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October 2018 Vol. 21, NO. 21
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MONEY TRAIN?
Light rail could be a boon for businesses, experts say, but how much it will boost the local economy is still anyone’s guess
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AWARDS SEASON
PROSPECTUS
A WHAT’S NEW BOOK OF LISTS
OBJ launched one of its most popular annual projects in mid-September, the 2018 Book of Lists. And it’s likely the best Book of Lists ever. This printed and digital publication introduces new lists that reflect the city’s changing business community. Check out new lists on largest cannabis growers and co-working spaces. But wait, there’s more. The Book of Lists is chock full of charts, who’s who profiles and other fascinating tidbits. Which firm received the largest federal government contract? Who’s the best paid executive at a local public company? It’s all there. Check it the digital edition at OBJ.ca.
OCTOBER 2018
TECHOPIA LIVE
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OBJ’s push into video content continues with the relaunch of Techopia Live. Taking over host duties is Craig Lord, who has diligently produced Techopia web and print content for the past few years. Techopia Live is now broadcast on Facebook and YouTube on Thursday afternoons. You can find videos on demand at OBJ’s YouTube Channel in the Techopia playlist. There are now 114 Techopia videos, making this the largest collection of interviews with local tech leaders.
fter years of behind-the-scenes discussions, the deal is done. Business leaders should be celebrating it. The Regional Municipality of OttawaCarleton amalgamated its 11 entities in 2001. At the time, business leaders led the push for streamlining municipal government. Alas, the business community couldn’t get its act organized. There was a new vision for an amalgamated city, but local chambers of commerce continued to cling to parochialism. The single community was a patchwork of chambers of commerce from Stittsville to Orléans. All of that has now changed and there is reason for optimism. Business leaders such as Ian Sherman, Ian Faris, Sueling Ching, Craig Bater – and many others that I can’t all list here – conducted careful discussions that led to an MOU between the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, the West Ottawa Board of Trade and Orléans Chamber of Commerce. The end result is an agreement to merge into a single business association with greater
Let’s put a little Hollywood in Ottawa.
membership and regional representation. The good news doesn’t end there. The merger will happen under a historical brand that dates back more than 160 years – the Ottawa Board of Trade. The entity was founded by a special act of parliament in 1857. Ottawa’s first mayor, John Bower Lewis, acted as its inaugural chair. Rooted deep in history and with eyes focused on a bright future, a reimagined Ottawa Board of Trade is born. If you care about local business, you should care about the Board of Trade. Most important, become a member and get involved. We are stronger together.
@objpublisher Michael Curran
Come November, hundreds will gather at the Best Ottawa Business Awards (the BOBs) for a posh and uplifting celebration of local business and its leaders. A few years back, OBJ and the Ottawa Chamber decided to take a longstanding fall gala to a whole new level. CEO of the Year, which dates back to 1999, was included. The Business Person of the Year transformed into a Lifetime Achievement Award. (Its recipients are recognized at the amphitheatre outside the World Exchange Plaza. It’s called the Plaza of Honour.) Awards for the best businesses, both large and new, were retained with different criteria. Plus, awards categories were added for Deals of the Year and Best Performance that reflect the reality of winning in business. Stay tuned for advance announcements for the CEO of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award. As for the rest, you need a buy a ticket. Check out www.bestottawabusiness.ca. (By the way, nominations close Sept. 28.)
EMPLOYEES’ CHOICE AWARDS We aren’t exactly seeing HR directors waving placards by the side of Highway 417 like back in the tech boom, but the war for talent is heating up. Companies are shooting for higher levels of engagement as a means to recruit and retain hard-to-find talent. So how can outsiders judge a company from the outside? Well, here’s one idea. The Employees’ Choice Awards are back this year. Companies can register to launch confidential employee engagement surveys conducted by the Best Companies Group, which runs similar surveys in dozen of U.S., Canadian and European cities. Participating companies can better understand levels of engagement and get comparisons to other local companies or companies in their industry. Better hurry – registration closes on Oct. 5. The top-ranked companies will be profiled by OBJ and publicly recognized at an awards cocktail event.
Erin Crowe
Chief Financial Officer, Martello
Sept. 26
Oct. 4 To say the least, it’s been quite a year for Kevin Ford of Calian Group. Last November, Ford was named CEO of the Year by OBJ and the Ottawa Chamber. This was after driving company revenues and profits to new heights. Then about six months ago, Ford suffered a big personal setback, when he had a serious “cardiovascular event.” Well, great news. Ford has recovered. Calian opened a 35,000-square-foot HQ at 770 Palladium Dr., a stone’s throw from the Canadian Tire Centre, in mid-September and it continues to post great results. At an Oct. 4 lunch at Brookstreet Hotel, the 2017 CEO of the Year will deliver a speech titled: “How to Successfully Execute Acquisitions: A CEO’s Perspective.” Visit www.ottawachamber.ca for tickets.
Ottawa’s newest publicly traded companies will be the focus of Business Before 9 (BB9) breakfast. Martello Technologies debuted on the TSX Venture Exchange on Sept. 12. Giving breakfast goers the inside track will be Martello’s dynamic CFO Eric Crowe. In a relatively short career, Crowe has gained an amazingly broad perspective on business in Ottawa. She spent almost 20 years running the finances of the Ottawa Senators (also acted as one of the first female Alternate Governors in the NHL), helped scale a global water slide manufacturer and worked with a real estate development company. Now she has played the lead role in taking Martello public. For tickets, visit www.ottawachamber.ca.
DATEBOOK FOR MORE EVENTS VISIT OBJ.CA
Oct. 5
Employees’ EMPLOYEES’ Choice Award ICE Registration CH AR AW 18DS Deadline 20 -19
He might be the biggest motivational speaker and life coach in the world. In late September, Tony Robbins will lead a cast of renowned authors and speakers in an event called the Power of Success. If you or your team are looking for motivational boost — with all the razzle dazzle of a rock show — be sure to attend.
Save $100 on tickets by visiting OBJ’s promo page: www.powerofsuccess.ca/obj11
Oct. 13
Fight for the Cure
Nomination Deadline
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OBJ and the Ottawa Board of Trade are looking for the region’s best companies and best new companies. Not to mention applicants for Best Performance and a new category, Best NonProfit. Be sure to make the deadline on Sept. 28. Visit www.bestottawabusiness.ca.
It must be one of the most unique and thrilling business events of the year. They call it “white collar boxing.” It features high-profile business leaders who train for months to climb into a boxing ring and trade punches. All this to raise money for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Among the fights this year, Jeff Westeinde will face off with Wayne Liko. For the first time, two female businesspeople, Lisa Langevin and Daphne Ballard, will fight. Check out www.fightforthecure.ca.
OCTOBER 2018
How does your company measure up when it comes to engaged employees? Employees’ Choice Awards is survey to determine some of the best employers in the National Capital Region. The process is managed by Best Companies Group and recipients recognized by Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Board of Trade. By participating, you can find out if you are one of Ottawa’s best employers! It can also result in significant organizational benefits for participating companies. Heightened company pride. A public relations and marketing boost. A valuable report detailing employee responses. Also included are employee comments and benchmark reports. Registrations close soon. Visit www.employeeschoice.ca.
Power of Success
M&A
Versature acquired by U.S. firm After years searching for the best path to scale up and take on Canada’s cloud communications market, Ottawa-based Versature has decided being acquired by a larger firm is best way to grow. The VoIP phone services provider announced on Sept. 18 that it had been acquired by net2phone, itself a subsidiary of New Jersey’s IDT Corporation. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Versature is a cloud communications firm targeting small and midsize businesses. It’s been in business for nearly a decade and a half, but has picked up steam in recent years. In 2017 the firm was named one of OBJ’s fastest-growing companies and earlier in September landed on the 2018 Growth 500 rankings with five-year revenue growth of 263 per cent. Versature president and chief operating officer Jonathon Moody said the bootstrapped company has spent the past three or so years searching for the right way to scale its solution. While Moody says there won’t be any cuts to the 44-person firm – in fact, he’s projecting it will hit 60 people within the next year – current CEO and founder Paul Emond will not remain with the organization.
Our goal is to take over this whole freakin’ building. CALIAN CEO KEVIN FORD DURING AN OPEN HOUSE SEPT. 12 AT THE KANATA FIRM’S NEW HEADQUARTERS ON PALLADIUM DRIVE, WHERE THE COMPANY NOW OCCUPIES ONE-AND-A-HALF FLOORS IN THE FOUR-STOREY BUILDING
RETAIL
Oil Changers changes hands One of the automotive sector’s bestknown brands is purchasing a familyowned Ottawa business as it looks to expand its footprint outside the U.S. Valvoline, which sells motor oil and provides automotive services, says it’s buying Ottawa-based Oil Changers. The local firm founded in 1996 has 31 franchised quick-lube centres in Ontario that will be rebranded as Great Canadian Oil Change. Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, were not disclosed.
MARKETS
STARTUPS
Martello debuts on TSX-V
BlackBerry QNX, L-Spark partner on new accelerator
Martello Technologies rang in its public listing at the TSX Venture Exchange on Sept. 12, saying it’s already eyeing more acquisitions. The communications services firm completed a reverse takeover of a Vancouver-based shell company to achieve its public listing. Speaking to OBJ after the launch, Martello CEO John Proctor said the firm’s new public capital will go towards internal research and development on new technologies as well as acquisitions of “niche” companies with products that can quickly fill a market need.
Kanata-based L-Spark and the local arm of BlackBerry are teaming up on a new accelerator program focused on early stage IoT, cybersecurity and embedded software firms. The six-month program will see six small- and medium-sized technology companies paired with mentors from BlackBerry QNX, which will provide training and guide companies through the development of product plans and demonstrations. Housed in Ottawa but open to companies across Canada, the program will receive support from the National Research Council.
OCTOBER 2018
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REAL ESTATE
TECH
The number of Ottawa residents signing up for new mortgages spiked in the first quarter of the year, bucking a national trend, according to a new report. Credit reporting agency TransUnion said 3,876 new mortgages were initiated in Ottawa during the first three months of the year. That’s a year-over-year increase of 8.4 per cent – the largest increase among all Canadian cities. The agency said Ottawa residents were carrying an average of $27,586 in non-mortgage consumer debts in the second quarter, up 3.7 per cent year-over-year. Ottawa’s delinquency rate – defined as nonmortgage accounts that are more than 90 days past due – dropped to 4.8 per cent, a decrease of nearly half a percentage point.
An Ottawa company that provides specimen tracking software for some of the largest DNA labs in North America has landed its first international customer, Algeria’s national police force. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are among the agencies that use STACS DNA’s software to track medical samples such as sexual assault kits throughout the screening process. The Ottawa-based firm says Algeria’s Direction générale de la sûreté nationale (DGSN) has implemented its solution to centralize DNA data at the force’s head lab in Algiers.
Local firm lands first overseas deal
Ottawans rushing to sign new mortgages
After much consideration, it’s time for me to move aside and let the rest of the story unfold. PAGECLOUD FOUNDER CRAIG FITZPATRICK, IN A BLOG POST ANNOUNCING HE IS STEPPING DOWN AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE OTTAWA WEB DEVELOPMENT COMPANY HE FOUNDED FOUR YEARS AGO
CITY
Watson pledges more funds for Invest Ottawa In his first major policy announcement of the 2018 election campaign, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson promised nearly $1 million in additional support for the city’s tourism, tech, film and restaurant industries. Watson said Sept. 16 he’d direct more funding to Invest Ottawa to attract skilled workers to the city, cut the municipal fees bars and restaurants pay for patios by half and work to reduce security costs for festivals and other special events. If re-elected to a third consecutive term as mayor, Watson said he’d also increase funding for the Ottawa Film Office as well as help the tourism sector by paving the shoulders of rural roads used as cycling routes and creating a
free museum pass for children graduating from grade six and exchange students. The additional funding for the Ottawa Film Office and Invest Ottawa, in addition to the forgone revenue from patio fees, would cost the city $815,000 annually, according to Watson’s campaign documents. Watson did not specify how the city would pay for his economic development policies, saying instead that he’d be making an announcement on taxes in the coming weeks. The plan would increase Invest Ottawa’s annual city funding from $4.3 million to $4.8 million and boost the annual budget of the Ottawa Film Office by $60,000 to $350,000.
Ot
HIRING INTENTIONS
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MAYOR’S RATING
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ing Ottawa businesses? minimum wage affect PLUS: How is the rising BROUGHT TO YOU BY
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MARKET OUTLOOK
OCTOBER 2018
IDENCE BUSINESS CONFTA IN THE CAPI L
ic
Business in the RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY sectors are feeling pessimistic, while tech firms remain highly positive
om on Ec k ’s loo wa ut ta O
2018
ns the attitudes, perceptio Exclusive insights into business leaders and plans of Ottawa’s
UP CLOSE
On the ride of his life Whether it’s competing in Ironman triathlons or running a major staffing agency, competitive cyclist-turnedentrepreneur Rudi Asseer believes in taking things ‘to the extreme’ BY CAROLINE PHILLIPS caroline@obj.ca
OCTOBER 2018
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udi Asseer doesn’t do things in half measures. He didn’t just go to any old university; he went to Harvard. He didn’t just take up jogging; he became a marathon runner and Ironman triathlete. He didn’t join IMI just to score a big office with a view – he set about transforming the company. “Everything I’ve done in my life has always been about taking it to the fullest, to the extreme,” the 39-year-old president and chief executive officer acknowledges during an interview at IMI’s corporate headquarters on Richmond Road in Westboro. When Asseer joined IMI in 2016, his goal was to modernize the company, which provides skilled technicians to job sites, and lead it through a digital transformation. He also wanted to increase transparency and establish a better line of communication between the head office and the people it employed. “You do a big disservice to your staff by not taking care of them,” says Asseer. “There are some key ways to do that, and that’s by showing you care. It’s not in bonuses and all those traditional things; it’s in communicating with your people.” IMI is in the business of supplying the kind of highly skilled labour that’s needed to turn traditional warehouses
into automated facilities by installing robotic devices and other technology. Among its Fortune 500 clients is e-commerce giant Amazon, which is bringing a one-million-square-foot distribution centre to Ottawa’s east end. IMI manages more than 1,000 technicians throughout North America and has a payroll of between $60 million and $70 million. The company runs a training facility in Grand Rapids, Mich., to meet demands. “There’s a huge labour shortage; there’s just not enough people,” says Asseer. Asseer keeps tabs on the workforce through artificial intelligence. Rhonda – named after The Beach Boys’ tune Help Me, Rhonda – is an analytics and engagement software product he created to maximize productivity and efficiency. Rhonda can perform thousands of tasks simultaneously. It also automatically checks in with technicians on a weekly basis to see how they’re doing. Reponses are given with the click of a button on a scale of one to five. Low-score replies are triaged and promptly addressed. In today’s world, feedback needs to be instantaneous, says Asseer. “Imagine a professional sports team where your coach says, ‘We’ll wait until your annual review before we talk about the game. We still have 80 games on the schedule, but we’re not going to talk about it.’ That’s insane.
One of the things my dad taught me at a young age is to surround myself with good people because we’re products of our environment. I always find individuals who are doing something special or who are very good at what they do. – Rudi Asseer, chief executive of staffing agency IMI
“I grew up my entire life on real-time feedback.” As a teenager, Asseer travelled the world as part of Canada’s national cycling team. It was a rewarding
experience that he shared with other competitive athletes under the guidance of coaches. “One of the things my dad taught me at a young age is to surround
Five things to know about Rudi Asseer
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He was born in Belgium, but before you go asking him to make waffles you should know that he moved to Ottawa as a kid.
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The avid runner and cyclist competed in his first Half Ironman this year at Mont Tremblant.
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He and his wife, Kyla Martin, have two French bulldogs, Bugsy and Biscuit.
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Business is in his blood. His serial entrepreneur father, Sam Asseer, was CEO of a publicly traded company in Europe.
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He has artwork hanging in his office by American graffiti artist Alec Monopoly, featuring the top-hatted banker from the Monopoly board game and the comic book character Richie Rich.
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His pursuit of excellence was harder, however, once his cycling career ended at age 18. “You go from the world stage to being no one. Now
The new Albert at Bay Suites Hotel Logo - November 15, 2005
OCTOBER 2018
myself with good people because we’re products of our environment,” he says. “I always find individuals who are doing something special or who are very good at what they do. By surrounding myself with those types of people – people who are high achievers – it’s only natural that I start to mold myself into my own version of that.”
you’re just Rudi. So what?” That’s when he joined the workforce and got an education. He earned an associate’s degree at Harvard University and his Executive MBA at uOttawa’s Telfer School of Management. By age 26, he was a Forty Under 40 recipient. On the morning of his OBJ interview, Asseer cycled into work from his home in the south end. He selected a longer route that looped around Parliament Hill so that he could take in the views of downtown and the Ottawa River. The bike path goes right by his office, reminding Asseer of why he’s made Ottawa his home. “I love Ottawa. I think it’s a beautiful city.” While his ride was smooth, he has had bumps in his career and personal life. He made a million and lost a million while running Farallon USA, an underwater equipment manufacturing company. His health suffered while he was director of business development at Desjardins Group. After a close scare with precancerous polyps, he got back into running and completed his first marathon in Ottawa. Two years ago, Asseer decided to leave financial services to pursue another goal. “I wasn’t satisfied, because I wasn’t growing my entrepreneurial ambition.” He was offered the presidency at IMI by Diana Cuttell, who founded the company in 1998. She gave him free rein to do as he pleased with his restructuring plan. “Now that I’ve checked that box, it’s on to global growth,” says Asseer, who took on the role of CEO in July.
