Ottawa Business Journal April 23, 2018

EYES ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SPECIAL REPORT INSIDE

East end’s ascent

INFLUENCERS

Inside Ottawa’s galas, fundraisers and networking events

Maher Arar believes Vanier is the ideal home for his co-working space for entrepreneurs > PAGE 26

April 23, 2018 Vol. 21, NO. 13

OBJ.social PAGES 20-23, 29

For daily business news visit obj.ca

Budding enterprise Former Health Canada employee Renee Ellison is launching a cannabis business with a twist: It’s aiming its products exclusively at female customers. > PAGE 8

Meet the new boss

The Kanata North Business Association didn’t have to look far to fill the vacant role of executive director, hiring Jamie Petten of nearby L-Spark. > PAGE 11

Ian Boyd, who owns Compact Music with his brother James, started selling records at an outdoor stand on Somerset Street in 1978. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

Record retailers stay in the groove Forty years into the business, Ottawa’s Boyd brothers are still jazzed about selling music As other stores fall by the wayside, vinyl’s resurgence is helping Ian and James Boyd’s Compact Music locations remain relevant > PAGE 6

RIDEAUSPORTSCENTRE.COM 1 D O N A L D S T R E E T (formerly Rideau Tennis Club)

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The OPIN web development team. From left: Ben Merkley, Damian Richman, Tina Sollows, Rebecca Dagenais, Choung Chao and Sami Malik.

Ottawa’s OPIN Software hired as digital agency for Toronto children’s hospital Local open-source web development firm is tasked with building a new web presence for Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

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s a healthcare centre for children and youth with disabilities, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital does all it can to not feel like a hospital.

The Toronto-based hospital is flooded with natural light and boasts a picturesque rock garden on its grounds. The interior and exterior are both decorated with neutral colours and natural materials, including zinc, wood and brick. Its walls are lined with several unique and interactive art pieces.

“As a children’s hospital, we know that dealing with the healthcare system can be stressful,” says Stewart Wong, Holland Bloorview’s vice-president of communications, marketing and advocacy.

The ultimate goal is to make the atmosphere as inviting as possible for clients – who are primarily children and youth with physical or cognitive disabilities – and their families.

“It’s a special place,” says Wong.

The hospital has a clear vision of the impression it wants to make with its physical space. Translating that into Holland

Bloorview’s online presence recently fell to Ottawa-based OPIN Software, a digital agency specializing in open-source web development.

FROM FIVE TO ONE As Holland Bloorview’s new digital agency, one of the tasks OPIN will handle is merging the hospital’s five websites into one. At present, there are separate sites for the various bodies of the hospital, including its foundation.

Although Holland Bloorview’s existing web presence is robust and contains a great deal of information for clients, families, researchers, donors and community members, the new site is expected to streamline the navigation process.

“Presenting information in a helpful way and in a way that’s relevant to our population is going to make the experience feel more warm and inviting for kids, youth and families,” says Wong.

To prepare for the project, OPIN is drawing on its past

experiences working with clients in the healthcare sector, such as Cancer Care Ontario, Northern Health in British Columbia, Accreditation Canada and the New Brunswick Health Council.

Its first step is conducting discovery sessions and surveys with Holland Bloorview stakeholders, as a way to gather feedback from medical staff, foundation members and the young clients of Holland Bloorview.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS Every two weeks, the OPIN web development team provides an update to Holland Bloorview on their progress and shares their work to date. This allows the hospital’s staff to weigh in on what they like, what needs to change and where they’d like the web development team to focus their efforts in the coming weeks.

The OPIN team also travelled to Toronto to see the work that Holland Bloorview does first-hand.

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“The Drupal CMS, as an open-source technology, is flexible, secure and it suits our business needs in terms of what we want to do, both today and in the future.”

– Stewart Wong, vice-president of communications, marketing and advocacy at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Stewart Wong, the vice-president of communications, marketing and advocacy at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

DEVELOPER PERSPECTIVE For the team at OPIN Software, an important part of any partnership is learning about the organization with which they’re working.

With Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, it was integral for the web development team to gain an understanding of the work the facility does.

Tina Sollows was among a cohort from OPIN that travelled to Toronto to meet with Holland Bloorview staff, clients and volunteers. She works for the agency as a product manager.

“I really value the opportunity to work on a project that is for the common good,” says Sollows. “I feel very privileged to help an organization that has such importance in the community.”

OPIN is currently growing. Learn more about the digital agency and its available positions at OPIN.ca/jobs.

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital creates a world of possibility by supporting children and youth living with disability, and is renowned for its partnership with clients and families to provide exceptional care for the most meaningful and healthy futures for all children, youth and families.

For a look at other OPIN projects, head to

OPIN.ca/en/showcase

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DRUPAL & OPEN SOURCE When Holland Bloorview set out to choose a digital agency, the hospital was drawn to OPIN for several reasons. In addition to the collaborative work process and glowing testimonials from other clients, the firm is one of a growing number of web development firms working on the Drupal platform.

“The Drupal CMS, as an open-source technology, is flexible, secure and it suits our business needs in terms of what we want to do, both today and in the future,” says Wong.

The Drupal community has members all around the world, with approximately five per cent of websites running on the platform. These include Twitter, Tesla and numerous

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Members of the firm’s web development team sat in on a hospital staff meeting and had the opportunity to meet several stakeholders, including clients, families and care providers.

“It helped us gain an understanding of how the organization operates,” says Rebecca Dagenais, a designer at OPIN. “There are many different stakeholders, and being able to speak with them and understand what they want to get out of the website was really important.”

The trip also advanced the trust between the two organizations, a necessary ingredient for a project of this scope and scale.

Government of Canada departments and provincial ministries. OPIN’s enterprise clients include Alimentation Couche-Tard, Irving Oil and the New York Department of Motor Vehicles.

“The really important part of the open-source software is that we’re not limited in what we can do for our clients,” says Dagenais.

Drupal enables and encourages software developers from all over the world to collaborate. Many companies choose it for the fact that the platform can be adapted as a firm’s business needs evolve and as new modules develop over time.

Holland Bloorview’s new website is expected to go live in early 2019.

PROFILE ‘Leap of faith’ pays off for Keynote founders Whether it’s moving to a new continent or ditching established careers to launch a booming HR business, Donna and James Baker have never been afraid of taking risks

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Donna, 38, who took up running early last year, plans to complete her first marathon during the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend in May. Meanwhile, James, 36, is an avid snowboarder.

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The Bakers like adventure: They got engaged during a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon and spent their honeymoon in Africa.

Donna is currently a finalist for Ottawa Businesswoman of the Year in the emerging entrepreneur category. James received a Forty Under 40 award when he was barely 30. Other awards include New Business of the Year, Business of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Best New Business, Best Ottawa Business and Family Enterprise of the Year. You get the drift.

caroline@obj.ca

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BY CAROLINE PHILLIPS

he story of how Keynote Group founders Donna Baker and James Baker came together to create the fastest-growing Ottawa-based recruitment agency can be traced back to a freak snowstorm in their homeland of England.

They were working for the same company but in different offices when bad weather struck during a leadership meeting they were both attending. The group did the only sensible thing it could do: wait it out by hitting the nearest pub. In doing so, Donna met James, who was also in his 20s, and their budding romance began.

Call it a sign or call it a coincidence: There’d be more snow in their future.

The recruitment specialist firm they worked for in Britain was opening a new office in the Great White North and was looking for employees to hop over the pond.

“So, in my slightly impulsive way, I just said, ‘Sure, why not?’” recalls James, who convinced his then-girlfriend Donna to also apply.

Looking back, she admits, “I didn’t think it would happen.”

They landed in the nation’s capital on July 14, 2006. It would be nine more years until they gained the experience, knowledge and connections to create Keynote Group, a company that specializes in executive search, outsourced recruitment and HR consulting services.

Keynote now has more than 100 clients, mostly from tech, venture capital-backed firms and the real estate and construction industries. It’s won a whack of awards. It’s expanded to a team of 18. It’s also seen its office go from a kitchen table to a beautiful red-brick heritage building at 66 Lisgar St., near the Rideau Canal.

“I think we’re far larger than we ever dreamed we would be,” says Donna.

When Donna and James first came to Canada, they were working for Hays Recruiting. They settled in nicely, adopted a healthier lifestyle, bought a house and got married.

Four years after their arrival, James was headhunted by national recruiting firm David Aplin Group (DAG). While he was with the company, the couple’s first son,

FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DONNA AND JAMES BAKER

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The Bakers could soon be swearing their oath of allegiance to the Queen. They’re applying to become Canadian citizens.

There are several reasons why they love living in the rural east-end village of Navan, including not having to squint into the sun while driving to and from work.

James and Donna Baker are the owners of Keynote Group. PHOTO BY CAROLINE PHILLIPS

“We talked about the risks and went through the worst-case scenario. What could we lose?

Everything, but we’d still have each other and the kids and our health.”

– KEYNOTE GROUP CO-FOUNDER DONNA BAKER, ON STARTING A NEW BUSINESS FROM SCRATCH WITH HER HUSBAND JAMES

Jack, was born. This led to Donna resigning from her job to set up her own recruitment consultancy in order to have more flexibility as a new mother.

The couple welcomed their second child, Tom, three years later.

James enjoyed being with DAG but, by 2015, he needed a change.

“They were a great company to work for. They were a family business with good values, but there was a ceiling there. There was no way I was ever going to be owning that business or leading it. There was always going to be a family connection.”

Through a series of conversations with like-minded business people, James came to realize there was a better and more modern way of finding the best and most qualified talent for businesses. By now, he’d been helping to build recruitment companies for more than a decade, while Donna, he would argue, was the best

headhunter in the country. The couple decided to start their own firm.

“We talked about the risks and went through the worst-case scenario,” says Donna. “What could we lose? Everything, but we’d still have each other and the kids and our health.”

Neither was scared of combining business with marriage. They’d already learned how to navigate their professional and personal lives during their years of working for the same employer.

STICKING TO THEIR VISION “Launching a company together is a bit different,” Donna acknowledges. “Suddenly, there were points where there was more pressure on us, but building something with your other half is fun and exciting.”

In September 2015, the Bakers founded Keynote with two other people. The partnership with the other pair didn’t last

after it became apparent they had different aspirations.

“I’ll always be thankful to them for giving us the courage to make that leap of faith together,” says James. “While it didn’t work out, they’ve both gone on to become successful with other ventures.”

In the beginning, entrepreneurship was so challenging that the Bakers wondered if they’d made a career mistake. They relied on their financial savings and didn’t even think of paying themselves as they stuck to their vision.

“We just stayed focused on what we were doing,” says James. “We were lucky. We had a lot of clients who believed in us and gave us a shot, and they referred us to other people.”

