrochem, cleantech, software/ information systems, data security applications, semiconductor circuit design and manufacturing.

CFO of the Year Geoff Simpson: Keeping the lights on during challenging times

BY JEFF BUCKSTEIN

Geoff Simpson, chief financial officer of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc., has been named the CFO of the Year for 2024 by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Board of Trade.

“I appreciate the recognition,” said Simpson. “But it's also a recognition of the work the team and the company has done in growing and changing and being ready for what's going to come next,” he added.

The criteria for this award include: notable actions to maximize an organization’s financial strength and growth during the period; a demonstrated commitment to achieving best practices in accounting; success in overcoming significant financial challenges; and an overall contribution to the community.

“I had a chance to sit on the board of Hydro Ottawa for six years and work with Geoff Simpson fairly closely,” said Cyril Leeder, president and chief executive officer of the Ottawa Senators.

“I always thought Geoff was a real astute leader and calm under fire,” said Leeder, who hailed Simpson’s role in steering Hydro Ottawa through two floods, a “once-in-100year derecho” and the COVID pandemic in recent years.

Leeder said Simpson’s business acumen keeps him on top of Hydro Ottawa’s key drivers of business performance. Leeder also noted that Hydro Ottawa, with several business units, is much more than just a regulated utility.

Simpson, a 56-year-old Ottawa native, received his commerce degree from Carleton University in 1991, earning majors in both finance and accounting.

His first position was with the City of Ottawa, filling in for an employee on maternity leave. “I had a manager who was a mentor, who saw potential in me, but also recognized that I was likely going to hit a bit of a glass ceiling if I didn't get an accounting designation,” he recalled.

Simpson earned his CGA designation in 1997. By 2000, he was the city’s chief accountant. Following the amalgamation of 10 municipalities into the larger city of Ottawa in 2000, he was manager of one of the mega-city’s financial support units, responsible for transportation, utilities and public works.

In 2006, a new opportunity arose with Ottawa Police Services (OPS) as director of finance and materiel management. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Ottawa police. It was an industry that inspired me and was a new and different challenge,” Simpson recalled.

Simpson stayed with the OPS until 2008, when he became the director of finance for Hydro Ottawa Limited, the regulated distribution company responsible for keeping the lights on.

“Shortly after joining Hydro Ottawa, we re-organized how we supported the entire company financially, and before long I became the director of finance for Hydro Ottawa Holdings Inc., which meant the regulated distribution electricity company (and) the other two subsidiaries at the time, which offered energy services and power generation,” said Simpson.

He remained in that position until he became director of finance in 2013. Several accomplishments in that position over the past 11 years stand out for him.

“I’m proud of the performance of the company

"I’m proud of the performance of the company through the derecho in 2022."

through the derecho in 2022,” said Simpson, adding that was a “devastating moment” for the community.

In addition to his accounting responsibilities at Hydro Ottawa, Simpson is responsible for supply chain and logistics. “One of the things we very quickly realized after the derecho was that we didn’t have enough materials for the level of work that needed to be done to restore power and repair our infrastructure. An example is poles. Under normal business operations, we have 100 to 200 poles in our yards for planned work and emergencies. Postderecho, we needed about 500 new poles,” he recalled.

That required prompt dealings with suppliers, vendors and trucking companies for deliveries, which was made more difficult by the timing during a long weekend. When the first truck arrived and “we knew that the system was going to work, that was a moment I’ll never forget,” Simpson said.

A newer venture is Hiboo Networks, which, said Simpson, “is a local and viable option for business to business and telecom services, which leverages some of the fibre that we have in the ground.

“It also creates an unregulated opportunity for us to monetize some of those assets and provide an option for those who might be looking for a different level of customer service or even just backup for their services,” he added.

Simpson also cited the growth of Hydro Ottawa’s power generation company, Portage Power. “We have six different sites that produce power down at Ottawa’s

Chaudière Falls site, as well as the ring dam itself, which diverts water. We're really proud of that and that site is accessible to the public now,” he said, adding that it also includes a new 28-megawatt station, one of the company’s larger projects.

Simpson has two adult sons, Malcom and Owen. His partner, Tracy, works for the Bank of Canada.

He enjoys playing recreational hockey and also coached competitive youth hockey for his sons while they were growing up.

Simpson serves on the board of the Royal Ottawa Hospital Foundation. He is executive sponsor of Hydro Ottawa’s charitable campaign, which has supported several different ventures over the years, including its United Way campaign.

Hydro Ottawa runs an annual charitable golf tournament which, said Simpson, has raised $1 million for The Ottawa Hospital’s breast cancer unit. The company also raises money for the Ottawa Food Bank and for the Royal Ottawa Hospital Prompt Care Clinic, he noted.

Simpson “would routinely reach out to me and the other colleagues to say, ‘What can you do to help us support our in-house fundraising efforts?’ He was there leading from the front,” said Leeder, who served on Hydro Ottawa’s board.

“It speaks highly of our community that we’ve got people like Geoff that are working here in business and he’s a well-deserving recipient of the CFO of the Year,” Leeder added.

PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

Here are 6 of the most notable construction projects happening around Ottawa

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from OBJ’s City Building 2024 publication.

BY JAMES RAISWELL

There’s a buzz around town these days that hasn’t been seen in generations.

Part of this story is undeniably about the volume of construction work that’s underway across Ottawa and throughout the region. Everywhere you turn, shovels are digging in the ground, crews are working with tools, and cranes are soaring into the sky.

So it’s probably no surprise to learn that the level of construction output — measured by the total dollar value of building permits issued by the City of Ottawa each year — has more than doubled in the past 20 years, reaching more than $3.4 billion in 2023.

On its own, that’s impressive. But the numbers tell just one side of the story. The other, arguably more important, side relates to the types of projects that are underway. Projects such as The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus development, the O-Train extension, the renovations in the Parliamentary Precinct, the Advanced Nuclear Materials Research Centre under construction at Chalk River, and the Centre Street redevelopment

planned for Smiths Falls. These types of projects don’t come along every day. They’re transformative in their size, scope and significance.

Here are six of 30 city-building projects that are planned or currently underway in Ottawa and throughout Eastern Ontario. For the full list, check out our City Building 2024 magazine.

Ādisōke

WHY IT’S ON OUR LIST: Ādisōke will be the shared home of the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada and will pay tribute to and celebrate the stories and history of Indigenous peoples.

When construction is complete in 2026, Ādisōke will be a library facility unlike any other.

Shared by Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada, the building draws design inspiration from the Ottawa River, with wood and stone elements throughout, strong connections to the surrounding green space, and expansive views of the city and the river through windows and transparent walls.

Its name means “storytelling” in the Anishinābemowin Algonquin language, one of several ways the facility will pay tribute to the Algonquin Anishinābe People and honour Indigenous stories and history.

Features inside and out — such as a green roof with solar panels, an indoor green wall, and the use of natural and sustainable building materials — will help make Ādisōke a net-zero carbon facility.

Ādisōke is located at 555 Albert St. at the western edge of the downtown core. Construction began in 2021 and on-site work is being led by PCL Constructors. The building design was created by a collaboration between Toronto’s Diamond Schmitt Architects and Ottawa’s KWC Architects, with deep influence from First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation individuals, here in Ottawa and across the country.

Hard Rock Casino and Hotel

WHY IT’S ON OUR LIST: When it opens next year, the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel promises to be a gamechanger for the city’s tourism and entertainment industries.

Our town is about to become home to Canada’s first Hard Rock Hotel and Casino — a major tourism and entertainment facility.

Plans to build the complex on the site of the Rideau Carleton Casino on Albion Road were originally released in 2017, but a series of delays — some created by the COVID-19 pandemic — led to the project’s groundbreaking in June 2023.

The building is scheduled to open in May 2025. Once complete, it will feature 150 hotel rooms, a casino floor with 1,500 slot machines, 40 live action table games, a baccarat room, and a sportsbook for variety gaming captions. There are also plans for a high-limit area with a lounge for VIP guests, as well as an 1,800-seat Hard Rock Live theatre that will host concerts, comedy shows and dance performances by artists from around the world.

Valued at $350 million, the project is one of the largest private investment developments underway in Ottawa. Construction is being led by EllisDon and is expected to create hundreds of jobs.

The Hard Rock Café brand, of course, is known the

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Hard Rock Casino and Hotel

world over for its high-energy vibes, casual dining and iconic memorabilia. Today, there are more than 170 Hard Rock restaurants open around the world.

Centre Block of Parliament

WHY IT’S ON OUR LIST: After 100 years of service, the building is the subject of the largest and most complex heritage renovation project in Canada’s history.

The Centre Block of Parliament is the most recognizable building in Ottawa. And, right now, it is the subject of the largest, most complex heritage building renovation project ever undertaken in Canada.

The building itself was built more than 100 years ago after the original Parliament building was destroyed in a fire. The years, however, have not been kind. The building is weathered and doesn’t meet current seismic requirements. Base building systems, like heating, ventilation and plumbing, are in dire need of repair and the existing layout doesn’t meet current standards for accessibility, security and sustainability.

The Government of Canada has committed $5 billion to the long-term renovation of the building. Almost no corner will be left untouched, as an average of 400 construction workers are on site every day (peak activity is forecast at 1,500 workers per day) over the 10-year life of the project. The work itself is a complicated mix of deep digging, heavy lifting and the careful removal and repair of hundreds of thousands of bricks and stones.

The construction plans also call for an expansion to the underground visitor welcome centre, including connections to the East and West Block buildings and more space for parliamentary work, including committee and multi-purpose rooms.

The on-site construction team is being led by a joint venture between two of Canada’s largest general contractors: EllisDon and PCL Constructors.

Block 2

WHY IT’S ON OUR LIST: The federal government plans to redevelop the site immediately south of Parliament Hill into a new complex that includes parliamentary offices, retail shops and an Indigenous people’s space.

If you’ve lived in Ottawa for any length of time and you’ve never heard the term “Block 2,” don’t be alarmed. You probably know the location, if not the name. Block 2 is the group of 11 buildings located immediately to the south of Parliament Hill. It’s defined by Wellington Street to the north, Sparks Street to the south, Metcalfe

Street to the east, and O’Connor Street to the west. Unofficially, it marks the transition between lands owned by the Crown and those owned by the City of Ottawa.

In 2021, PSPC launched an architectural competition to reimagine the block as a space that combines heritage-designated buildings with modern landscaped courtyards and a public square facing the Peace Tower. The goal: to create a fourth wall for the Parliamentary Precinct that’s worthy of its location and significance.

The following year, a team made up of Toronto’s Zeidler Architecture and David Chipperfield Architects from London, England won the competition with a proposal that draws on sustainability, stewardship and Indigenous values.

PSPC is currently working with the architects to fully develop the design concept and build a project budget. It has since awarded a construction management contract to Pomerleau for the first phase of work on the site.

Work is expected to start soon and could take as many as 10 years to complete.

Ottawa International Airport

WHY IT’S ON OUR LIST: Ottawa’s airport is among the busiest in Canada, with at least one carrier counting YOW as its fastest-growing market outside Toronto.

Ottawa’s airport consistently ranks among the top 10 busiest in the country. In typical (i.e., non-pandemic) years, more than four million passengers fly through YOW. What’s more, the airport and its carriers are expanding their service offerings, with many major domestic carriers announcing more services to more destinations across the country and around the world.

Porter Airlines in particular is doubling down on its commitment to increase its services from YOW. The airline calls Ottawa its fastest-growing market outside Toronto. It operates 16 non-stop routes in and out of

the city and expects to carry more than two million passengers to and from YOW by the end of this year.

In support of that growth, the airline recently completed construction of two aircraft hangars and a maintenance base. The facilities opened in May and created 200 local jobs. As well, Porter has partnered with Algonquin College to create new training and learning opportunities in-class and at the new facilities.

Growth is also underway outside the terminal. Construction is ongoing at the Alt Hotel Ottawa Airport, which will feature 178 rooms, plenty of conference space, and a covered pathway connecting the building to the airport terminal. The building is scheduled to open next year.

Ottawa Police South Facility

WHY IT’S ON OUR LIST: Residents of Ottawa’s south-end communities have been advocating for a local police station for years. Construction of that facility is now underway.

There’s no doubt Ottawa’s south-end communities are growing. Combined, Barrhaven and Riverside South have a population that is almost as large as that of Kingston. The communities have been advocating for a local police station for years.

The City of Ottawa took a major step to deliver in November when crews broke ground on construction of the Ottawa Police Service South Facility on Prince of Wales Drive. The building is being constructed by Broccolini Construction with a targeted completion date of 2026 and plans to develop eight additional acres of property on the 15-acre site in subsequent years.

Once complete, the 218,000-square-foot, threestorey facility will not only centralize operations in the city’s south end, but also replace several older facilities that are planned for decommissioning. The building will house a community police centre, provide front desk and collision reporting services, and include a community boardroom — all with the aim of creating an inclusive, equitable and safe space for residents.

Ottawa Police Services says the building will be critical in supporting evolving police operations, while also modernizing the service’s physical work environment.

The new building has been designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and will include electric vehicle charging stations for visitors and staff. The facility will also introduce interior and exterior art installations that will be commissioned through a public art process.

Centre Block of Parliament

Ottawa International Airport

Ottawa Police South Facility

Cow Refin

I n n o v a t i n g t h e w a

V i r t u a l O f f i c e S o l u t i o n

V i r t u a l A d m i n S e r v i c e s

M e e t i n g , C o n f e r e n c e s

P r i v a t e O f f i c e s

F u l l S e r v i c e M a n a g e d

J o i n t h e C l u b !

D e d i c a t e d T e a m S u i t e

THE LIST

International Workplace Group (SPACES, REGUS, HQ)

343 Preston St. 11th Floor Ottawa, ON K1S 1N4

613-302-8198 regus ca

TCC Canada

150 Elgin Street, 8th floor Ottawa, ON K2P 1L4 613-566-7000 tcccanada.com

3 Spaces Zibi Ottawa-Gatineau 15 Rue Jos-Montferrand Gatineau, QC J8X 0C2 866-918-9930 spacesworks com

SERVICED OFFICE SPACES

BY TOTAL SQUARE FEET ACROSS LOCAL PORTFOLIO)

Geoffrey Dickens, Area Manager Mark Malone, Area Sales Manager Mahavir Singh, Area Team LeadOperations & Customer Experience

Cochrane, President Romain Coquin Director of Sales and Operations Brittany Waitman, Sales Manager

Kyndryl

K1P 5H2 613-680-3506 ottawa.impacthub.net

613-963-1428 headofficeottawa.com

THE LIST

Company/Address

Architecture49

150 Isabella St Ottawa, ON K1S 1V7

613-238-0440 architecture49 com

LWG Architectural Interiors Inc.