GO GLOBAL
Instant Pot Kanata’s hottest export Ex-Nortel employee finds recipe for success with high-tech pressure-cooker that’s become an online sales sensation BY DAVID SALI
david@obj.ca
OCTOBER 2018
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t a nondescript office in a Kanata North business park, Robert Wang is revolutionizing the way North Americans solve the nightly dilemma of what’s for dinner. And if his invention, the electric pressure-cooking phenomenon known as the Instant Pot, happens to save a few marriages while it helps timestarved families prepare meals, so much the better. “We create value to people’s life,” says Wang, noting that some of the Instant Pot’s devoted fans – known as “Potheads” – really have suggested that the device has kept married couples together by alleviating the daily stress of figuring out what to eat. “Those are life-changing benefits to people.” Wang, a software engineer by training, is on a mission to put an Instant Pot in every home. He’s not there yet, although it might seem like it based on the tens of thousands of glowing reviews the cooker has received online and the millions of followers it has attracted on social media. “The Instant Pot Has Seriously Changed My Life,” reads a typical rave on Amazon, echoing Wang’s words. The Instant Pot’s official Facebook page, meanwhile, now has more than 1.5 million members, who swap recipes, offer cooking tips and help guide newcomers through the device’s eccentricities. A perfectionist who’s constantly looking for ways to improve his invention, Wang keeps regular tabs on
the Facebook page and says he reads just about every customer review on Amazon in his effort to collect customer feedback on the device, both good and bad. “I focus more on the negative ones,” he says with a chuckle. In the process, he’s turned the homecooking appliance industry on its head. The Instant Pot is the runaway leader in the electric multicooker category south of the border, ranking among Amazon and Target’s top five best-selling items on Black Friday in 2017. It’s been the No. 1 item on the Amazon Prime Day sales chart for three years running, moving 300,000 units on the e-commerce site in a span of just 19 hours earlier this year. “There are other players in this space, but really it’s Instant Pot that’s leading the way,” says Dave Adamchick, an analyst at the Canadian office of global market research firm NPD Group. “They have some of that firstmover’s advantage, and because they sort of got there first to mass retail, they sort of captured the mindshare.” More than 90 per cent of all Instant Pot sales are in the United States, where NPD says the market for electric multicookers grew 79 per cent last year to more than $300 million. The appliance is also rapidly gaining in
“The problem that we are trying to solve is really to help people put dinner on the table. It’s a pretty common problem to everybody on Earth.” – Instant Pot inventor Robert Wang popularity in Europe and South Africa, says Wang, adding that its parent company, Instant Brands, is working on a “global expansion plan.” Its creator foresees no lack of future customers. “The problem that we are trying to solve is really to help people put dinner on the table,” Wang says. “It’s a pretty common problem to everybody on Earth.” A native of Harbin, China, Wang earned a PhD in computer science and initially planned on a career in artificial intelligence. After moving to Ottawa in 1994 to work for Bell-Northern Research and later Nortel, he spent
more than a decade in telecom and tech before being laid off in 2008 when the global financial crisis hit. He then attempted to launch his own tech startup, but his role in the venture ended after less than a year. That’s when he realized there was a massive consumer problem crying out for a solution right in his own kitchen.
‘YOU HAVE TO PROVE YOURSELF’ For years, Wang and his wife had been trying to balance busy careers in tech with the demands of raising two young children. Meal times were a constant struggle. “It was very challenging to fix a dinner– especially a healthy dinner,” Wang says during an interview with OBJ at Instant Brands’ new headquarters on March Road. “Kids love to go to McDonald’s, to Burger King. But as parents, we didn’t think that that’s the
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Passenger volumes soar at the Ottawa Airport As more passengers fly through YOW, airlines add capacity
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orget about a Canada 150 hangover – 2018 is shaping up to be a landmark year for the Ottawa International Airport (YOW). The airport recently released new passenger figures, which include an 8.7-per-cent jump in July over the same month last year. “Our passenger volumes are a barometer of sorts for the local economy,” says Mark Laroche, the president and CEO of the Ottawa International Airport Authority. “Ottawa-Gatineau is enjoying positive economic growth, which is reflected in increased air travel to and from YOW.” Between 2016 and 2017, the airport saw its passenger numbers increase 1.9 per cent. That’s accelerated in 2018, with year-todate traffic up 4.4 per cent. The airport attributes this year’s increase in part to airlines adding more seats on flights servicing other major urban centres, such as Vancouver, Chicago, Newark, Edmonton, Toronto, Washington DC, Calgary, Halifax and Boston. “After several years of modest growth, I am encouraged by this upward trend, and look forward to continued gains as the summer travel season transitions to the winter charter season with flights
to new sunshine destinations in Mexico, as well as a broad range of other sun destinations in the southern United States and the Caribbean,” says Laroche. NEW DESTINATIONS A common misconception among passengers is that an airport determines the destinations it serves. In fact, airlines decide routes based on their network strategy, which is driven by passenger demand and yield – how many people want to fly to/from a destination and how much are they willing to pay for a ticket? “We work with partners such as Ottawa Tourism, Tourisme Outaouais, the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau, the Ottawa Board of Trade, Chambre de Commerce de Gatineau, Invest Ottawa and the Shaw Centre, to name a few, to make Canada’s Capital Region a great destination and place to live, work and play. When airlines see YOW passenger volumes growing, it encourages them to consider more non-stop flights to/from Ottawa,” says Laroche.
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As a privately held company, Instant Brands doesn’t reveal sales figures, but Wang says the firm has been doubling in size every year since it was founded. Despite growing competition from major brands such as Black & Decker, Breville and Cuisinart that have introduced their own multicookers in an effort to capitalize on Instant Pot’s success, it remains the “dominant” force in the category, Adamchick says. The company recently unveiled its latest model, the Instant Pot Max. In October, it’s set to launch what Wang calls a “cooking blender” that will make soup at the push of the button. (It will initially debut at Walmarts south of the border, with a Canadian rollout later on.) Fresh off its second office move in just 18 months, Double Insight is now at about 60 employees and plans to hire up to 20 more in the near future as it expands its worldwide reach, Wang says. After years of putting marketing on the back burner while it focused on product development and customer support, the company is now looking for brand managers and experts in “market education” to convince consumers who are still wary of pressure cookers to take the plunge. But brand management expertise is hard to come by in Ottawa, Wang laments, noting he’s had to look beyond the city’s borders to Toronto and Vancouver for new recruits. “It’s difficult to find people with consumer product, packaged product experience in Ottawa,” he says. “We really need to have local talent to join us and help us to stay ahead with innovation. We have so many ideas.” Electric multicookers are still found in fewer than 15 per cent of U.S. households, Wang notes, while traditional slow cookers have a market penetration of more than 30 per cent. That gap, while shrinking, provides a constant source of motivation for the tech guru-turned-pressure cooker king. “My plan is to build a brand which will last more than 50-plus years. Why? Because Crock-Pot has been around for 47 years,” Wang says, referring to the world’s No. 1 brand of slow cookers. “We’ve got to be able to do better because we solved the problem much better than they did.”
OCTOBER 2018
way to bring up the kids. I was thinking it would be wonderful if I could have a cooking appliance to automate the process of making dinner.” He spent the next 18 months developing a device that used cuttingedge technology to combine the functions of a pressure cooker and a slow cooker, working with a couple of other engineers and pouring $350,000 of his own savings into the effort. Wang initially tried to get the product into brick-and-mortar stores, where his invention received a decidedly lukewarm response. “It didn’t work because it was a brand new concept,” he explains. “You have to prove yourself.” The Instant Pot made its debut on Amazon in late 2010, quickly catching the attention of food writers. In a savvy marketing move, the company began cultivating relationships with cookbook writers and food bloggers, sending test models to hundreds of influential chefs. Their rave reviews generated a buzz around the product, which soon became an Amazon favourite. “I find them really interesting because they don’t have a traditional marketing structure,” Los Angelesbased food blogger Laurel Randolph, the author of two bestselling cookbooks devoted to Instant Pot recipes, says of the Kanata-based company. “Especially when they were getting started, they didn’t advertise really at all. People just found it, I guess, and spread the word. Social media helped a lot. They kind of became something that people were talking about.” Wang also brought a “high-tech release approach” to the cooking appliance business, unveiling a new model every 12 to 18 months and incorporating user feedback and suggestions into each new version of the Instant Pot. Each new release has spawned a new wave of cookbooks – thousands have now been written – and adoring Facebook groups. Once it became an online sensation, the Instant Pot – which is manufactured in China – had no trouble finding a home on traditional retailers’ shelves. While Amazon is still its biggest platform, the product is now a staple at major department store and houseware chains across North America.
OCTOBER 2018
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10 The new Titus.com, which will go live on Nov. 1. (Photo provided by OPIN Software)
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Data protection firm Titus taps OPIN for website redesign Local firm needed to migrate its 3,600 pages to a new CMS
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ith no major updates to the company’s website in five years, the time had come for Ottawa-based Titus to hit refresh. The data protection firm set out to find a company that could streamline the user experience of its site – both for visitors and Titus staff. “We wanted to modernize our website and show the world a truer representation of who we are,” says Karen Wilson, who works with Titus as Manager of Marketing Communications and Content. The new Titus.com, which goes live on Nov. 1, will offer visitors an updated, streamlined experience. Through the company’s new site, users will be able to easily navigate to its many expert blog posts and informational pages, as well as an internal portal for clients to access educational documents. As a data protection company, the focus of Titus’ work is educating clients as to how to protect themselves. “If organizations don’t know what data they have, they can’t actually protect it appropriately,” says Wilson.
– Kendall Abraham “Drupal makes it easy for anybody, no matter what their technical background is, to use and manage the site,” says Abraham. With the new Drupal CMS, Wilson and her team will be able to update the website themselves through the back end of the site. “Between the security considerations and just being able to work in the website, working with OPIN to make this switch is key at this point in the growth of our business,” says Wilson.
Canada’s fastest growing companies OPIN Software was recently announced as one of the 500 fastest growing Canadian companies. On the newly released Growth 500 list, the firm ranked 69th in Canada and 3rd in Ottawa, with fiveyear revenue growth of 1,165 per cent. It’s an impressive feat for a digital agency that saw its start 7 years ago with a couple of desks in a small office. “OPIN’s rapid growth is driven by the passion of our dedicated and talented team,” says Chris Smith, OPIN’s Founder and CEO. “We strive to create a culture of learning and collaboration internally that extends to our clients.” Today, OPIN boasts a team of 40 highly engaged professionals both in its office on Catherine Street and a satellite office in Saratoga Springs, New York. Smith attributes the agency’s growth to its commitment to putting clients first and thinking outside the box.
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WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Though Titus is a global firm, it’s headquartered in Ottawa and the majority of its employees live here. When Wilson and her team set out to find a partner for the website redesign, they hoped to stay local. “When we have the opportunity to work with local vendors to help our business, it’s an opportunity to strengthen the Ottawa network of businesses helping other businesses,” says Wilson. OPIN sets itself apart from many web development firms because of its collaborative approach to website design and architecture. Using the Agile methodology, the team at OPIN works iteratively and checks in with their clients on a regular basis to ensure their projects are moving in the right direction. Should things change as a project comes together, this approach allows the team to regroup without spending months working on something that will ultimately go unused in the final product. “Working with OPIN has gone so smoothly,” says Wilson. “The team has made the whole process easy.” The initial design concept for the new Titus.com came
from another local firm, TRUEdotDesign. It was the team there that pointed Wilson to OPIN as a great partner to work with to have the site built out. “OPIN has become a collaborative partner in making sure that our web presence is comprehensive and modern, built with the functionality we require to support our business needs,” say Wilson.
OCTOBER 2018
DRUPAL OPIN is uniquely positioned as a digital agency because of its commitment to using the Drupal open source CMS. Drupal is a content management system and currently runs approximately five per cent of websites around the world. As an open-source platform, there is an ever-growing community of Drupal developers who are constantly working to improve it, with newly developed plugins and updates to existing ones. For Titus, the benefits of making the move to Drupal are myriad. Kendall Abraham, a Product Owner with OPIN, explains that Drupal’s open-source framework means any security vulnerabilities are quashed immediately. “It ensures that no matter what security issues arise, someone in the Drupal community is already on it and ready to fix it. It leaves very little room for any security issues,” she says. As a CMS, the Drupal platform on the new Titus website will also streamline the process of uploading content. Prior to the update, the site was hard coded, so any significant changes had to be made by an experienced web developer. With more than 3,600 pages, this left little room for Wilson and other Titus staff to make updates without calling in an expert.
“Drupal makes it easy for anybody, no matter what their technical background is, to use and manage the site”
REAL ESTATE
SUPPORT FOR LEBRETON REDEVELOPMENT IS STRONG
Ottawans ‘anxious’ about LeBreton Flats: Poll Business group calls for regular updates on multibillion-dollar project after survey points to widespread ‘concern’ about plan’s long-term prospects
Redevelopment of LeBreton Flats
77%
15%
< 8%
n A good/great thing n Won’t make much of a difference n Do not know enough about it
86% 60+
84% SOUTH OTTAWA 80% CENTRAL OTTAWA 79% EAST OTTAWA/ORLEANS
MOST DOUBT OR ARE UNSURE LEBRETON FLATS WILL BE DONE ON TIME Completed by 2023?
30%
43%
28%
n Certainly/Likely to happen n Might or might not happen n Unlikely/Certain not to be completed
BY DAVID SALI
david@obj.ca
A
OCTOBER 2018
group of Ottawa business and community leaders is calling for more “transparency” in the LeBreton Flats redevelopment process after six in 10 residents in a recent poll said they are skeptical the multibillion-dollar project will ever see the light of day. Fifteen per cent of the 600 people surveyed in late August said they believed the LeBreton Flats proposal, which would include a new NHL arena for the Senators as its centrepiece, will never happen or is unlikely to happen. Another 47 per cent said they believe the project “might or might not happen.” “People are very anxious about the club and about LeBreton Flats,” said Doug McLarty, a partner at MNP Ottawa and the co-chair of the Capital Build Task Force,
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which commissioned the survey. “There’s a lot of concern about the conflicting information that we’re receiving in the community about LeBreton.” McLarty said the task force wants the consortium behind the plan, the RendezVous LeBreton Group backed by Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Development’s John Ruddy, to post regular updates informing the public when key milestones have been met – such as when all the financing is in place and when the city has approved all the necessary zoning requirements at the 21-hectare site owned by federal government. “We want to see progress, and we want transparency,” he said. McLarty said Melnyk is “causing angst” among Ottawans with seemingly contradictory statements about the team’s future.
Completed at all?
38%
47%
Late last year, Melnyk publicly mused about the possibility of moving the NHL franchise if its bottom line didn’t improve, but he quickly backtracked. Then in April, Mayor Jim Watson questioned whether Melnyk was serious about the downtown arena plan after the Senators owner told a gathering of fans the project had “tremendous risk” and the team was doing “OK” in Kanata. Following a meeting with top city officials in August, Melnyk said he was “very confident” the $4-billion LeBreton proposal will go forward, but added the situation remained “fluid.”
15%
< 23% THOSE FOLLOWING CLOSELY
McLarty said such “mixed messaging” is damaging the perception of a “transformative” real estate project that has widespread public support. Nearly eight in 10 residents polled in August said they are in favour of the LeBreton proposal, with 60 per cent saying the project is so important they’d support NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stepping in to make sure it got done. The survey, conducted by local firm Abacus Data from Aug. 21-25, has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Thank you!
Westboro Village BIA (WVBIA) thanks the out-going Board of Management for their strategic direction and governance during this term ending November 30, 2018. The WVBIA is holding a Board of Management Election at the Annual General Meeting January 9, 2019. Nominations and details are available at: westborovillage.com Dan Hwang, Chair Bill Bourk, Vice-Chair Rick Morris, Treasurer
Jeff Leiper, Councillor, Kitchissippi Ward Richard Bown Steve Harding
Darren Prashad MaryAnne Petrella Molly Van der Schee
Left to right: Rick Morris, Steve Harding, Fiona Mitchell, Darren Prashad, Molly Van der Schee, Bill Bourk, Michelle Groulx, Dan Hwang, Jeff Leiper, Richard Bown. (Missing: MaryAnne Petrella). Photo credit: Ellen Bond
LRT expected to raise demand for east-end office space
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ne of Ottawa’s largest developers namely Tremblay, St. Laurent and Blair and property managers says the – some say government and private-sector launch of light rail has tenants could soon be giving the potential to breathe new the area a closer look. life into an often overlooked “(LRT) is going to be a corner of the city’s office boon for the east end,” said market. Brent Arseneau, leasing The office vacancy rate manager at Colonnade in Ottawa’s east end stood Bridgeport. The firm’s Explore the trends and at 19.6 per cent at the end portfolio includes the sixdevelopments shaping the capital’s commercial of the second quarter – storey office building at 250 property market. more than double the Tremblay Rd., adjacent to Watch at http://bit.ly/ citywide rate of 9.8 per cent, both the Via Rail and new OttawaRealEstateShow. Thanks to our sponsors according to data from real LRT stations. Mann Lawyers and estate services firm CBRE. Speaking on the Ottawa CBRE Ottawa. However, with Real Estate Show, Arseneau development land and predicted that more tenants existing buildings in close proximity will start to take note of the east end’s to several east-end light-rail stations – lower rental rates once it’s connected by
A rail connection between downtown and office nodes around Tremblay Road, Blair Road and St. Laurent, illustrated above, will entice more tenants to look east, real estate experts predict.
rail to downtown. He argues that LRT will also increase the area’s appeal for organizations with a younger, urbandwelling workforce that can offer staff a light-rail commute of less than 10 minutes from downtown. While its portfolio stretches across the city, Colonnade Bridgeport is investing heavily in projects located near both the first phase and planned expansion of Ottawa’s light-rail line. One example is the recently completed Westboro Connection
mixed-use project on McRae Avenue, which features residential rental units, office space leased by tenants including Pythian and ground-level retail anchored by Farm Boy. A second phase is planned around the corner on the site of the former Trailhead Paddle Shack at 1960 Scott St. “We’ve got spots all along the rail line,” Arseneau said. “Colonnade Bridgeport is really a transit-driven development opportunity company right now.” — Peter Kovessy
WHAT DO OFFICE TENANTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIGHT RAIL?