Two big things have happened to Keynote in the past year that have helped it grow even further. It partnered with Heidi Hauver, who now runs the company’s HR practice. She’s also an entrepreneur-inresidence and growth coach with Invest Ottawa. Its other major development was finding office space through Inside Edge Properties.

Keynote now occupies the ground floor of an old home, called the Snowdon House, built in the late 1890s.

“I always used to say to the team that the one thing we’re missing is a home, a place we can all come together,” says James, the chief executive.

Keynote’s goal is to become a national company within five years.

“We’ve got big dreams and ambitions and, who knows, it may not happen, but I’ll tell you what – it’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun giving it a shot,” says James.

HOW MDI2 IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE Dr. El Saddik’s particular area of expertise is the digitization, communication and security of the sense of touch, or haptics. This extends to “mixed reality,” as people interface with technology through some combination of augmented reality, virtual reality and tactile control.

One project is a chair with embedded sensors to track and analyze posture, ergonomics and provide alerts to the user when they’ve been sitting too long. Another is a device to assist persons with a visual impairment while they are shopping.

Dr. Abdulmotaleb El Saddik demonstrates a glove-based tool that responds to pressure.

Smart tech for a better life Defining the future of healthcare at uOttawa Engineering

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companies in this space, there is a lack of targeted research, he added. A lot of R&D is imported from elsewhere.

Startups and mid-sized companies struggle to find investors. Many technologies are “developed as an island,” with the intellectual property fiercely guarded. That leaves little room for the collaboration and partnership that could accelerate new product development and commercialization.

ENTER THE MEDICAL DEVICES INNOVATION INSTITUTE (MDI2) The University of Ottawa’s MDI2, part of the Faculty of Engineering, fosters collaboration among key stakeholders to address their needs, finds solutions to sector-specific barriers and challenges, and drives the development of leading-edge wellbeing systems and talent. The goal is to bring innovative ideas from concept to deployment.

Enabling Technologies for Health Care and Augmented Life has been identified as a strategic strength of the Faculty of Engineering, with a strong core of professors and graduate students working in these fields.

Dr. El Saddik and MDI2’s team have a broad focus on medical device usage

in healthcare delivery and knowledge creation. That applies to any device, material or application used in medical rehabilitation, treatment, prevention or diagnosis.

They are working to connect those “islands” and create that rising tide that will float all ships. This includes addressing the shortage of HQP, with initiatives such as the CREATE-BEST (Biomedical Engineering Smartphone Training) program, funded by NSERC. By tinkering with technologies like sensors, actuators, deep learning, wearable, haptics and social media, MDI2 and its partners are creating the next generation of smart wellbeing and health systems. It’s all about rising to the big data challenge posed by digital transformation and the Internet of Things.

“We are demonstrating that Ottawa, and Canada, has the knowhow to attract support and partnership from the public and private sector,” Dr. El Saddik said. “Our three-legged mandate is to create multidisciplinary research, training to produce more highly qualified people, and workshops to bridge the gap between academia and industry.”

Long Distance Disaster Assistance: In collaboration with Toronto’s Monroe Solutions, Dr. El Saddik modified a regular construction helmet to equip it with a 3D visual feed, two-way audio connection and even tactile communications.

The device can instantly link isolated paramedics to medical specialists in an emergency room hundreds or even thousands of kilometres away.

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Learn more about MDI2 and about the Faculty of Engineering at http://engineering.uOttawa.ca engineering.uOttawa.ca

CREATE-BEST (Biomedical Engineering Smartphone Training). Funded by NSERC, this program provides professional training and practical employment-ready skills to engineering graduate students to create mobile apps for medical applications, so-called mHealth. Learn more at http://create-best.com create-best.com

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he market for IoT devices and applications for improved patient care and general health and wellness is growing faster than ever before, thanks in large part to the needs of an aging population.

It would appear to be a ripe opportunity for Canada, given our collective expertise in artificial intelligence, mixed reality, IoT, robotics, SaaS and nanotechnology. Public and private sector organizations across the country are pushing the boundaries for wearable and implantable technology, predictive analytics and cyber-physical systems, and other technologies for health care and augmented life.

But it is an ecosystem that has yet to pull itself together.

“In Canada in general we are lacking HQP – highly qualified personnel – in this area,” said Dr. Abdulmotaleb El Saddik. “It’s really a major challenge.

We don’t have sufficient expertise in well-being systems and applications.”

Dr. El Saddik is a Research Chair and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the Faculty of Engineering.

While Canada does have many

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After four decades as a music retailer, Compact Music co-owner Ian Boyd says he has no intention of slowing down. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

After 40 years, Boyd brothers still at centre of music retailing stage Thanks in part to vinyl’s resurgence, Ottawa entrepreneurs are holding their own in a topsy-turvy market

BY DAVID SALI

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david@obj.ca

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t’s only fitting that a businessman whose merchandise is played on turntables says his product line has come full circle after four decades.

Ian Boyd has been selling records in Ottawa with his brother James since 1978.

The longtime entrepreneurs now own a pair of Compact Music stores on Bank Street – one in the Glebe and another farther north in Centretown.

The brothers Boyd started out hawking vinyl records at an outdoor stand near the long-gone Saucy Noodle restaurant on Somerset Street between

Bank and Kent. The 40th anniversary of the day they made the deal to set up shop on the restaurant’s property just passed.

“I think my first day I sold like seven records. ‘I’m gonna get rich,’ I thought,” Ian says with a hearty laugh during an interview at his Glebe location.

Vinyl was king in ’78, a year when albums such as Billy Joel’s the Stranger, Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town and the Rolling Stones classic Some Girls were hot commodities.

Over time, the Boyds have witnessed recording technologies rise and fall, including the brief heyday of the 8-track, which was supplanted by the smaller cassette tape and then, by the early 1990s, the compact disc.

In the past decade, digital technology has cut into album sales, with subscription streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music adding millions of new customers each year.

Yet an interesting thing has happened, Ian says: audiophiles are rediscovering the joys of vinyl in ever-growing numbers.

From the time Ian opened the Glebe store in 1991 until the beginning of 2008, he didn’t have a single vinyl record in stock. But then a buddy convinced him to give the old, seemingly archaic format another try.

He made a deal with a former employee who ran a music supply company in Montreal and bought 400

copies of various albums on vinyl. To his delight, they sold.

Ten years later, vinyl albums now account for more than two-thirds of his total revenues – in part because they’re significantly pricier than CDs but are also more coveted by music lovers.

“We started with a six-foot section (devoted to vinyl), and now it’s more than half the store. And it’s gonna get bigger,” says Ian, whose first record purchase as a boy was a 45 of Petula Clark’s Don’t Sleep in the Subway.

“The nice thing about vinyl is shelf life is a lot longer. I can sell City and Colour’s first record on vinyl, but I can’t sell it on CD, for instance. And that’s 12 years old.

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HOMEGROWN: Hemp seed producer reaches global markets from Ottawa Valley base Every year, Valley Bio produces enough seeds to plant a 15-foot wide strip of crops all the way around the equator

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ven in a region known for its modern agri-food industry, Valley Bio is making a name for itself with its global reach and innovative business practices.

The firm is a registered seed establishment based in Cobden, roughly an hour outside of Ottawa in the heart of the Ottawa Valley. The company grows crops, evaluating their genetics and then selling seeds to other farms all over the world. Valley Bio’s crops include soybeans, buckwheat, rye, oats, barley, peas and industrial hemp.

Since its launch in 2014, Valley Bio has sold enough seeds to plant 60 feet of crops all the way around the equator.

“That’s a pretty narrow strip, but it’s a long way around,” jokes Valley Bio President Reuben Stone, who operates the business with his wife, Keanan.

SUPER CROP Industrial hemp has turned out to be one of the firm’s most lucrative crops, with cultivars originally bred in Southern Ontario now being sold to clientele all over the world, including parts of the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, South Asia and Europe.

Hemp has been dubbed a “super crop” by many, and can be used in an ever-growing number of applications.

Industrial hemp, which is the type grown by Valley Bio, is most commonly used for both food and bio-materials.

As a seed producer, Valley Bio’s location in the County of Renfrew gives it some unique advantages.

Much of the export of seeds from Canada is done by sea. And yet, much of the country’s industrial hemp seeds are produced in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, far from any ports.

Reuben Stone, right, poses in front of the Valley Bio sign.

In contrast, the Ottawa Valley is a relatively short drive from the Port of Montreal.

THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT Valley Bio is a relatively young company in a market of wellestablished, long-standing seed producers in the Prairie Provinces, Reuben says. Being based in Renfrew County has enabled the firm to grow by filling a relatively void space for industrial hemp seed in eastern Canada.

Though he was born and raised in Renfrew County, Reuben says it wasn’t a desire to stay close to home that

led him to start his firm in the Ottawa Valley. Instead, there was a strong business case to locate in Renfrew County.

Nevertheless, the location does have other advantages.

“We love the community,” says Keanan. “It’s people that you know, people that you trust.”

The Stones are happy to be able to give back to the region they grew up in and create opportunities for other local families and generations to come.

“We really hold it close to our hearts because this is a fantastic place to grow up, to live, work and raise a family,” says Keanan.

MAKE CONNECTIONS IN EUROPE Fly non-stop to Frankfurt from Ottawa this summer and enjoy our award-winning three cabin service. Choose from International Business Class, a spacious Premium Economy Class and our Economy Class with enhanced comforts.

Book at aircanada.com or contact your travel agent.

L’EUROPE S’OUVRE À VOUS

Réservez sur aircanada.com ou auprès de votre agent de voyages.

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

Envolez-vous vers Francfort sans escale au départ d’Ottawa cet été.

Faites l’expérience de notre service primé à bord de l’une de nos trois cabines.

Choisissez parmi la Classe affaires internationale, la spacieuse cabine Économique privilège, ou notre classe économique proposant un confort amélioré.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP Kemptville cannabis grower Fleurish eyes reverse takeover after raising $6M Company officials say goal is to become the country’s No. 1 brand for female customers

BY DAVID SALI david@obj.ca

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n her former job at Health Canada, Renee Ellison had a front-row seat to witness the initial growth of Canada’s budding medical marijuana industry.

Ellison worked in communications for the federal department when it was building its framework of regulations for legalized pot early in the decade. She watched as dozens of entrepreneurs began vying for a piece of a pie that was expected to eventually be worth tens of billions of dollars.

None of them, however, were catering solely to female customers. When a close family member began using cannabis to deal with serious health issues, Ellison

decided to get into the marijuana business herself to address what she felt was an untapped opportunity.

“That really changed my perspective on what I want to do and how I saw my life,” Ellison told OBJ recently. “I really wanted to find something that would be able to help people.”