211-2141 Thurston Dr Ottawa, ON K1G 6C9

613-739-3699 / 613-739-3965 lwg-ai.com

Parallel 45 Design Group Ltd.

240-700 Industrial Ave Ottawa, ON K1G 0Y9

613-738-7600 parallel45 ca

4Té inc.

377 Dalhousie Street, Suite 301

Ottawa, ON K1N 9N8

613-232-4499 4te ca

HOK Inc.

101-205 Catherine St

Ottawa, ON K2P 1C3

613-683-1807 hok.com

4 West of Main Inc. 2437A Kaladar Ave Ottawa, ON K1V 8B9 613-762-8073 / N/A westofmaindesign.com

NORR Architects & Engineers Limited 600-55 Murray St Ottawa, ON K1N 5M3 613-241-5300 norr com

8 Atkinson Schroeter Design Group 410 Laurier Ave. W Ottawa, ON K1R 1B7 613-563-3797 asdginteriors com

COMMERCIAL INTERIOR DESIGN FIRMS

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF ARIDO REGISTERED DESIGNERS)

5 5

5 1

5 18

4 2

Marc Letellier Bryan Wiens David Gibbons, Principals

Miller Sarah Oakley Robin Peixoto, Principals WND

Chantal Boyer-Casey

Emily Chamberlain

Tzoofit Hammer, Principals

Denis Seguin, Senior Regional Practice Leader

Kristi Castilloux, Practice Leader, Principal

Sascha LaFleur Justin Thomason, Co-Founders

Jonathan Hughes OAA, Chief Operating Officer Tobias Fellows OAA

Principal Peter Croft OAA, Director, Operations

3 1 Sonja A. Schroeter Principal

NEUF architect(e)s 400-10 Rideau St Ottawa, ON K1N 5W8 613-234-2274 NEUF ca 3 0 Frank Puentes, Partner Architect Evelyne Cardinal, Ottawa Office Director

Provencher_Roy 440-47 Clarence St Ottawa, ON K1N 9K1 6136866339 provencherroy ca

Courtney Turk Interiors 101-65 Denzil Doyle Ct Ottawa, ON K2M 2G8 613-859-6074 / n/a courtneyturk.com/

[in]tempo design

100-357 Waverley St. W Ottawa, ON K2P 0W4 613-565-5500 intempo ca

BentallGreenOak, Brigil, Brookfield, CLV, CIMA+, CMA, Dentons, Edelman, Ellis Don, Hobin, Inuit TK, JL Richards, KWC,MD Financial, MP Lundy, Minto, NAVCanada, PCL,RLA, RioCan, Sakto, Smart & Biggar, Taggart, TCU, Trinity, Welch PUBLIC:PSPC, BGIS

Commercial Interior Design services, including functional programming, concept planning and renderings through to creating tender ready construction packages. Building sustainable, WELL and LEED certified projects for local and national clientele

Specializes in commercial interiors with a focus on workplace design/sustainability. Project visioning, space planning, concept design, furniture design/specifications, design development, construction drawings and specifications, construction administration.

Full corporate/ commercial office design, retirement community, specialty & medical/dental, optometry programming and facility space planning; design development; permit and construction documentation; BCIN, LEED ID+C, WELL accredited professionals

Full commercial interior fit-up including programming and planning. Specialties include change management-Prosci, furniture strategies, GoC Workplace/ABW, REVIT, BCIN, WELL, LEED

TD, Ciena, Carleton University, BGIS, House of Commons Interior design, feasibility studies, programming, space planning, schematic design, concept design, contract documents, contract administration, consulting.

GOHBA, OHBA, CHBA Award Winning Projects

PSPC, Global Affairs Canada, BGIS, Royal Canadian Mint, Department of National Defence, Parks Canada, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Algonquin College

PSPC (Ottawa, Gatineau & Iqaluit), CREA, City of Ottawa, PSAC, CBN, Synopsys, Merkburn, Colliers, etc

•Cadillac Fairview •KRP properties •SINA •Claridge Homes •DCC •Dream •Great West Life Realty Advisors •Lépine •Perley Health •Brigil •Canada Post •Regional •Windmill Develo

Full-service design for large-scale residential & commercial projects that include complete furnishing. All construction & contractor facilitation is included in our process. Restaurants & boutique commercial spaces

Functional programming and master planning for institutional and commercial projects; feasibility studies; furniture, fittings and equipment; design and procurement; building information modeling.

Functional programming, space planning, design concept, renderings, construction documents, furniture procurement, project and move management

Institutional buildings and offices, Residential units, retirement homes and hotels, Industrial and commercial spaces

Commercial interiors studio focused on sustainable workplace and hospitality design. Visioning and strategy, full design services from test-fits to concept, drawings, permit and construction administration, furniture. LEED/WELL certification.

4 Marianne Dupont President Will not disclose

Strategic space planning, real estate development, creative integrated furnishings, AV, IT, acoustic solutions, sustainable architectural interiors 12

Carlyle Design Associates LTD 205 Island Park Dr Ottawa, ON K1Y 0A3 613-728-7880 carlyledesign.ca

Clear Interior Design

76 Chamberlain Ave Ottawa, ON K1S 1V9 613-237-4696 cleardesigns ca

CSV Architects 190 O'Connor St., Suite 100 Ottawa, ON K2P 2R3

613-564-8118 www csv ca

Jessie Smith Anthony Leaning Darryl Hood, Principals

CHEO, West Park Healthcare Centre, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Hospital, One Kids Place, Ronald McDonald House Toronto, Salvation Army, Nipissing University Student Union, May Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital, Many community health centres

Shepherds of Good Hope, Cornerstone Housing for Women, John Howard Society, Ottawa Community Housing, City of Ottawa, City of Kingston, Carleton University, OttawaCarleton District School Board, Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est

Visioning, consulting, planning for facilities development; interior design; furniture planning and design; wayfinding and signage design; and art program development, all for for health care, education and other public-sector organizations

THE LIST

Royal LePage Team Realty

1723 Carling Ave Ottawa, ON K2A 1C8

613-725-1171 teamrealty ca

Coldwell Banker Sarazen Realty Brokerage 1090 Ambleside Dr Ottawa, ON K2B 8G7 613-596-4133 / 613-596-5905 cbsarazen.ca

Colliers

1005-99 Bank St Ottawa, ON K1P 6B9 613-567-8050 / 613-567-8035 collierscanada.com

Avison Young Commercial Real Estate Services, LP, Brokerage 800-45 O'Connor St Ottawa, ON K1P 1A4 613-567-2680 / 613-567-2671 avisonyoung.ca

CBRE 1900-340 Albert St Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y6 613-782-2266 / 613-782-2296 cbre ca

Cushman & Wakefield Ottawa 400-55 Metcalfe Street Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5 613-236-7777 cwottawa.com

Lennard Commercial Realty 333 Preston Street, Suite 420 Ottawa, ON K1S 5N4 613-963-2640 / 613-963-2630 https://www.lennard.com/

Royal LePage Performance Realty 165 Pretoria Ave Ottawa, ON K1S 1X1 613-238-2801 performancecommercial.ca

Realty, Brokerage 1749 Woodward Drive Ottawa, ON K2C 0P9

613-831-9628 / 613-831-9626 firstottawarealty com

Marcus & Millichap 301-275 Bank St Ottawa, ON K2P 2L6 613-364-2300 / 613-364-2310 marcusmillichap ca

Capworth Commercial Realty Brokerage 106-1390 Prince of Wales Drive Ottawa, ON K2C 3N6 613-601-1353 capworthrealty com

CDN GLOBAL (OTTAWA) LTD. cob CDNGLOBAL COMMERCIAL REALTY ADVISERS 1419 Carling Avenue, Suite 203 Ottawa, ON K1Z 7L6 613-695-0440 www cdnglobal.com

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BROKERS

THE LIST

Company/Address

1 Architecture49

150 Isabella St Ottawa, ON K1S 1V7

613-238-0440 architecture49 com

J.L. Richards & Associates

Limited 1000-343 Preston St Ottawa, ON K1S 1N4

613-728-3571 jlrichards ca

Provencher Roy / GRC Architects

47 Clarence Street, suite 440 Ottawa, ON K1N 9K1 613-686-6339 / 613-680-6339 provencherroy ca/en/

Figurr Architects Collective 252 Argyle Ave Ottawa, ON K2P 1B9 613-695-6122 figurr ca

HOK Inc. 101-205 Catherine St Ottawa, ON K2P 1C3 613-683-1807 hok.com

Parkin Architects 200-20 James St Ottawa, ON K2P 0T6 613-739-7700 / 613-739-7780 parkin.ca

ARCHITECTURE FIRMS

1986

Saverio Parrotta, President & CEO René Lambert, Vice President

Martin Tite , Principal, OAA, AAA, NSAA, AANB, FRAIC, LEED-AP

Jenny Lafrance, Studio Director, OAQ, OAA, PMP, LEED Associate Carolyn Jones, Principal, OAA, OAQ, NSAA, AANB MRAIC, LEED-AP, BD + C Alex Leung, Principal, OAA, MAA, AANB, MRAIC

45 1989 Roberto Campos, Architect, Partner

Denis Seguin, Senior Regional Practice Leader Kristi Castilloux, Practice Leader, Principal

PSPC, BGIS, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, School Boards, Department of National Defense, CHEO, City of Ottawa, Canadian Museum of History, Algonquin College, La Cité Collégiale, Monfort Hospital.

KTS Properties, Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, CAHDCO, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, TC United, Zibi, Gemstone, Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est Multifaith Housing Initiative, Dream, Theia, Hazelview Developments

TD, Ciena, Carleton University, BGIS, House of Commons

Huot, Princiipal The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus Advanced Medical Research Centre, University of Ottawa

CSV Architects 190 O'Connor St., Suite 100 Ottawa, ON K2P 2R3 613-564-8118 csv ca 11 38 1998 Jessie Smith Anthony Leaning Darryl Hood, Principals

NORR Architects & Engineers Limited 600-55 Murray St Ottawa, ON K1N 5M3 613-241-5300 norr com 10 40 2003

9 Perkins&Will 275 Slater St Ottawa, ON K1P 5H9 613-563-2500 perkinswill.com 9 20 2008

Hobin Architecture

63 Pamilla St Ottawa, ON K1S 3K7 613-238-7200 hobinarc.com

RMA+SH Architects 216 Pretoria Ave Ottawa, ON K1S 1X2 613-567-1361 / 613-567-9462 robertsonmartin.com

Edward J. Cuhaci and Associates Architects Inc. 100-171 Slater St Ottawa, ON K1P 5H7 613-236-7135 cuhaci.com

IDEA Inc. 595 Byron Ave Ottawa, ON K2A 4C4 613-728-0008 integrateddesign.ca

Kasian Architecture, Interior Design, and Planning 135 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, ON K1P 5J2 613-314-5887 kasian.com

8 42 1979

Jonathan Hughes OAA, Chief Operating Officer Tobias Fellows OAA Principal Peter Croft OAA, Director, Operations

Matt Johnston, Principal, Corporate and Commercial Robert Van Lin, Operations Director

Dan Henhoeffer, Partner

Patrick Bisson, Partner

Rheal Labelle, Partner

Melanie Lamontagne, Partner

Reinhard Vogel, Principal

Marc Thivierge, Principal

BarryJ Hobin, Founding Principal

Wendy Brawley, Principal

Doug Brooks, Principal

Luke Boonstra

Jon Harper

Robert Martin

7 36 1973

6 15 1963

Danica Robertson Principals

Zofia Jurewicz, President Jerzy Jurewicz, Vice-President David Bull, Vice-President

Ryan Crowle, Principal, ME, MIEEE, ASHRAE

Shepherds of Good Hope, Cornerstone Housing for Women, John Howard Society, Ottawa Community Housing, City of Ottawa, City of Kingston, Carleton University, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est

PSPC, Global Affairs Canada, BGIS, Royal Canadian Mint, Department of National Defence Parks Canada, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Algonquin College

National Capital Commission (80 Elgin), Public Services and Procurement Canada (PDP3, RSS Main - in JV with Provencher_Roy), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (Workplace Transformation), Dream Unlimited (Dream LeBreton); KEV (Confed Line Ext.)

City of Ottawa, Ottawa Community Housing, Dundas Manor, Maple View Lodge, Renfrew County District School Board, Reichmann Seniors, Campus Developments, Le Groupe Maurice, Taggart Group, Uniform Urban Developments, eQ Homes, RioCan REIT, Trinity

Province House Rehabilitation, Aberdeen Pavilion Rehabilitation, 40 Elgin Refit, Landon's Bay Learn-To Hub, CSC Accessibility Study, West Block Lighting, Peacekeeping Monument Rehabilitation, Korean Ambassador's Residence, ESAP Advocate Architect

Algonquin College; the following School Boards: C.E.C.C.E., O C.D.S.B., O C.S.B., C.D.S.B.E.O.; Ottawa University; Carleton University; CHEO; NCC, NRC

Security/defence, sports/entertainment, education, healthcare, hospitality, commercial, heritage, industrial, retail, interior design and landscape architecture

Sustainable/net zero design, educational, office buildings, lab and industrial, government and military, health care, social housing, transportation, integrated design process, design-build.

Security and Defense / Sustainable Design/ Healthcare / Education / Laboratory and Scientific / Offices / Residential / Sports / Entertainment / Commercial / Heritage / Industrial / Landscape Architecture / Interior Design / Urban Design

Institutional, corporate, industrial, recreational, education, affordable housing, municipal, first nation's, residential, sustainable design, adaptive reuse, sacred spaces, health care

Strategic facility planning, architecture and interior design, feasibility studies, programming, consolidation planning, sustainable design, heritage restoration.

Government, health care, justice, corrections, recreation, education, research, laboratory, LEED EDAC, interior design.

Sustainable design, Net Zero design, LEED consulting, institutional, commercial, educational, multi-unit residential, non-profit, residential nonprofit, child care design, office fit-up, new construction, adaptive reuse, heritage

An integrated full-service firm, NORR provides multi-disciplinary services including architecture, interior design, structural engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, master planning and urban design.

Government, civic buildings, interiors, corporate workplace strategy, education, sports/recreation, urban design, transit, sustainable design, tech, and residential.

Master planning, feasibility studies, concept & detailed design for seniors & long-term care affordable housing, multi-residential, custom homes, education, churches, commercial, recreation & civic sectors. LEED, Passive House & Accessible design.