Lacey Miller
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practices in the business law and real estate service groups at Mann Lawyers.
OCTOBER 2018
Watch the Ottawa Real Estate Show
OBJ READERS TIECON CANADA 2018
Brookstreet Hotel, Kanata November 1-2, 2018 TiECon Canada is TiE Canada’s flagship conference for startups, entrepreneurs, SMEs, industry veterans, investors, funding agencies and other members of the Canadian Entrepreneurial community. TiECon Canada 2018 will feature grand keynotes, daring entrepreneurs, industry leaders, investors, and experts from the hottest technology sectors. With over 30 keynotes and speakers, TiECon Canada is must attend conference for startups, entrepreurs, investors and service providers.
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OCTOBER 2018
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How to protect yourself during a business breakup
• How long the partnership will last and what to do if a partner dies or withdraws; • Rules for how decisions will be made and disputes will be resolved. As Contant explains, drafting the agreement at the start when things are going well is much easier – and likely more equitable – than it will be to divide the business down the road without one. Similarly, business owners should carefully document any strategic goals they may have. Not only is this good business sense, but it also provides a guide with which to settle any future disputes over what direction to take the business in.
THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO
What to do when a partnership fizzles out
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PREPARE FOR THE WORST
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Even the most cautious of business owners has been known to overlook their founding documents. With little to no runway in a company’s early days, resources are typically allocated to marketing, product development and labour instead of the legal fees required to draft a partnership or shareholder agreement. Unfortunately for many small and medium-sized business owners, this legal document can mean the difference between an amicable split or a messy civil dispute down the road. Though these agreements are tailored to the business they cover, they typically include the following: • Who owns how much of the business; • How to divide the profits and losses;
OCTOBER 2018
ike any relationship, business partnerships can be susceptible to disagreements. And just like the breakdown of a marriage or common-law relationship, business breakups can be painful and costly. “When things are going well and they’re busy, you’re not thinking about what you would do if they fall apart down the road,” says David Contant, a partner at Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP and a certified specialist in civil litigation. He regularly litigates what some people refer to as “business divorces” or, the severance of a business relationship. Though they are regrettable, there are steps business owners can take to avoid a complete breakdown and to protect themselves in the event that one does occur. Contant recommends the following:
Business breakups can stem from a number of issues, ranging from disagreement over the strategic direction of the company to simply wanting a partner out. “A lot of the time, personalities drive litigation,” says Contant. “A falling out could be purely over personality conflicts.” For business partners, an early warning sign that a relationship is crumbling may be their exclusion from key meetings or decisions. Thankfully, under the Ontario Business Corporations Act, there is a remedy for the unfair treatment of stakeholders within a company. The Oppression Remedy may be used by stakeholders – including shareholders – to seek remedies in the event they’ve been treated with prejudice or their interests have been unfairly disregarded. When a business divorce ends in litigation, it all comes down to the evidence each party can provide. “Litigation rises and falls on evidence,” says Contant. “If you think that things are blowing up, you want to get your hands on any documentation that you’re entitled to.” This can include anything, from text messages to emails or even speech transcripts. Litigators will also call witnesses who can speak to the intentions and agreements of the partners in question. In many cases, Contant explains, these witnesses include former business partners who no longer have a stake in the company and can therefore provide impartial testimony. As with so many things in litigation, business divorces come down to contingency planning. As Contant puts it, “hope for the best, plan for the worst.”
FOCUS
High hopes for LRT Light-rail project inspiring the capital’s business community to think bigger, leaders say BY DAVID SALI
david@obj.ca
D
elayed thought it might be, the much-anticipated arrival of the Confederation Line is one more sign Ottawa is growing up – literally and figuratively – from a business perspective. The $2.1-billion infrastructure project, the largest in the city’s history, was originally slated to be up and running by the middle of 2018. That deadline was extended to Nov. 2, but when the consortium building the 12.5-kilometre light-rail line, the Rideau Transit Group, said it wouldn’t be able to hand over the keys by that date, the project was delayed yet again. It now looks like LRT will be on track to launch some time between January and March of 2019, but even that time frame isn’t a guarantee. Nonetheless, local business observers say, the train is already changing the capital’s business landscape even as we wait for it to officially arrive. So far, the five-year project has
pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy through direct employment and contracts to local suppliers and businesses serving RTG and its construction teams. But beyond that, observers say, LRT has inspired local businesspeople to think bigger – whether it’s exploring new types of retail opportunities near the stations or proposing ambitious new mixed-used projects such as Trinity Development Group’s plan to build a soaring trio of residential and office towers near the intersection of the Trillium and Confederation lines at Bayview Station. “It’s on the mind of every single developer and owner when it comes to either purchasing or developing assets in Ottawa,” says Warren Wilkinson, managing director of the Ottawa office of real estate firm Colliers International. He points to Trinity’s Bayview proposal and RioCan’s partnership with Halifaxbased Killam Apartment REIT on a plan to eventually construct up to 840 apartment units next to the Blair LRT station as examples of major developments that likely never would have happened without light rail. It’s a view echoed by RioCan vicepresident of planning and development Stuart Craig, who has called light rail “a great catalyst” for the east-end apartment project. “You need that central point where
Trinity’s proposed Bayview development.
people are going to congregate,” Wilkinson says, referring to transit stations that are expected to draw tens of thousands of commuters every hour during peak ridership periods. “I don’t think the intensification would have happened and I don’t believe there would be the potential for it to be as successful without light rail.” In addition, he says, the biggest employer in the National Capital Region requires most buildings it leases to be within 600 metres of a transit station. “If you want to take advantage of the largest user of commercial office space in Ottawa, which is the federal government, you need to be near these stations,” Wilkinson says.
PLENTY OF HYPE Other local business leaders argue the Confederation Line is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible when it comes to new commercial development. Retail, residential and commercial
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intensification can all happen on a much broader scale near light rail stations because developers no longer need to devote valuable land to acres and acres of space for automobiles, says Ian Faris, CEO of the Ottawa Board of Trade. “It makes it so much easier, because there’s no expectation of parking,” he says. “You can put a lot more in there. It not only allows (new commercial development) to happen, but it changes what’s happening and makes it more exciting, more urban.” Wilkinson says LRT has driven new development even on properties that aren’t right next to the new Confederation Line. For example, he says, Colonnade Bridgeport’s recently completed Westboro Connection mixed-use project on McRae Avenue, which features office tenants such as Pythian as well as ground-level retail anchored by Farm Boy, is the “canary in the coal mine” signalling the pending construction of more such developments in neighbourhoods that will be serviced by stage two of the Confederation Line, which is targeted for completion in 2023. Still, while there has been plenty of hype around light rail, some observers say it remains to be seen just how much new growth it will encourage. Dean Karakasis, executive director of the Buildings Owners and Managers Association of Ottawa, says he thinks light rail might help fuel the continued growth of the “urban tech” scene in the central business district that’s being led by companies such as Shopify and Klipfolio, but its impact on other sectors of the economy is still an open question. “It isn’t going to bring an influx of new companies to fill vacant space, at least in the short run,” he argues. “So, right now, I think it’s a wait-and-see.”
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Tech firms not convinced trains will deliver talent System will need to prove it saves commuting time before it becomes a recruiting tool, downtown companies say PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON
BY DAVID SALI
david@obj.ca
A
s the head of a company that delivers real-time business data to customers, Allan Wille puts a lot of stock in metrics. And when it comes to light rail, the CEO of downtown software firm Klipfolio says he just hasn’t seen enough evidence to convince him that taking the train is going to make his daily commute any faster or easier. “I’m excited that we’re investing in mass
Klipfolio CEO Allan Wille, who buses to work in winter, says he’s still not convinced light rail will make his commute to downtown any easier.
helps a family build a decent and afforable home. For 25 years, Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa has offered local families a hand up through our affordable homeownership program. Your donation will help us continue to build more homes and serve more families today and tomorrow.
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OCTOBER 2018
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OCTOBER 2018
transit … but I don’t know that for the folks that live further out, this is actually going to be a positive benefit,” says Wille, who cycles to his office at World Exchange Plaza most of the year and takes the bus in winter. Right now, his public transit journey requires a seven-minute walk between his south-end home and the nearest stop and a single bus ride on the No. 282. Once the LRT comes into play, he’ll have to take a bus to Tunney’s Pasture, then transfer to a train, and vice-versa on the return trip. “For me, this is actually more of an inconvenience,” he argues. OC Transpo officials say LRT will take hundreds of buses off downtown thoroughfares, easing traffic congestion in the core while providing more “consistent” and “reliable” transit service. But Wille says the jury is still out on whether the train will end up being a major selling point for offices near the Confederation Line looking to separate themselves from the pack in a highly competitive market for talent. Light rail will likely make life a bit easier for people who live near the
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12.5-kilometre stretch of track that runs from Tunney’s in the west to Blair Station in the east, he says, but for everyone else it will be just a lot of hype until the system actually extends all the way west to Kanata, east to Orleans and south to the Barrhaven and the airport.
‘MIGHT OPEN DOORS’ “I think from a recruiting point of view, I think there’s some early excitement, but I think long-term (LRT) is not going to make much of a difference,” says Wille, who figures more than half of Klipfolio’s 95 employees take public transit to work. “It’s not going to be a game-changer. If we want everybody to really start adopting it, it’s got to be convenient. With this phased approach – and it’s slow – habitbuilding may take a long, long time to come into effect.” Farther east in Westboro, Pythian’s head of talent acquisition, Christina Anderson, says the company’s relative closeness to LRT could be “another tool” to attract new recruits. The IT consulting and data analytics company currently employs about 150
I think from a recruiting point of view, I think there’s some early excitement, but I think long-term (LRT) is not going to make much of a difference. – Klipfolio CEO Allan Wille
people at its headquarters on McRae Avenue, which is about “100 steps” from a bus stop and two kilometres from Tunney’s Pasture, the westernmost point on the Confederation Line. “I think it might open a few more doors for people who want to … take public transport,” Anderson says. Her colleague Julia Duffy isn’t completely sold on the train’s benefits just
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yet. She says she’s seen little so far to give anyone a clear sense of how much light rail might shorten workers’ daily trips to and from the office. “I think it comes down to speed and time,” says Duffy, who commutes from Kanata. “It may open up more doors, but we don’t know enough.” At satellite communications firm Telesat, which is vacating its east-end headquarters in December and relocating to a new office at Place Bell on Elgin Street, director of human resources Antonia Micchia says the company felt moving into the core would make it a more attractive landing spot for younger recruits who are less likely to drive. But the topic of light rail, she adds, “has not come up in a big way” when the company talks to prospective hires. Although she hopes the system leads to faster commutes and a healthier work-life balance for employees who use it, she says its benefits won’t become clear until the train has been up and running for a while. “Our employees are still trying to figure out what that will mean for them,” Micchia says.
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What’s in a name? • Only members of the Canadian Real Estate Association are Realtors® • Members must adhere to a strict Realtor® Code of Ethics • The MLS® System is a cooperative marketing tool that can only be accessed by a Realtor®
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“A Realtor® is a brand that says you have a code of conduct beyond the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act that you adhere to,” he says, adding that only members of the real estate board can call themselves Realtors®. “It raises the bar. And once you’re a member, there are rules of engagement that require you to cooperate and participate in a high level of moral and ethical functionality.” Shaw, a nearly 40-year commercial real estate veteran himself, says OREB members automatically also join the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). This provides even more exposure for potential buyers or tenants of their commercial properties. He also points to lobbying work done by Realtors® across Ontario, such as when OREA successfully convinced the provincial government to not expand Toronto’s municipal land transfer tax to other Ontario municipalities. He says the organization is also lobbying the government to allow Realtors® to form professional service corporations, similar to doctors or dentists. “We almost got it through before the election,” he says, “and hopefully the Ontario government will pick up on that and get it through this year.” Mr. Shaw also says his organization is improving OREB’s commercial database to ensure each commercial listing has more robust metadata. For commercial Realtor® Bruce Firestone, meanwhile, the best option for commercial real estate in Ottawa really isn’t up for debate. “If you’re in commercial real estate in Ottawa, you should belong to the board,” he says. “I’ve expressed this opinion for a while now. If you join, you’ll make more money.”
OCTOBER 2018
For commercial REALTOR®️ Geoff Godding, the reason for joining the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) was simple – it boosted his business. The sales representative from Decathlon Commercial Realty Corp., and 38-year industry veteran, says the effects of joining the board a year and a half ago were almost immediate. “We’re now doing around 25 per cent of our deals from OREB members,” he adds. “I’m contacted almost daily from members of the real estate board about my listings. We were initially quite shocked with all the activity. “So as a result, we’ve become immersed in the board.” Godding’s experience was so positive, in fact, that he’s now chair of OREB’s Commercial Services Network. He says there are many benefits to being a commercial member of OREB, but the main advantage is the vast exposure its MLS® System provides its members. After all, for the approximately 3,000 OREB members across the city – and, let’s be honest, for most nonreal estate professionals as well – the MLS® System is the first place to look when starting a property search. “Anyone who’s selling a property and isn’t on MLS is missing out on a whole pile of inquiries,” adds Godding, who deals primarily in business parks and industrial properties. OREB president Ralph Shaw agrees. The Century 21 broker of record says there are around 200 commercial Realtors® within OREB’s Commercial Network, and all of them offer distinct advantages over commercial real estate professionals outside the board – with perhaps the most notable being access to the MLS® System, and cooperation among members.
FOCUS
Retail on new track From in-station stores to downtown restaurants, Confederation Line will open up opportunities for businesses of all kinds, transit boss says BY DAVID SALI
david@obj.ca
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ot even another delay in the launch of Ottawa’s $2.1-billion LRT system is enough to dampen the spirits of OC Transpo boss John Manconi when he talks about how the new line will benefit the local economy. Manconi says the five-year project has already resulted in about $800 million
worth of contracts for local suppliers of everything from scaffolding to heavy machinery used in the construction of the 12.5-kilometre Confederation Line as well as 20,000 person-years of employment. But that’s just the beginning, he adds. Once the system launches – which is now expected to happen some time in the first quarter of 2019 – there will be decades of maintenance required to keep the trains, tracks and stations in good running order.
OCTOBER 2018
Making the move to Renfrew County
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The consortium in charge of building the Confederation Line, the Rideau Transit Group, has a 30-year deal to look after the system that will be worth close to $3 billion. Much of that money will be funnelled back into the local economy, Manconi says. “It’s not like it’s a short burst and then it’s
Growing number of area residents opting to live just outside the city in the Ottawa Valley For many busy professionals, time away from the city only comes on weekends in the summer, when they can escape to a cottage or go camping. But a growing number of people have found an alternative. Putting down roots in the County of Renfrew affords professionals the chance to live close to nature without limiting themselves for work. “Over the past decade, many local and Ottawa developers have seen the opportunity in Renfrew County,” says Alastair Baird, the county’s manager of economic development services. Many choose to live in the county and commute or telecommute to work in Ottawa, especially those who work in Ottawa’s western neighbourhoods. Baird also points to DND’s move to the west end of the city as a cause for increased interest in the County. Among the developers working to grow the region is Leo Hall, who serves as the president of Barrett Chute Inc. The firm’s subdivision is a stone’s throw from Calabogie Peaks Resort, one of the region’s premier ski hills. Comprised of 53 estate properties – half of which face onto the Madawaska River – Barrett Chute offers luxurious cottage or home living on lots that are each more than an acre in size.Though the purchaser must build their own home on the lots, Barrett Chute has developed
over,” he adds. “It’s sustained over 30 years.” Manconi notes that such direct spinoffs are only part of the long-term economic impact of light rail. LRT will also open up new opportunities for businesses located on downtown streets such as Albert, Slater and Rideau that will no longer be clogged
the otherwise untamed properties to include road access, hydro hookups and high-speed fibre optic lines. “Our idea is to provide the raw material to people from which to build their vision,” says Hall. He explains that approximately 80 per cent of those who have purchased lots to date come from urban residents looking to live closer to nature. In Arnprior, especially since Highway 417 has extended through and beyond the town, local developer McEwan Homes and others have been busy with numerous new subdivisions, offering everything from beautiful townhomes to spacious two-storey homes on estate lots.Arnprior has seen a 23 per cent increase in population over the past 10 years, with families coming to take advantage of the picturesque small town atmosphere and affordable homes while still enjoying the proximity to Ottawa. Similarly, Jennifer Murphy – who serves as both the Mayor of BonnechereValley and the Warden for the County and herself a transplant from the GTA – says she’s seen an influx of young families into the region. In addition to the natural beauty and outdoor activities available in the region, homeowners in the County of Renfrew typically enjoy lower housing prices and property taxes in contrast to Ottawa, along with unparalleled quality of life. “We have everything you need to live, work, play and really enjoy your life in the County of Renfrew,” says Murphy. Sponsored Content
up with long lines of buses at rush hour, he explains. “Hundreds of buses a day” will be pulled off those corridors, he says, allowing the streets to be revitalized with pedestrian- and cycling-friendly amenities such as wider sidewalks and dedicated bike lanes. Manconi predicts those changes will in turn make the downtown a livelier, easierto-navigate district for shoppers, while bars and restaurants will have room to set up outdoor patios that help draw more people to those streets. “(Businesses will) be able to use those spaces in an innovative way and really make it a dynamic asset to the core of our city,” Manconi says.