Her company, Fleurish, says it’s the only medical cannabis enterprise in Canada targeting women exclusively.

The firm, which incorporated in 2013 under the name Farmacopia, expects to receive its growing licence from Health Canada later this spring and aims to have dried cannabis and oil products ready for sale by the end of the year.

“We really want to be the go-to company for products designed specifically for women,” said Ellison, who mortgaged her

“There are other companies that have been in the business for quite a while, so when you’re not coming in with the first-mover advantage, you really do need a unique point of difference.”

– FLEURISH MARKETING DIRECTOR MARY BETH WILLIAMSON

home to buy an eight-acre property near Kemptville that includes a former furniture store and woodworking shop. The buildings have been converted into a 20,000-squarefoot growing facility capable of producing up to 1,500 kilograms of cannabis a year.

Ellison and company chairman Justin Shimoon have pounded the pavement on Bay Street, raising between $6 million and $7 million in private financing from about 30 investors. Ellison says she expects to take Fleurish public via a reverse takeover

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Centretown LIV Apartments court environmentally-conscious millennial renters

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igh-rise residential property recently underwent complete overhaul to make it a greener option for prospective tenants.

As a new generation of residents looks for housing options in Ottawa, property managers are under growing pressure to offer the newest and trendiest amenities. Communal game rooms, on-site dog spa and front door Concierge services to name a few.

But one local landlord has found another key element that younger tenants are increasingly looking for in a rental property: Energy efficiency.

CLV Group, a real estate firm overseeing residential properties across Ontario and Quebec, is the property manager for LIV Apartments, located at 207 Bell St. N., on the edge of Centretown.

Roughly two years ago, the 13-storey apartment complex underwent a massive facelift. All 442 units were stripped down to the studs, and rebuilt with luxury and energy efficiency in mind.

“Today’s tenants are looking for not just the lowest possible utility

Danny Smith, an energy manager with CLV Group. cost for their apartment. They also want to know that the building they’re renting in has the lowest possible environmental impact,” says Danny Smith, Energy Manager with CLV Group.

During renovations, the property management firm added multiple new features that minimized the property’s carbon footprint. Many of them were supported by Hydro Ottawa’s Save on Energy Retrofit Program, which offers

subsidies of up to 50 per cent toward project costs for businesses making the switch to greener equipment.

The Retrofit program is ideal for property managers looking to both save on energy bills and offer a more environmentally friendly home for their tenants. Buildings of any size are eligible, so long as the proposed upgrades meet Hydro Ottawa’s criteria.

The building was outfitted with a domestic cold water booster pump

package, several electric vehicle charging stations for tenants, as well as highly efficient LED lights.

It also has a newly installed micro co-generation plant, which now accounts for approximately one third of its energy. The generator uses natural gas to generate electricity, then recuperates the heat it expels to heat water on-site. It is one of only a handful of buildings to be using this technology in Ottawa.

Within individual units, the property management firm took steps to minimize energy waste, including the installation of solar film on the windows as well as Energy Star certified appliances.

Each tenant also has access to their own in-unit smart thermostat, enabling them to control their apartment’s heating and air conditioning. They’re able to set a timer on their AC or heat, helping to reduce their usage during the hours when no one is home.

“Happy tenants who are invested along with us really help make the programs work,” says Smith.

Learn more about the Save on Energy Retrofit Program at hydroottawa.com/retrofit http://hydroottawa.com/retrofit

in the second quarter of 2018 as part of a plan to raise millions of dollars in additional funding for new products, marketing and research into how cannabis can better help women cope with everything from PMS cramps to insomnia.

A recent report from DIG Insights pegs the Canadian women’s cannabis market at about $2 billion a year, with 2.2 million women using the drug on a regular basis.

Fleurish marketing director Mary Beth Williamson said the company’s goal is to become the country’s No. 1 brand for female customers. The firm is anticipating annual sales of as much as $200 million within five years.

“The tricky thing is figuring out what it’s going to take to do that,” she said. “It will depend how quickly (the black market for recreational pot) converts to a legal market and what goes on with all the overall dynamics.”

‘FRUITY’ FLAVOURS Williamson said studies show women tend to use cannabis differently than men.

Women are more likely to ingest pot in the form of edibles or oils rather than by smoking it, prefer less powerful pot with lower levels of active ingredient THC and favour “more fruity, more floral” flavours, she explained.

Renee Ellison of Fleurish. PHOTO PROVIDED

The company will start with selling dried flowers that can be smoked or vaped as well as edible oils, with different products aimed at the medical and recreational markets. Down the road, it’s hoping to expand its offerings to include chocolate-flavoured edibles and products such as bath bombs and topical creams.

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SHE SHOPS

COMMENTARY

Marguerite Boyer and David Shanahan are partners in both business and life — they are not only married by are also co-owners of the North Grenville Times newspaper. MIKE&NESS PHOTOGRAPHY

Newspaper’s presence good news for North Grenville Community weekly’s owners say publication ‘belongs to the people’

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he people of Kemptville and Merrickville, each about a 30-minute drive south of Ottawa, are lucky to have a community newspaper prepared to challenge the local establishment.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of a recent dust-up between North Grenville councillors and the North Grenville Times weekly newspaper, it’s good for democracy that the public gets more than one side of the story.

Newspapers are dying, we are told repeatedly, and so who would want to start up a newspaper these days? In the Kemptville and Merrickville area, the answer is the husband-and-wife team of David Shanahan and Marguerite Boyer.

Both are local residents in their early 60s.

They launched the paper five years ago.

He’s the editor and she’s the production manager.

The newspaper and Brockville Mayor David Gordon have been at loggerheads for months over the future use of buildings and land at a former agricultural college in North Grenville.

The mayor and several councillors sent Shanahan a letter accusing his

newspaper of “bullying” the council.

Shanahan published the letter, with the superfluous comment that the councillors’ letter was not a joke.

Shanahan wrote recently in the newspaper: “Even publishing the fact that options were available made the municipality angry and resulted in a deeply divisive dispute the municipality initiated with the North Grenville Times, which has yet to be settled.”

The North Grenville Times has saturation – and free – delivery in the Kemptville and Marrickville areas, printing 9,500 copies a week. That level of penetration would translate into phenomenal circulation for a newspaper with regional, provincewide or national distribution. Nationwide, it’s the equivalent of about 10 million copies a week!

When you think of it that way, it’s difficult to see why a community newspaper would not make money – just from local advertisers.

Marguerite Boyer, the joint owner, says: “I believe community newspapers are essential for towns and are not going the way of the dodo.”

“I believe community newspapers are essential for towns and are not going the way of the dodo.”

– NORTH GRENVILLE TIMES CO-OWNER MARGUERITE BOYER

She says she and her husband enjoy running the paper.

“I feel like we are doing something good for the community. We started the paper because of a lack of good reporting and the loss of a (locally owned) newspaper.”

Is the five-year-old newspaper profitable?

“It took us about a year to balance the

books,” Boyer says without elaborating.

After the Ottawa Citizen published a report recently about the spat between North Grenville councillors and the North Grenville Times, Boyer says she and her husband “have heard from other locally owned papers of their plight with municipalities.”

Boyer adds: “One newspaper, which is a member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association and which has won awards, was denounced by the council in its area as not being a real newspaper.”

Five years have gone fast, says Boyer.

“I work part-time for the paper, but being part of the community, it seems full-time,” he says. “I think our success is due to our commitment to the community. This is a really amazing community. We feel the paper belongs to the people, and they have a voice.”

Michael Prentice is OBJ’s columnist on retail and consumer issues. He can be contacted at news@obj.ca.

NEWS

Jamie Petten. PHOTO PROVIDED

KNBA names new leader

T

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he Kanata North Business Association’s search for a new leader culminated with a pick from its own tech park.

The BIA announced April 19 that L-Spark’s Jamie Petten will take the organization’s helm as its new president and executive director.

Petten said in a statement she’s “honoured” to represent the community of more than 500 tech firms. She said she’s looking forward to building on the KNBA’s first five years, adding the “future is bright” for the tech park.

“I believe in the existing track record and future potential of the businesses in Kanata North to be globally dominant players in their respective markets,” she said. “(Founding executive director) Jenna (Sudds) and the KNBA team have set in place an incredible foundation, and I look forward to cultivating further opportunities to gain national and international recognition for the region and businesses within it.”

Petten, 28, is perhaps best known in the community as a founding member of Kanata’s L-Spark SaaS accelerator and its director of marketing for the past four years.

L-Spark executive director Leo Lax minced no words in expressing how integral Petten has been to the organization’s growth.

“Her drive, focus and leadership has been a key part of L-Spark becoming the leading SaaS accelerator in Canada,” he said.

Sudds said in a release that she’s “thrilled” the board of directors picked Petten, calling her a “proven and demonstrated leader.”

“I sincerely can think of no one better to guide the association forward in the coming months and years,” she said.

— OBJ Staff

TOURISM Le Germain brings boutique hotel chic to revitalized Arts Court Le Germain Ottawa GM Alex Kassatly, with PR manager Julie Tremblay and executive chef Dominique Dufour.

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

PHOTO BY CAROLINE PHILLIPS

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Project first in latest wave of new downtown lodgings set to debut over the next year

BY CAROLINE PHILLIPS caroline@obj.ca

T

he first in what’s expected to be a wave of new downtown hotel openings over the next year is aiming to help transform an entire city block into a bustling social and cultural hub for visitors and residents.

Le Germain Hotel Ottawa at 30 Daly Ave. is set to open its doors early next month. The luxury boutique hotel will occupy the first 14 floors of a newly constructed 23-storey tower, while the top nine floors are condo suites developed by Montreal-based DevMcGill.

The public-private mixed-use development project also boasts a redeveloped Arts Court, new theatre and learning space for the University of Ottawa, and a renovated and expanded Ottawa Art Gallery, which gets credit for getting the ball rolling on the ambitious development just south of the Rideau Centre.

The hotel is owned by Groupe Germain Hotels, a family-owned Quebec-based company led by co-presidents and siblings Jean-Yves Germain and Christiane Germain, who is also a panelist on the Quebec adaptation of Dragons’ Den. Because it’s a smaller hotel chain, the mixed-use formula makes it more affordable for the firm to build in bigger cities, company officials say.

The new hotel in Ottawa will bring the number of Le Germain Hotels in Canada to 16.

“As part of our Canadian expansion, it was a must for us to set up shop in the nation’s capital,” public relations manager Julie Tremblay told OBJ during a media tour of the new building.

“We’re a Canadian family company, and we’re proud of that fact. Our aim is to be the first Canadian independent hotelier to have a presence from coast to coast.”