Feasibility studies, master planning, building condition assessments, building envelope science, heritage conservation, barrier-free design, sustainable design, security design, tenant fit-ups interiors, commercial, residential, institutional

Educational, institutional, labs, health care, seniors' housing, mixed use, heritage restoration, interior design, master planning, space planning, fit-ups

6 20 1986

Dino Di Sano, Principal, Architect, B.Arch, OAA, MRAIC, LEED®AP Chris Warner-Smith, Principal, Architect, M.Arch, OAA WND

Clients include: Department of Foreign Affairs, Ottawa Community Housing, Department of National Defense, PSPC. Projects: West Memorial Building, OCH offices, workplace, confidential projects

Government/institutional, universities, municipal, recreational, laboratories, corporate/commercial, interior design, sustainable design/LEED accredited, residential, heritage

THE LIST

THE LIST PRIVATELY-OWNED OFFICE BUILDINGS AND COMPLEXES

PRIVATELY-OWNED OFFICE BUILDINGS AND COMPLEXES

1 ONE60 Elgin 160 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K2P 2P7 1 (613) 230-5754 https://one60elgin.com/

Pomerleau,

Financial, Arthur

Arcadis/IBI Group, Lennard, Govan Brown, Rewind, D&M Structural, Alarm.com, Eclypsis, CMLS Financial, Burns & Wilcox, Economical, Regus

We’re

THE LIST

Company/Address Phone/Fax/Web

WSP Canada Inc. 2611 Queensview Dr Ottawa, ON K2B 8K2 613-829-8299 / 613-829-8299 https://www wsp com/en-ca/

Stantec Consulting 300-1331 Clyde Ave Ottawa, ON K2C 3G4 613-722-4420 stantec.com

3 Egis 115 Walgreen Rd. Carp, ON K0A 1L0 613-836-2184 egis-group com

J.L. Richards & Associates Limited 1000-343 Preston St Ottawa, ON K1S 1N4 613-728-3571 jlrichards ca

5 CIMA+ 600-1400 Blair Towers Road Ottawa, ON K1J 9B8 613-860-2462 / 613-860-1870 cima.ca

6 BPA 1 1960 Robertson Rd., Ste 100 Ottawa, ON K2H 5B9 613 596-6454 bpa.ca

Goodkey Weedmark 1688 Woodward Dr Ottawa, ON K2C 3R8 613-727-5111 gwal.com

Robinson Consultants Inc. 210-350 Palladium Dr Ottawa, ON K2V 1A8 613-592-6060 / 613-592-5995 rcii.com

LRL Associates Ltd. 5430 Canotek Rd., Ottawa, ON K1J 9G2 613-842-3434 http://lrl.ca/

Adjeleian Allen Rubeli 1005-75 Albert St Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7 613-232-5786 / na aar ca

DEW Engineering and Development ULC 3429 Hawthorne Rd. Ottawa, ON K1G 4G2 613-736-5100 / 613-736-1348 dewengineering.com

Jp2g Consultants Inc.

410-1150 Morrison Dr Ottawa, ON K2H 8S9 613-828-7800 / 613-828-2600 jp2g.com

Gradient Wind Engineering Inc. 127 Walgreen Rd Ottawa, ON K0A 1L0 613-836-0934 gradientwind.com

Dillon Consulting 101-177 Colonnade Rd. Ottawa, ON K2E

ENGINEERING FIRMS

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF LICENSED ENGINEERS IN OTTAWA)

Dominique Quesnel, Vice-President Guy Somers, National Practice Lead - Municipal Engineering Ammar Salameh, Vice President

Ferenaz Raheem, Office Leader, Senior Environmental Planner Dylan Hemmings, Vice President, Regional Leader, Ontario

Mark Ward, Chief Operating Officer Graham Lancaster Executive Vice President

Saverio Parrotta, President & CEO René Lambert, Vice President

Andre Chaumont, Executive Vice President

Patrick St-Onge, Chairman of the Board Georges Maamari, Managing DirectorOttawa

Buildings; Municipal infrastructure; Urban planning; landscape architecture; water resources; Rail,Roads, Ports & Aviation; Land development; Highways; Bridges; Sustainable development, Energy, Resources & Industries,Earth & Environment,Net Zero,ESG

Water/wastewater; transportation; mechanical/electrical/structural/ civil; building engineering; surveying; land development; urban planning, landscape architecture

Multidisciplinary engineering firm that specializes in civil, contract administration, structural, environmental, geotechnical, planning, surveying and building science

Civil, electrical, mechanical, environmental, energy systems and structural engineering; architecture; and planning

Mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, transportation engineering; project management; urban planning; environmental sciences; sustainability; energy

Mechanical, electrical, building automation, commissioning, IT, food services, acoustical, structural

FrancisW.A. Bann P.Eng. Managing Principal Mechanical and electrical consulting engineering

Description

Professional services firm working with government, businesses developers, architects and planners to transform the built environment and restore the natural environment. For more details visit:https://www wsp com/en-ca/ what-we-do

Initial conceptual development, project planning and community engagement through to design, construction, commissioning, maintenance, decommissioning and remediation.

Provides a full range of consulting engineering and technical solutions that encompasses every stage of a project

Employee-owned, multidisciplinary firm offering services in engineering, architecture, and planning with a reach extending across North America and the world.

Engineering, project management urban planning, environmental/ sustainable services

Consulting engineering services for buildings, from new constructions to renovations, fit-ups or equipment replacement

Experts in mechanical and electrical consulting engineering for commercial, institutional, light industrial, and mixed-use residential buildings. Also providing engineering advocacy, expert testimony, sustainability services, and detailed reports

Land development, municipal infrastructure, transportation planning and engineering, trenchless technology, water resource services, municipal drains, construction services

A multidisciplinary engineering firm offering geotechnical, environmental, structural, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering services

Structural analysis and design; seismic evaluation and retrofit; feasibility studies; building envelope; heritage conservation.

and

Mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, municipal, water resources; environmental services; hydrogeology; GIS; energy management, land use planning

Vincent Ferraro

Justin Ferraro

Andrew Sliasas

Un Yong Jeong, Principals

Wind and Snow Engineering

Structural Engineering Acoustics Noise, and Vibration Engineering

Designs, develops, prototypes, tests modifies and certifies engineered solutions for civil and defence markets

Providing comprehensive, personalized service to municipalities, private developers, school boards, First Nations, postsecondary institutions, government organizations

Wind engineering, damper design and fabrication, snow and ice load studies, air quality studies, vibration control, and environmental noise and acoustics

Community infrastructure/ strategies, contaminated sites management, energy transition, environmental management, facilities, land development transportation

THE LIST

Company/Address Phone/Fax/Web

Colonnade BridgePort

200-16 Concourse Gate Ottawa, ON K2E 7S8

613-225-8118 / 613-225-3898 colonnadebridgeport ca

Morguard Investments Limited, Brokerage

402-350 Sparks St Ottawa, ON K1R 7S8 613-237-6373 / 613-237-0007 morguard.com

District Realty 50 Bayswater Ave Ottawa, ON K1Y 2E9 613-759-8383 / 613-759-8448 districtrealty com

KRP Properties

300-555 Tower B Legget Dr Ottawa, ON K2K 2X3 613-591-0594 / 613-591-0018 krpproperties com

The Regional Group 1737 Woodward Dr Ottawa, ON K2C 0P9 613-230-2100 / 613-230-9880 regionalgroup com

Arnon Corp. and Arnon Development Corp. Ltd 1801 Woodward Dr Ottawa, ON K2C 0R3 613-226-2000 / 613-225-0391 arnon.ca

Metcalfe Realty Company Limited 210-130 Albert St Ottawa, ON K1P 5G4 613-563-4442 metcalfe ca

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGERS

(RANKED BY SIZE OF LOCAL COMMERCIAL PORTFOLIO)

Brent Arseneau, Vice President, Leasing

Brandon Malleck, Vice President, Innovation, ESG and Advisory Services

Ron Matheson, Senior Vice President, Real Estate Management Services

Kelly Rhodenizer, Senior Vice President Development

Kyle Larkman, CFO

Andrew Blair, Managing Partner

Ian Boake, Executive Vice President

Hugh Gorman, CEO 1985

Place Vincent Massey, Holland Cross, Dow's Lake Court

Michael Swan, Assistant Vice President property management and leasing 1967 150 Elgin Street 215 Slater Street

Ken Halef, Chief Operating Officer Jason Shinder, CEO

Morin,

Dan Gray, President Gilad Vered, CEO 1960 2 & 100 Constellation Drive, 180 Elgin Street, 60 Queen Street, 56 Sparks Street, 560 Rochester & 785 Carling Avenue, 1600 & 1630 Star Top Road

Huntington Properties 200-1306 Wellington St. W Ottawa, ON K1Y 3B2 613-592-1818 huntingtonproperties

2191 Thurston Drive, Unit 4 Ottawa, ON K1G6C9 613-224-5464 merkburn.com

Ottawa, ON K2P 1Z3 613-226-9902 ieproperties com

Brick by brick, Robert Merkley has built a lifetime of achievements

BY DAVID SALI

From the bricks used in thousands of homes to his long list of charitable endeavours, Robert Merkley has left a legacy in Ottawa that’s built to last.

Even at age 70, the head of the masonry supply company that bears his family name still talks about his hometown with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning.

“I really love Ottawa,” says Merkley, who took over as president and CEO of Merkley Supply after his father retired in 1982. “I think Ottawa is a great town. I’ve been blessed.”

For more than 40 years, Merkley has been constructing a better foundation for some of Ottawa’s most important institutions — literally and figuratively.

Merkley Supply has provided building materials for many of them over the decades, including The Ottawa Hospital. Meanwhile, Merkley himself has been instrumental in raising millions of dollars for a range of local health-care facilities, including TOH, CHEO, the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and May Court Hospice.

With construction of the new Civic campus of The Ottawa Hospital set to kick into high gear and CHEO launching its own major fundraising drive, it’s fitting that Merkley is the 2024 recipient of the annual Lifetime Achievement Award presented by OBJ and the Ottawa Board of Trade.

Merkley’s many friends and business colleagues say it’s an honour he richly deserves.

“He’s obviously been successful, but you’ll never get him to acknowledge that,” says Minto Group executive chairman Roger Greenberg, a past recipient of the award who’s worked with Merkley on a number of fundraising drives. “He leads by example. He believes very, very strongly in giving back to the community.”

Indeed, Merkley’s roots in the Ottawa area run deep. His great-great grandfather helped launch Merkley Brothers, the predecessor to Merkley Supply, in Casselman at the turn of the 20th century. The firm soon became a major supplier of bricks for some of the capital’s most prominent buildings, including the Civic Hospital.

In 1925, Merkley’s grandfather Sandy relocated the business to the Billings Bridge area, where it operated a brick plant on what is now the site of the RA Centre. In 1959, Merkley’s father Cameron took over the business and renamed it Merkley Supply.

Robert Merkley was one of four siblings. The way he tells it, he was practically predestined to take up his father’s trade.

“I was always interested in the business,” he says. “I was the one that hung around and tagged along with dad.”

After graduating from Algonquin College’s electronics technology program, Merkley worked for a local construction company for a few years before joining the family business in 1978. He quickly made his mark, embarking on an

I really love Ottawa. I think Ottawa is a great town. I’ve been blessed.

ambitious campaign to computerize Merkley Supply’s operations.

“It was a great introduction to the business for me,” he explains. “We wrote all our programs. It’s one way to learn the business, to start from the ground up and computerize it.”

While the business thrived, Merkley, an avid boater who loves cruising the St. Lawrence River and the Rideau Canal, began dipping his toes into community causes.

In 1982, he helped organize a flotilla to mark the Canal’s 150th anniversary. Five years later, he joined the board of the Ottawa Construction Association, beginning an eight-year stint on the board that included a term as chairman in 1994.

Then the Ottawa-Carleton Home Builders’ Association (now the Ottawa Home Builders’ Association) came calling, so Merkley joined that organization’s board as well — the start of a 20year run that saw him serve three separate terms as president.

Longtime industry colleague Shirley Westeinde

praises Merkley’s leadership, especially for raising funds and awareness for mental health initiatives in an industry that has often been reluctant to address the issue.

“If you got Robert on board, you knew (the effort) would succeed,” says Westeinde, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. “He always made sure that it did. He’s made a big imprint on the city.”

Health care is a cause that’s especially near and dear to Merkley’s heart.

After his daughter Rebecca, then a year old, spent 11 days in CHEO more than three decades ago, Merkley organized a charity baseball tournament to support the hospital that turned into an annual event.

“I used to kid .. that we would make money for CHEO, but we’d be an expense at Civic because of all the injuries we had,” he says with a chuckle.

Merkley later joined the board of the May Court Hospice, and his business became a major sponsor of May Court’s Homes for the Holidays Christmas fundraiser for Hospice Care Ottawa.

He was also a driving force behind The Ottawa Hospital’s major fundraising campaign in the early 2000s, recruiting a team that included Greenberg and fellow industry heavyweight Jim Taggart to drum up funds from the construction sector.

A few years later, Merkley helped raise nearly $8 million for the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence, a facility designed to train the next generation of industry professionals.

In 2010, Merkley joined forces with two other Ottawa construction industry leaders, Minto’s Roger Greenberg and Claude DesRosiers of Boone Plumbing and Heating Supply, to create The Ottawa Hospital’s Ride for Research, a cycling event that has since raised more than $11 million for cancer research. Merkley’s company team, the Merkley Supply Brick Peddlers, has contributed nearly $1.5 million to that total.

“He just keeps at it,” Greenberg says of Merkley’s fundraising prowess. “He’s like the Eveready Bunny.”

Meanwhile, Merkley continues to be an industry leader.

The industry trade show he inaugurated in 1991 is now the largest event on the Ottawa construction sector’s annual calendar. His company remains a trusted partner to many key players in the business, providing building materials for about 60 per cent of all commercial and institutional projects and 80 per cent of all housing projects in the National Capital Region.

“A lot of people may not know us, but they see us every day with our products,” says Merkley, whose firm employs more than 40 people. “We’re a big part of the construction industry.”

Through decades as one of Ottawa’s leading businessmen and philanthropists, Merkley’s commitment to serving his community has never wavered.

“I would say that I’ve been extremely lucky. I’ve been very glad to give back because of my luck. I tell people, ‘If you give, you get more than double back. If a door opens, walk through it.’”

TECHNOLOGY

CEO of the Year: Andrew Waitman takes Assent to 'centaur' status

BY DAVID SALI

Ten years ago this month, Andrew Waitman was at a career crossroads.