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In addition, local retailers will have a chance to set up operations at four stations on the Confederation Line – Tunney’s Pasture, Rideau, Hurdman and Blair. The city recently tendered a request for a property manager to oversee the hunt for appropriate businesses to fill one spot in each of the stations. Manconi says the city is open to just about any type of retail operations in the stations, as long as they are “tasteful” and not in an enclosed space. “We’re trying to keep (the criteria) as broad as possible and let the private sector figure out what will work in a station where people are literally walking through at a very quick pace,” he explains, noting that tens of thousands of transit users are expected to circulate through busy stations such as Rideau and Hurdman every hour during peak periods. “It’s a tricky spot because there’s a lot of quick movements in there. It’s not like people are lingering. We think the private sector can better respond to what kind of market do we want to put in there rather than just having a traditional kind of space in there.” While only one permanent business will be allowed at each of the four stations, Manconi says the city is open to providing space for pop-up stores and even buskers. Although only four stations will feature retail stores in the early going, that number could increase down the road, he adds. “Some of the stations just don’t lend themselves to (retail),” he says. “But things change in this industry. We’ve got a very open mind.”
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PRESENTED BY
MOTORS CHARITY GALA
OCTOBER 2018
Brookstreet Hotel continues to shine with Lumière Gala
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Top row: Steve Langford with wife Darlene; Melanie Smith and husband Don Smith. Second row: Bruce Linton with Paul Chiarelli; Clifford Lyness and Nyle Kelly. Third row: Stephan May, Tanya Brule, Ted Carty, Maya Roscoe and Kyle Turk. Bottom row: Jeff Darwin, Hassa Mirchandani, Azim Jaffer and Dr. Sumeet Sadana.
It seems like summer got another persuasive and personal invite to attend this year’s Lumière Gala because the weather was once again perfect for the annual charity event held in support of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Some 650-plus guests arrived to the Brookstreet Hotel on Sept. 13 for a fun night of food, drinks and prizes, capped off with a fantastic fireworks show synchronized to music. The evening also showcased the 20,000 square feet of modern new space, including the Newbridge Ballroomw recently added to the Kanata hotel. Hotel owner and high-tech legend Terry Matthews was not in attendance this year, but general manager Nyle Kelly officially welcomed everyone to the gala. Trying to capture and hold the attention of Lumière partygoers is never an easy task, especially when there are seemingly more important things to discuss, like the Erik Karlsson trade. Attendees included Paul Chiarelli, president and COO of Matthews’ Ottawabased Wesley Clover International global investment management firm and holding company, and Mark Noonan, managing partner of sponsor Deloitte. Arriving straight from a flight back from England was Bruce Linton. He’s the co-founder and co-CEO of Canopy Growth and co-chairman of Martello Technologies Group. Linton is a loyal attendee of the Lumière Gala. So is Kent Browne of sponsor Royal LePage Team Realty. He broke his six-year streak of being the highest bidder on the popular golfing
trip to Brookstreet’s sister property, The Celtic Manor in Wales. He was outbid at $6,200. Browne didn’t leave empty-handed, though. He bought, for $7,000, the 14-day Caribbean cruise that was auctioned off by ‘Stuntman’ Stu Schwartz, who is also a cancer survivor. Lumière was launched in 2003 to celebrate the grand opening of Brookstreet. In honour of the gala’s 15th anniversary, executive chef Clifford Lyness and his team of 30 presented the top 15 dishes from over the years, even tweaking some of the older recipes to keep up with current culinary trends. Guests were seen hopping from food station to food station, sampling from a selection that included grilled flank, pulled shank, Bay of Fundy lobster, shrimp and scallop, duck confit, cedarplanked halibut and more. The evening raised roughly $100,000 for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. The funds are being used to support clinical trials and cancer research in Ottawa. They’ll also go toward the cancer coaching program that the foundation offers right across the region, the foundation’s director of philanthropy, John Ouellette, told the room. Other live auction items sold off that night included a six-course chef’s table for 10 at Brookstreet’s Perspectives Restaurant. It was valued at $1,600 and went for $2,000. The opportunity to ride in a fighter jet, Top Gun-style, brought in $1,800 for the cause. To date, Lumière has raised more than $1.25 million for the cancer foundation and other charities.
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
MUSIC ICON JIM CUDDY HELPS WELCH CELEBRATE 100 YEARS So much was happening in Canada back in 1918, from our troops returning home from World War I to most women finally getting the right to vote in federal elections. But it’s what George A. Welch was up to at that time that most mattered to a 100-year anniversary celebration held at the National Gallery Of Canada on Sept. 12. He’d been busy founding his accounting and auditing firm, Welch LLP. Not bad for a guy who had to leave school at age 10 in order to help support his family following the death of his father. “From his humble beginnings as a paperboy, and a chance encounter with a chartered accountant, he went on to create one of the finest public accounting firms in the region,”
managing partner Micheal Burch told hundreds of guests inside the gallery’s Scotiabank Great Hall, prior to Mayor Jim Watson presenting him with a framed letter of congratulations. Welch, which has a staff of more than 275 people across Ontario and Quebec, won a best business nod at the 2017 Best Ottawa Business Awards. While the firm did promise a live musical performance at its anniversary party, the invitation intentionally left out the Jim Cuddy part (surprise, surprise). The frontman for iconic Canadian band Blue Rodeo and “Mikey Burch” go way back. They used to hang out while growing up in north Toronto. “Back in the day in high school, I kind of thought he would be the
Old pals Jim Cuddy and Micheal Burch catch up at the Welch 100th anniversary bash.
accountant and I would be the rock star,” Burch joked before introducing Cuddy and his band to the room full of clients, staff and partners, and friends and supporters of the firm. Cuddy encouraged the crowd to hit the dance floor, which was customized with the Welch LLP logo.
“Step right across it,” he said, assuring everyone that – unlike with the logos on NHL locker room floors – they were allowed to walk all over it. “We’d sure like to have some dancers at this party. It would be a lot more fun with a little less talk and a little more rock.”
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STORIES AND PHOTOS BY CAROLINE PHILLIPS
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At left, Mark Fuller, Natalie Tommy, Barbara Farber and Dr. Thais Coutinho at the Red Dress charity golf tournament; below, Samantha Hastie, Karen Wood, Lissa Constantine, Pam Millar and Terrilynne Therien are all decked out in red for the occasion.
MOTORS FUNDRAISER
Red Dress golf tourney raises plenty of green for Heart Institute The splendiferous spirit of the late Jeanne Fuller – matriarch of the Thomas Fuller Construction family – lived on at her eponymous Red Dress charity golf tournament held Sept. 17 at the Loch March Golf and Country Club in Kanata. The 12th annual tournament grossed $135,000 to help the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre provide ongoing education for women on heart disease prevention and on making healthy decisions. The centre is at the University
of Ottawa Heart Institute. Fuller, 87, who passed away last December, was remembered at the event for being fashion savvy and philanthropic. Her way of enjoying life to the fullest was the inspiration behind this year’s motto: Live a Fuller life. A sold-out crowd of 144 female golfers spent a relaxing day on the greens before returning to the clubhouse to cool off over cocktails, dinner and some silent and live auction bidding.
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GALA AIMS TO OPEN NEW JOB DOORS FOR THOSE IN NEED The Ottawa Mission has assembled a respected team of business leaders to head up its new charity gala happening Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Infinity Convention Centre. Popular caterer Sheila Whyte, owner of Thyme & Again, and her managing partner – award-winning chef Michael Moffatt – along with lawyer Lawrence Greenspon, partner at Greenspon Granger Hill, are co-chairing the inaugural Blue Door Gala. It’s named after The Mission’s front entrance, which is always open to those who are homeless and hungry. The trio gathered on Sept. 12, along with organizers and supporters, to officially launch the fundraiser at Thyme & Again’s newest location on Carling Avenue. Organizers brought in a blue door just for the occasion. It made for a perfect framing prop for photo-ops. The gala will be raising funds for The
Mission’s life-changing food services training program that provides men and women with the opportunity to learn the skills required to work in a commercial kitchen. In 2017, some 18 individuals completed the program. There were three current students at the launch helping to prepare hors d’oeuvres. Whyte has another four former students who are now working for her. “The only requirement to be in the program is a desire to want to change your life,” said chef Ric Allen-Watson, longtime food services manager at The Mission. Also there from The Mission were its executive director, Peter Tilley, and the head of its foundation, Sean Wong. Supporters included Michael Scrivens from Scrivens Insurance and Investment Solutions, Ottawa construction veteran John Westeinde and Janik Quintal, corporate chef at St. Albert Cheese.
Michael Moffatt, Lawrence Greenspon (top), Ric Allen-Watson and Sheila Whyte.
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A Secret Garden in Wellington Village
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PHILANTHROPY
Shopify exec aims to ‘inspire’ with $500K donation to new Jewish centre Harley Finkelstein, the chief operating officer of Ottawa e-commerce giant Shopify, knows all about paying it forward. As an award-winning advocate for entrepreneurship, his own success in the business world has inspired his repeated role as an angel investor for the next generation of Canadian startups. It’s in that supportive spirit that Finkelstein has given back in another way: to the Ottawa Jewish community that’s been so good to him over the years.
He and his wife, Sundae School owner Lindsay Taub, have made a sizable donation of $500,000 to help Rabbi Chaim Boyarsky open a Chabad centre for Jewish students and young professionals living in Ottawa. They now have what they didn’t have before: a permanent place in the downtown core to congregate for Shabbat dinner, religious holidays and other occasions. “It’s the biggest cheque I’ve written in my life,” said Finkelstein during a recent interview with Boyarsky at Shopify headquarters on Elgin Street. “What I
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Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein (left) with longtime friend Rabbi Chaim Boyarsky.
really hope it does is inspire other people who’ve had some success to pay it forward.” The new Finkelstein Chabad Jewish Centre is up and running at 254 Friel St. in Sandy Hill. The renovated property features a synagogue, a small kitchen,
a student lounge and a couple of small guest suites. There are also plans to build an addition. The $1.7-million grassroots campaign received financial support from several philanthropic Jewish families in Ottawa, and, in the process, revealed that many Jews and non-Jews have been on the receiving end of Boyarsky’s kindness and inclusivity. “All these people had been touched by this guy in such meaningful ways,” said Finkelstein, who led the fundraising efforts. Rather than force religion on others, the rabbi uses Judaism to inspire, said Finkelstein, who is the grandson of Holocaust survivors. “He doesn’t care what background you are, he doesn’t care whether you’re religious or not,” he said. “It’s quite beautiful.”
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Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa gets ready to raise the roof with Steel Toes & Stilettos Gala Nov. 3 event will raise funds for homebuilding initiative in Orléans
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“That’s really important to us as we continue to build capacity. Over the last few years, we’ve moved from building two to three homes per year to eight homes in 2019 alone,” says Blanchard. The second phase of their eastend development, named Leacross Landing, is currently underway. The first four families of 16 moved into the community in June.
A GREAT CAUSE Though the evening is always packed with wonderful entertainment, food and activities, for many attendees, supporting Habitat GO is the main draw.
To reserve your seat at Habitat GO’s 2018 Steel Toes & Stilettos gala, head to HabitatGO.com/gala.
PLAN TO ATTEND STEEL TOES & STILETTOS GALA Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018 Shaw Centre - Trillium Ballroom 6 p.m. until late Individual tickets: $250 For corporate tables, contact Shawna Blanchard at 613-749-9950 ext. 233 HabitatGO.com/gala
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GLAMOUR & FUN In addition to supporting a great cause, the Steel Toes & Stilettos gala promises an evening like no other. “We’re really proud of the event because we’ve been told, year after year, that it’s one of the most fun events in the city,” says Blanchard. This year’s gala will start with a cocktail reception featuring a performance from Cirque Carpe Diem, an aerial silk troupe from Montreal. A three-course meal
will follow, where live musical acts will be featured along with another performance from Cirque Carpe Diem. Attendees can also partake in the live and silent auctions. Among the prizes available this year are a purple guitar signed by famed musician, Prince, as well as a Masters Tournament flag signed by golf legends Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. And for those who want to bring the spirit of giving back to work with them, Habitat GO is also auctioning off several Habitat Build Days, where teams spend the day on the Habitat site building homes. For many local firms, Habitat Build Days offer a corporate team building exercise unlike any other.
OCTOBER 2018
t’s known as Ottawa’s construction industry night on the town. The 2018 edition of the annual Steel Toes & Stilettos Gala – now in its 13th year – will feature aerial acrobatic performances, live music, a chance to win a guitar signed by Prince and the opportunity to help local families in need achieve the dream of affordable homeownership. “People actually dance and stay late and have a good time,” says Shawna Blanchard, Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa’s (Habitat GO) Director of Development. “It’s not just a ‘dine and dash’ – it’s actually considered one of the more entertaining events of the gala season.” Habitat GO helps families gain strength, stability and self-reliance through affordable homeownership. Funds raised at the annual Steel Toes & Stilettos Gala go towards the charity’s local build projects.
“Participation in Habitat GO’s programs brings out many great qualities in people,” says Laurin General Contractor president Dennis Laurin. His company has been one of the presenting sponsors for the Steel Toes & Stilettos gala for the past four years. Other sponsors of this year’s gala include EQ Homes, BMO, Trinity Development Group, Regional Group and CTV. Habitat GO homeowners are selected based on need, and are asked to contribute 500 hours (350 for single parents) of sweat equity back into the organization. This can be spent working on a build site or volunteering in one of the charity’s three ReStore locations. They are also granted a geared-toincome, interest-free mortgage. For Laurin, the best part of Habitat GO’s work is the “inherent family wealth” created with helping a family buy their own home. “It’s profound how this program changes a family’s life,” he says. “Particularly for children, who get their own bedroom and a space to entertain friends, watch a movie or play video games in comfort, cleanliness and security.” Each year, one Habitat GO family is invited to attend the gala and give attendees personal insights into how their new home has changed their lives. “It’s fundraising at its best, but it’s also awareness and education for participants in the room to understand where their funds are going and how it impacts the families,” says Blanchard.
STARTUPS
La Cité launches idea ‘factory’ $30M L’Excentricité entrepreneurship hub aims to put east-end college on the map with local business community
F
OCTOBER 2018
or years, La Cité president Lise Bourgeois watched as Ottawa’s other main post-secondary institutions unveiled makerspaces, startup hubs and grand plans for new buildings and programs aimed at forging a closer connection with local entrepreneurs. Now, her college is serving notice that it too is open for business. Earlier this month, La Cité officially opened L’Excentricité, a 40,000-square-
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foot facility where Ottawa companies will work with students to develop business concepts, build prototypes and devise plans to commercialize their products. Bourgeois says L’Excentricité will be a “one-stop shop” giving entrepreneurs all the tools they need to take a product or service from their imagination to market. “I always say you can have lots of ideas, but if there’s no structure, most of these ideas are lost,” she says.
Among its key features is a 4,000-square-foot studio on the ground floor with cutting-edge sound and light technology and retractable walls that will allow it to accommodate a wide range of business-related events. “We can have our imagination working (at) full capacity, whether it’s conferences or TED Talks or master classes with experts,” Bourgeois says. The second floor,
dubbed the “Desjardins Factory” after one of the building’s major donors, will include a “war room” where entrepreneurs can brainstorm ideas and a business accelerator where up to eight companies can rent office space and use technology such as 3D printers and animation software to create prototypes. La Cité students and instructors will assist the accelerator’s tenants in developing their products and creating their business and marketing plans. Bourgeois sees it as a win-win for the college and the business community. She says La Cité students and staff will gain valuable real-world experience working with local startups, while those companies will benefit from tapping into the wide range of talent at the school. “Sometimes small enterprises don’t have all the resources to proceed, so we can work with them and make it happen,” she says. The project has a total price tag of about $30 million. The federal government contributed $7.8 million through
I always say you can have lots of ideas, but if there’s no structure, most of these ideas are lost. — La Cité president Lise Bourgeois
the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, while the province kicked in $11.2 million. La Cité and its students association each contributed $5 million, with the rest covered by private companies and individual donors, including the Desjardins Group and Deloitte. With a total of about 10,000 full- and part-time students, the French-language school in the city’s east end is often overshadowed by its larger cousins, the
University of Ottawa, Carleton University and Algonquin College, Bourgeois concedes. But she argues that smaller can be mightier when it comes to working with startups that are used to running lean operations. “I want La Cité to be … known as a producer of talent,” she says, pointing to the college’s research partnership with fast-rising Gatineau jet biofuel producer Agrisoma as an example of its capacity to help innovative enterprises scale up. “I think because we are a smaller institution, we can move faster and be more flexible.” Bourgeois predicts L’Excentricité will soon become a “magnet” for startups. “I’ve been here for eight years, but I was always surprised how much the community out there did not know enough about what La Cité could do,” she says. “We’re not close to downtown, we’re off the big avenues, so I thought we needed this infrastructure that makes us accessible and visible so we can do more outreach and the business community can come to us to collaborate with us.” — David Sali
is
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KPMG’s offices in Ottawa and Kanata are proud to announce the appointment of Melissa Ghuman to Partner. Melissa brings to the partnership lifelong entrepreneurial experience having grown up in a family business. She has worked with private companies and family businesses for over 15 years and specializes in accounting, assurance, personal and corporate tax services. Congratulations Melissa on achieving this significant career milestone!