NEWS FROM CANADA’S LARGEST TECHNOLOGY PARK - KANATA NORTH FROM TWO-MAN STARTUP TO R&D POWERHOUSE FOR IOT

‘VIBRANT’ CITY Alex Kassatly plans to be visible and accessible as the general manager, preferring to work from his laptop in the lobby rather than tucked away in an office.

It’s less to do with keeping an eye on the staff, he explained, and more to do with having contact with the guests.

“If the client wants something, nobody is saying, ‘I’m sorry, but we have to call this manager, who has to call this manager,’” said Kassatly.

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“There’s lots of development and business coming in.

I think we’re here at the right time and the right moment.”

WHAT WE’RE GEEKING OUT ON: AT NXP SEMI’S KANATA NORTH FACILITY, EVERY DAY IS A MOONSHOT

– ALEX KASSATLY, GENERAL MANAGER OF THE NEW LE GERMAIN HOTEL OTTAWA

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13 OBJ.CA

“If the employees need assistance, we’re there.”

Group Germain Hotels also owns the Alt Hotels property on Slater Street, which opened two years ago.

While Le Germain Hotel Ottawa missed out on all the tourism action resulting from Canada’s milestone birthday last year, Kassatly is confident the hotel will do well.

“I think we’re in a city that’s vibrant,” he said.

“There’s lots of development and business coming in. I think we’re here at the right time and the right moment.”

Other hotels slated to open in the downtown later this year and in 2019 include Hilton’s new Homewood Suites and Garden Inn properties at 361 Queen St. and the 180-room Holiday Inn Express at the corner of King Edward Avenue and St. Patrick Street in the ByWard Market.

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MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

$40M INVESTMENT The scaffolding and sawdust have yet to be replaced with furniture, bedding and art, but already the design theme of light and shadows is taking shape.

The hotel is the creation of Montreal’s Lemay Michaud Architecture Design. By using a soft mix of timeless materials, such as wood, stone and metal, it’s striving to create an elegant but comfortable atmosphere for guests.

The hotel chain is big on promoting Canadian artists. The guest rooms feature artwork by photographer Julie Couture, and the hotel plans to have works hanging in its lobby that complement the exhibitions showing at the neighbouring OAG, which reopens April 28.

Group Germain Hotels has privately invested between $40 million and $45 million in its Ottawa hotel and has hired between 60 and 75 employees, with plans to add more.

The new hotel has 107 rooms, eight

suites and five meeting rooms, plus event spaces.

It offers deluxe continental breakfast, concierge service, a fitness centre, free Wi-Fi and indoor heated parking for cars, as well as charging stations for electric vehicles.

It’s not only dog-friendly but also ecofriendly, with features such as geothermal heating and cooling systems.

Le Germain also offers complimentary Lexus car service, and for those who like a slower start to their day, there’s no morning checkout time to worry about.

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EYES ON Corporate Governance

A special publication of the Institute of Corporate Directors Ottawa Chapter | APRIL 23, 2018

Debra Alves is the chief executive of the CBC Pension Plan.

Lessons from the CBC Pension Plan and Shopify executives Senior executives Debra Alves and Russ Jones discover there’s always more to learn

M

aybe you’re nearing retirement or looking to further your experience and skills. You have corporate and/ or board experience. You want to continue making a positive contribution in your industry or in your community.

Today, the role is much more complex.

Board members have a duty of loyalty, a duty of care and a duty to act in good faith in the best interests of all stakeholders along with a fiduciary duty to the corporation. Even the definition of stakeholder has undergone an overhaul, said Debra Alves. More than just employees, Where do you start? customers and shareholders, it can now extend to Boards of directors are always looking for good the community and even society at large. people. It may be in the public sector, the private, “People often come in with the wrong hat or with a non-profit organization. But a lot has on,” Alves said. “They have to appreciate changed in recent years. The days when boards their fiduciary responsibilities and who the were “old boys’ clubs” that met once a quarter stakeholders are that they answer to as a member have passed. of a board.”

She knows of what she speaks. Currently chief executive of the CBC Pension Plan, Alves also sits on several pension committees outside the CBC and has served on various boards, including the Victorian Order of Nurses. She’s come to appreciate the fine line a board member must walk in order to fulfill their responsibility to drive and support the organization.

Value of cognitive diversity Recognizing the benefits of diversity plays a big role. This extends beyond gender to include cognitive diversity – differences in how people process information and relate ideas, regardless

of factors like gender, age or ethnicity.

“You need to be aware of the value of different perspectives and how those perspectives get a voice, all without being too hands-on with the management team,” Alves said.

“Management knows the business better than you do.”

A healthy degree of tension between a CEO and a board is to be expected, as the board strives to stay at arms’ length from the day-today operations of the organization, to act as a guiding force for management and as a voice for stakeholders.

Continues on page 3

highlights

APRIL 23, 2018 | eyes on corporate governance A special publication of the Institute of Corporate Directors Ottawa Chapter

ICD Ottawa chapter breakfast

02

Simon Kennedy and Susan St. Amand are co-chairs of the Ottawa Chapter, Institute of Corporate Directors.

The Institute of Corporate Directors Ottawa Chapter: A good governance resource for local leaders

D

oing business successfully in today’s world means reacting quickly to new developments, whether it is the “Uberization” of the economy, growing cyber attacks, or the concerns about sexual harassment highlighted by the #MeToo movement. And it’s not just business that must successfully adapt: Crown corporations, government agencies, nonprofits and foundations are dealing with the same challenges.

The complexity facing organizations today has made good governance a hot topic. Here in the Ottawa region, the local chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) works to promote good governance, hosting monthly seminars on topics as diverse as gender equity on boards; the challenges facing non-profits; mergers and acquisitions; and cyber security. The Ottawa ICD chapter also organizes social events where the city’s business, government and non-profit leaders can get to know each other.

An excellent example of these social events is a recent breakfast at the Rideau Club focused on the impact the ongoing NAFTA negotiations could have on Canadian business and on what boards need to do to be prepared. Featuring former deputy prime minister John Manley, former industry minister James Moore, well-known U.S. lobbyist Scotty Greenwood and former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Derek Burney, the lively panel debate was hosted by Catherine Clark and drew a capacity crowd .

“My career in government has resulted in an extensive network of contacts over the years, but there were whole communities in my backyard I’d never really been exposed to,” says Simon Kennedy, co-chair of the local ICD chapter and the deputy minister at Health Canada.

“I really appreciate how my involvement locally in the ICD has opened me up to

new communities and networks in my own town. It has been a great opportunity to learn from others.”

The ICD bills itself as the definitive 'go-to' resource for Canada’s directors and boards. A not-for-profit, member-based association, the ICD has more than 12,000 members, 535 organizations and a network of 11 chapters across Canada. The only globally recognized director organization in Canada, the ICD welcomes directors both seasoned and emerging, as well as C-suite and senior executives who aspire to serve on boards in the for-profit, not-for-profit and Crown sectors.

Beyond socials and monthly seminars, the ICD is best known for its flagship educational offerings, foremost among these the Directors Education Program, or DEP. The DEP has recently come to Ottawa, with a second cohort graduating from the locally run program in early 2018. After 12 days total of in-class course work, including case studies and discussions with seasoned executives and directors, graduates who pass a written and oral exam are entitled to “ICD.D” accreditation and membership in the Institute.

The ICD offers short courses too on topics such as boardroom financial essentials, Crown director effectiveness, enterprise risk management, board oversight of strategy, as well as audit and HR committee effectiveness. Many of these are scheduled regularly in Ottawa. The ICD also provides online resources and a library of materials to support boards and directors in their work.

“Ottawa is filled with a mosaic of high-tech companies, family enterprises, philanthropic organizations, associations, Crown corporations, government agencies, not-for-profits, and so on,” remarked Susan St Amand, co-chair of the local chapter and the founder and president of Sirius Financial Services. “All organizations benefit when we apply the practice of good governance.”

ICD Ottawa chapter executives Simon Kennedy, ICD.D (Co-chair) Susan St. Amand, TEP, FEA, ICD.D (Co-Chair) Roxanne Anderson, MBA, CPA, CA, ICD.D Jim Brockbank, MBA, ICD.D Patrick Coady, CPA, CA, CBV Peter Charbonneau, MBA, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D Brad Forsyth, P.Eng, ICD.D Andrea Johnson Peter Nadeau, LLB. ICD.D Lori O'Neill, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D, CPA Glen Orsak, MBA Ian Sherman, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D Louise Tardif, ICD.D

Director Journal

Director Journal is the official publication of the Institute of Corporate Directors. The latest edition is available online to members as well as in Air Canada lounges.

Unstoppable change, relentless innovation Canada’s former governor general urges boards to resist complacency in dynamic times

D

Lessons and learning Continued from page 1 Russ Jones, the recently retired chief financial officer of Shopify, knows firsthand what it’s like to be part of a dynamic management team engaged in that push and pull with a board. He previously served as CFO with Mitel Networks, a public company, then helped guide Shopify through its whirlwind IPO three years ago.

Bench strength for the long haul Shopify’s challenge was to ensure its board included individuals who could provide the leadership the company would need the day after the IPO. “We didn’t see the IPO as the end goal, just a milestone,” Jones said.

It took a careful balancing act to ensure compliance with listing requirements without burdening a nimble startup culture with a bureaucratic system of checks and balances.

This included ensuring board members and management were on the same page about the story Shopify wanted to tell the market.

“Investment bankers will try to tell a story that they think aligns with their own constituents and then you are stuck with it,” Jones said.

Alves and Jones have no shortage of insight to share about how to be part of a board or how to work effectively with one in a world driven by social media and an emphasis on diversity.

However as they approached retirement and considered board participation as a great way to remain productive, they both realized they still had something to learn.

That’s why they each made the year-long commitment to obtain an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).

The tools to excel ICD is a national not-for-profit organization with some 12,000 members across Canada that serves as a go-to resource for directors and boards. Services include courses to help individuals be better board members.

Earning an ICD.D designation demonstrates “a lifelong commitment to excellence in the boardroom, a desire to stay current, and to be a more effective director.”

“I was quite pleased with both the caliber of the training in Ottawa and the other participants,” said Jones. “The training goes through “soup to nuts.” It’s a great way in a relatively short period of time to get you thinking on all the important aspects (of being a board member) and shorten the learning curve.”

“I found it eye-opening,” added Alves.

“It reaffirmed what I understood about a board member’s responsibilities. I am retiring in a few months and looking at where I can add value to other boards with opportunities that match my values and my passions.”

Russ Jones is the recently retired chief financial officer of Shopify.