The veteran venture capitalist and tech executive had just left IT and data analytics firm Pythian after a fiveand-a-half year stint as CEO and was looking for a new challenge.

Waitman, a self-confessed “workaholic,” had a couple of potential irons in the fire.

One was commercializing an idea for an app that connected customers with professionals such as plumbers. Then there was the possibility of joining the executive team at electronic product development firm Fidus Systems, where his longtime friend Mike Wakim was chief executive.

In the end, however, Waitman found his next calling in the most unlikely of places — the boxing ring.

Waitman was among the business leaders who took part in the Fight for the Cure, a charity boxing event that raised money for the Ottawa Cancer Foundation.

As it happened, he trained with the event’s co-founder, Matt Whitteker, a young entrepreneur whose company helped manufacturers ensure that materials such as gold, tin and tungsten used in many electronics were ethically sourced and complied with regulations governing environmental, social and other factors.

Intrigued by the small firm then known as Assent Compliance, Waitman moved into an office at the company’s headquarters. In September 2014, he agreed to become CEO of the organization, which had about 25 employees and annual revenues that barely cracked the seven-figure mark.

A decade later, the firm now known simply as Assent helps some of the world’s largest manufacturers ensure their suppliers are complying with an ever-growing list of government laws and regulations on everything from human rights to health and safety standards.

Fuelled by hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital, Assent employs in excess of 1,000 people and has seen its annual recurring revenues more than double in the past three years.

But Waitman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1987 and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario’s

Ivey Business School in 1992, is hardly satisfied.

In June, Assent announced it had officially achieved the coveted “centaur” status, hitting US$100 million in annual recurring revenues. But even as the company crossed a threshold that Waitman had been relentlessly pursuing for years, he was already plotting how to lead Assent to US$200 million in ARR and beyond.

Today, the man who returned to his hometown in 1996 to work for the legendary Terry Matthews as managing director of Celtic House Venture Partners is a celebrated tech leader and much sought-after mentor and investor in his own right.

For all those accomplishments and many more, Waitman is the 2024 recipient of the CEO of the Year Award from OBJ and the Ottawa Board of Trade. OBJ’s David Sali recently sat down with Waitman to discuss his career. Here is an edited transcript of their conversation.

What was it about the opportunity at Assent that really grabbed your attention and why did you decide to take the leap at that point?

I was boxing with Matt every Wednesday and Matt heard that I was leaving (Pythian). I said, ‘Well, I could use an office.’ He was like, ‘Sure, we’ll give you an office.’ And I said, ‘In return, if I can be helpful to you, I will.’ In the end, I was impressed with (co-founder) John (Hughes’) and Matt’s energy and enthusiasm. Conflict minerals were really starting to get traction (after the U.S. Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 requiring public companies in the U.S. to disclose their use of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold). Matt was the quintessential entrepreneur and John was the quintessential salesman. And both of those (qualities) I resonate with. They were getting customers that didn’t make sense to me for a startup that had raised no outside money — I’m talking about brand-name, big companies. I was like, how are they doing this? That curiosity drew me in. I’m a guy who wants to be helpful. They needed some assistance with some hiring, with some organizing, and so I rolled up my sleeves very quickly, even though I was looking at these other projects. I’m a bit of a workaholic, so I just got involved. And then it became clear to me that there was a big opportunity there with what I call large, real customers. Customer acquisition is one of the toughest things for every business. I was impressed

that at that point, their challenge wasn’t so much customer acquisition, it was more handling the fulfilment (of contracts). This is where I thought, ‘Wow, I can help them.’ They needed to do a bunch of work on the product side, on the customer success and go-to-market side.

What areas of the business did you find particularly challenging to navigate?

When I went to raise money (in the series-A round), all the investors saw us as a niche market. Now I understand just how big this space is — what we call supply-chain sustainability. But in the early days, I didn’t understand it at all. In 2015, 2016, I was still trying to figure out, are we in a really niche market, or are we potentially going to be bigger? Over time, I started to appreciate the complexity of all these regulations. The complexity isn’t just in the laws and the rules. The complexity is that in every company and every industry — electronics, automotive, aerospace — they all have to decide how they’re going to meet the laws and the rules. And it’s not obvious.

What John got me to understand early on is you need subject-matter experts, which is what has defined our brand. We have these industry subject-matter experts who take the laws and interpret them into pragmatic ways of delivering on the requirements. To this day, it’s one of the things that differentiates Assent. Every year, I learned a new aspect of what these large manufacturing companies have to go through and that the Europeans and the Americans were constantly creating new requirements and laws. The biggest thing was the time it takes a new CEO to really fully appreciate the context. It took me three or four years to have a vision of where this company could go.

When did you first start to realize that Assent could potentially become a centaur?

I had every intention to take Pythian to $100 million (in ARR). I’ve always been fixated on that (number). It really started to form in years three and four that we absolutely could get to $100 (million in ARR), and obviously now my aspirations are a lot bigger. But when I first joined, it wasn’t clear to me whether that was possible. If there was anything that caused me pause about joining, I would say that I wasn’t sure whether it was just a niche software that you would sell to some industrial software company or

whether I could build a real business around it. In the period from 2010 to 2020, there were a bunch of rules created that were applicable in our world. From 2020 to now, there are a whole bunch of new laws. You could see it coming. You don’t learn about legislation the day it’s published. You are aware through your subjectmatter experts that the European Union is working on this, the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) is working on that. There was a tailwind every year and you start to realize, this isn’t going to stop. I was starting to realize in 2017, 2018, 2019, ‘Hey, if we navigate this well, we can build a real complementary platform business.’ And platform businesses are much more valuable than niche tools. It’s not a big ‘aha,’ like when ChatGPT dropped and the world shifted dramatically. Sometimes these homogeneous tectonic shifts are massive. But we’re in a much more complex, niche market where you realize over time that companies need a new system.

You’ve talked a lot in the past about how important it is for tech companies and their leaders to quickly adapt to changing circumstances. Can you give us some examples of how that agility has served you well at Assent?

When Trump won (the U.S. presidential election in 2016), our investor and our founder were concerned that they were going to throw out Dodd-Frank. At that point, conflict minerals represented 80 per cent of our annual recurring revenue. If they had thrown out Dodd-Frank, none of those contracts would have been renewed. That was a real existential threat. What I said to John turned out to be true. Just because you get elected, doesn’t mean you can change legislation. What happened was conflict minerals lost a bit of their importance, but they didn’t get removed. We had to recognize that we were super vulnerable in one specific area, so we pivoted quite quickly into other areas. We started to really move the R&D and the marketing budgets to offer other areas of value to manufacturers and diversify away from a very dominant conflict-minerals capability. We were too dependent on that, and with agility we moved into other important areas. A lot of our major accomplishments have come from new regulations that we had no visibility on. If we were to rewind the tape, people would say, well, how did you know about these topics? I would be like, ‘I didn’t.’ Wayne Gretzky used to say, ‘You skate to where the puck’s going.’ We got our subject-matter experts

team to pay attention to early signals (about) legislation or industry requirements that are coming out. Then you have to make a decision of, ‘This is real. This is big. It’s going to have a huge impact on the manufacturing team.’ Our subject-matter expert team has given us that foresightful advantage, but then you have to be agile in both product development and go-to-market (strategies). Agility is a company’s ability to adapt to, let’s call it, the heat map, and adapt to what’s attracting customer attention. I would say that if we were to distil the things that made Assent successful over the last decade, one was the agility to respond to our customers’ new requirements. It’s partly why we’ve gone from being perceived as a single-trick pony to a platform company that’s handling supply-chain sustainability writ large and everything that means.

Now that you’ve set your sights on $200 million in ARR, what’s keeping you up at night?

As you grow to $100 million (in ARR), you have to move from heroes to systems. The heroes are all these critical team members who do extraordinary things and help

you win deals and develop products. Heroes matter and we’ve had many. But, as you grow, you can’t rely on heroes. You have to have systems. Your sales process has to be systematized; your marketing programs have to be programmatized. Meaning that you could take different people and insert them and it still works. This is one of the most important things as you’re going from $100 million to $200 million, is how to move with agility from heroes to systems that work successfully. That requires SaaS tools that often need to be co-ordinated in some functional way. And then, do you have the telemetry to give you the feedback to improve those programs?

And then I would say No. 3 is team development and new recruiting for (experienced staff), so that we don’t have to make all the mistakes that every other executive team made. The executive team we have today is very different to what we had five years ago and what we had 10 years ago. I would argue many entrepreneurs and founders do not make those changes along the way and that’s what holds them back. Part of the responsibility of the (investment) firm is to change the jockey if the jockey can’t scale. And the responsibility of the CEO is to make sure the team is capable. That team may need to be complemented or you may need to replace them. That’s not to say the people you’re replacing are bad people. It’s just that they may be inexperienced (in dealing with issues) at that scale and therefore with the speed at which you have to make these decisions. You can’t (wait) for them to learn on your time. Part of my responsibility over the next couple of years is to (build) a leadership team to make sure we’re able to go to $200 million and $400 million (in ARR).

How would you assess yourself as a CEO?

I am an uber-collaborator. I don’t think I have it all figured out. I’m an educator CEO — I’m a big reader and I’m trying to always share (knowledge). But I’m also a big synthesizer — I’m listening to everyone a lot of the time. I want everybody’s perspective. I do understand that decisions need to be made in a timely manner, but I also think voices need to be heard. In a highly complex environment, you need somebody who encourages all the voices to come together and make good decisions as a team. John Hughes is a founder here; he still works intimately with me and is still the major non-institutional shareholder. And I listen to John even more deeply today than when I first met him, because John has excellent entrepreneurial instincts. Those instincts help me gauge the commercial likelihood of whether we should do this or that. The hardest thing as a CEO is there are always opportunities put in front of you and you’ve got to choose which ones (to pursue) because you can’t chase them all.

PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

THE LIST

Company/Address

Phone/Fax/Web

Calian Group

770 Palladium Dr Ottawa, ON K1V 1C8

1-877-225-4264 calian.com

DEFENCE AND SECURITY COMPANIES

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOCAL EMPLOYEES)

No. of local employees Key local executive Year est. in Ottawa Major markets

Robin Richardson, Senior VP of Marketing and Corporate Communications

5800

ADGA Group 21 Fitzgerald Road Ottawa, ON K2H 8R6 613-237-3022 adga.ca

Solink

201-390 March Rd. Kanata, ON K2K 0G7 1-844-635-7305 / n/a solink.com

March Networks

303 Terry Fox Dr Ottawa, ON K2K 3J1 613-591-8181 marchnetworks com

MDA Space

302 Legget Dr Kanata, ON K2K 1Y5

613-599-7602 / N/A mda.space

DEW Engineering and Development ULC

3429 Hawthorne Rd. Ottawa, ON K1G 4G2 613-736-5100 / 613-736-1348 dewengineering.com

Shelley Maclean, Director of Corporate Communications 1982

300 Shaun McEwan Mr , President & CEO 1967

Major clients

Defence manufacturing, space defence systems, satellite communications, autonomous systems, simulation-based training, VR

Government of Canada, DND, Canadian Armed Forces, NATO, global defence/ space manufacturers, telecom providers

Description of specialty areas

Defence, Health, Agriculture, Government and public service, Public safety and security, Energy, resources and environment, Space, Retail, Manufacturing, Network and communication infrastructure, IT Cybersecurity, Nuclear Engineering, Finance Mining

Med-Eng 2400 St. Laurent Blvd. Ottawa, ON K1G 6C4 613-482-8835 med-eng.com

Provectus Robotics Solutions Inc. 1740 Woodroffe Ave Building 400 Ottawa, ON K2G 3R8 613-898-2390 https://www.provectusrobotics com

250 Mike Matta, CEO 2009

Defence & Security, Public Safety, Critical Infrastructure

Canadian Armed Forces/DND, Shared Services Canada, Correctional Services Canada, as well as multiple government departments focused on safety and security

Solutions architecture, development and systems integration, in-service support solutions, integrated cyber/physical security solutions, and training and simulation solutions

Retail, restaurant, financial, warehousing, C-store, automotive, property management and more

Tim Hortons, Moxie's Classic Grill, Five Guys, JYSK, Canadian Tire, Domino's Pizza

Connects and synchronizes brick-and-mortar business systems including video and POS data, providing insight into physical security, loss prevention, and operations issues

150 Peter Strom, CEO 2000

Banking, retail, cannabis transit, commercial, industrial, education, C-store, QSR and government enterprises and SMBs

OC Transpo, Hamilton Health Network, Tommy Bahama, Yesway Convenience Stores, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Toronto Community Housing, Canadian Tire Centre, and many more

March Networks specializes in intelligent IP video surveillance solutions, offering a comprehensive suite of products and services designed to enhance security and provide valuable business intelligence

140 Dr. Minda Suchan, VP, Geointelligence 1969 Global

Canadian Space Agency, DND, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Boeing, European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), Sierra Nevada Corp., OneWeb, Northrop Grumman, MELCO

Geointelligence, robotics and space operations, satellite systems

130 Ian Marsh, President 1978 Defence equipment manufacturer, police vehicle armour

Department of National Defence General Dynamics Land Systems Canada, Raytheon, General Atomics, Ford Motor Co

Ceramic composite armour protection systems for military and police vehicles, military fleet life extension and re-purpose, design and manufacture, tracked and wheeled military vehicles

Manager 1981

ING Robotic Aviation Inc. 1601 Telesat Crt Ottawa, ON K1B 1B9 16134829427 / NA ingrobotic.com 15 Ian Glenn, COO/CTO 2001 Defence and public safety

Department of National Defence Enbridge, TransCanada Pipelines, Irving Oil, EPRI, BC Hydro, Agriculture Canada, Environment Canada, SL Ross, Canadian Institute of Forestry, National Defence, ACUASI, Jack Doheny Companies, CGQ, INO; University of Sherbrooke, FPInnovations Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) design, manufacturing, training and operations

THE LIST

TELECOM COMPANIES

Telesat

2100-160 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K2P 2P7

613-748-0123 / 613-748-0123 telesat com

K0A 1L0

613-831-0981 / 613-836-5089 ozoptics com

FCi (Fleming Communications Inc.) 101-920 Belfast Rd. Ottawa, ON K1G 0Z6 613-244-6770 fci.ca

4 Ribbon Communications 500 Palladium Dr Kanata, ON K2V 1C2 1-877-412-8867 rbbn.com

Comtech Solacom Technologies, Inc. 80 Jean-Proulx St Gatineau, QC J8Z 1W1 819-205-8100 / 613-693-0642 https://comtech.com/solution/ ngc9-1-1-call-management/