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Let’s do this. © 2018 KPMG LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. 20686
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show no signs of slowing. Users are no longer content with simply listening to music or making use of “smart home” functions, they want them to serve as a smart hub for their homes and their lives. As a result, businesses have been quick to tap into the enormous potential of smart audio. Hydro Ottawa was one of these businesses quick to embrace the new technology, and is the first utility in Canada to offer a voice assistant skill. The Hydro Ottawa skill is available
customers with an alternative option for interacting with Hydro Ottawa. With Alexa and Google Assistant accessible not only on smart speakers but on smart phones and tablets, customers can access information anywhere, anytime. For those customers who don’t wish to spend time on the phone speaking with a Hydro Ottawa agent, the new smart audio feature will enable a wholly new, streamlined customer service experience. “Customer service, to me, has become the pinnacle of importance for any organization, including Hydro Ottawa,” says Lupinacci. The Hydro Ottawa smart speaker skill is free to install. Although it is currently only available in English, Lupinacci says there are plans to add a French version once Amazon Alexa expands its language options.
OCTOBER 2018
he popularity of voice-activated digital assistants has taken off in an unprecedented way. Early on in 2018 market trends and research suggested that 1 in 6 Americans owned a voiceactivated smart speaker. Recent reports show that this number has in fact doubled to 32%, with surveys suggesting it will reach the 50% mark by the end of 2018. While the numbers aren’t exactly the same in Canada where access to smart speakers is still in its infancy, the adoption rates are comparable – and
for Amazon Alexa and Google Home, and can assist customers with a range of tasks such as providing an update on their current bill and offering tips on how to conserve electricity. “Customers are really driving the decisions that Hydro Ottawa is making from a service standpoint,” says Julie Lupinacci, the utility’s chief customer officer. In recent years, Hydro Ottawa has also extended its service hours, launched a mobile app and grown its social media presence to better engage with customers. “We want to be able to provide them with choice and convenience,” she says. The skill provides customers with access to Hydro Ottawa 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the billing information it shares is always upto-date. The growth and evolution in customer service is a direct result of what customers want. “Not every single customer wants to talk to us during traditional business hours,” says Lupinacci. The new smart audio skill provides
TOURISM
Hangover? What hangover? Despite fears the local hotel industry would take a hit after last year’s record-setting Canada 150 celebrations, some properties say popular tourist attractions helped stave off the expected downturn BY DAVID SALI
david@obj.ca
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uoyed by crowd-pleasing tourist attractions such as the Canada Science and Technology Museum’s Art of the Brick exhibit, some local hotels say they enjoyed a better summer season than they’d anticipated in 2018.
With most industry observers predicting a “hangover” effect following the record-setting Canada 150 year of 2017, many downtown Ottawa hoteliers had braced for a dip in business this summer. According to the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association, the overall occupancy rate in the region through the first half of the year dipped slightly from
The Art of the Brick exhibit.
2017, settling back to roughly the same level it was at in 2016. But at least some local hoteliers say the prime leisure-travel months of July and August saw a slight uptick in occupancy rates over 12 months earlier, thanks to big crowds that came to check out buzzworthy exhibits at local museums. Chateau Laurier spokeswoman
Deneen Perrin said occupancy rates at the iconic downtown lodging were “slightly higher” in July and August than over the same stretch in 2017. She attributed the “great pickup” in room bookings to family-friendly attractions such as The Art of the Brick, an exhibit of life-sized Lego sculptures that ran at the Canada Science and Technology Museum from mid-May to early September. Perrin said another big draw for out-oftown visitors was the last chance to see the Parliament Buildings before Centre Block shuts down later this year and becomes shrouded in scaffolding as part of a decade-long, $3-billion renovation. In the ByWard Market, Andaz Ottawa general manager Matt Graham said occupancy at his luxury hotel was “the same or better” this July and August than last year, although he added room rates were lower this summer. Graham said a promotion that gave guests complimentary passes to the Impressionist Treasures exhibit at the National Gallery of Canada “sold very well,” adding the only time the property saw a hit was on Canada Day, when the humidex hit a record high of 47 C.
Edelman Ottawa Welcomes
Established Talent
Gordon Campbell
OCTOBER 2018
Strategic Advisor
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We're pleased to add to our growing team. Former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell joins us as a Strategic Advisor and longtime Public Affairs professional Jeff Polowin is our new Senior Vice President Public Affairs (Municipal). Edelman Ottawa Darcy Walsh
Chris Vivone
Senior Vice President and General Manager Ottawa
Senior Vice President and Deputy General Manager Ottawa
Jeff Polowin
edelman.ca
Senior Vice President Public Affairs (Municipal)
Vancouver - Calgary - Toronto - Ottawa - Montreal
SPOTLIGHT ON RECRUITMENT
How companies attract top talent during an interview With more open positions than qualified candidates, hiring companies need to work harder than ever before
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hen one thinks of job interviews, most people envision a candidate trying their best to impress a prospective employer. But recent shifts in the Canadian economy have turned the tables. A tight labour market – where there are more open positions than there are qualified candidates – means that hiring companies must also work to make a good first impression. “Employers have to sell themselves to
AFTER THE INTERVIEW Once the interview is complete, it’s imperative that hiring companies move quickly to make an offer to their preferred candidates. With fewer qualified candidates on the market, the best and brightest often get snapped up quickly following an interview. “This past year especially, we’ve seen that time is of the essence,” says Sharon Lloyd, a recruiter with Stevenson & White. “You can’t take your time in the process, you have to move it along.”
the candidates, because a good candidate probably has more than one option,” says Anne Stevenson, Managing Partner with Stevenson & White. The Ottawa-area recruitment firm specializes in filling finance, accounting and payroll positions. As the intermediaries between the firm’s clients and job candidates, Stevenson & White’s recruiters see first-hand how employers can appeal to top talent during an interview. They recently sat down with OBJ to share some tips for hiring companies.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
TRANSPARENCY Logistics aside, the content of an interview is typically what has the potential to scare off top talent. For companies that hire through Stevenson & White, the firm’s recruiters can help prepare the hiring manager or interviewer with insight as to what prospective candidates are looking for in an employer. “The hot button issues,” as Matt Stevenson,
Finance. Accounting. Payroll.
a partner and recruiter with the firm, puts it. And much like candidates are expected to be honest, employers should also be transparent about the role and the company. “It doesn’t do you any favours to paint a rosy picture and have the candidate realize four weeks down the road that a job isn’t what they signed up for,” says Matt. Most job-seekers today place importance on growth opportunities, work-life balance and flexibility. Employee engagement – such as team-building days or fundraisers – is also a selling point for many professionals. One way to share these details organically is for the interviewer to ask what the candidate knows about the hiring company. “Allow it to be more of an open dialogue, versus an old fashioned interview where you’d be bombarded with one question after another with no opportunity to engage in a real conversation,” says Matt.
Stevenson & White can help. Head to stevensonandwhite.com for more information or call 613-225-5417.
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SPONSORED CONTENT
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OCTOBER 2018
Just as candidates are advised to show up early for a job interview, it’s important for the interviewer to start on time. This is a sign of respect – after all, the candidate is likely missing work to be there – and instills a sense of confidence in the company, showing how things are run internally. Similarly, not being well-prepared with questions or demonstrating that you haven’t read the candidate’s resumé beforehand may turn them off – especially those with other options available to them. Another consideration for hiring companies is how to format the interview. Where in your office are you hosting it? How many people are sitting in?
While there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for how to conduct a job interview, employers must be aware of the impression their interviews give. For example, a panel of three interviewers may seem more bureaucratic to some candidates in contrast to a relaxed sit down with a single person. Confidentiality is also important to most candidates so being interviewed in a glass-walled conference room may not be very appealing.
Sponsored Content
How Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall helps Ottawa companies go public Public securities clients include LiveWell Canada and Martello Technologies Group Inc. For those who don’t deal directly in public securities, it can be easy to breeze over the intricacies of taking a company public. More than a mere administrative process, public securities dealings require a heavy-hitting team that can get the job done diligently and quickly – in many instances, these highly complex moves must happen in a matter of months. “It’s about managing the many moving parts of the process in a timely and efficient manner,” says Robert Kinghan, a partner with Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l. and head of the firm’s business law group. With more than 40 years of public securities experience, the firm has helped take a number of local companies public. In June, the firm advised LiveWell Canada as it went public on the TSX Venture exchange. The burgeoning company, also headquartered in Ottawa, creates innovative products using cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids. In the months since, LiveWell has appointed several new executive team members and published a white paper on the extraction of CBD from industrial hemp. For these and other important moves, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall has been behind the scenes to ensure the budding company doesn’t make any mistakes that put it at risk.
Whatever you say publicly as a public company has to fall within the rules set for continuous disclosure
OCTOBER 2018
—Timothy McCunn
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“The balance of telling a good story without being too promotional is a real art form,” says Michael Gerrior, a Partner of the firm and member of its business law group “And you don’t gain that by reading a book or reading legislation, you gain that from experience.” Even more recently, Martello Technologies Group Inc. went public with the support of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall; the cloud and enterprise networking firm completed its reverse takeover (RTO) and listing on Sept. 12.
Members of Perley-Robertson Hill & McDougall LLP’s business law group. From left, Dirk Bouwer, Robert Kinghan, who serves as the group’s head, Timothy McCunn and Michael Gerrior. (Photo by Mark Holleron) A DELICATE PROCESS Most companies go public because they need to raise a large amount of capital and believe they can do so by selling stock in their company to the public. But going public is a complex process and requires strategic moves to ensure the transaction isn’t jeopardized before it even takes place. The team at Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall is fully equipped to take companies from structuring and strategy to their initial public offering (IPO) and beyond. “You focus on two huge buckets. One is governance and the other one is continuous disclosure, which is really important,” says Timothy McCunn, another member of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall’s business law group. Once a company is listed on a public stock exchange, it is obligated to continuously disclose any information that may affect its market price or value. A complex set of rules for each exchange means that businesses must be able to navigate the potential minefield that is governance and continuous disclosure. For the team at PerleyRobertson, Hill & McDougall, lawyers must simultaneously act as legal counsel, publicist and HR practitioner to ensure their clients don’t make a fatal misstep. “Whatever you say publicly as a public company has to fall within the rules set for continuous disclosure,” says McCunn. “Fundamentally, what you’re talking about must not mislead the market.”
TRUSTED ADVISORS As an Ottawa firm, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall is intimately familiar with the city’s business community, including its burgeoning tech sector. In recent decades, the team has seen the city’s perception of taking a company public shift. In part, they attribute this to greater awareness of what becoming a publicly traded company means. The firm has presented a number of seminars to local businesses in tandem with the TSX as a way to grow understanding of the process. And though many of PerleyRobertson, Hill & McDougall‘s clients choose to take their companies public on one of the Toronto-based stock exchanges, its business law group is equipped to assist with the transaction across any of the world’s 60 exchanges. At the heart of the law firm’s public securities strength is its depth of expertise, which allows it to punch well above its weight to compete with the country’s top national firms. “The difference here is that we do it all in Ottawa,” says McCunn.
Learn more at perlaw.ca.
CONNECTING TECH IN OTTAWA
TECHOPIA LIVE
Hollywood comes to Ottawa’s autonomous vehicles hub BY CRAIG LORD craig@obj.ca
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Chris Keefe, Aurrigo’s vice-president of autonomous programs, sits by one of the firm’s pods at Bayview Yards. Photo by Mark Holleron.
“You look back to your childhood, there’s so many creative ways that Hollywood produces tech before it’s actually a thing.” — Chris Keefe one-liner on camera, Keefe’s La La Land state of mind might serve him well as he enters a new world. “You look back to your childhood, there’s so many creative ways that Hollywood produces tech before it’s actually a thing,” he said. “Now that the technology is available, we can create these wonderful machines, vehicles to make life better, easier and safer.”
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going to be one of the major spaces in autonomy.” Keefe came into the Aurrigo fold while working on a robotics project in England with parent company RDM. Having grown up in Michigan before heading to Los Angeles, his automotive background lured him to the technical side of the industry. Though he’s not tuning up Johnny Cabs or catching a Schwarzenegger
OCTOBER 2018
efore autonomous vehicles were being built in our own backyards, people would turn to Hollywood to inform our ideas of what a self-driving car can be: Knight Rider’s KITT was exchanging witty banter with David Hasselhoff back in the ’80s; a recent instalment of the Fast and the Furious franchise featured Charlize Theron hacking a fleet of cars and turning city streets into a demolition derby. While reality tends to be less fantastical than that, Chris Keefe – Aurrigo’s vice-president of autonomous programs – called on his 20 years spent as a film and TV producer in Hollywood to describe how the firm’s autonomous pods shuttle passengers across short distances. Think back to Total Recall’s Johnny Cabs, Keefe suggested, which took a confused Arnold Schwarzenegger from place to place in the original 1990 film. He quickly added that Aurrigo’s model does not come with the “creepy” whistling driver. Don’t expect to see pods from Aurrigo – Latin for “chariot” – driving alongside you on the 417. The U.K.-based firm, which landed in Ottawa earlier this
spring, develops transport solutions for the “first and last mile” of transportation. Its four-seat pods are ideal for getting people around amusement parks, retirement communities or industrial parks. Keefe suggested the Canadian Tire Centre might make good use of them during Senators games. “You take a pod from where you park your car to the stadium. So you don’t have to endure the harsh Ottawa winter for that 10- to 15-minute walk,” he said during a recent episode of Techopia Live. Speaking of the snow, Ottawa’s ofteninclement weather was actually a point in the capital’s favour when Aurrigo, which also has offices in Texas and Australia, was looking for the next place to expand. “Weather conditions that are less than ideal – sleet, snow, freezing rain – we have to contend with just like you would in any other vehicle. We really think this is the place to do it,” Keefe said. Though he’s currently the firm’s only local employee, Keefe said the other reason Aurrigo chose to expand to Ottawa was the level of activity and available talent in the city. Ottawa’s stated ambition to be a hub for AV development, alongside resources from government and private-sector players, has made the capital attractive for companies such as Aurrigo, he said. “You find out real quick that this is
NEWS FROM CANADA’S LARGEST TECHNOLOGY PARK - KANATA NORTH BREAKING THE DATA CENTRE MONOPOLY (AGAIN)
How #MeToo affected Ottawa tech firms
http://bit.ly/Purecolo
NEPTEC SHARPENS ITS FOCUS WITH NEW TECH FOR SPACE MISSIONS http://bit.ly/Neptec
JOHN PROCTOR’S CLIMB TO THE TOP http://bit.ly/John-Proctor
JAMIE PETTEN SCALES UP: NEW KNBA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AIMS TO BE A ‘CHAMPION FOR TALENT’ OCTOBER 2018
http://bit.ly/Jamie-Petten
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From left: Stratford Managers’ Amanda Gordon, Mitel’s Amy MacLeod, Kinaxis’ Megan Paterson. Photo by Craig Lord.
READ THE NETWORKER: http://bit.ly/Networker-Summer-2018
BY CRAIG LORD craig@obj.ca
E
arlier this month, Techopia Live called on some of Ottawa’s largest tech firms to tackle an issue bigger than tech: Me Too and sexual harassment in the workplace. The Me Too movement has gone beyond Hollywood and brought issues of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace to the forefront of tech, with companies such as Uber seeing a purge of employees over incidents related to sexual harassment. Workplaces closer to home have also felt the effects of Me Too. Amy MacLeod, the vice-president of strategic communications and corporate diversity officer at Mitel, told Techopia Live that the conversation around sexual harassment in the workplace has never been louder than it is today. “The discussion is open, the awareness is up, we have all had an incredibly shocking wake-up call that this is an issue that must be addressed in the workplace,” she said. The increased awareness has also led to a degree of uncertainty. Amanda Gordon, vice-president of HR consulting at Techopia sponsor Stratford Managers, said she’s been approached by a number of clients in recent months who are worried about stepping over a line.
Questions mostly revolved around everyday things – holding the door, getting dinner with a female colleague or going on work trips – that weren’t top of mind for some men before Me Too. While the full Techopia Live panel agreed that Me Too was a sign of progress in the workplace, the conversation shifted to the movement’s next steps. Megan Paterson, chief human resources officer at Kinaxis, noted there are valuable connections within companies that could be hindered if the rules of engagement aren’t clear. She hopes that Me Too will lead to more comfortable professional workplace relationships Visit bit.ly/ between men and TechopiaLive women, rather to watch the than dividing them. video “What I’m worried about is men really withdrawing,” she said. “I think it’s something we should be aware of, and not over-rotate.” Each guest agreed that the way forward was for management to focus on open conversations that encompass not only Me Too, but the full scope of healthy workplaces. MacLeod noted that for startups, it’s productive to establish a “tone at the top” for what behaviour is acceptable and what isn’t.