UPCOMING EVENTS

05/23/2018

Corporate culture and the board's role

Most failures of governance can be linked to the culture of an organization. In this session, seasoned board members and executives will discuss the board’s role in driving the right culture for these turbulent times.

Time: 7:30 a.m.

Location: Rideau Club (99 Bank St., 15th floor)

06/18/2018

Member Appreciation Networking Event Time: 5 p.m.

Location: KPMG (1800-150 Elgin St.)

A special publication of the Institute of Corporate Directors Ottawa Chapter | APRIL 23, 2018

avid Johnston is an optimist. His motto – “to envisage a better world” – reflects his strong belief in Canadians’ ability to create a smarter, more caring nation and to contribute to a fairer, more just world.

But as his extended seven-year term as Canada’s governor general drew to a close last year, Johnston also maintained a realistic sense of the challenges ahead for the country.

As disruptive global trends reshape our world, he says that it is imperative that Canadians keep innovating fast enough to hold onto their standard of living and the very ideal upon which the nation has been built.

“The premise of the country is that life shall be better for our children,” he says. “To ensure that, which is a bit of challenge in the world today, you simply have to constantly be reinventing yourself, doing things better – whether it’s competing with other organizations in the world, (building] startups or a community of volunteerism, (or) whether it’s assessing new ways of learning; those are all things that go into making a better society.

And curiosity and innovation are key to that.”

As governor general, Johnston made innovation a keystone of his mandate, launching a number of initiatives that

Ottawa Chapter

eyes on corporate governance

individuals and organizations are failing to adapt fast enough.

“What I worry most about, in a very good country, is lacking a sense of urgency and allowing a sense of complacency to take over – failure to recognize that you must work every day at (improvement),” Johnston says.

Trust and innovation are two sides of the same coin, he adds, and they need enlightened leadership and good governance to thrive.

Boards of directors have a critical role to play in ensuring that their organizations are actively engaged, pursuing new ideas and taking the right risks. They must ensure that minds are open and “the sense of the external” is always there.

Trust is driven by the respect afforded employees, clients and other stakeholders, Johnston advises. It is up to the board to regularly review the articulation of an organization’s mission and act as a steward to make sure that the individuals walk the David Johnston was the 28th governor walk. Directors also need a way to measure general of Canada. performance and be able to nudge the business back on track when necessary, he says. include the Governor General’s Innovation The former governor general describes Awards and the Rideau Hall Foundation, an how he enjoyed visiting different university independent and nonpolitical charity dedicated departments while vice-chancellor of McGill to leadership, learning, giving and innovation. University and later the University of “Innovation is about crafting new ideas to Waterloo. improve our lives. Anyone can do it. We can “I would always ask: ‘Tell me about what all do it. What you want to do is reinforce the you’re doing. Tell me who else is doing this in culture for it.” a really good way.’ Then I would ask, ‘Well, have you been there?’ And if they hadn’t, I Open mind would also say, ‘Well, go and find out.’”

There is a clear sense today, however, that as the world is being reshaped before our — By Simon Avery. This article is reprinted eyes – through technology, hyperconnectivity, from the July-August 2017 edition of shifting demographics and climate change – Director Journal.

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TSX:WEED MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

Corporate Governance. Righteous, man!

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www.canopygrowth.com/investors/governance

Continued from page 9 Williamson said Fleurish is also hoping to partner with an Israeli group to conduct new research into how effectively marijuana can relieve the symptoms of endometriosis – a painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of a woman’s uterus grows on the outside.

Endometriosis often causes extreme pelvic discomfort, particularly during a woman’s menstrual period.

“It’s actually remarkably common for women, and it can impact your ability to enjoy sex or even (affect) fertility,” said Williamson. “I’ve heard women talk anecdotally about (how treating it with cannabis) has just been life-altering, what it’s done for them.”

Ellison and Williamson concede getting Fleurish’s message out could be a challenge given the already crowded field of competitors and the strict guidelines likely to be imposed on marijuana advertising once pot is legalized for recreational use later this year.

They’re hoping Fleurish’s focus on women resonates with female consumers.

“There are other companies that have been in the business for quite a while, so when you’re not coming in with the

first-mover advantage, you really do need a unique point of difference,” Williamson said.

“We are the only company exclusively targeting the health and wellness of women. When you’re unique, that is much more distinctive and stands out more.”

In preparation for going public, Ellison has assembled a veteran group that includes Mike Smith, the founder of sales agency CIM, who will join the firm as chief executive after the reverse takeover. Agriculture industry veteran Hugh Bowman will also be coming on board as chief operating officer, while ex-Canopy Growth staffer Harvey Gracey has signed on as head grower.

“Our team is seasoned and they’re diverse,” Ellison said. “They’re experts in this industry.”

The company is in the midst of purchasing a 220,000-square-foot facility in another part of the province for cultivation, R&D and “multiple forms of manufactured products.” Ellison predicts the firm could employ up to 200 people once that property is up and running, hopefully before the end of 2019.

“We just have to stay flexible and kind of roll with what comes to us,” she said.

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PRESENTED BY

Stories and photos

by Caroline Phillips

MOTORS

BENEFIT

Brian Murray bides his time in the penalty box.

Coun. Mathieu Fleury participated in the Food Sort Challenge for the Ottawa Food Bank.

Food Sort Challenge packs plenty of fun into food bank fundraiser the Ottawa Food Bank.

Organizers threw in extra challenges, such as having participants don oven mitts to complete their task. As well, rule-breaking contestants were punished by the refs with a mandatory timeout that involved wearing a silly hat.

“I feel shame, I really do,” Brian Murray, director of leasing and business development for Sakto Corp., said, tongue-in-cheek, while serving his penalty for putting a food item in the incorrect box.

First-year participants included Napkyn, a Hintonburg-based analytics and consulting firm. It registered three teams for the event and pretty much had its entire 27-person company out.

“All of our work is in the U.S. and all

of us work too hard, so we wanted to take an opportunity to do something for the community and to have some fun together,” founder and CEO Jim Cain, who was joined by the firm’s president, Nick Bennett, told OBJ.social.

Cain, who showed up with his teams wearing hats from Dollarama, got to take a step back from his leadership role while competing in the challenge.

“I’m pleased to be told what to do for once.”

Also new to the event was Magnet Forensics. The software company’s engineering manager, Thusha Agampodi, convinced her colleagues to go head-to-head against their friends at Trend Micro.

Food, she said, plays a contributing

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

A team that sorts together, comports together.

Local businesses and organizations looking to give back to their community while creating morale-boosting moments of bonding among staff were quick to participate April 13 in the fun Food Sort Challenge for the Ottawa Food Bank, presented by Escape Manor.

It was the biggest and best year yet for the sold-out fundraiser, which filled the spacious Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park. Inside, some 48 teams of up to 10 members raced to sort and pack 1,000 pounds of food the fastest.

With music blaring, the teams hustled to organize dried pasta, jars of peanut butter, cans of beans and other nonperishable items commonly donated to

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role in her workplace. Staff often have shared meals, including breakfast with waffles.

“We have bonded a lot over food, so doing something to help other people who are hungry – because they don’t have enough food to eat – is dear to my heart,” Agampodi told OBJ.social.

Competing like a man wanting to win was Mathieu Fleury. The city councillor for Rideau-Vanier Ward was part of the Ottawa Community Housing team. He’s chair of its board.

Participants, who paid $1,000 to register a team, could win prizes for fastest team, top fundraisers and most spirited.

Each month, the Ottawa Food Bank helps more than 38,000 people.

NETWORKING EVENT

From left, Kim Dullet, a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, with Kelly Rhodenizer, development manager at Colonnade BridgePort, and Lee Underwood, founder of Trinity Agency.

Alexandra Forsyth-Sells, an associate at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

SPRING TEA WITH BLG PROVIDES FEMALE BONDING TIME FOR OTTAWA PROFESSIONALS

BLG regional managing partner Katherine Cooligan (left) with Janice McDonald at the Spring Tea with BLG networking event.

those of you who have children, remember this: We push them into terrifying situations every day and say, ‘You’ll be fine.’ But we kind of forget to do that ourselves, don’t we?

So, just remember to take your own good advice.”

Some women make it all look so easy, while others are left feeling like they can

barely get it together, but being open and vulnerable can help women better connect and relate to one another, the room heard.

“I think we’re too hard on ourselves,” said McDonald, while encouraging the audience to be generous with its praise of other women. “It sounds trite, but I mean it in the way that can actually make your day.”

WHAT IF You Could Change the Lives of Seniors and the Most Vulnerable in Our Community?

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21 OBJ.CA

yesterday its catchy jingle was playing on the radio.

McDonald is now the chief executive of The Beacon Agency, an Ottawa-based boutique consultancy that she founded, specializing in entrepreneurship, leadership and research. She has many accomplishments to speak of, including her induction into the WXN Top 100 Hall of Fame for making it on the list of Canada’s top 100 most powerful women four years in a row.

McDonald’s talk and input from the female attendees was inspiring as well as comforting. Discussions ranged from coping as a working single parent to boosting one’s confidence by finding a private place to physically stand with one’s chin up, feet apart and hands on hips – also known as the “power pose.” According to Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy, projecting power is more about how you stand than how you talk.

“We live in this environment that’s so tech-infused and where everything is beautifully curated. It’s like, ‘Look at us! We all have absolutely perfect lives,’ and that’s because we can all take 900 photos,” said McDonald.

“I think it’s really important to remember that, even when we’ve got stuff figured out, there are also probably areas that are a little out of control. I think of it like Whac-a-mole.

I just start to get something sorted out and something else is popping up.”

McDonald, a married mother of three, encouraged the women to ask for help when they need it, hone in on priorities to avoid distraction, be a mentor and lifelong learner, take life’s detours in stride and be fearless.

“That terrified feeling is you growing. For

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

There’s nothing a good cup of tea can’t solve – particularly when shared with smart and interesting women who are engaged in meaningful conversation.

Spring Tea with BLG was a networking opportunity organized by the Ottawa office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP on April 5 and hosted by the law firm’s regional managing partner, Katherine Cooligan.

She showed tremendous thoughtfulness by giving each guest their own teacup to take home. Cooligan had personally purchased the cups, second-hand and over a period of time. One had been the very first gift bought by a man for his future wife, the room heard, while another cup had made an appearance on a British comedy show.

The gathering was part of Cooligan’s efforts to empower women in her firm, in business and beyond.

“All of us need to feel that we can reach our full potential in whatever our roles as women, understanding that we all have unique experiences and challenges,” Cooligan told the room.

The group of 45 women enjoyed a light lunch before listening to award-winning serial entrepreneur and TEDx speaker Janice McDonald dish out some wisdom on the subject of “leading through peaks and valleys.”

Being in business can feel like a rollercoaster, she said.