Nancy MacDonald, VP of Business Development Aaron King, General Manager Antonio Cassandra, Marketing Communications Manager

C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. 2574 Sheffield Rd. Ottawa, ON K1B 3V7 613-745-4110 http://www c-comsat com/ 28 Leslie Klein, Chair

US Government, Government of Canada, Hughes Network Systems, Halliburton, Rignet, Chinasat, Petrobras, Eutelsat Airbus, RCMP, Telesat, Viasat, Softbank, NATO forces, Polish Military, Russian Military, Chinese Military, Czech Military, UK Government and many more in 106 countries around the

Worldwide active in 106+ Countries for Cellular Backhaul, Telecom, Disaster Management, eGovernment, Oil and Gas Exploration, Military, Education, Insurance, Remote Communications and many other vertical markets

Auto pointing Satellite Antenna Systems FLYAWAY, Airline Checkable and Manpack Satellite Antennas. ESA ka-band Phased Array Antennas 7

International Datacasting Corporation 10 Brewer Hunt Way Ottawa, ON K2K 2B5

613-596-4120 datacast com 25 Rodney Allan, President Diana Cantu, Vice President Sales and Marketing

Purecolo 113-390 March Road Ottawa, ON K2K 0G7

613-255-4354 purecolo ca 4 Michael Lalonde, Co-Founder

CBC, European Broadcasting Union, US Government, Echostar, NPR, PBS

Global, with customers and reseller partners around the

Cloudflare, Infinera, Kinaxis, Wind River, CIRA (.CA), Atomic Cartoons, Rainmaker Studios, Dell, Thales, Nokia, CIRA, CENGN WMD

Products, systems and service for broadband multimedia content distribution via satellite/ internet/cloud. Vertical markets: broadcast radio & video, digital cinema, digital signage, and data distribution

Colocation, hosting, server environments disaster recovery, hot seats

Convergence Networks

THE LIST

Company/Address

Convergence Networks

900 Morrison Dr Suite 206 Ottawa, ON K2H 8K7

613-721-3331

convergencenetworks com

Decisive Group Inc. 118 Iber Road Ottawa, ON K2S1E9

613-836-3700 www decisivegroup com

Opti9 Technologies 1050 Morrison Dr Ottawa, ON K2H 8K7 613-454-5810 opti9tech.com

DNSnetworks 202-1600 Laperriere Avenue Ottawa, ON K1Z 8P5 613-686-6643 dnsnetworks ca

NeoLore Networks 302-2781 Lancaster Rd. Ottawa, ON K1B 1A7

613-594-9199 neolore com

Telus

2-1002 Beaverbrook

Ottawa, ON K2K 1L1 613-591-9800 telus com/FullyManaged

7 Davidson Violette & Associates Inc. 488 Gladstone Avenue Ottawa, ON K1R 5N8 613-225-2798 / 613-224-6214 dvai.ca

8 CAPITALTEK

301 Moodie Drive, Unit 109 Ottawa, ON K2H 9C4

613-227-4357 www capitaltek.com

AG Business Consultant & Associates

100 Onslow crescent Ottawa, ON K1S 1G3 613-863-6602 www.agbusinessconsultant com

Stega Networks 200-9 Antares Dr Ottawa, ON K2E 7V5 613-688-4974 stega.ca

Koza IT Services

404-300 March Road Kanata, ON K2K 2E2 613-212-5050 https://kozait ca/

MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDERS

Jim Stechyson, President Nick Natale, Director of Marketing Did not disclose

Convergence Networks is a leading Cybersecurity and Managed IT Provider, empowering businesses to leverage technology securely. Whether you are looking to co-manage, outsource IT services, or deploy a cybersecurity program, we will meet your needs

Decisive is a preeminent provider of IT infrastructure, managed hybrid cloud and cybersecurity solutions focused on designing, building & managing complex IT environments and storing & protecting critical data.

Cloud Infrastructure services including cloud backup and disaster recovery, managed cloud servers, data resiliency & security, AWS consulting and migration services, Microsoft consulting and services

Richcraft, Dream Development Siemens, Thales, Bell Canada, PErley Robertson LLP, CDW Canada, Metrolinx, Ottawa Catholic School Board, Popeyes Supplements Managed IT Services (MSP), Managed Security Services (MSSP), IT helpdesk, Cybersecurity, AI Governance, Enterprise IT consulting/ProServices. Your ONLY ISO 27001 certified & Protected B Assessed IT solutions provider in Ontario

Canadian Museum of Nature, Dave Smith Youth Treatment Center, Proslide, Hospice Care Ottawa, Paterson Group Managed IT services provider, cloud services, cybersecurity, training.

Fully Managed is a leading managed services provider specializing in digital business transformation. As a ServiceNow Elite partner, we enable organizations to navigate and excel in the digital-first work world. Our mission is Creating Peace of Mind through better IT, customer and employee experiences to make work flow!

Private Enterprise, Federal Government, High-Tech

Cloud Computing, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Network and Information Security, 24/7 Bilingual Service Desk, IT Consulting Audio-Visual and Collaboration Spaces Design, Installation and Maintenance

Managed IT Services, Cybersecurity, Cloud Migrations, AI Implementations Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Hardware & Software Upgrades, Business Process Optimization, Network Design & Installation, Penetration Testing, IT Strategy & Planning, vCISO

We provide management, value building, succession and exit planning services to help business owners maximize the potential of their companies to create growth, wealth and success

Managed IT services, IT infrastructure, backup and disaster recovery, cloud

technology integration and network security

Trellis is an AI-powered demand generation SaaS platform that delivers profitable growth for brands selling on e-commerce marketplaces.

ZeroTek develops identity access management software that helps IT managed services providers (MSPs) to secure their small business customers from hackers using stolen identities.

At Autocorp, a fusion of industry expertise and technology empowers both consumers and dealerships with a suite of digital retailing products centred around credit and financial services

and track

KidsCanSwim Canada are privately run swim schools delivering learn-to-swim lessons to babies/kids in purpose-built facilities containing shallow pools, warm water and a proprietary and science-based curriculum.

Fellow is an all-in-one AI meeting management software that allows fewer, more effective meetings with an integrated AI meeting assistant.

Zenbooks is a full service online accounting experience offered by a team of advisers, accountants and payroll professionals that provides insight to businesses and key decision-makers.

specializing in

Craft&Crew Corp. is a Canadian marketing network that offers creative, media planning and buying, website design, technology development, and video production services.

and

Krishna V and Fahim Sheikh, Trellis Corporation

The 2024 Forty Under 40 give us

40 REASONS

(or more)

to love downtown Ottawa

Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, the restaurants, the walkability — there’s a lot to love about downtown Ottawa.

As leaders from both the private and public sectors work to revitalize Ottawa’s downtown, hard hit by the pandemic and the move to hybrid work, we asked some of the 2024 Forty Under 40 recipients to tell us what they love about the downtown core. From iconic landmarks and historic architecture to delicious restaurants and a vibrant community, downtown Ottawa has plenty to offer, according to these young professionals.

Here are their answers to the question:

What do you like most about Ottawa’s downtown core?

Kate Agyemang

39,Senior Associate, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Ottawa’s ability to feel like a small-town hidden gem while being home to so many locally owned businesses providing world-class services, products and expertise.

Jason Anbara

38,CEO, NorthLend Financial Inc.

Its blend of historic charm and modern amenities. From iconic landmarks like Parliament Hill to vibrant neighbourhoods with diverse dining and entertainment options, Ottawa's downtown offers a unique mix of culture, architecture and convenience. It's a dynamic hub where you can experience the city's rich history while enjoying its contemporary urban lifestyle.

Richard Beranek

37,Managing Partner, Brash Inc.

The concentration of great restaurants, parks and Parliament Hill, all within walking easy walking distance.

Matthew Blostein

34, Wealth Advisor, CIBC Wood Gundy

I have noticed in the last decade an increasing number of boutique restaurants and bars have been opened throughout the downtown core. It’s inspiring to see so many entrepreneurs work alongside the city’s best chefs and mixologists, taking risks and creatively testing new concepts.

Neel Chadha

35, Physician / Entrepreneur, Lanark Lifestyles Ltd. How walkable it is.

Laura Dionne

39, Senior Director People and Culture, Ottawa Senators Hockey Club

Our great museums and walkability of the downtown core.

Fares Elsabbagh

39, CEO, Ottawa General Contractors

Its simplicity.

Yasser Ghazi

35, Director and Team Lead, Commercial Services, Meridian Credit Union

The diversity. Every walk of life and offering is available in one space.

Nicolas Gosselin

39, CEO, Nomad Telecom

The capital city of Canada is amazing for its cultural richness and bilingual culture.

Geoff Howe

39, District Manager, PCL Construction

As a child, I loved walking through the Market with my parents on weekends and having breakfast downtown. I found the core had a lot of warmth and a lot of great energy and that was a very positive experience for me. Today, the downtown core is different in complexion and energy, largely from the impacts of COVID. However, I really enjoy walking with my kids down Sparks Street and catching glimpses of Parliament and some of our national emblems along the way.

Heather Jeffery

34, Founder, Designer, Re4m Design and Fabrication I like the walking paths the most because I love nature! I have never experienced such a major city that has the abundance of nature paths right in the core.

Agatha Krajewski

38, Director of Product, Shopify Inc.

After growing up in Ottawa, I left for university to Montreal and was excited to explore new cities. I've lived in Montreal, New York and even Heidelberg (Germany). Of all these places, Ottawa's balance of a lively downtown core (with presence of some of the biggest

OBJ STAFF

companies in the world), while surrounded by nature make it the perfect city for active families and couples.

Breanne Lapointe

39, Deputy Chief, Lanark County Paramedic Service

The Rideau Canal.

Bonnie Martell

33, Senior Manager, Development, Colonnade BridgePort

The diversity in spaces and uses, from local retailers to year-round programming. Ottawa’s downtown core is an urban district that is beautifully situated along the Ottawa River and fosters the ability to live, work and play.

Chris McCluskey

39, President, The McCluskey Group

The proximity to the Ottawa River and the kilometres of bike paths to explore.

Victoria McGlone

39, CEO and Founder, Three Cliffs Inc.

Parliament Hill and the sights and colours of the Ottawa River.

Stacey McMillan

38, Senior Manager, Client and Pursuits, Regions East, KPMG LLP

The incredible community of business leaders and organizations that make Ottawa a great place to live.

Karim Merani

39, Owner, Carleton Place IDA Drugmart Inc.

I like its vibrant atmosphere and diverse array of offerings. The eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, cultural institutions and green spaces. The various events and initiatives hosted downtown that promote health, inclusivity and civic engagement.

JP Michel

39, Founder and CEO, SparkPath Inc.

Proximity to Parliament, the locks and the Ottawa River.

Jacob Milosek

39, Managing Partner, Hendry Warren LLP

Having grown up in a small town, for me Ottawa is the perfect mix of city and rural living, with something for everyone.

Michael Montone

35, Founder and CEO, Firon Roofing

The cleanliness, historic landmarks, parliament, and being close to nature.

Patrick Moore

39, Program Manager / Superintendent, 176026 Canada Inc. / Amor Construction

One of the things I like most about Ottawa's downtown core is its blend of historic and modern architecture. Walking through the streets, you can see majestic buildings like Parliament Hill, the Château Laurier and the National Gallery of Canada and then seamlessly transition to bustling urban areas filled with trendy shops, restaurants and cafes. The downtown core also boasts picturesque parks and green spaces, providing a welcome retreat amid the city's hustle and bustle. This mix creates a unique atmosphere where you can experience the city's rich history while also enjoying modern amenities and cultural offerings. Additionally, it is very walkable, making it easy to explore the various shops, restaurants and attractions that line the streets.

Jonathan Murray

37, CEO, Heartee Foods

The restaurants of course!

Lisa Paul

37, Director of Community Programs, St. John Ambulance National Office

The vibrant and colourful energy! The people, art, gardens and parks bring Ottawa's downtown alive in a way that is refreshing!

Magnolia Perron

29, Indigenous Women and Youth Program Manager, National Aboriginal Capital Corp. Assoc.

It's a vibrant hub where people from all walks of life come together and you can find a wide variety of shops, cafes and cultural experiences that represent the best of the city.

Wendy Ramsey

39, Owner / General Manager, Pirate Cove Marina / RBK Distribution Inc.

The Rideau Canal.

Jeremy Reeds

37, President, Windmill Development Group Ltd.

Ottawa's downtown is easily accessible by bike and closely connected to nature, whether it is a walk along the canal or a bike ride out to Gatineau park after work.

Alexandre Rizk

32, CEO and Vice-President, Groupe Loyal

The culture it has to offer.

Eric Saumure

35, Principal, Zenbooks

The restaurants! Such variety and underappreciated restaurant scene in Ottawa!

Conal Slobodin

36, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, Walmart Canada

The historic sites and natural beauty.

Kyle Smendziuk

34, CEO, Founder, WebMarketers Inc.

The parkway/trails from the west into the downtown area and beyond. Getting out for fresh air always sparks innovation and great conversations.

Red Thaddeus D. Miguel

35, Vice-President and Chief Technical Officer, TheraBusiness Inc.

I most appreciate the vibrant community and rich history of Ottawa's downtown core.

Branavan Tharmarajah

34, Head of Sales, Growcer

The mix of tourism attractions, green space, and stunning views.

Megan Van Rijt

39, Director of Sales and Design, Deslaurier Custom Cabinets

The various summer music festivals.

Tiffani Westerman

39, CEO, WCS North America

The beautiful landscape of Parliament and the eclectic local cuisine.

Jordi Wills

39, President, Wills Transfer Ltd.

Downtown Ottawa is cozy and I love eating on the patios on Spark Street.