Ottawa lawyers v. Google They claim the search engine’s results are violating publication bans, even when protected persons aren’t named in the case. How would that happen? BY CRAIG LORD craig@obj.ca
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More about mastering Google’s algorithm on techopia.ca
INNOVATION ACCOUNTING FOR INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
OCTOBER 2018
wo Ottawa lawyers have filed an $80-million class-action lawsuit against Google, claiming the search giant’s results are inadvertently revealing names protected by a publication ban. A statement of claim submitted to Ontario Superior Court earlier this month by Norman Mizobuchi and Michael Crystal, partners at Ottawa’s Spiteri & Ursulak LLP, alleges that Google is bringing up the names of persons protected under courts’ publication bans in related searches. While the class-action suit is meant to encompass any party in Canada potentially affected by the phenomenon, the claim is submitted on behalf of a John Doe, a Vancouver resident whose name was protected under a ban when he faced criminal charges two years ago as a teenager. The statement alleges that Doe was popping up as a related search in results about the court case, alongside articles that never even mentioned his name. Vice-versa, searches for Doe’s name would bring up stories about the case. Mizobuchi and Crystal cite a 2017 investigation by the Ottawa Citizen which highlighted similar examples in Canada.
The claim asserts that Google failed to take necessary steps to prevent Doe’s name from being revealed in relation to his court case, and suggests that he and others in similar circumstances may have suffered damages as a result. Techopia reached out to Google to learn more about why something like this might happen, but did not hear back before publication. Instead, we spoke to Lindsay Kavanagh, senior digital strategist for Ottawa-based marketing agency seoplus+, to tell us why Google’s search function might be connecting the dots – even when the dots aren’t there. “The algorithm that Google has is running too well,” Kavanagh says. Google’s search results are populated by keywords, she explains. When an article is posted it gets a number of keywords associated with it, even if those terms aren’t referenced in the article. This process is also informed by Google users’ activities. If you were to search a few terms together and click through to an article, that article would become associated with those keywords. Usually that process helps the algorithm to inform better search results. But in this case, if someone who knew John Doe’s connection to the case searched for it alongside his name, that act could be enough to link the two terms indefinitely. “It’s the way Google can help decide what the most relevant search result is for each query that people are searching,” Kavanagh says. “So it’s really from the users that this change happens.” For seoplus+, one of OBJ’s fastestgrowing companies in 2017, staying up to date on Google’s ever-changing algorithm is part of the job. In order to keep its services sharp, its team has to know how to keep clients’ sites high on Google’s radar. But managing Google results isn’t just about being found – sometimes it’s about keeping bad press away from searching eyes.
PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON
CYRIL LEEDER / MYERS AUTOMOTIVE GROUP
OCTOBER 2018
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
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Former Ottawa Senators president Cyril Leeder has taken the wheel at Myers Automotive Group as the organization’s first CEO, a move that keeps the well-known businessman right where he wants to be: Ottawa. Leeder officially joined Myers in early September. He’ll oversee the operations and long-term strategies for the Ottawa-based company,
which currently has 17 dealership locations and roughly 1,000 employees. Leeder tells OBJ that he couldn’t pass up the chance to step into the driver’s seat of a sizeable, family-run business such as Myers Auto Group. “It’s a rare opportunity,” he says. Co-owners Harry and Robert Mews hailed the new CEO as a “community leader” who will
“bring a unique perspective to the rapidly changing automotive retail industry.” The Myers owners first contacted Leeder last fall about the possibility of stepping into a senior leadership role at the company. The new chief sees challenges on the horizon for all automotive dealerships, with electric cars and autonomous vehicles primed to
disrupt existing sales models in the coming decades. Automotive may be a new industry for Leeder, but an old adage from his hockey days still informs his approach: you don’t look at where the puck is; you look at where it’s going. “It’s a disruption that you know is coming, you can see it, so you have an opportunity to plan for it.”
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Amy MacLeod has been named corporate diversity officer and VP of strategic communications at Mitel. MacLeod was previously Mitel’s VP of corporate communications and director of corporate communications. Prior to that, she served as director of communications at General Dynamics Canada. Napkyn Analytics has appointed Jennifer Batley its new president. Batley, who was previously senior vice-president at Walker Information, has more than two decades of experience in global enterprise consulting, focusing on digital transformation and marketing. The Shaw Centre has appointed Jason McCooeye as director of operations and Mark Gamble as director of sales. McCooeye served as operations manager at the convention centre since 2011. Before that, he was in charge of food and beverage operations for Aramark at Carleton University. Gamble has more than a decade of experience in sales, most recently as director of ticket sales and service with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group. PwC has appointed Sabrina Fitzgerald as managing partner for the National Capital Region. Fitzgerald specializes in private company services and has more than 20 years’ experience in providing a range of services in various industries, including real estate, technology and manufacturing. CareWorx has named Piero Chiodo senior vice-president of global
business development for its IT service management division, MSPWorx. Chiodo joins CareWorx after a brief retirement from a 33-year career with IBM, where he served most recently as vice-president – AI and digital workplace services.
HATS OFF Jeff Westeinde has received the L.S. Lauchland Engineering Alumni Medal from Western University’s Faculty of Engineering. The award is presented to alumni for their outstanding contributions to the engineering profession, business leadership and community. Westeinde, a 1989 graduate of the school, is an investor, entrepreneur and president of Zibi Canada, a sustainable mixed-use development on former industrial lands on the Ottawa River. The Town of Renfrew has won an Economic Developers Association of Canada marketing award for its publication, Town of Renfrew Community Profile 2018. The award is in the category of “single publication – 4 or more pages” used to attract business investment and tourism or to promote use of services.
CONTRACTS The following contains information about recent contracts, standing offers and supply arrangements awarded to local firms.
Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc. 1000-116 Albert St. Financial and related services, N.E.S. Buyer: Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada $6,830,140 Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc. 1000-116 Albert St. Financial and related services, NES Buyer: Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada $6,830,140
Michael Wager Consulting Inc. 173 Dalhousie St. CA PPM configuration and maintenance services (Informatics professional services) Buyer: DND $1,897,270
Multishred Inc. PO Box 65044, Merivale PO Material mutilation capability Dundurn / Specialized ammunition handling and servicing equipment Buyer: DND $2,584,000
R.W. Tomlinson Ltd. 100 Citigate Dr. Portage Bridge - surface repairs Buyer: NCC $1,609,725
Offices in Perth, Prescott and Ottawa
MASONRY REPAIRS WATERPROOFING CAULKING COATINGS CONCRETE REPAIRS
JONAS •RON Masonry Repairs • Waterproofing 3717 ST. JOSEPH BLVD, ORLEANS, ON, K4ARepairs 0Z7 • Caulking • Coatings • Concrete FAX: 613-837-6724
www.jonasrestoration.com RON JONAS 3717 St. Joseph Blvd, Orleans, ON, K1C 1T1
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TEL: 613-837-0111
OCTOBER 2018
For full conference details and to register, visit realestateforums.com/ottawaref
BluMetric Environmental Inc. 3108 Carp Rd. Specialized shipping and storage containers Buyer: DND $1,996,514
TELUS Communications Inc. 7-215 Slater St. Audio-visual systems, Carling Campus Buyer: DND $2,622,809
October 16, 2018 Ottawa Conference & Event Centre
Register Today $435 + HST
IBM Canada Ltd. 3755 Riverside Dr. Informatics professional services Buyer: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada $2,028,743
TPG Technology Consulting Ltd. 100-887 Richmond Rd. Informatics professional services Buyer: Canada Border Services Agency $2,938,448
The 24 th Annual
650 ATTENDEES 60 SPEAKERS 14 SESSIONS
Randstad Interim Inc. 410-1600 Carling Ave. Informatics professional services Buyer: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada $2,479,575
S.i. Systems Ltd. 300-170 Laurier Ave. W. Informatics professional services Buyer: Canada Border Services Agency $3,591,436
Atwill-Morin (Ontario) Inc. 87 Bentley Ave. Kingston Mills Lock 46-49 rehabilitation Buyer: PWGSC $10,970,952
Rima Aristocrat, president and CEO of Willis College, has been inducted into the Cyber Startup Observatory’s hall of fame. The organization recognizes the contributions of senior global cybersecurity leaders from the financial institutions, government, health-care corporations, universities, technology companies and other key industry players.
ADGA Group Consultants Inc. 110 Argyle Ave. TBIPS requirement - project management services Buyer: PWGSC $6,396,924
THE LIST Company/Address Phone/Fax/Web
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
OCTOBER 2018
11
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12 13 13 15 16
No. of local lawyers
LARGEST LAW FIRMS
CORRECTION: The original printed version of this list erroneously omitted Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall. The corrected version of the list, which lists the firm as No. 3, appears below.
(RANKED BY NUMBER OF OTTAWA LAWYERS)
No. of local support staff/ No. of local offices
No. of national lawyers/ No. of national support staff/ No. of national offices
Managing partner(s) or key executive/ Year established in Ottawa
Services offered
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP 2600-160 Elgin St., Ottawa, ON K1P 1C3 613-233-1781 / 613-563-9869 gowlingwlg.com
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256 1
498 1,106 7
Wayne Warren 1887
More than 1,400 legal professionals in 18 cities worldwide. Provides clients with expertise in key global sectors and a suite of legal services in business law, advocacy and intellectual property.
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP 1300-100 Queen St., Ottawa, ON K1P 1J9 613-237-5160 / 613-787-3558 blg.com
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207 1
723 1,411 5
Katherine Cooligan 1952
National, full-service law firm focusing on commercial litigation and arbitration, business law and intellectual property solutions. Also assists clients with financing as well as trademark and patent registration.
Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l. 1400-340 Albert St. Ottawa, ON K1R 0A5 613-238-2022 / 613-238-8775 perlaw.ca
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60 1
0 0 1
Anthony P. McGlynn R. Aaron Rubinoff co-chairs 1971
Full-service law firm specializing in: business law; commercial disputes; labour and employment law; commercial real estate development; intellectual property; immigration; tax; personal legal needs; police law; international arbitration
Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP 300-50 O’Connor St., Ottawa, ON K1P 6L2 613-238-8080 / 613-238-2098 nelligan.ca
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72 1
0 0 0
Mia Hempey 1963
Multi-service, including: business law; intellectual property; fertility law; commercial litigation; real estate and development; condo law; employment law; personal injury; estate planning; family law; indigenous law; labour law; mediation and arbitration services
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP 1500-45 O’Connor St., Ottawa, ON K1P 1A4 613-780-8661 / 613-230-5459 nortonrosefulbright.com
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WND 1
720 WND 6
Pierre-Paul Henrie 1984
Business law; M&A; real estate; employment/labour; Canadian/global regulatory; international trade; technology/innovation; business ethics/anti-corruption; dispute resolution/litigation; construction; food, agribusiness; health; patents/trademarks
Kelly Santini LLP 2401-160 Elgin St., Ottawa, ON K2P 2P7 613-238-6321 / 613-233-4553 kellysantini.com
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48 2
0 0 0
Kelly Sample 1976
ADR; bankruptcy and insolvency; business law; construction and development; employment law; estate and trust planning; family law; insurance law; litigation and dispute resolution; not-for-profit-real estate
Emond Harnden LLP 707 Bank St., Ottawa, ON K1S 3V1 613-563-7660 / 613-563-8001 ehlaw.ca
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20 1
1 0 1
Antoinette Strazza 1987
Management-side employment and labour law; wrongful dismissal claims; human rights and harassment complaints; human resources training; employment contracts; workplace policies and sick leave management; WSIB; OHS; pension and benefits
Mann Lawyers LLP 300-11 Holland Ave. Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4S1 613-722-1500 / 613-722-7677 mannlawyers.com
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38 3
0 0 0
Edward K. Mann 2003
Commercial and business law; commercial and residential real estate; commercial leasing; employment and labour law; bankruptcy and insolvency; civil litigation; trusts, wills and estates; family law; personal injury; motor vehicle accidents
Soloway Wright LLP 700-427 Laurier Ave. W. Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y2 613-236-0111 / 613-238-8507 solowaywright.com
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47 1
2 WND 1
Christin Powell Bernie Roach Daniel Coderre 1946
Labour and employment law; estate planning and administration; business; debt/equity financing; insolvency/receiverships; leasing; franchising; corporate and contract law; commercial and residential real estate; municipal/expropriation; litigation
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP 1300-55 Metcalfe St., Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5 613-236-3882 / 613-230-6423 fasken.com
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18 1
604 875 6
Scott Prescott Virginia Schweitzer 1980
Communications; business; litigation; labour, employment and human rights; international trade; anti-bribery and corruption; intellectual property; competition; public law; government relations and ethics; privacy; constitutional and administrative
Low Murchison Radnoff LLP 400-1565 Carling Ave. Ottawa, ON K1Z 8R1 613-236-9442 / 613-236-7942 lmrlawyers.com
28
32 1
0 0 0
Michael L. Wong 1938
Business/corporate/commercial; financing; real estate; education; civil/commercial litigation; licensing; construction; franchising; employment/labour; personal injury/disability; family; wills/trusts/estate planning; procurement; IP; trademarks
Sicotte Guilbault LLP 208-4275 Innes Rd., Orléans, ON K1C 1T1 613-837-7408 / 613-837-8015 sicotte.ca
27
37 3
0 0 0
Michel Sicotte 1993
Full service including: business law; family law; real estate law; litigation and dispute resolution; intellectual property; wills and estates; employment law; mediation
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP 1900-340 Albert St., Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y6 613-235-7234 / 613-235-2867 osler.com
25
45 1
401 533 4
Donna White 1946
National law firm including IP; pharmaceutical litigation; technology; corporate finance and securities; mergers and acquisitions; taxation; regulatory law and privacy law delivering national and cross-border services.
Dentons Canada LLP 1420-99 Bank St., Ottawa, ON K1P 1H4 613-783-9600 / 613-783-9690 dentons.com
25
37 1
454 655 6
David P. Little 1985
Regulatory matters; public policy; venture tech; litigation and dispute resolution; real estate; banking; lending; intellectual property; employment law; securities; telecommunications; privacy; marketing; labelling
Tierney Stauffer LLP* 510-1600 Carling Ave.,Ottawa, ON K1Z 0A1 613-728-8057 / 613-728-9866 tslawyers.ca
24
WND 3
0 0 0
Stephen Tierney 1982
Corporate and commercial law; commercial litigation; employment law; construction law; tax law; wills and estates; personal injury, residential real estate
LaBarge Weinstein LLP 800-515 Legget Dr., Ottawa, ON K2K 3G4 613-599-9600 / 613-599-0018 lwlaw.com
20
20 1
5 2 1
Shane McLean 1997
Corporate; commercial; securities; taxation; tax planning; tax litigation; mergers and acquisitions; secured lending transactions; intellectual property and technology law; licensing
*These companies did not respond in time for publication. This information is from previous years, and/or the company’s website. WND = Would not disclose.
LAST WORD Great River Media, 250 City Centre Ave., Suite 500, Ottawa, Ontario, K1R 6K7 obj.ca TELEPHONE Phone: 613-238-1818 Sales Fax: 613-248-4564 News Fax: No faxes, email editor@obj.ca PUBLISHER Michael Curran, 238-1818 ext. 228 publisher@obj.ca CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER Terry Tyo, 238-1818 ext. 268 terry@greatriver.ca EDITOR, PRINT CONTENT David Sali, 238-1818 ext. 269 david@greatriver.ca REPORTER Craig Lord, 238-1818 ext. 285 craig@obj.ca HEAD OF CONTENT Peter Kovessy, 238-1818 ext. 251 pkovessy@obj.ca CONTENT CREATOR & CAMPAIGN MANAGER Jacquie Surges, 238-1818 ext. 222 jacquie@obj.ca NEWS RELEASES Please e-mail to editor@obj.ca. ADVERTISING SALES General Inquiries, 238-1818 ext. 286 sales@obj.ca Wendy Baily, 238-1818 ext. 244 wbaily@obj.ca Cindy Cutts, 238-1818 ext. 240 cindy@obj.ca Victoria Stewart, 238-1818 ext. 226 victoria@obj.ca CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tanya Connolly-Holmes, 238-1818 ext. 253 creative@greatriver.ca DESIGN DEPARTMENT Regan Van Dusen, 238-1818 ext. 254 regan@greatriver.ca Celine Paquette, 238-1818 ext. 252 celine@greatriver.ca FINANCE Jackie Whalen, 238-1818 ext. 250 jackie@greatriver.ca PRINTED BY Transcontinental Qualimax 130 Adrien-Robert, Parc Industriel Richelieu Gatineau, QC J8Y 3S2 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We welcome opinions about any material published in the Ottawa Business Journal or issues of interest to local businesspeople. Only letters with the writer’s full name, address and telephone number will be considered for publication. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published, but they might be used to verify authenticity. Letters can be e-mailed to editor@obj.ca.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Mark Sutcliffe
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With all of the turmoil surrounding the NAFTA negotiations, many Canadian politicians and media pundits have been calling on Canadian businesses to look beyond our southern border and diversify into other markets. But finding other global customers isn’t as easy as it might seem for local tech firms. I’m not saying it can’t be done. In my career, I have had the opportunity to develop new businesses in Europe, Asia and South America. Many Ottawa tech companies have already developed good global business opportunities. But ask anyone in tech, and they will tell you it’s a lot harder to develop markets outside of North America. For smaller companies in particular, it is often a risky bet. Global markets pose a myriad of challenges for North American-based businesses. When Ottawa firms do business within North America, they are dealing with similar legal and regulatory structures and business cultures. Companies can easily access business opportunities in the U.S. Most major American cities are a relatively short flight away and managers can make frequent trips to develop new opportunities and return home in time for the weekend.