“I’ve been buckled in on the wild ride of entrepreneurship since I started my first business in 1992,” said McDonald, who was co-owner of independent music retailer CD Warehouse. It closed its remaining stores a few years back, though it feels like only

OBJ.social

PRESENTED BY

Stories and photos

by Caroline Phillips

MOTORS

FUNDRAISER

From left, Steve Janega, Yves Goyette, retired Ottawa Senators player Chris Neil, Paul Dogra and Kendrick Au at the Draft Party held at the Brookstreet Hotel.

Former NHL players and Ottawa Senators players participate in a Draft Party held at the Brookstreet Hotel.

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

Ex-NHLers game to suit up in support of Sens Foundation at Celebrity Cup

OBJ.CA

22

Habs legend Larry Robinson was first overall pick to play in the Molson Canadian Sens Alumni & NHL Celebrity Cup, a one-day charity hockey tournament held in Ottawa on April 6 and presented by Bell.

The nine-time Stanley Cup winner was snapped up at the draft party on April 5 by the M.Y. Blues team. It earned itself first pick after raising by far the most money – $40,230. Team members Steve Dumouchel and Sylvain Yelle of Maurice Yelle were also top fundraisers.

Collectively, the 14 teams brought in $217,000 for the Ottawa Senators Foundation and its efforts to enrich the lives of children and youth in our community through programs that promote their physical and mental wellness.

The event featured 14 former NHL and Senators players, each of whom was drafted by a participating team and joined them in a one-of-a-kind, three-game experience. At the end of tournament play, top individual fundraisers formed an all-star team and competed against the entire roster of former NHLers.

The hockey-loving players got together at the Brookstreet Hotel for a fun and relaxed gathering, hosted by Ian Mendes of TSN 1200 Radio with hockey trivia expert Liam Maguire. The dress code was business casual, which gave

guests permission to wear their brightest and boldest Don Cherry suits, if they so dared.

The teams that raised the most money got to choose first, while the last four teams picked randomly. The drafted players then signed one-day contracts with their new team.

Recently retired Chris Neil might be one of the most popular players in the history of the Ottawa Senators, but he didn’t expect to get drafted before Robinson or Denis Savard, another hockey hall of famer.

“Those are guys who I grew up watching, and they’ve done so much for the game and to evolve the game,” he told OBJ.social. “They’re role models for me and so easy to look up to.”

Neil took a long and celebratory swig of beer after being selected by thirdhighest fundraising team, Capital Ridge, an Ottawa-based recruiting agency. The room heard how its founder, Paul Dogra, suffered a heart attack on the ice during a recreational game at the Minto Sports Complex prior to last year’s charity hockey tournament and had been unable to play.

Dogra has since recovered and was at the draft party this year. He made a celebratory toast to the Ottawa Senators Foundation and to the game of hockey while on stage. He also thanked three

From left, Bjorn Jets player Perry Mody with retired NHL player John LeClair and his teammates Frank Bilodeau and Lawrence Greenspon.

men standing alongside him – Steve Janega, Kendrick Au and Yves Goyette – for saving his life. The men had acted quickly to perform CPR and administer the defibrillator after his heart stopped.

“Listen to your body, because I didn’t.

Get checked,” Dogra told the room.

In Dogra’s absence last year, his team selected Dennis Vial as its draft pick.

The team was drawn to the former NHLer because, like Dogra, he too had suffered a heart attack while playing hockey.

“The guy’s amazing,” Capital Ridge team member Scott Lavergne told OBJ. social of their sentimental choice. “We made the best pick ever.”

The roster of players was: Radek Bonk, Eric Daze, Shean Donovan, Jody Hull, Denny Lambert, John LeClair, Pascal Leclaire, Darcy Loewen, Sergio Momesso, Neil, Chris Phillips, Robinson, Savard, Steve Thomas and Vial.

Due to his chronic back injury, Phillips was only able to play in the final game between the celebrity NHL all-stars and top fundraisers at the Bell Sensplex. He attended the draft party on behalf of Bonk, who was unable to be there but told the room via video message how much he was looking forward to playing in the tournament.

Bonk encouraged everyone – well, almost everyone – to enjoy themselves at the party.

“My team should go to bed early,” joshed Bonk, who was selected by the fourth-highest fundraising team, Bell.

LeClair was drafted by the Bjorn Jets, who placed second in fundraising.

Its choice had less to do with on-ice performance expectations and more to do with the team just wanting to hang out with the guy and listen to his great hockey stories.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s awesome on the ice, or if he helps us win or lose,” Bjorn Jets player Frank Bilodeau, district vice-president of Scotiabank and a board member with the Ottawa Senators Foundation, told OBJ.social.

“This is about talking about hockey and sharing our love of hockey.”

Bilodeau travelled to Iqaluit three years ago with LeClair. Also on that trip was Bilodeau’s hockey teammate, Ottawa lawyer Lawrence Greenspon, and former NHLer Marty McSorley.

They delivered brand new children’s hockey equipment, donated to a nonprofit organization called Project North.

Scotiabank is a sponsor. They also brought the Stanley Cup and played in a VIP hockey game.

LeClair seemed like an obvious choice, said Bilodeau.

“We have a history of doing great community things together and making an impact.”

GALA

OTTAWA PHYSICIANS STEP UP FUNDRAISING EFFORTS AT DANCING WITH THE DOCS Elvis may have left the building, but stepping up in his absence was Dr. Ralf Buhrmann, the swing-dancing doctor who took home this year’s magnificent Medicine Ball trophy at the Dancing with the Docs gala for patient care and research at The Ottawa Hospital.

The eye physician/surgeon was one of eight local doctors to participate in an exhilarating and entertaining ballroom dance competition at the Hilton Lac-Leamy on April 7. He was also the first male doctor to win in the event’s four-year history.

The other dedicated dancing docs were: Vicki LeBlanc, director of the University of Ottawa Skills and Simulation Centre; physician radiologist Carole Dennie; Jill Fulcher, a physician in hematology; radiation oncologist JeanMichel Caudrelier; surgical oncologist

Carolyn Nessim; clinician scientist Paul MacPherson; and Judith Nixon, a general practitioner in oncology who injured her hip in rehearsals the night before and did not perform.

The brave physicians tore up the dance floor with their respective partners from Arthur Murray Dance Ottawa while judges marked them on performance, technique, choreography and audience reaction.

Cheering the dancers on was a sold-out audience of more than 800 hospital staff, physicians, patients, friends and family and sponsors. The $195-a-ticket gala – which has grown wildly popular on the social scene – hit a fundraising high of more than $433,000.

Not only did the doctors learn over the past few months how to move with rhythm and style, but they also raised significant sums of money for causes near

From left, Kaja Urbanova from Arthur Murray Dance Ottawa with Dr. Ralf Buhrmann at the fourth annual Dancing with the Docs gala for The Ottawa Hospital.

and dear to their hearts.

Buhrmann surpassed his lofty goal by raising more than $126,000 toward vision research and a new glaucoma clinic at the hospital’s Eye Institute. He and his dance partner, Kaja Urbanova, knocked

everyone’s bobby socks off with their rock and roll swing tribute to Elvis. The votes and donations from audience members continued through the course of the evening.

Continued on page 29

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Factors that make or break a business sale Experts say that practices that seem logical in the moment can have a long-term impact

I

Though it should go without saying that it’s important to file your income taxes on time each year, Richards regularly sees clients who have let their HST remittance or other payroll remittance filings fall by the wayside.

In these cases, she explains, sales can actually fall through while the seller is scrambling to complete filings and both parties await Canadian Revenue Agency to produce documentation proving good standing.

“You’re stuck waiting on the government,” says Richards. “Do you really want the fate of your business sale to rest in their processing cue?”

Another consideration in preparing a business to sell is its expenses. Many

entrepreneurs choose to claim certain personal expenses – such as automobiles, entertainment or travel – through their business in an attempt to reduce their taxable earnings.

While this is often touted as normal among entrepreneurs, it can also cause problems when it comes time to sell. If the business valuation is based on earnings, cash flow or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (commonly dubbed EBITDA), then the seller will now be motivated to remove those personal charges to present the highest value to the buyer.

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25 OBJ.CA

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MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

t’s an unfortunate scenario in business: An employment disputes where there is no signed entrepreneur or company founder receiving agreement, case law tends to lean in favour of less money than they deserve because they employees, not employers. realized too late that they were woefully Contracts serve as the documentation for unprepared to sell. business relationships, and thus are critical in While many business owners may not be attributing value to those relationships in the imminently planning an exit, there are still event of a sale. several practical steps that one can take to build the maximum value into a business.

FINANCES Susan Richards is the co-founder of Much like contracts left unsigned, uncollected numbercrunch, a cloud-based accounting firm payments can also be disastrous to the sale of that offers bookkeeping, controller and virtual a business. Many businesses sell at a price that CFO services to Ottawa-area businesses. As an is equal to a certain multiple of revenues. entrepreneur herself and “You have to be able to substantiate your the CFO to a number of revenue,” says Richards. local firms, Richards has “Having evidence seen firsthand what can that your clients Not selling, but make or break the sale pay provides that looking for cash? of a business. assurance.”

As with so many Whether a credit The due diligence other things in the card payment failed or process is similar business world, salea cheque didn’t clear, for both selling and readiness comes down to it’s important for a fundraising for your owners doing their due company to stay on business. These tips diligence. top of client balances and ensure their timely for sellers can also be HOUSEKEEPING payment. applied to securing When a business In the softwareloans and raising capital. changes hands, standing as-a-service realm, contracts typically go companies are rarely with it. As a result, it’s cash-flow positive, important to ensure all especially in the startup period. At this stage, contracts – whether with clients, employees SaaS companies often have to fundraise in or contractors – are in order. Even systems order to survive, which can easily distract that make sense in the moment may create from paying attention to aged receivables. challenges down the road.

They are also often dealing with new customer For example, while verbal contracts built relationships and sensitive to upsetting clients on trust are commonplace in some situations, by chasing payment. As a result, these are often they can quickly crumble when someone the businesses that especially struggle to defend leaves or sells the company. Similarly, in revenues when it comes time to sell. the age of electronic documents and CRM Richards explains that owners should be software, it’s not uncommon for signed reviewing their aging receivables report on a contracts to be left forgotten in someone’s regular basis. In addition to the obvious source inbox. of cash it provides, it also gives businesses an Even more critical are employment idea of where they stand with their clients and agreements. Without them, prospective whether certain files need to be escalated or business buyers have no idea what terminated due to non-payment. commitments have been made to the individuals working for the business, including salary, time off and other important factors.