THE LIST

The Westin Ottawa

11 Colonel By Dr Ottawa, ON K1N 9H4

613-560-7000

marriott com/yowwi

Fairmont Chateau Laurier 1 Rideau St Ottawa, ON K1N 8S7

613-241-1414

fairmont com/laurier-ottawa

Delta Hotels by Marriott Ottawa City Centre

101 Lyon St.

613-237-3600 marriott com/yowdm

Courtyard by Marriott Ottawa East

200 Coventry Rd. Ottawa, ON K1K 4S3

613-741-9862 / 613-741-4913 marriott com/yowoe

Elgin Hotel 100 Elgin St Ottawa, ON K1P 5K8 613-235-3333 lordelgin.ca

6 Hilton Lac-Leamy 3 Casino Blvd. Gatineau, QC J8Y 6X4 819-790-6444 https://casinos.lotoquebec.com/fr/lacleamy/accueil

Garden Inn Ottawa Downtown & Homewood Suites Ottawa Downtown 361 Queen St Ottawa, ON K1R 0C7 613-234-6363 hilton.com

8 Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Airport 2400 Alert Road Ottawa, ON K1V 1S1 613-288-9001 https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/yowapgi-hiltongarden-inn-ottawa-airport/

HOTELS

K1J 7T4

613-232-2000 / 613-232-3646

Courtyard by Marriott Ottawa Downtown 350 Dalhousie

THE LIST

EXTENDED STAY & FURNISHED SUITE PROVIDERS

THE LIST EXTENDED STAY & FURNISHED SUITE PROVIDERS

EXTENDED STAY & FURNISHED SUITE PROVIDERS

THE LIST EXTENDED STAY & FURNISHED SUITE PROVIDERS

613-482-3344

Clarendon Lanes (GWLRA Residential) 20 & 24 York St Ottawa, ON K1N 1K2 613-482-3344 / 613-860-8702 clarendonlanes ca

K1P

613-688-6200 restays com

613-695-6510

613-789-6000 160chapel.com

H2Z 1Z6 514-277-6464 corporatestays com

Bell St. N. Ottawa, ON K1R 0B9 613-266-8316 livextendedstay com

ON K1R 0B9 613-266-8316 livextendedstay com

WELCOME TO YOUR NEXT MEETING

Come

THE LIST

Company/Address Phone/Fax/Web

EY Centre

4899 Uplands Dr Ottawa, ON K1V 2N6 613-822-8800 / 613-688-4824 eycentre ca

Rogers Centre Ottawa 55 Colonel By Dr Ottawa, ON K1N 9J2 613-563-1984 / 613-563-7646 rogers-centre ca

Carleton University, Conference Services 1125 Colonel By Dr., 172 Teraanga Commons Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6 613-520-5611 conferenceservices carleton.ca/

Nepean Sportsplex 1701 Woodroffe Ave Nepean, ON K2G 1W2 613-580-2828 / 613-580-9607 https://ottawa.ca/en/recreation-and-parks/ facilities/place-listing/nepean-sportsplex

Palais des congres de Gatineau 50 Maisonneuve Blvd., 3rd floor Gatineau, QC J8X 4H4 819-595-8000 / 819-595-8012 congresgatineau.com

Hilton Lac-Leamy 3 Casino Blvd. Gatineau, QC J8Y 6X4 819-790-6444 https://casinos.lotoquebec.com/fr/lacleamy/ accueil

The Westin Ottawa 11 Colonel By Dr Ottawa, ON K1N 9H4 613-560-7000 marriott com/yowwi

Ottawa Conference and Event Centre 200 Coventry Rd. Ottawa, ON K1K 4S3 613-288-3450 / 613-667-9888 ottawaconferenceandeventcentre com

Hotels by Marriott Ottawa City Centre 101 Lyon St. N Ottawa, ON K1R 5T9 613-237-3600

MEETING AND CONVENTION SPACES

(RANKED BY TOTAL MEETING SPACE)

Discover

Immersive technology

Virtual, hybrid or in person

Multiple configurations

Retractable seating

Removable walls

Up to nearly 1,000 people

Located in Ottawa

Book your next event at Excentricité: collegelacite/excentricite

THE LIST

MEETING AND CONVENTION SPACES

THE OTTAWA CONFERENCE AND EVENT CENTRE

•

• Centrally

• Certified

• Attached

Everything I need is right on-site, including incredibly helpful planning support and superb Five Star cuisine - plus with 576 interconnected

THE LIST

Company/Address Phone/Fax/Web

Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Airport

2400 Alert Road Ottawa, ON K1V 1S1

613-288-9001

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/yowapgihilton-garden-inn-ottawa-airport/

Courtyard by Marriott Ottawa Downtown

350 Dalhousie St Ottawa, ON K1N 7E9 613-241-1000 / 613-241-4804 www.marriott com/yowcy

Holiday Inn & Suites Ottawa Kanata 101 Kanata Ave Kanata, ON K2T 1E6 613-271-3057 / 613-271-3060 hisottawa.ca

MEETING AND CONVENTION SPACES

(RANKED BY TOTAL MEETING SPACE)

Rockhurst Rd. Wakefield, QC J0X 3G0 819-459-3939 lagrangecountryinn.com

The.Hotel

140 Slater St Ottawa, ON K1P 5H6 613-238-2888 / 613-235-8421 arcthehotel.com

Manoir de la Foret 32 River Rd. Cantley, QC J8V 3A1

819-827-0086 manoirdelaforet com

Ottawa Embassy Hotel and Suites 25 Cartier St Ottawa, ON K2P 1J2

613-237-2111 / 613-563-1353 ottawaembassy com

TownePlace Marriott Ottawa Kanata 1251 Maritime Way Kanata, ON K2K 0J6 613-599-7200 www.marriott com/yowts

Newsmaker of the Year: Mark Laroche pilots YOW through turbulent times

BY JEFF BUCKSTEIN

Mark Laroche, president and chief executive officer of the Ottawa International Airport Authority, was named Newsmaker of the Year for 2024 by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Board of Trade.

The award recognizes Laroche’s success in managing the airport through the pandemic and in building it back to include additional flights, a revamped terminal, a new hotel, and a spur connecting the airport to the city’s LRT system.

“It’s humbling. I was very surprised and happy about it,” said Laroche, who recently announced he is retiring at the end of 2024 after 11 years at the airport authority.

“I'm not a person who pursues awards and recognition. I get satisfaction from getting things done. I've had the opportunity to accomplish a lot with our team and board of directors, which is my biggest satisfaction. To be recognized like this by OBJ and the Ottawa Board of Trade is quite nice,” he said.

“The Ottawa airport and its amenities are incredibly important for the business community,” said Anne Howland, editor in chief of OBJ. “This is why we felt it important to give the nod to Mark and his team at YOW for all they’ve accomplished before, during and after the huge disruption of the global pandemic.”

The award recognizes a number of significant achievements by Laroche during his tenure. One is the extension of the LRT to reach the airport.

“When LRT Stage 2 was conceived, it included no connection to YOW,” recalled Laroche in an interview with OBJ. “We advocated strongly, so I was pleased we succeeded, including investing heavily in the station.”

The airport’s relationship with Porter Airlines, which now uses YOW as a major hub, was another factor.

Over the past few years, Porter has become YOW’s largest airline, based on the number of non-stop destinations served and daily departing flights. The airline also launched new routes, including an expanded Florida offering as well as flights to destinations such as Las Vegas, St. John’s, N.L., and Winnipeg.

Earlier this year, Porter inaugurated its 150,000-square-foot maintenance hangar. Porter choosing to have its fleet maintained at YOW shows the airline’s strong commitment to the National Capital Region, Laroche said.

Another project that came to life during Laroche’s tenure was the construction of the new Alt hotel, which is being built on site.

“Having a hotel connected to the terminal, with a full-service restaurant, meeting rooms, gym and 178 guest rooms is a great addition to the airport, especially for out-of-towners who have an early flight and for businesspeople who want to meet prior to a flight or on arrival in the city. It will take the stress out of travel for many,” Laroche said.

Decarbonizing operations at the airport has also been a priority. The airport has started replacing its ground vehicle fleet with electric alternatives when possible, converting from gas to electricity for heating, and installing more efficient lighting.

“We are also working on a solar project with Hydro

Ottawa and private investors with intent to submit a bid to the Independent Electricity System Operator for consideration,” Laroche explained. “The 100-megawatt array being proposed on vacant airport land could provide the equivalent electricity to power nearly 12,500 homes annually. It’s early days, but if successful we hope to have a portion dedicated to airport use.”

Renovations inside the terminal have also been important in recent years.

“Renewal of our concessions programs started in 2019. We’re not through the entirety of the project due to pandemic-related delays setting it back by at least three years,” said Laroche, who noted that many projects are now back on track, with the Canal Market Hall and Big Rig completed in 2023.

“Attention has shifted to the U.S. holdroom where the sit-down restaurant is being revamped and arrivals where a new Relay store has opened and a Bridgehead coffee shop’s opening is imminent. A new Starbucks is being completed in the domestic holdroom and we are hoping to start construction to convert an existing pub to a Zak’s Diner in 2025,” he added.

Of course, Laroche may be best known for piloting YOW through the global pandemic.

Laroche says the industry went through its biggest shock during his 11 years at the airport with the COVID-19 pandemic, when the airport lost almost all of its flights and passengers during the global shutdown. At the same time, YOW was required to remain operational for the few daily passenger flights and cargo operations, forcing it to borrow $100 million.

Laroche also noted that the pandemic caused a shift in the habits of air travellers, which required the airlines to adjust and adapt. The biggest change, he says, has been reduced business travel and more leisure-based trips, which are sometimes combined with business.

“We’re likely going to finish 2024 with around 4.6 million passengers,” Laroche said. “In 2019, we were at 5.2 million. Now that the market has changed, we’re working

with airlines to increase the number of connecting passengers to sustain routes that are challenging to sustain with origin and destination traffic alone. We’re forecasting 5.2 million next year, which is the same volume as 2019, but with a different mix of business and leisure travellers, as well as those in-transit only.”

To accommodate the market changes, YOW required a different terminal layout, he said. For example, additional departure gates will be needed because many leisure flights leave at approximately the same time.

“We need the capacity for those peak hours or connecting passengers will have to wait long periods for their next flight. This is a challenge we're already taking steps to address,” said Laroche.

Securing more direct flights, particularly to Europe, from YOW has been another post-pandemic accomplishment.

Earlier this year, Air France announced it was expanding its direct service from Ottawa to Paris to seven days a week and upgrading the route to a larger aircraft due to strong demand for the flights. Air France announced in 2023 that it would offer direct flights between Ottawa and Paris five days a week.

Also this year, Air Canada announced in August it will be offering non-stop international flights from Ottawa to London Heathrow Airport beginning in the spring of 2025. The announcement came as Air Canada plans to expand its services from Ottawa to points across Canada and sun leisure destinations this winter. The airline plans to operate up to 229 weekly flights to and from Ottawa in 2025.

Laroche began his career in the Canadian Armed Forces, earning a civil engineering degree in 1981 from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, then serving as a military engineer until 1987.

After retiring from the military, Laroche held progressively senior positions in local municipal government for 26 years, starting in the Ville d’Aylmer as director of public works between 1987 and 1989. He then moved to Montreal’s south shore as director of public works of the City of Brossard, and was later promoted to city manager, serving there until 2001.

Laroche became chief administrative officer of the Ville de Gatineau in 2001, where he oversaw the amalgamation of five cities and the regional board. He stayed in that position until 2007, when he became the chief executive officer of Canada Lands Company, a Crown corporation.

In 2013, he became president and CEO of the Ottawa International Airport Authority.

As for the added personal time coming his way, “I'm an avid outdoors person, skiing, biking, hiking, paddle boarding, anything outside,” said Laroche.

“I will be spending more time in Mont Tremblant. And I’ll just take it from there and see what the future holds. My wife, Marie-Hélène, recently retired and so we'll be able to spend more time doing activities that we enjoy together,” said Laroche.

The couple has three adult sons, Patrick, Mathieu and Vincent, along with their spouses and four energetic grandkids.

“But right now (Marie-Hélène) is busier than when she was working full time, so I don’t know how it will work for me,” he joked.

ORGANIZATIONS + OTHER BUSINESS SECTORS

Here are the Best Ottawa Business award winners

BEST BUSINESS: Calian Group

Calian Group, based in Ottawa with more than 500 employees, started over 40 years ago. Calian has grown 25 per cent over the past five years and continues to build upon 91 consecutive profitable quarters. With a diversified portfolio spanning Advanced Technologies, Health, Learning, and IT & Cyber Solutions, Calian’s expansion has been driven by organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Its commitment to innovation, diversity and social responsibility makes Calian a leader in gender equality and Indigenous relations.

BEST NEW BUSINESS:

Pluvo (formerly Rain Technologies)

Rain Technologies, founded to bridge the gap in financial and strategic planning for small and mediumsized enterprises, has rapidly emerged as an industry leader Its product, Pluvo, integrates financial and strategic planning with AI-driven insights, enabling SMEs to make smarter, faster decisions. In just two months, Pluvo generated $200,000 in annual recurring revenue and onboarded 30 companies With a diverse leadership team and a commitment to innovation, Rain Technologies is disrupting the market, attracting top talent, and positioning itself for continued growth across North America.

BEST LEADER IN DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION:

BioTalent Canada

BioTalent Canada has earned recognition as a leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (IDEA), embedding these values into every aspect of its operations and culture. The Ottawa-based life sciences organization has made IDEA a cornerstone of its operating strategy for more than four years. With initiatives like the I.D.E.A.L. Scholarship Program and the I.D.E.A.L. BioScience Recognition Award, BioTalent

Canada is shaping a more inclusive bioeconomy.Its commitment is reflected in employee engagement surveys, where 94 per cent of its 50 staff members feel welcomed and included. BioTalent Canada is proud to be a model for IDEA in the workplace.

BEST NON-PROFIT: Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice

As a trailblazer in pediatric palliative care in Canada, Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice (RNCH) is enriching the lives of children, youth, and families in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. Fulfilling a mission to provide compassionate care for those facing lifelimiting conditions, RNCH served 516 families in 202324. The organization recently secured funding for two additional beds, marking its first expansion since 2006. Recognized as a leader in its field, RNCH is a mentor for other communities and is driving innovation in pediatric hospice care across Canada. With strong leadership and a commitment to transparency, RNCH continues to enhance the quality of life for families in need.