However, when you are trying to do business in Asia or South America, you often face a 20-hour flight that will keep you away from your office for weeks because the cost of back-and-forth travel is prohibitive. Time zone differences make it difficult to connect with your teams back in Canada to respond to customer questions or to keep up with your regular job duties. And foreign business and social practices can create a much longer sales and engagement cycle than in Canada or the U.S. Global Affairs Canada has been very successful at negotiating trade agreements with Europe, Asia, South America and other regions. But the big challenge for our tech companies is understanding the specific benefits and opportunities those agreements provide them. Trade agreements are complex, and explaining them in a meaningful way to specific industries is difficult. Yet while it can be very difficult to go global, the potential returns are very attractive. To that end, the federal government needs to step up its support for companies looking to expand internationally. The United States, Britain, Australia and many Asian countries are much further advanced than Canada at implementing programs
CORRECTION Distributed alongside many copies of this edition of OBJ is the annual Book of Lists magazine. The printed edition erroneously omitted ADGA Group from the list of largest defence and security firms. The company ranks No. 2. Additionally, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall was omitted from the list of largest law firms. It ranks as No. 3. For an updated version of Book of Lists, visit obj.ca/bol.
m Do your homework. Understand the culture, language and regulatory differences in your targeted markets. m Allocate sufficient time and resources to establish your presence– then double or triple that estimate. m Align management and your board to understand the risks as well as the opportunities. m Find a mentor or business adviser with first-hand experience in that market to assist with your planning and execution. m Determine the best approach for supporting the new market, looking at options such as opening a local office or maintaining remote support; setting up a joint venture; using a local agent or establishing a subsidiary; and using local employees or transferring someone from your team to lead the office. m Use the Canadian Trade Commissionaires to help with planning and on-the-ground introductions and support.
that limit the risks for SMEs to go global by sharing in product localization costs, offsetting travel expenses and offering grants to cover planning activities such as market analysis. Many of my most memorable business successes have been from my international experiences. Unfortunately, so are some of my biggest failures. Taking a business to new international markets is exciting and challenging, but it is no easy task. Maybe that is what our prime minister was referring to when he said “hard things are hard.”
43 Jeffrey Dale is the president of Snowy Cloud and the former president of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation.
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All content of Ottawa Business Journal is copyright 2018. Great River Media Inc. and may not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher. Publisher’s Liability for error: The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with any advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of monies paid for the advertisement.
With NAFTA in flux, Jeffrey Dale says now might be the time for local tech firms to expand their horizons to other foreign markets — but they must tread carefully
JEFFREY DALE’S TIPS FOR GOING GLOBAL
OCTOBER 2018
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44 OCTOBER 2018
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THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE KANATA NORTH BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
BUSINESS ASSOCIA Fall 2018
WHERE WE WORK
GROWING MOBILE MARKET TAKES SSI MICRO’S KANATA TEAM NORTH Page 12
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WHAT WE’RE GEEKING OUT ON iPocket232 takes high-tech payment systems to gas retailers Page 14
WHERE WE LIVE New platforms for improving mental health in the workplace Page 16
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A HOME BETWEEN HOMES: How Premiere Suites helps Kanata companies attract top talent to the city Along with making a new hire’s move less stressful, studies show that a smooth relocation is also good for business As businesses in Kanata North continue to boom, so too does their need to hire top-tier talent. And for many companies, particularly those in tech, that often means looking beyond Ottawa to find the best person for the job. Moving within a city can be difficult enough, but relocating from another place – whether a different city, province or even country – creates a whole new set of challenges. As a strategic partner of Kanata North’s business community, Premiere Suites is positioned to address those challenges head on. “We are here for people who need more than a hotel room,” says Alex Cumminger, the firm’s director of business development. Premiere Suites has more than 30 short-term rental properties in Kanata, with more scattered throughout the rest of Ottawa. With a variety of townhomes and condos to choose from, the company is set up to host anyone from single professionals to those with families and even pets. “Pets are a major part of people’s lives,” says Cumminger. “If they had to make secondary arrangements for their pets that would just be another cause of stress, particularly if they’re travelling with kids.” More than a property management company, Premiere Suites offers fully furnished short term rentals
with full-sized kitchens, in suite laundry and all the other amenities needed to feel at home. Cumminger and his team work with HR departments, executive assistants and relocation managers to find the best location and unit for an incoming hire and their family in terms of number of bedrooms, accessibility and for families, proximity to local schools and activities. As a short-term rental provider with a typical stay length of more than 30 days, Premiere Suites offers a healthier and more cost-effective alternative to a hotel or home sharing service. Though they are less common, the company is also equipped to host guests for stays of seven nights or more. Units come equipped with a full kitchen, so guests can do groceries and enjoy home cooked meals rather than relying on take out or room service. “It’s a really turnkey operation,” he says. Guests benefit from full service in the units, which includes all utilities, unlimited internet access, VIP Rogers Cable, linens and towels and housekeeping. And for hiring companies footing the bill for a new hire’s relocation, Premiere Suites offers competitive rates, with stays of 30 days or more exempt from all taxes. Additionally, the company is fully insured and accredited, so hiring firms can rest easy knowing their newfound talent is in good hands with Premiere Suites.
WHY DOES A SMOOTH RELOCATION MATTER? For businesses hoping to attract top talent to Ottawa, a successful relocation can be the first step to a long, happy career with the hiring company. Along with making a new hire’s move less stressful, studies show that a smooth relocation is also good for business. In a recent study conducted by the Canadian Employee Relocation Council, selecting a neighbourhood and securing a residence were ranked as the top two causes for lost productivity among relocated employees.
Those companies that offer relocation decision assistance see an increase in acceptance from first-choice candidates. Overall, they also see a decrease in refusal.
When polled, 37 per cent of respondents cited concerns over housing or a mortgage as a reason for refusing a role in a new city.
2 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2018
After being offered relocation decision assistance, 81 per cent of respondents accepted a new role, a stark contrast to the 50 per cent that agreed to move without it.
You can read CERC’s report at
bit.ly/relocation-report.
Learn more at PremiereSuites.com. Questions? Contact reserve.ottawa@premieresuites.com or call 613-695-6510.
welcome message
A TIME OF RAPID TRANSFORMATION
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#MemberMondays. The conversations have been electric and it is evident business is booming in our Kanata North tech hub. Regardless of whether you powered through the summer or took a step back to reflect, fall marks a time of rapid transformation for us all. Long-standing Kanata North company Martello Technologies, for example, rang in its public listing at the TSX Venture Exchange. Solace Systems also announced a landmark deal to underpin the connected car communications systems for one of the world’s biggest producers of premium vehicles, Daimler, further reinforcing our strength as Canada’s autonomous vehicle capital.
Jamie Petten Executive director Kanata North Business Association
FALL 2018 KANATA NETWORKER 3
s the summer comes to a close and we move ahead into fall, I can’t help but feel a surge of momentum picking up in the Kanata North community. I hope that many of you are returning from restful holidays, feeling recharged to take on the final stretch of 2018. Perhaps you took time away with your team to reflect on what’s been accomplished this year to date. For many of you, summer did not slow you down. Deborah and I have had the pleasure of meeting with many of our member companies over the past few months. Thank you Syntronic, Magnet Forensics, Fidus Systems, TrendMicro and many more for hosting us for
As I look around Kanata North, I can see the effects of our community’s growth. With the pace picking up, many of you are back in the office and as a result, back on the roads. Traffic congestion is at an all-time high. It’s a sign of economic growth and business strength in our community, but also a signal to our municipal leaders of the essential transformation required with our roads and city infrastructure. With the municipal election just around the corner, the promise of change is upon us and soon we will have new leadership representing the priorities of our business community. I encourage you to get active and share your thoughts about the issues that are important to your teams, businesses and families. Get engaged and informed. Most importantly, get out and vote. The future of our tech hub depends on it. With school back in session and the business community continuing to scale, talent continues to be a top priority. I look forward to working with educational partners in our community to advance how the bright minds of the future connect to the opportunities that are abundant in Canada’s largest technology park. Fall also emphasizes a time of personal transformation for me. Seven months ago, my husband and I found out we were expecting our first child. Within the same week, I walked into a meeting with the Kanata North Business Association board of directors for an interview that would change my life. As a career-driven woman in tech, I have spent many sleepless nights over the years, wrestling with the notion of change. Turning down job opportunities and holding off growing my family as I thought if I chose one, it would mean deciding against the other. At the beginning of 2018, I decided to take a leap of faith and start saying YES. Yes to the job interview and offer of my dreams and yes to growing my family. It has been a whirlwind over these past seven months. Watching my body grow, feeling this little life inside of me and dreaming of what the future will look like when the baby arrives. All while leading a new company, getting to know the board, team and members of KNBA and planning for our future growth and direction. I have had the pleasure of meeting many fearless leaders in Kanata North, all of whom make up the unique DNA and collective identity of our business community. As the seasons change, it serves as a reminder to us all to embrace uncertainty and face transformation head on!
BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
what’s inside
“THIS CITY … IS AN AMAZING TECHNOLOGY WAREHOUSE.” – Deepek Wanner, on the iPocket232 team pictured above. IPocket232 is giving gas stations new high-tech revenue tools. Read the full story on page 14.
CONTENTS 6
WHAT’S NEW, WHAT’S NEXT Upcoming events and key dates
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BUSINESS BRIEFING News from Canada’s largest tech park
9
TALENT Gnowit’s Shahzad Khan joins Lytica
10 NICHE RBR’s tech dives into the world’s deepest oceans 12 WHERE WE WORK SSi Micro connects Kanata tech to Canada’s North 14 WHAT WE’RE GEEKING OUT ON iPocket232 rethinks gas station chip card readers
Networker
16 WHERE WE LIVE Innovative mental health strategies in the workplace
T H E K A N ATA
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE KANATA NORTH BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
BUSINESS ASSOCIATION Fall 2018
4 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2018
WHERE WE WORK
GROWING MOBILE MARKET TAKES SSI MICRO’S KANATA TEAM NORTH Page 12
The Kanata Networker is the official publication of the Kanata North Business Association. Learn more at kanatanorthbia.ca
Plus
WHAT WE’RE GEEKING OUT ON iPocket232 takes high-tech payment systems to gas retailers Page 14
WHERE WE LIVE New platforms for improving mental health in the workplace Page 16
All reporting by Rosa Saba
18 FINANCE Alacrity grows global portfolio 20 AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES A North American first in Kanata 22 LEADERSHIP Female mentors empower a new generation of tech talent
FALL 2018 KANATA NETWORKER 5
what’s new
WHAT’S NEXT?
REALTOR.CA HACKATHON 2018
Oct. 12-14 Developers, architects, UX designers, entrepreneurs, startups and tech companies are welcome to participate in the first-ever REALTOR.ca Hackathon. Canada’s No. 1 real estate website will be opening up a suite of data sets and APIs and challenge participants to design, build and demo a real-world solution in 48 hours. See our events calendar for more info.
BBQ & RAFFLE – SPECIAL LUNCH PARTY!
Sept. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Crowe BGK LLP is hosting a special fundraiser for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation at the Community Hub in Kanata North in place of our Wednesday Lunch Party. Cost is $10 for lunch, includes two burgers, chips and drink. Come on out and support a good cause, enjoy lunch outdoors and BBQ at the Hub! Check our events calendar for details.
CANADIAN-EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR DIGITAL HEALTH
Oct. 22-23, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Canadian European Trade Assembly for Digital Health will bring together Canadian digital health stakeholders and thought leaders from the European Union Digital Health Society. The two-day conference will explore business opportunities under the new Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) and connect Canadian, American and European stakeholders in the rapidly emerging fields of digital health and social care. See our events calendar for more details.
PURPOSE BEYOND PROFIT: HOW TO THRIVE IN A FUTURE THAT DEMANDS MORE 6 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2018
#SERIOUSTECHLIVESHERE BOBS AWARD
Nominations close on Friday, Sept. 28 Is your business located in Kanata North? Here’s your chance to spotlight your company as a Best Ottawa Business. Send nominations for the Kanata North #SeriousTechLivesHere Team of The Year or Company of the Year visit www.bestottawabusiness.ca for details. The Awards Gala will take place on Nov. 30 at The Westin Ottawa.
Oct. 24, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This is an interactive workshop that has everything leaders need to know about organizational purpose to make sure they don’t get left behind. From understanding the purpose market and defining your organization’s social personality, you’ll walk away with a greater understanding of what future employees and customers will be expecting and demanding. See our events calendar for more info.
EMPLOYEES’
CH ARICDSE
AW 18-19 20
EMPLOYEES’ CHOICE AWARDS
Registration deadline is Oct. 5 The ECA awards are back and looking for the top employers in National Capital Region. Boost your workplace credibility and attract the best talent by becoming an Employees’ Choice! Winners will be announced at a special awards presentation on Dec. 6. See our events calendar for more information or visit www.employeeschoice.ca to register your company.
TIECON CANADA
Nov. 1-2, from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. A flagship conference for start-ups, entrepreneurs, SMEs, industry veterans, investors and other members of the Canadian business community. The two-day conference will bring together members of the Canadian and global business community with an all-star roster of speakers from companies such as IBM, Nokia and Angellist who will provide insight on emerging innovations, business trends and competitive intelligence. There is an opportunity for startups to pitch at the TiECon Pitchfest for seed funding.
2018 COUNTERMEASURE IT SECURITY CONFERENCE Nov. 1-2, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. This conference is Ottawa’s premier IT security event and will feature some of the world’s most knowledgeable and influential IT security experts in private, public and research sectors. Join the opportunity to network with IT security experts. For more details see our events calendar.
SAAS NORTH 2018
Nov. 28-29, from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Canada’s only SaaS conference for scaling up. Ignited by L-SPARK, join a community of rockstar entrepreneurs, innovators and world-leading experts from across the SaaS ecosystem as they share their insights on driving exponential growth, building killer teams strategies for fundraising and partnerships. See our events calendar for info or visit saasnorth.com.
FALL 2018 KANATA NETWORKER 7
Kanata North … in brief Meet the KNBIA at AGM Join the Kanata North Business Association on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. for its annual general meeting at the Marshes Golf Club. The evening will bring together the Kanata North tech community for some networking, drinks, a recap of the past year and a discussion about the association’s plans for the coming months. Come provide feedback on the BIA’s activities, meet your fellow members and hear about what’s new and what’s next.
omNovos partners with Farm Boy on customer experience app Local food retailer Farm Boy is looking to create an app with two Ottawa companies aimed at streamlining and
enhancing the shopping experience. One company, omNovos, is a Kanatabased firm that specializes in mining customer data to help companies get to know their customers. In a media release, omNovos compared the app to the Starbucks app in terms of personalization. Ottawa company Iversoft will be responsible for the user interface, while OmNovos will be responsible for the back-end infrastructure of the app. It’s a big, multi-year contract, and a possible springboard for growth for the company, which evolved from local company DataKinetics in 2015.
Numbercrunch expands to Kanata
After four years of managing accounting, auditing and CFO duties for Ottawa’s tech startups, local firm numbercrunch has expanded to include
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a Kanata location. Co-founder Susan Richards says they saw an increase in interest from Kanata, since its target clients are tech startups looking to scale. “It made sense to come to Kanata,” Richards says, adding that the new office has more of a tech company vibe. As numbercrunch continues to build out their services, Richards says the proximity to Ottawa’s tech hub can only benefit the company. “Our DNA is here,” she says. “We’re really excited about getting more involved in this community.”
Martello goes public Kanata-based Martello Technologies made its debut on the TSX Venture Exchange in mid-September, marking yet another milestone for one of Ottawa’s fastest-growing tech firms. Trading under the symbol MTLO, the company’s shares opened at $0.50, giving the firm a valuation around $85.9 million. Martello’s technology manages and troubleshoots communications systems
handling high network traffic for enterprise enterprise customers. “We aren’t a fad,” CEO John Proctor told The Networker this summer. “As you add more requirements and data, we become more in demand, which is a great place to be.” Martello went public via a reverse takeover of a Vancouver-based shell company and is exploring additional acquisitions.
PROMOTING A PROGRESSIVE & DIVERSE ENGINEERING PROFESSION The 16 th Annual Claudette MacKay-Lassonde Fall Forum
REGISTER NOW • OSPEWEACT.CA
8 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2018
OCT.10.2018 • THE SHAW CENTRE This year’s theme centres around Women’s History Month. Together we will celebrate the invaluable contributions of historic and modern-day trailblazers— women in engineering who have shaped and changed our country. Here’s what you can expect: • Learn how to support gender equity in the workplace • Build your professional network • Gain valuable career advice
TO LEARN MORE:
Visit www.ospeweact.ca.