“If I was buying a business and they couldn’t produce employment contracts, then I’d be very scared of what I was taking on,” says Richards. She explains that in

to Syria, where he was tortured and held for nearly a year. He would eventually be fully exonerated and receive an apology and reparations from the government of Canada for the role it played in his plight.

Before and after that time, however, Arar has lived as an Ottawa-based founder and engineer. Arar says entrepreneurship has always been a part of his identity, and he takes a bit of pride in the fact that he never held a job at Nortel in the 1990s.

Coworkly, a side project that’s currently dominating the majority of Arar’s time, arose from a desire to fill a gap he’s seen in Ottawa for many years now – namely, a community of startups that focus on venture capital and raising money rather than returning to the basics of bootstrapping and profitability.

“I’m of the point of view that when people get money easily, they just burn it, burn it, burn it,” he says.

“I’m not saying that funding or VC has no business here, but what I’m saying is there are many types of business that are suited very well for bootstrapping as opposed to funding.”

Arar believes he’s not alone in this attitude, and that Coworkly will attract his bootstrapping kin. Bringing together like-minded entrepreneurs, he says, will yield higher returns for everyone involved.

CONNECTING TECH IN OTTAWA

East-end entrepreneurs

Maher Arar hopes to gather like-minded entrepreneurs in his new coworking space. Photos by Mark Holleron

Ottawa entrepreneur bets on Vanier with new coworking space Maher Arar hoping Coworkly becomes go-to destination for east-enders building bootstrapped, profitable businesses MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

by Craig Lord

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26

O

ttawa businessman Maher Arar is hoping a focus on the fundamentals will bring like-minded entrepreneurs to his new coworking space in Vanier – a neighbourhood he believes is forging a new reputation.

Arar officially launched Coworkly last week from its home on Montreal Road.

The coworking space fills the third floor of the building, which Arar himself owns, with roughly 4,800 square feet of desks, open event space and a kitchen area.

On the first floor is a recording studio for entrepreneurs’ video or podcasting needs.

Arar tells Techopia that, while the space is officially open for business, that doesn’t mean its design is settled.

Parts of Coworkly have been left open or unfinished, he says, and will be filled based on what the space’s regulars most want to see.

Letting people make decisions on the space they’re using, Arar says, gives them a sense of ownership in the business.

“I will let the community decide,” he says. “I want to leave it up to the creativity of people.”

Coworkly itself may pivot from its current form once it has reached

maturity, he adds. It could become an incubator, a large studio space or something Arar hasn’t even thought of yet.

He says that too will be a decision made by the space’s early and loyal patrons.

“Coworkly is just a stepping stone to something bigger down the road.”

Back to basics

Most Canadians know of Arar’s national profile: During a 2002 layover in New York, the United States detained him without charge and extradited Arar

At the crux of Coworkly’s success is an important question: Will startups come to Vanier?

Arar believes that Vanier has a lot going for it today. For one, he says relatively affordable housing and quick access to downtown is drawing first-time home buyers to the neighbourhood.

That, combined with hip food joints such as Quelque Chose Pâtisserie across the street and Bobby’s Table just next door, are strong lures to a younger generation.

“I don’t want to say it’s Westboro yet, but it will eventually be,” Arar says.

He also says there’s been limited attention paid to startups in Ottawa’s east end. After an initial Facebook experiment to determine where interested parties might come from, Arar found there was strong interest from Orléans and Gatineau.

Having owned his building for a decade now, Arar believes the Vanier brand has been slowly improving. He wants to build on that momentum and bring more firsttime visitors to discover a side of Ottawa they didn’t know existed.

“It’s up to me, to people in the area, to contribute to bringing people here,” he says.

Arar realizes that entrepreneurs from Kanata or Stittsville might instead turn to the more centrally located Invest Ottawa, but he stresses that he’s not looking to compete with the regional economic development agency. Catering to bootstrap-focused firms and startups looking for support east of downtown will help to fill a gap in the city and improve Ottawa’s business community as a whole, he says.

“My message is one of co-operation.

There’s room for more players in Ottawa.

Let’s all work together for the betterment of the city,” Arar says.

TECHOPIA LIVE

Techopia Live brings Ottawa’s hottest startups and coolest tech execs to your screen every week. The live tech show airs at 12:15 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays on Techopia’s Facebook and Twitter channels. Check out our ever-growing video archive of 80+ Ottawa tech interviews at http://bit.ly/TechopiaLive, and if you’re reading our digital edition, click play below.

Ottawa’s Searidge Technologies lands customers on layovers

by Craig Lord

L

ike catching a flight, if you’re selling air traffic management technologies to an airport, delays are to be expected.

Ottawa’s Searidge Technologies knows that sales cycle all too well, and told a few stories on Techopia Live recently that would impress even the most veteran of travelling salesmen.

Now with a few major investors and business in 30 airports across the world, co-founders Moodie Cheikh and Alex Sauriol reflected on their humble beginnings in the National Capital Region.

“When we started out, Alex promised it would take six months to build the technology, and I kinda thought, ‘Well, it shouldn’t take any more than a year to sell it, right?’ So a year and a half later, we’d have countless customers,” Cheikh told Techopia Live. “Boy, were we wrong.”

The problem with developing air traffic management solutions is the constant demand on the industry. At every moment of every day, airports around the world need to be co-ordinating to land flights.

Introducing new forms of technology, then, requires strict regulation – a timeconsuming and patience-testing process.

“How do you get everyone around the world to jump at the same time?” Moodie said. “Sales cycles, for us, you’re really speaking in terms of years.”

When the firm landed its first customer – an airport in Abu Dhabi – Searidge was just six people in a Gatineau basement office, and none had ever stepped foot in the United Arab Emirates.

It was on the flight over there to seal the deal, during a layover in Frankfurt, that Searidge landed its second customer.

“We said, ‘Hey, we’re in your parking

https://youtu.be/wU9N6raBDlY

Searidge Technologies CEO Moodie Cheikh. File Photo lot, can we take a meeting?’” Sauriol said of the cold call.

“It was really opportunistic,” Cheikh added.

Those first few deals helped to sponsor Searidge through the early years of its growth and informed the company on how it would work with customers in the future.

Rather than making sales to clients, Sauriol says the firm establishes partnerships to take Searidge’s knowledge and ideas and implement that into new technology and solutions over multi-year deals with airports.

To that end, Searidge is currently working with its British shareholder NATS on a project at Heathrow Airport.

“If we can help make Heathrow more efficient, that’s obviously something we can transfer to a number of other customers and airports that we want to work with,” Saurilo said.

To hear more about Searidge Technologies’ approach to long-term sales and the prospect of including artificial intelligence in its sector, watch the video above.

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We focus on the lifestyle so you can focus on the innovation.

“We’re not doing anything new; we’re not reinventing the wheel.

But we do have broad tastes and I think a burning desire to sell music to people. That’s pretty important. I think in this business, you need to have a mix between entrepreneurial spirit and a creative energy to survive.”

– COMPACT MUSIC CO-OWNER IAN BOYD

Continued from page 6 “I think Thomas Edison (the inventor of the phonograph) had it right, man.

Vinyl does something to the brain that simply doesn’t happen with CDs or digital in general.”

VINYL COMEBACK The 60-year-old music retailer might be on to something.

According to Neilsen Music Canada, just over 800,000 vinyl albums were sold in this country in 2017, an increase of more than 20 per cent from 2016 and the seventh consecutive year that sales of the format grew.

Still, total sales of physical albums,

including CDs, continued to fall, while streaming rose more than 70 per cent as the digital revolution takes hold. Former music retailing giant HMV shut down its Canadian operations in 2017, a decade after another powerhouse brand of the past, Sam the Record Man, closed nearly all of its stores.

It’s no secret music retailers aren’t exactly thriving these days. But Ian and James say they have no intention of abandoning the only career they’ve ever known.

“Record stores have been not quite forgotten about, but certainly not as important in the culture of music as they once were,” Ian concedes.

“We try to remain relevant simply by continuing to focus solely on music as an art form. We want to appeal to the 20 per cent of people who value listening to music at home. Every store has their way. Ours is pretty old school, I’ll be the first to admit. We’re not doing anything new; we’re not reinventing the wheel. But we do have broad tastes and I think a burning desire to sell music to people. That’s pretty important. I think in this business, you need to have a mix between entrepreneurial spirit and a creative energy to survive.”

They run a lean operation – one fulltime employee splits his shifts between the two stores, while two part-timers put

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But that suits the Boyds just fine.

“It’s not work,” Ian says. “I like to say I retired years ago, I just hang out here.”

James, 58, who spends most of his time running the Centretown store, couldn’t agree more.

“As long as the companies keep manufacturing, we’ll keep on selling,” he says. “There’s not much else we can do.”

After 40 years, the brothers have witnessed a lot of changes in the music business – including new formats, radical technological upheavals and ever-evolving customer tastes.

But at least one thing, Ian says, has remained the same. The band many call the greatest of all time continues to captivate listeners nearly 50 years after it recorded its final album.

“There probably hasn’t been a week gone by in the 40 years that I haven’t sold something from the Beatles,” he says with a smile. “That’s the only artist I can say that (about). Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, definitely a month hasn’t gone by that I haven’t sold something from them, but not a week. But the Beatles, I can say that. It’s amazing.”

That kind of staying power is something Ian and James Boyd can appreciate.

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EARLY B PRICI IRD IN EFF NG EC UNTIL T JUNE 1ST! From left, Kaja Urbanova from Arthur Murray Dance Ottawa with Dr. Ralf Buhrmann.

· ·

From left, Dr. Duncan Stewart with his dinner hosts, Rinaldo Saikali from Saikali Portfolio Management/Scotia Wealth Management, fellow guest Greg Kane, former board chair of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, and his son, Adam Kane, also with sponsor Scotia Wealth Management.

· ·

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From left, Shawn Simpson, Carlos Lourenco and Jennifer Van Noort served as judges.

29 OBJ.CA

Skills and Simulation Centre and a research chair in gay men’s health.

Participants returned to the stage at the end of the competition for the grand reveal.

Buhrmann accepted his shimmering giant disco ball trophy while colourful confetti fell from above and the Latin dance song Let’s Get Loud by Jennifer Lopez filled the air.

The eye doctor called the win a “team effort.”

Back to host the event were CTV Ottawa News anchors Graham Richardson and Patricia Boal. Their Bell Media colleague Shawn Simpson, a radio host with TSN 1200 and a former celebrity dancer for charity, returned to the three-judge panel.

He was a good balance between the alwayscandid Carlos Lourenco from the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Oakville and the endearingly enthusiastic Jennifer Van Noort from The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

Continued from page 23 The good doc had originally aimed for $100,000. That’s the amount still required to complete a $1.6-million campaign for a new clinic, he told OBJ.social. When patients learned about Buhrmann’s creative efforts to raise money, they responded generously.