BEST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: Brookstreet Hotel

By aligning every aspect of its service with a commitment to luxury, personalization and excellence, Brookstreet Hotel has achieved a new standard in customer experience. With a focus on luxurious accommodations, attentive service and top-notch amenities, Brookstreet ensures each guest experience reflects its brand promise. The hotel’s approach includes ongoing partner (employee) training, feedback-driven improvements, and a quarterly recognition program that celebrates exceptional service. By measuring key performance indicators such as guest satisfaction and incorporating feedback into daily operations, Brookstreet continuously raises the bar, delivering outstanding experiences for guests while fostering a positive, empowered environment for its team.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN EXPORT: Giatec Scientific

Giatec, a leader in innovative clean construction technology, exports to more than 80 countries by meeting the diverse needs of clean construction technology worldwide. Giatec has demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth, achieving 42 per cent year-over-year revenue growth in July 2024, despite facing financial constraints and a hiring freeze. Clear goals, performance rankings, and employee recognition have driven results, enabling Giatec to exceed revenue targets and expand its customer base With a focus on operational efficiency and talent retention, Giatec has solidified its competitive edge, achieving its best performance yet in export while maintaining financial stability.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN HR: Giatec Scientific

Giatec’s HR team has been instrumental in driving the company’s success, even amid financial challenges. From 67 employees in 2021 to 145 in 2024, Giatec’s rapid growth was supported by a high-performance culture built on clearly aligned goals, regular performance rankings, and employee recognition Despite a hiring freeze, Giatec achieved more than 40-per-cent revenue growth by reallocating talent effectively, redefining roles, and providing top performers with increased benefits like stock options Through strategic coaching and fostering clear communication, Giatec’s HR initiatives have been key to maintaining operational efficiency, retaining top talent, and ensuring financial stability and growth.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN SALES: Branch Audiovisual

Branch Audiovisual has experienced incredible growth since winning the BOB Award for Best New Business in 2021, achieving year-over-year growth of 23-30 per cent. Known for its selective approach to client partnerships, Branch Audiovisual consistently exceeds sales targets by delivering tailored, best-in-class audiovisual solutions. In 2024 alone, the company secured 26 new high-profile clients across Ontario, including Porsche Canada, Hard Rock Casino, and the CN Tower. With prestigious wins like the 2024 Mondo DR Award for Best Arena AV Project and expanding into NHL venues and hospitality, Branch Audiovisual continues to set the standard for excellence in the audiovisual industry.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN MARKETING: CanadaWheels

CanadaWheels has excelled in an intensely competitive online automotive retail market, expanding its market share to 2.3 per cent in Canada. By strategically balancing paid and organic traffic, the company achieved a 30-percent increase in organic traffic through enhanced SEO and targeted advertising. Its social media campaigns, educational content, and customer submission contests built brand loyalty, driving a 25-per-cent rise in repeat purchases. UI/UX improvements boosted conversions by 30 per cent, while personalized email marketing strengthened customer relationships. With successful pre-launch activities for its new USAWheels operation, CanadaWheels has positioned itself for sustained growth and increased brand visibility in both Canadian and U.S. markets.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP:

Tease Tea

Tease Tea is a socially conscious brand of tea dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs. Through every product sold, Tease invests in its sister organization, FoundersFund.ca, which offers mentorship, educational events and grant funding to diverse women founders. Since 2019, Tease has raised and distributed over $300,000, supporting more than 15 businesses and hundreds of women across Canada. With its mission to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship, Tease has built a community that fosters growth, equality and support. Stocked in more than 700 retail locations globally, Tease is not only driving business success, but inspiring positive change in the entrepreneurial landscape.

KNBA BEST INNOVATION: Ross Video

Ross Video’s Artimo is a groundbreaking robotic camera system designed to revolutionize TV studio production. With its advanced two-stage lift, customizable panels, and cutting-edge features like LiDAR positioning and a 360-degree on-air light, Artimo delivers both unparalleled flexibility and stunning aesthetics. Launched at the 2024 NAB Show, Artimo quickly earned the prestigious Best of Show TV Tech Award, solidifying its position as a game-changer in broadcast technology. Already attracting nearly 50 orders, Artimo’s innovative design and functionality are setting new standards, offering studios a powerful, all-in-one solution for both technical excellence and set enhancement.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: CFT Group

CFT Group has set a new standard for environmental sustainability in the commercial and industrial construction sector. With a strong focus on recycling, especially in auto and scrap metal, CFT utilizes advanced technologies to maximize resource recovery and minimize waste. In 2024, it surpassed sustainability targets, processing more than 13,500 metric tonnes of metal, saving 16,500 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions, and reducing air and water pollution by over 80 per cent. As a proud member of the Recycling Equipment Manufacturers Association, CFT’s commitment to the circular economy and eco-friendly practices drives innovation and positions it as a leader in environmental stewardship.

BEST CO-OP: Warner Brothers Discovery

When it comes to golden opportunities for co-op students, Warner Brothers Discovery has long been actively engaged with Algonquin College’s Co-op and Career Centre. It has provided a diversity of roles for students in its technology programs, offering students opportunities to work with marquee projects and develop program-specific skills. Data and student feedback demonstrate the lengthy, meaningful and substantive commitment that Warner Brother Discovery has made to its co-op students. In 2024, 14 students were hired and jobs were posted for the following programs: computer programming, computer engineering technology — computing science, bachelor of technology, web development and interactive media design.

DEAL OF THE YEAR: Retail

Carlingwood Shopping Centre, one of Ottawa’s largest retail shopping malls, was sold to a pair of real estate firms that plan to build a new residential development at the 30-acre site. Vancouver-based Anthem Properties Group and Toronto’s Streamliner Properties Inc. partnered to acquire the 632,700-square-foot retail complex on Carling Avenue, which is anchored by the country’s largest Canadian Tire store. Opened in 1956, Carlingwood has 90 stores and services, including marquee tenants such as Loblaws, Rexall and Dollarama. The mall, which is also home to a fitness centre and three banks, attracts more than 280,000 visitors a month.

DEAL OF THE YEAR: Tourism

Air Canada will offer non-stop international flights from Ottawa to London Heathrow Airport beginning March 31, 2025. Flights will operate four times weekly as part of Air Canada’s Dreamliner fleet. The flights will connect Canada’s capital to one of the world’s main international travel hubs, London Heathrow. The new flights in Ottawa also promise to be a boost to tourism in the city.

DEAL OF THE YEAR: Finance

Satellite operator Telesat received a Canadian government loan worth $2.14 billion to help the company build its broadband satellite constellation.The Quebec government also loaned the company $400 million to build its satellites near Montreal. The funding will help create 2,000 jobs in Canada. Ottawa-based firm Calian Group will also benefit by developing and deploying the software system that will manage much of Telesat’s Lightspeed low-earth-orbit satellite constellation.

DEAL OF THE YEAR: Real Estate

Local business leaders hope a new live music and entertainment venue at the former Chapters building on Rideau Street will give a jolt of energy to Ottawa’s downtown core. Live Nation Canada signed a lease to operate the new entertainment hall at the former bookstore. The National Capital Commission, which purchased the building at 47-57 Rideau St. late last year, announced the new music hall is expected to open in late 2025 after renovations.

KNBA COMPANY OF THE YEAR: Fidus

The Kanata North Company of the year is Fidus Systems. Founded in 2001, Fidus is North America’s leading provider of custom electronic system design and development services. Headquartered in Kanata, Fidus also has design centres in Kitchener-Waterloo and Silicon Valley. In July, Fidus announced that it was selected as the AMD Adaptive Compute Partner of the Year. This prestigious recognition underscores Fidus’s long-standing partnership with AMD. Fidus competed against 39 other AMD Premier Partners for this coveted recognition. Commenting on the award, the CTO of Fidus said “our latest work, including its powerful AI engine, has been met with an incredibly positive reception.”

#NEXTBIGTHING: Bloks

#NEXTBIGTHING: Enurgen

#NEXTBIGTHING: Sparrow Bio

Sueling Ching and Michael Curran host the 2024 Best Ottawa Business Awards. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

CEOs OF THE YEAR 2000-2024

Peter Strom March Networks

Kevin Dee Eagle Professional Resources

David Dobson Corel Corporation

Roy Mlakar Ottawa Senators

Karen Kinsley CMHC

Don Smith Mitel Networks

Jean Laurin Encon Group Inc.

Louise Wendling

Paul Loucks Halogen Software Tobias Lutke Shopify

Bernie Ashe OSEG

David Ross Ross Video

Kevin Ford Calian Group

Bruce Linton Canopy Growth Dan Goldberg Telesat

John Sicard Kinaxis Kathryn Tremblay Altis Recruitment

Kyle Braatz Fullscript

Mike McGahan CLV Group /InterRent REIT

Andrew Waitman Assent

2020

Rod Bryden WorldHeart

George Cwynar Mosaid

Ron Zambonini Cognos

Richard L’Abbe Med-Eng

Roger Greenberg Minto

RBC’s Marjolaine Hudon receives lifetime award from Women’s Business Network

BY MIA JENSEN

Marjolaine Hudon’s time in Ottawa is coming to an end, but the women of the local business community saw fit to send her off with one final honour.

Hudon, the former RBC regional president for Ontario North and East who is moving on to another senior position in Quebec, received the 2024 lifetime achievement award at the Businesswoman of the Year Awards Gala, hosted by the Women’s Business Network of Ottawa at the Infinity Convention Centre.

Fifteen Ottawa businesswomen were finalists across five different categories, recognizing their contributions to the community and their organizations, as well as their dedication to leadership and innovation.

The lifetime achievement award recognizes a woman who is seen by her peers and in the community as a leader and an inspiration.

“I just wanted to help people — that’s what I wanted to do with my life,” Hudon said in her acceptance speech. “I feel so privileged because that is what I’ve been doing for 30 years and I had that opportunity to do this with amazing colleagues.”

Hudon’s career spans three decades with RBC, holding senior leadership roles in personal and commercial banking, operations, risk management, and human resources in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. She served as employee ombudsman for a time, then was appointed a senior executive in 2013.

Her career most recently brought her to Ottawa, where in her role as regional president for Ontario North and East she led a team of 2,000 financial advisers serving clients across Eastern Ontario.

Now, she is preparing a move to Montreal to serve as RBC president for the Quebec region.

“At the time when I started at the bank, there was only one woman that was an executive and now 50 per cent of

the executives at the bank are women,” said Hudon.

Hudon added that, although she is leaving, Ottawa “will always have a very special place in my heart.”

The same goes for the award: “This is the first recognition that I’m getting outside of the organization. So let me tell you, just like Ottawa, it will have a very special place in my heart.”

LOCAL BUSINESSWOMEN HONOURED

The awards received a record number of nominations this year, according to chair Mira Yasiri.

“The selection committee had an incredibly hard time trying to decide on who the finalists are,” she said. “Every year, they’re absolutely fantastic, the best of the best. I think what occurred in the last few years is that the reputation, the calibre, the recognition and just the expansion of the categories has allowed more individuals to be recognized and, as a result, it opens up the door to some of the women in our community that we otherwise never heard about.”

While women have made significant strides over 41 years since the awards began, they still make up only a fraction of those in executive leadership positions and corporate boards, said Karen Wilson, president of the Women’s Business Network of Ottawa.

The awards, she said, are an opportunity to bring businesswomen together and celebrate their successes within the community.

“There’s so much talent and creativity,” Wilson said. “I did a bit of a happy dance when I saw the list of finalists and it’s because I know so many of their names and their stories. This is a group of women who are just phenomenal and they deserve to be known for what they’re doing. That is, I think, one of the reasons why this is my favourite event of the year.”

Of the record number of nominations, 15 were named finalists and the winners across five categories were announced at the gala Thursday.

Wendy Leung, volunteer executive director of Foodsharing Ottawa, received the community impact award, which recognizes the volunteer efforts of women who enact positive change on their organization and community. She was a finalist alongside Michèle Corriveau, a chiropractor and technical lead at Curavita Health Group and founder of a chiropractic clinic at The Ottawa Mission; and Christine Romulus, a hospitalist at Queensway Carleton Hospital and owner of Dr. Christina MD Clinic.

Tonya Bruin received the emerging entrepreneurial leader award, which recognizes women operating growing, profitable businesses for 10 years or less. Bruin is the founder of two companies, To Do Done Renovations and Evolta Electric Inc. She was a finalist alongside Michelle Massunken, co-owner of MindSpa Mental Health Centre; and Natalie Cox, president and co-owner of CPI Interiors.

Jenny Mitchell, founder of leadership company Chavender, won the established entrepreneurial leader award, which recognizes women with more than 10 years of experience running a successful, profitable business. She was nominated alongside Sue Hameed, founder of Platinum Mortgages Ottawa under Mortgage Architects and Mortgages with Sue; and Diana Lidstone, a coach and consultant for entrepreneurs.

Delphine Haslé, executive director and chief development officer of Perley Health Foundation, received the award for enterprise leadership. The category recognizes exceptional leaders who drive innovation in their organization and make a difference in their field or community. She was a finalist alongside Sue Perron, the first female CEO of Intersol Ltd.; and Laura Tippett, global mobility adviser and partner at KPMG.

In the lifetime achievement category, Hudon was nominated alongside Karla Briones, founder and principal of KB Consulting; and Nancy Graham, who is transitioning from a 20-year tenure with PWL Capital.

From left: Wendy Leung, Tonya Bruin, Jenny Mitchell, Delphine Haslé, and Marjolaine Hudon. PHOTO BY MIA JENSEN

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CAR DEALERSHIPS

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THE LIST

Commissionaires Ottawa 24 Colonnade Rd. Ottawa, ON K2E 7J6

613-231-6462 commissionaires ca

884 Churchill Ave Ottawa, ON K1Z 5H2 613-228-2813 / 6132289812 ironhorsesecurity com

SECURITY PERSONNEL FIRMS

THE LIST

SECURITY TECHNOLOGY FIRMS

FCi (Fleming Communications

101-920 Belfast Rd. Ottawa, ON K1G 0Z6 613-244-6770 fci.ca

com-net ca

support).

THE LIST

Company/Address Phone/Fax/Web

Carefor Health & Community Services

760 Belfast Rd, Ottawa, ON K1G 6M8

613-749-7557 / 613-749-4002 carefor ca/

IN-HOME CARE PROVIDERS

(RANKED BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES)

Access Healthcare Services Ottawa Valley 28 Northside Rd Nepean, ON K2H 5Z3 (613) 596-4929 / 613 829 4929 www.access-healthcare com

GEM Health Care Services 304-383 Parkdale Ave Ottawa, ON K1Y 4R4 613-761-7474 / 613-761-7738 gemhealthcare com

Community Nursing Registry of Ottawa 100-1701 Woodward Dr Ottawa, ON K2C 0R4 613-236-3639 / 613-236-7302 cnro ca

5 At-Home Hospice

1419 Carling Ave., Ste 217 Ottawa, ON K1Z 7L6 613-792-1167 athomehospice com

6 Alternacare 275 Slater St Ottawa, ON K1P 5H9 613-866-0775 alternacare ca

1128 Mill St Manotick, ON K4M 1A4 613-692-4697 rosss ca

4435 Bank Street Ottawa, ON K1T 3W5 613-592-1250 / NA www.seniors-solution.com

613-686-6366

Community Nursing Registry

Bill Chwedchuk, COO/ CFO and Vice-President, Corporate Services

Marcelle Thibeault, Vice-President, Client Care

Amy Boudreau, Vice-President, People, Strategy, Performance and Partnerships

Steve Perry, President & CEO

Pamela Roberts Director, Operations

Atul Kumar Garg, President & CEO

Vanessa Goldrick, Vice President, Operations

Care: Nursing & wound care, personal support, home support, client companionship/sitter

THE LIST 2024 FORTY UNDER 40

(LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

Eric Agyemang

39, Founder and Managing Partner, Maple Bridge Ventures

What is your biggest business achievement?