“We’re so privileged and touched,” he added.

“This has been the culmination of a three-year process that began with a very generous donor encouraging us to dream about building a new clinic,” said Buhrmann. “Over the last three years, that dream has taken shape. This clinic is going to be built very soon.”

Funds were also raised for cancer research, cancer clinical trials, breast cancer radiation research, targeted immunotherapies cancer research, personalized cancer care, equipment at the

THE LIST Rank Company or organization / Address

1

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018 OBJ.CA

(RANKED BY TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS RAISED)

Total giving through United Way Funds raised for United Way Ottawa

2016 rank

No. of employees

Key local executive

Ottawa Catholic School Board (administration office) 570 West Hunt Club Rd. Ottawa, ON

$ 538,521

$ 101,245

2

5,170

Denise Andre

2

TD Bank Financial Group 45 O’Connor St. Ottawa, ON

$ 495,283

$ 387,635

1

2,600

Tara-Lynn Hughes

3

Costco Wholesale (Canadian head office) 415 West Hunt Club Rd. Ottawa, ON

$ 309,685

$ 225,033

3

2,107

Joseph P. Portera

4

City of Ottawa 111 Laurier Ave. Ottawa, ON

$ 261,531

$ 231,925

4

12,085

Jim Watson

5

BMO Bank of Montreal 269 Laurier Ave. W. Ottawa, ON

$ 249,549

$ 120,762

8

500

Vittorio Pellegrino

6

LCBO Various locations in Ottawa

$ 239,086

$ 236,444

10

600

George Soleas

7

Bank of Canada 234 Wellington St. Ottawa, ON

$ 218,091

$ 164,249

9

1,500

Stephen Poloz

8

University of Ottawa 55 Cumberland St. Ottawa, ON

$ 205,719

$ 161,139

6

5,000

Jaques Frémont

9

The CMA Companies 1870 Alta Vista Dr. Ottawa, ON

$ 186,391

$ 135,651

11

1,618

Tim Smith, Brian Peters, Lindee David

10

RBC Financial Group 90 Sparks St. Ottawa, ON

$ 173,400

$ 113,665

5

515

Tina Sarellas

Hydro Ottawa 1970 Merivale Rd. Ottawa, ON

$ 158,583

$ 140,958

N/A

700

Bryce Conrad

12

Scotiabank Financial Group 118 Sparks St. Ottawa, ON

$ 154,002

$ 124,081

7

400

Frank Bilodeau

13

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board 133 Greenbank Rd. Ottawa, ON

$ 146,918

$ 90,461

16

9,000

Jennifer Adams

14

Innovapost 9 Auriga Dr. Ottawa, ON

$ 127,299

$ 70,602

13

840

Anik Dubreuil

15

Carleton University 1125 Colonel By Dr. Ottawa, ON

$ 113,277

$ 112,677

15

1,085

Alastair Summerlee*

16 17

Nokia 600 March Rd. Ottawa, ON

$ 98,340

$ 93,279

20

2,000

Rajeev Suri

Deloitte 100 Queen St. Ottawa, ON

$ 95,862

$ 73,425

19

415

Frank Vettese

18

Enterprise Holdings 2300 Stevenage Dr. Ottawa, ON

$ 94,160

$ 80,130

17

420

Pamela Nicholson

19

Enbridge Gas Distribution 400 Coventry Rd. Ottawa, ON

$ 90,702

$ 72,773

N/A

175

Al Monaco

Gowling WLG 2600-160 Elgin St.

$ 89,986

$ 77,348

18

470

Wayne B. Warren

11

30

UNITED WAY OTTAWA

20

*Rosean Runte left Carleton University on July 31, 2017 WND = Would not disclose. *Did not respond to 2017 survey, but ranked on this list in 2016. Using data from previous years.

Should your company be on this list? If so, please send details to research@obj.ca This list is current as of April 19, 2018. © 2018 by Ottawa Business Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced by any method in whole or in part without written permission by Ottawa Business Journal.

While every attempt is made to ensure the thoroughness and accuracy of the list, omissions and errors sometimes occur. Please send any corrections or additions by e-mail to research@obj.ca. OBJ lists are primarily compiled using information provided voluntarily by the organizations named. Some firms that may qualify for the list are not included because the company either failed to respond to requests for information by press time, because the company declined to take part in the survey or because of space constraints. Categories are drawn up in attempt to gather information of relevance to the Ottawa market.

Research by Patti Moran. Please send questions and comments to research@obj.ca.

FOR THE RECORD People on the move Lawrence Cannon has been appointed to the board of directors of Gatineaubased LiveWell Foods Canada. Cannon served as a cabinet minister for both the federal and Quebec governments in a number of portfolios, including stints as federal minister of transport and later as minister of foreign affairs. He was also Canada’s ambassador to France from 2012-17.

Jane Duchscher has joined the Ottawa Community Loan Fund as executive director. Duchscher is a seasoned executive, serving as TD Bank’s senior vice-president of branch banking for Ottawa and the surrounding Eastern and Northern Ontario communities under her retirement last year. She has also served on numerous boards and committees, most recently as the chair of the fundraising gala for the Royal Ottawa Hospital.

Guy Chamberland has been appointed interim CEO of Tetra Bio-Pharma.

Chamberland has been chief scientific

Contracts The following contains information about recent contracts, standing offers and supply arrangements awarded to local firms.

Modis Canada Inc. 155 Queen St. Description: Informatics professional services Buyer: DND $11,069,399 TPG Technology Consulting Ltd. 887 Richmond Rd. Description: Informatics professional services Buyer: DND $10,665,756

The Halifax Group 190 O’Connor St. Description: Informatics professional services Buyer: DND $8,542,393

Ellie Charters has joined the new Hotel Le Germain Ottawa as a business development manager. Charters has been in the field of hotel sales representing brands within the Marriott portfolio in Canada and has international experience working in the fashion industry in Italy as well as at five-star resorts in Mexico.

Jordan Danger Kent has been named brand and content manager at Solink.

A Forty Under 40 recipient in 2017, Danger Kent is also the creative director at DANGER Communications. She was previously the marketing director of Rainbow Foods Canada and the marketing, communications and UX lead at Invest Ottawa.

Lytica announced Dr. Shahzad Khan has been appointed the firm’s new chief research officer. He will be responsible for setting research direction and defining the core technologies required for Lytica’s product roadmap. A serial entrepreneur, Khan holds a PhD in computer science from Cambridge University and has 22 years of experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning and computational linguistics.

Hats off

Jay Muelhoefer has been appointed

engineering services Buyer: DND $8,278,200 Bell Canada 160 Elgin St. Description: Informatics professional services Buyer: RCMP $7,125,531 Calian Ltd. & DWP Solutions Inc., in joint venture 340 Legget Dr. Description: Informatics professional services Buyer: PWGSC $2,428,641 New Technologies Inc. 300 March Rd. Description: Product/material - design, development, formulation, modification Buyer: DND $2,260,000 Altis Human Resources 102 Bank St. Description: Business services Buyer: DND $2,019,497 TRM Technologies Inc. 280 Albert St. Description: Informatics professional services Buyer: PWGSC $1,987,070

Calian Ltd. 340 Legget Dr. Description: Training and curriculum development Buyer: DND $1,300,000 Donna Cona Inc. 106 Colonnade Rd. Description: Informatics professional services Buyer: Aboriginal Affairs & Northern Development Canada $999,420 Enterprise Rent-A-Car 2300 Stevenage Dr. Description: Passenger motor vehicles - rental Buyer: DND $904,000 Lecompte Electric Inc. 790 Taylor Creek Dr. Description: Interior fit-up/ renovations Buyer: PWGSC $669,900 Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton 116 Albert St. Description: Internal and external audits Buyer: Elections Canada $660,682

The West Ottawa Board of Trade presented its annual Business Excellence Awards to the following recipients: CPI Interiors (Small Business of the Year); Watersedge Dental Laboratory (Medium Business of the Year); Abbott Point of Care (Large Business of the Year); exhalo spa (New Business of the Year); Ericsson Canada (Community Impact Award); Welch LLP

(Professional Services – Legal, Financial & Insurance); Active Health Institute (Professional Services – Medical, Dental & Cosmetics); Quadrant Engineering (Professional Services – Real Estate, Architectural and Engineering); Kanata Noodle House (Tourism Award – Restaurants and Food Service); the Cupcake Lounge (Tourism Award – Locally Produced Goods); Brookstreet Hotel and the Marshes (Tourism Award – Hotels, Events & Attractions); InGenius (Technology Award); LloydDouglas Solutions (Manufacturing Award); BuildAble (Company to Watch); Jessica O’Neill of Pet Intel and JWalker Dog Products (Young Entrepreneur of the Year); Micheal Burch of Welch LLP (Business Leader of the Year); Algonquin College (Chair’s Award); and Canopy Growth Corp. (Special Achievement Award).

Gusto Worldwide Media’s the Urban Vegetarian has won a Taste Award for Best New Series. The Taste Awards celebrate the year’s best in food, fashion, home and lifestyle programming, acknowledging excellence on television, in film, in online video and in apps, radio, podcasts and photography.

Gain Valuable Insights into Ottawa’s Economic Trends and Growth Sectors • Hear a panel of experts break down the results from the comprehensive survey of hundreds of local businesses and what it means for the future • Be the first to receive a complimentary copy of the survey results

Wednesday, June 6, 2018 Horticulture Building – Lansdowne

7:00 am: Registration and Networking 7:30 am: Breakfast 8:00 am: Presentation

Individual Tickets: $60 + HST (Ottawa Chamber Members) $70 + HST (Non-Members)

Corporate Tables of 10 with Signage: $540 + HST (Ottawa Chamber Members) $630 + HST (Non-Members)

Register Now at OttawaChamber.ca Event Sponsors:

31 OBJ.CA

Calian Ltd. 340 Legget Dr. Description: System

chief marketing officer at Kinaxis.

Before joining Kinaxis, Muelhoefer served as chief marketing officer at Intralinks and held CMO roles at IBM and Platform Computing. He was also general manager of SaaS PLM at Parametric Technology Corp.

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

Modis Canada Inc. 155 Queen St. Description: Informatics professional services Buyer: DND $8,579,988

officer of Tetra since June 2016. He has more than 23 years’ experience in the development of new drugs in the pharmaceutical industry in Canada and the United States and spent more than a decade as an executive for various biopharmaceutical companies.

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018

treasures of the sea menu at Arôme restaurant!

OBJ.CA

32

Every day between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. from April 9 to May 27, treat yourself to grilled calamari, snow crab and much more.

Reserve now at 819-790-6410.

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we’re all play