Recognizing the market gaps in access to earlystage venture investment for new Canadians, and then building Maple Bridge Ventures as a national VC from the ground up to address this vastly untapped opportunity for Canada.

Kate Agyemang

39, Senior Associate, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

What is your biggest business achievement?

All my achievements stem from establishing and deeply investing in authentic, impactful and trusted relationships with business leaders locally, nationally and internationally.

Jason Anbara

38, CEO, NorthLend Financial Inc.

What Ottawa businessperson, past or present, do you most admire and why? My father, for showing me how to treat people equally, be honest, be aggressive yet fair.

Richard Beranek

37, Managing Partner, Brash Inc.

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Launching and bootstrapping Brash in 2017 when my previous business was out of runway.

Neel Chadha

35, Physician / Entrepreneur, Lanark Lifestyles Ltd.

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Leased up and achieved takeout financing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Matthew Blostein

34, Wealth Advisor, CIBC Wood Gundy

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome?

Within a few weeks of acquiring a practice in March 2020, the world experienced the fastest stock market crash in market history. Since then, I have helped clients navigate ever-changing stock markets, which included several challenging economic climates, all while scaling the business.

Shea Cole

37, Vice-President Marketing, Field Effect

What is your biggest business achievement?

Scaled a marketing team at a tech startup from one marketer to 30-plus in five years while doubling revenue nearly every year.

Laura Dionne

39, Senior Director People and Culture, Ottawa Senators Hockey Club

What is your biggest business achievement?

Responsible for overhauling the employee experience and professional reputation of Ottawa Senators Hockey Club as an employer of choice.

Fares Elsabbagh

39, CEO, Ottawa General Contractors

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Having to grow through multiple growth cycles in the business and adapting at each stage while learning and growing as an entrepreneur and construction professional.

Yasser Ghazi

35, Director and Team Lead, Commercial Services, Meridian Credit Union

What Ottawa businessperson, past or present, do you most admire and why? The late Joseph Nakhle. An immigrant who grew his food empire, started his own brand and expanded it through Burrito Gringo and was always so selfless with his time, wisdom and community support behind the scenes. He was an early mentor who is missed dearly.

THE LIST 2024 FORTY UNDER 40

(LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

Nicolas Gosselin

39, CEO, Nomad Telecom

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? The desire of starting many businesses that take the focus away from the main one.

Geoff Howe

39, District Manager, PCL Construction

What do you like most about Ottawa’s downtown core? As a child, I loved walking through the Market with my parents on weekends and having breakfast downtown. I found the core had a lot of warmth and a lot of great energy and that was a very positive experience for me. Today, the downtown core is different in complexion and energy, largely from the impacts of COVID.

Heather Jeffery

34, Founder, Designer, Re4m Design and Fabrication

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Beyond the usual challenges like production inefficiencies and financial constraints, I grapple with gender bias from clients and suppliers, alongside the harsh realities of self-doubt spawned by these barriers. Bootstrapping my business has also been a challenge, but learning skills to manage resources has improved my confidence.

Agatha Krajewski

38, Director of Product, Shopify Inc.

What is your biggest business achievement? My latest product launch (a complete redesign of how merchants sell, manage and categorize their products on Shopify with a new product taxonomy) impacts millions of businesses and changes the way consumers shop for products online.

Bonnie Martell

33, Senior Manager, Development, Colonnade BridgePort

What is your biggest business achievement? I have been an integral project leader in the execution, delivery and success of over a dozen projects, including Colonnade BridgePort’s first three mixeduse high-rise developments, which established the organization’s priority to build in transit-oriented hubs across Ottawa.

Chris McCluskey

39, President, The McCluskey Group

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Navigating the obstacles faced by the restaurant industry through the pandemic and the ensuing labour market challenges of the past few years.

Breanne Lapointe

39, Deputy Chief, Lanark County Paramedic Service

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Striving to maintain the health and safety of our paramedics throughout the pandemic while managing our health human resources as we were expanding our programs, responsibilities and skill sets when we were called upon to play an integral role in response to the public health crisis.

Victoria McGlone

39, CEO and Founder, Three Cliffs Inc.

What Ottawa businessperson, past or present, do you most admire and why? Sir Terry Matthews — he has inspired and encouraged my career in B2B tech sales and instilled lessons in business, leadership and entrepreneurship in many of us for decades.

Christine McGuire

39, Executive Director, Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum

What is your biggest business achievement?

Secured grants exceeding $4 million for various initiatives, including visitor experience renewal projects and capital upgrades; employing 30 people and welcoming over 70,000 visitors to the museum.

Stacey McMillan

38, Senior Manager, Client and Pursuits, Regions East, KPMG LLP

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? My biggest obstacle is being a female leader working in a male-dominated industry. Being a female in finance, I have had to face challenges of gender bias and stereotypes with preconceived notions that the men in my group may be more competent or suited for a market-facing role.

THE LIST 2024 FORTY UNDER 40

(LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

Karim Merani

39, Owner, Carleton Place IDA Drugmart Inc.

What Ottawa businessperson, past or present, do you most admire and why? My father, Esmail Merani. He came to Canada in the ‘70s with his entrepreneurial spirit and a dedication to serving his community. He imparted to me the value of education, acting with integrity and perseverance. It’s been an honour to build the family business together.

JP Michel

39, Founder and CEO, SparkPath Inc.

What Ottawa businessperson, past or present, do you most admire and why? Anil Dilawri, managing director at Save it like Sully, has raised the bar for presentations in Ottawa. By challenging us to think differently about how we communicate, Anil has saved countless souls from boring powerpoints, while fostering the professional development of thousands of executives in our city.

Jacob Milosek

39, Managing Partner, Hendry Warren LLP

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? The COVID pandemic in the spring of 2020 coincided with “tax season,” our busiest time of year. We have adapted our business structure and processes to allow for remote work and client meetings, all while retaining our firm’s culture.

Michael Montone

35, Founder and CEO, Firon Roofing

What is your biggest business achievement?

Founded Firon Roofing 15 years ago at age 20, achieving GAF Master Elite status, which ranks us among the top two per cent of roofing contractors in North America. Also developing our team to over 50 people and consistently giving back to our community, fostering goodwill and positive impact alongside business success.

Patrick Moore

39, Program Manager / Superintendent, 176026 Canada Inc. / Amor Construction

What is your biggest business achievement?

Founding and growing the Professional School of Practical Stereotomy, offering internationally acclaimed workshops and courses on traditional craftsmanship and stereotomy.

Jonathan Murray

37, CEO, Heartee Foods

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? From idea to minimal viable product to over $2 million ARR within 18 months, including onboarding Canada’s three largest grocery retailers and hundreds of restaurants across Canada as customers.

Tony Paciocco

37, Partner and Criminal Lawyer, Edelson Foord Law

What is your biggest business achievement? Along with Michael Edelson, James Foord and Brandon Crawford, helped found Edelson Foord Law, a firm repeatedly recognized as one of the top five criminal law boutiques in the Ottawa and Montreal areas by Canadian Lawyer Magazine and that, more importantly, works tirelessly for all of its clients.

Lisa Paul

37, Director of Community Programs, St. John Ambulance National Office

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? I’ve navigated numerous coordination and communication challenges, enhancing my personal and professional resilience. This experience has been crucial in maintaining high standards of professional excellence, especially during the pandemic.

Magnolia Perron

29, Indigenous Women and Youth Program Manager, National Aboriginal Capital Corp. Assoc.

What Ottawa businessperson, past or present, do you most admire and why? Claudette Commanda. As an Algonquin-Anishinaabe elder, educator and activist, she has dedicated her life to advancing Indigenous rights, inspiring countless individuals and making a significant impact in our community and beyond.

Wendy Ramsey

39, Owner / General Manager, Pirate Cove Marina / RBK Distribution Inc.

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Despite facing unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pirate Cove Marina and RBK Distribution demonstrated resilience and adaptability by collaborating closely with the Boating Ontario Association and local authorities during a five-week closure in the spring.

THE LIST 2024 FORTY UNDER 40

(LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

Jeremy Reeds

37, President, Windmill Development Group Ltd.

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Recovered from a serious mountain biking injury; shifted focus to creating a balanced work environment for myself and employees where health and happiness are prioritized.

Alexandre Rizk

32, CEO and Vice-President, Groupe Loyal

What Ottawa businessperson, past or present, do you most admire and why? George Rizk (Rizk management/Groupe Loyal). He arrived in Canada as an immigrant with nothing and worked his way to becoming one of the leaders in entrepreneurial life in our community.

Eric Saumure

35, Principal, Zenbooks

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? My partner and I faced skepticism and resistance while pioneering a disruptive business model in a traditional industry, but we persisted despite lacking credibility and facing warnings against our approach.

Conal Slobodin

36, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, Walmart Canada

What Ottawa businessperson, past or present, do you most admire and why? Tobi Lütke — incredible to think of what he both envisioned and built starting from an online snowboarding shop. To borrow a quote from Sam Walton: “Capital isn’t scarce. Vision is.”

Kyle Smendziuk

34, CEO, Founder, WebMarketers Inc.

What Ottawa businessperson, past or present, do you most admire and why? Tobi Lütke and his ability to build Shopify into an international success story continues to inspire me to explore my next entrepreneurial venture in the software space.

Red Thaddeus D. Miguel

35, Vice-President and Chief Technical Officer, Thera-Business Inc.

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Managing the rapid growth of our company, which challenged our staffing, infrastructure and procedures. We had to reengineer our operations to maintain smooth service while expanding successfully.

Branavan Tharmarajah

34, Head of Sales, Growcer

What is your biggest business achievement?

Joining the Growcer team as the first employee, helping the team launch over 85 projects across Canada, and introducing year-round agriculture to regions where it was previously unattainable.

Megan Van Rijt

39, Director of Sales and Design, Deslaurier Custom Cabinets

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Amid the challenges of COVID-19, I facilitated the transition with staff and clients to an online sales platform and contributed to a successful digital transformation.

Tiffani Westerman

39, CEO, WCS North America

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Managed a company through 80 per cent revenue loss in one month during COVID and bouncing back to grow the business by 200 per cent and exit it to a U.S.-based company all within two years.

Jordi Wills

39, President, Wills Transfer Ltd.

What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve overcome? Scaled the business significantly in 2019-2022 with people, skills and warehouses. Weathered an industry recession in 2023 by keeping our team intact, investing in our values and our warehouses and retaining some profit.

Celebrating 30 years of philanthropy at the Phils

BY NICKIE SHOBEIRY

Award recipients past and present gathered at the Rogers Centre Ottawa to mark the 30th anniversary of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Philanthropy Awards (fondly known as the Phils), formally recognizing the contributions of many of the city’s philanthropic leaders.

Among those in the 400-person crowd were as many as 45 previous award-winners, some travelling all the way from Vancouver to mark the occasion.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe was one of those previous award recipients. During his opening remarks, the mayor said: “I want you to stop and think about where our community would be were it not for not for all the amazing things the people in this room have done over many, many years.”

In an interview, Derek deLouché, chair of the Phils and senior development officer at Carleton University, said he

was “so excited to see the organizations that have come together to celebrate philanthropy in Ottawa, and be part of tonight.”

Award sponsors included organizations such as Welch LLP, the University of Ottawa, CLV Group, and many more.

During the main award ceremony, hosted by Sam Laprade of Rogers TV’s An Hour To Give, six awards were handed out:

• Outstanding Corporate Philanthropist to Gabriel Pizza

• Outstanding Philanthropic Group to Goodwill Ambassadors

• Outstanding Individual Philanthropist to the Taggart Parkes Family Outstanding Fundraising Professional to Jacqueline Belsito

• Outstanding Small Business Philanthropist to Cushman & Wakefield Ottawa

• Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser to Paul Labarge

Labarge was nominated by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation. A founding partner of LaBarge Weinstein, Labarge served as chair of the institute, where he launched a fundraising campaign for a new tower and surgical suites. In addition, Labarge spearheaded the establishment of the institute’s Speak-LaBarge Endowed Chair in Cardiac Nursing.

“You can’t turn over a rock in this town and not find somebody who (hasn’t) been touched in some way by the heart institute,” Labarge said, adding that fundraising for the institute is “easy.”

“it's the staff that is so supportive — it's the nurses, it's the doctors, it's the researchers. I just happen to be the guy out front asking for money.”

With more than 30 years of fundraising experience, Belsito was nominated by the Boys and Girls Club Ottawa.

Currently the president of the Senators Community Foundation, Belsito spent a decade at the CHEO Foundation, raising millions of dollars for the purchase of new equipment, medical research and family support programs.

“That’s the impact that fundraisers have (in the community),” Belsito said. “Just to be able to have an award that acknowledges the profession and gives it some legitimacy is really quite special.”

The evening’s welcome reception was sponsored by United Way East Ontario and, in a surprise twist, the organization awarded a Community Builder award to an “unsuspecting but very deserving attendee,” as deLouché put it: Caroline Phillips, former OBJ Social columnist and photographer, who has spent years spotlighting thousands of charities and non-profits.

As part of the Kelly Funeral Homes annual drive for the Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation, all guests received a reusable gift bag that can be filled with essential items for community members in need.

“We're asking people to take the spirit of what they hear tonight, walk out of the room with those gift bags, fill them and return them, so that that spirit of giving takes that next step,” said deLouché.

Labarge added: “Our community depends on volunteers, and it's what gives a community strength.”

Taggart Parkes family

The Goodwill Ambassadors Gabriel Pizza

Cushman and Wakefield Ottawa

Jacqueline Belsito

Paul Labarge

GOVERNMENT SPENDING

+ WHO MAKES WHAT

TOP FEDERAL CONTRACTS

A selection of some of the largest government contracts, standing offers and supply arrangements awarded in 2024 to companies operating in Ottawa-Gatineau.

Supplier name

SkyAlyne Canada Limited Partnership

Babcock Canada Inc.

$11,219,370,646

$753,542,106

$728,198,110

(DND)

Department of National Defence / Department of National Defence Lockheed Martin Canada Inc.

$601,273,663

$303,491,787

$163,824,250

$16,766,666

$15,278,301

$14,388,363

TOP CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Source: City of Ottawa construction permits, January to November 2024. Note: City records do not name the contractor for all projects. Some contractor information and project descriptions are drawn from other publicly available sources.