FOR INQUIRIES, CONTACT: Natasha Reid, Community Engagement & Events Specialist nreid@ospe.on.ca
Amid rapid growth, Lytica hires Shahzad Khan as chief research officer Gnowit founder forgoes Facebook job to stay in Kanata
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Dr. Shahzad Khan joined Lytica as its chief research officer earlier in 2018. combating human error in supply chain data by mapping data to an in-house reference library. Even though one of Khan’s job offers was a Facebook position in London, England, he says the decision to stay in Kanata made the most sense for him. Originally from Pakistan, he’s been in Ottawa since 2007 and has built a life in Canada’s capital. “I’m very happy with the way I can contribute to the ecosystem here,” he says, adding that he likes the steady, community-like feel of the technology park. “I felt that long-term I’d be happier staying in Ottawa,” says Khan. “The
Alongside his new role at Lytica, Shahzad Khan is also an adviser at several other tech companies, including: • zazuhōm (Ottawa) • EdgeworthBox (New York City) • BluWave-ai (Ottawa) • DroneEntry (Ottawa)
relationships are long term. You get to know people, and you stick with them and they stick with you.”
Most of Lytica’s clients are international, and Khan says that’s reflected in the diverse team working out of Kanata, which he jokes is like “a mini U.N” with dozens of languages spoken among the 21 people at the firm. Khan also wants to see Lytica continue growing – the firm has been doubling in size annually in recent years – and he wants to maintain that pattern and be part of the company’s long-term goals. The transition from Gnowit to Lytica was a logical one, he says. “It made sense for me, it made sense for the team, it made sense for our clients.”
FALL 2018 KANATA NETWORKER 9
arlier in 2018, Dr. Shahzad Khan had a decision to make. He had a few job offers that would take him away from Kanata, where he had worked for several years as the founder of Gnowit, a platform that processes around 1.2 million documents a day from reliable sources such as news articles and public government information. He also had the opportunity to join Kanata-based company Lytica, which for a year had been working with Gnowit. Lytica, which Khan says has some of the biggest companies in the world on its client list, provides supply chain information and benchmarking data to companies that are procuring electronic components. Gnowit’s capability to distill and process real-time information was an asset to the company’s work. What began as a once-a-week consulting contract turned into a fulltime job that resulted in Khan, as well as several of his Gnowit team members, joining Lytica. Within three months of his initial consulting contract, Khan says it became clear that Gnowit had a lot to offer Lytica. Gnowit’s services helped to lower Lytica’s failure rate by around 80 per cent, he says. “It was related to the same things – being able to pull data from online sources (and) being able to make sense of documents,” he says. “It was a winwin situation for everyone.” He officially joined Lytica as its chief research officer in April 2018. Khan is currently working on Lytica’s new project, a solution aimed at
To the ocean floor and back: RBR marks 45th anniversary Specialized technology provides insights into climate change, earthquakes
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Global deployment: RBR technology has been used around the world, including Greenland, Antarctica, Bermuda and Quebecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Saguenay Fjord (clockwise from top). Provided by RBR.
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BR began in 1973, in the basement of a British engineer’s Glebe home. Founder Richard Brancker launched the business to provide electronics consulting for the government, and what started as a small basement company not only took over his house, but also the one next door. When Brancker retired in the late 1990s, fellow British expat Frank Johnson took over the company and turned it on its head, focusing on a specific product RBR had become an expert in: a simple water temperature recorder. Over the next 12 years, RBR worked on this device until it was as accurate as possible, all the while expanding its sensor-based technology. Some 45 years since Brancker’s humble Glebe beginnings, RBR – which now calls Hines Road in Kanata North home – is a leader in developing specialized instruments that measure various oceanographic parameters, helping to provide insights into climate change and taking scientific research into the deepest parts of the world’s oceans. In addition to the temperature sensor technology, RBR develops loggers to store the data and telemetry systems to recover
the data remotely, resulting in an all-inone device. Johnson’s son, Greg, took over the company around six years ago. An expert in X-ray instrumentation and material science, Greg wasn’t an oceanographer when he joined RBR to run its research and development department, but he threw himself in head-first and helped grow the company from a team of 20 to 53. He speaks with pride about the niche RBR has carved for itself in a highly specialized industry (the company only has a handful of competitors worldwide). “We have instruments that have been to the bottom of Marianas Trench (in the Pacific Ocean) … we have instruments that are deployed from the polar regions to the tropics,” he says. “They’ve been buried in permafrost in Canadian Arctic … we have instruments that are put into glaciers.” RBR’s devices have even been embedded in the Earth’s crust after an earthquake caused a deadly tsunami in Japan in 2011. By measuring the temperature using a chain of the devices planted across the fault line, scientists were able to detect tectonic plates rubbing together, providing insight into the minute
2019
2019
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEEK
MAY 22 - 24
SHAW CENTRE
level of friction that could cause another earthquake. With the temperature recorder already at maximum accuracy, RBR has been focused on developing its user-friendly device into a system of components that can be sold separately for other uses. For example, RBR’s sensors have been used in an underwater drone collecting data related to the prediction of climate change. One of the things that makes RBR a leader in its industry is a focus on devices
with low power consumption, allowing users to deploy devices and leave them to work for up to ten years. Six years ago, Greg moved RBR into an unfinished building in Kanata, where the company was able to design the space they needed. Being in the technology park also fits with RBR’s growth plans, he says. “We’re always looking for new staff and it’s much easier to find them here,” he says. “There’s just such tremendous strength of talent.”
613-831-2121 420 Hazeldean Road, Kanata, ON K2L 4B2
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PRINT & COPY • LARGE FORMAT PRINTING trade show products - signage - brochures - business cards - more
THE ANNUAL LEAR NING EV ENT SEMAINE OF IM DE / IT GOVERNMENT PERFECTIONNEMENT PROF ESS IO NALS
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Veniot. Providing broadband to the Arctic is still a new frontier. The next frontier is mobile. Now, SSi Micro is rolling out cellular services to the communities it serves, with the goal of completing the project by the end of 2018.
IMPACT
where we work
12 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2018
Kanata SSi Micro team pushing new frontiers in Canada’s North With its head office located 5,000 kilometres away, local team fosters a unique workplace culture while collaborating with colleagues in Yellowknife
B
ehind SSi Micro’s Kanata office, two satellites point to the sky, one housed in an inflated protective globe. The signals they receive come from some of Canada’s most remote northern communities. SSi Micro is an internet and mobile
provider, with internet services in 25 communities in Nunavut and more across the territories. However, it was actually founded before the internet – Jeff Philipp and his wife Stef started SSi Micro in 1990 as a small computer seller out of the Snowshoe Inn in Fort Providence, N.W.T.
The operation grew, and its first broadband satellite network was launched in five communities in 1998. That became Qiniq, SSi Micro’s internet service provider. “We’ve been first at a lot of things,” says communications manager David
The Kanata location opened in 2012, and has since grown to house more employees than the Yellowknife headquarters. It’s a state-of-the-art teleport facility, as well as an engineering office and network monitoring centre. The Kanata location employs a diverse set of people, many of whom had never been to the North until they joined SSi Micro. Part of the Kanata location’s appeal is its proximity to the federal government, says chief development officer Dean Proctor. SSi Micro works closely with regulatory bodies and government organizations that subsidize some of its work. Its main competitor is Northwestel, owned by Bell, which is now starting to roll out mobile services in some of the same communities Qiniq operates in. Veniot says the meaning of Qiniq is about more than just internet, something often taken for granted elsewhere in Canada. Bringing connectivity to these communities had an immediate and positive impact on education, health care and business. Schools can now access online educational resources; health-care providers have improved access to upto-date research; and small businesses started to use Facebook and email to reach more customers, allowing them to expand their client base and use digital tools to coordinate product deliveries. SSi Micro also started a program in partnership with Cisco called Connected North. Using the same high-definition telepresence units that link the Kanata and Yellowknife boardrooms, they connected classrooms with educators from around the world. Attendance rates spiked almost immediately, and Proctor says they’ve stayed high, resulting in better grades and graduation rates. With the addition of mobile, Proctor says the impact is just as strong, especially for the younger population. “You’re bringing in a product – mobile service – to a community that’s never had it before,” he says. “They
“YOU’RE BRINGING IN A PRODUCT – MOBILE SERVICE – TO A COMMUNITY THAT’S NEVER HAD IT BEFORE.” – Dean Proctor, chief development officer, SSi Micro
ABOVE: Left to right: John Muise, David Veniot and Shannon Spooner stand in the Kanata clubhouse. Shannon is part of SSi Micro’s People/Person Department, and organizes events to help foster the connection between the Kanata and Northern employees. LEFT: David Veniot is SSi Micro’s communications manager. PHOTOS BY MARK HOLLERON
know what they’re missing, and when it arrives, it’s extremely gratifying to see.”
NORTHERN CONNECTIONS
COMMITMENT TO LOCAL CULTURE
Will Ingarfield, manager of network services, has worked for SSi Micro since he finished high school. He visits the Kanata location a couple of times a year now that the customer care team is expanding. He says he didn’t realize at first how lucky he was to work for SSi Micro.
“We get a lot of leeway with doing what is right,” he says. In essence, SSi Micro will do whatever it takes to make things work for their customers. For example, some of the communities are what Veniot calls “cash economies,” often hunters or carvers who don’t have a need for the credit cards typically used for prepaid internet or mobile plans. The customer service representatives in each community, many of whom are Inuit and/or speak Inuktitut, have their own credit cards so that customers aren’t forced to sign up for one just to prepay for service. “We have a commitment to working with the local culture,” says Cory Wishak, director of engineering. Previously with Bell, Wishak sought out SSi Micro after some volunteer work in remote areas made him realize Canada had communities that were still under-served when it came to communications. “We’re doing something for the very first time,” says Wishak. “That’s exactly what I was hoping to do.”
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The meaning of this work is not lost on the people who work at SSi Micro, even those who are based in Kanata, almost 5,000 kilometres from Yellowknife. There’s a huge focus on company culture, especially when it comes to fostering and maintaining a connection between the Kanata employees and what goes on up North. Most of them have been at least once; Proctor spends one week out of every six in the Northwest Territories. Part of that culture is SSi Micro’s mission, and the inspiring nature of the company’s founder. Philipp makes sure to stay connected with the Kanata office, and reaches out to every new hire. His passion for his work is infectious, says Veniot.
He explains that it was never just about computers, telecom or mobile for Philipp. It has alwats been about improving the Northern communities he cared about, and that mission is what has driven him to grow SSi Micro into the company it is today. “When you meet Jeff, you get a sense of the company’s passion,” he says. “He’s seen the problems in the communities, and he’s got a really good idea about how to solve them.” John Muise, director of network services, says having a mission makes it easy for everyone to stay motivated. SSi Micro puts a lot of effort into hiring a certain kind of person, based on three main qualities: Technical qualification, passion for the job and sociability. “You have to have all three of those ingredients to be successful,” he says. As a tight-knit, hard-working team,
Muise says it’s important that new hires understand the mission and are driven to get to know the company, both in Kanata and the North. Both locations have “clubhouses,” living-room-style spaces used for lunch, events and afterwork socializing. “The culture that they’ve developed (in Yellowknife) for working is what we’re always trying to imitate here,” says Muise. There’s even a department for that: the People Person Department, or PPD, which has a hand in hiring as well as the events held in both offices. PPD employees collaborate for Christmas parties and planning celebrations to mark other religious holidays including Eid and Diwali.
BELOW: Installed in gas stations, FuelLynx uses demographic data from customers’ cards to target advertising and can also notify the customer of in-store deals or coupons. FACING PAGE: The iPocket232 team has extensive experience with payment systems as well as the gas station industry. PHOTOS BY MARK HOLLERON
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what we’re geeking out on
Profit at the pump: iPocket232’s networking gear to generate new revenues for retailers Some 150,000 U.S. gas stations have yet to install chip card readers. A Kanata North company is giving them an increased incentive to upgrade.
I
n the heart of the Kanata technology park, a small company focused on networking gear for gas stations has been quietly working on a new project – a chip-card reader retrofit for self-serve gas pumps, but one that does much more than just take payments. Deepak Wanner founded Precidia Technologies in 1999, focusing on application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, for Internet of Things technology. During the tech bust, the company pivoted toward networking gear. As North American payment technology gravitated to chip cards, Precidia was purchased in 2015 by U.S. firm Merchant Link, which was keen to acquire the firm’s payment software and devices. What was left became iPocket232, named for the networking gear sold
to reduce the credit card fees business owners pay, such as Venmo or Walmart Pay. Wanner says iPocket’s team recognized a need and opportunity for innovation in the gas industry. “We would like to do something different,” he says.
EXPANSION PLANS
“IT’S A RIPE MARKET FOR CONVERSION.” – Deepak Wanner, owner, WannLynx
insight into a largely untapped market, according to Wanner. The deadline for installing chip-card readers at U.S. self-serve fuel pumps has been extended to Oct.1, 2020, a date imposed by bank and credit card companies. Since there’s no incentive for gas station owners to retrofit their pumps other than to comply with regulations, Wanner says around 150,000 gas stations across the U.S. have yet to make the switch. “It’s a ripe market for conversion,” he says. How? “You’ve got to give them some value at the pump.”
That value comes in the form of an interactive screen that works in tandem with the chip reader to offer tailored advertising, from both outside companies and the gas station itself. WannLynx, or its product FuelLynx, can use demographic data from the card to target advertising, and can also notify the customer of in-store deals or coupons; with the rise in self-serve pumps, gas station owners are constantly looking for ways to get customers inside their store. Unlike iPocket232’s networking products, which are hardware-based, most of FuelLynx’s capabilities are housed in the cloud, which will customize content on the screen. It’s not just advertising – there’s also an opportunity to offer surveys or other interactive options. Between advertising revenue and higher in-store profits, Wanner says the FuelLynx upgrade offers gas station owners a way to subsidize the cost of a retrofit. WannLynx is also looking at including alternate payment methods
FALL 2018 KANATA NETWORKER 15
primarily to gas stations in the U.S. and Canada. IPocket232 continued on a steady path and its development team members recently began working on a new venture called WannLynx, focused on chip payment retrofits for U.S. gas stations. Meanwhile, Wanner has been working for Merchant Link for three years since the acquisition of Precidia. This October, he plans to rejoin iPocket232 as it prepares to launch WannLynx. The company’s history with payment systems, combined with its knowledge of the petroleum and gas station industry, has provided it with
TARGETED ADVERTISING
Pat Wudwud, manager for iPocket232 and WannLynx, says when the company began focusing on networking gear, they “always knew” iPocket232 would be a launchpad for another venture. Now, with the deadline for chipreader conversion on the horizon, the company has been focused on developing and testing the three technological aspects of WannLynx: secure payments, advertising potential and data analytics. WannLynx is looking for investors, and is planning to ramp up hiring in both Canada and the U.S. There are currently a handful of employees in the Kanata R&D office, but Wanner wants to see the location grow to 20-30 developers, with more sales staff in the U.S., since that’s where the company’s primary market is. However, moving iPocket232’s or WannLynx’s R&D elsewhere has never been an option. Wanner says a diverse talent pool combined with an innovation-friendly government have made Kanata the right environment to develop in. “This city … is an amazing technology warehouse,” says Wanner. As for the local market, Canadian gas stations were retrofitted with chip readers around five years ago, says Wanner. Most gas station networking technology is used for around a decade before it’s upgraded, so within five years he hopes to see the Canadian market open up. Wanner acknowledges that the idea of targeted advertising is not one many consumers find appealing. However, he says that with the declining reach of traditional advertising and the rise in targeted advertising on social media platforms, companies are looking for new dedicated audiences – and those two or three minutes at the pump may be the next place to find it. “We just want to be at the right place at the right time,” he says.
where we live
Kanata tech leaders tackle mental health in the changing workplace Community shares innovative strategies aimed at sector’s unique challenges
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A
s mental health awareness becomes an increasingly prevalent subject in public and at work, people are turning to new platforms to deal with topics such as anxiety, depression and burnout. Whether it’s a manager who’s open to discussing anxiety, an entrepreneur whose mentor takes note of their stress levels, or even an app that makes access to mental health support easier, the Kanata tech community is full of initiatives aimed at destigmatizing mental health issues in the workplace. Over the summer, members of the community came together for Working
Minds #GetLouder, an afternoon event that included several panel discussions featuring tech leaders talking about mental health, sharing their professional perspectives and personal stories. The event was organized by the Kanata developers behind the mental health app SnapClarity. It works by starting with a digital mental health checkup that determines risk levels and a treatment plan before linking the user with a therapist who can be reached via text and video calling. The high-tech approach taken by SnapClarity reflects, in part, the needs of an evolving workforce. CEO Terri
“WHETHER YOU’RE A CEO OR WHETHER YOU’RE A MANAGER … MENTAL HEALTH DOESN’T DISCRIMINATE.”– Trisha Cooke, vice-president of marketing, You.i TV Storey hopes that she can move beyond individual users and enter the businessto-business space, with SnapClarity included as part of employee benefit packages. “We need to take better care of our mental health,” she says. “I don’t think people realize the economic and also the humanistic impacts.”
SUPPORT FOR ENTREPRENEURS Aside from its potential in traditional workplaces, SnapClarity could also
benefit entrepreneurs and other selfemployed people. For Erin Blaskie, who worked as an entrepreneur for 13 years and spoke at the #GetLouder event, mental health was a re-occurring struggle that she couldn’t placate with paid sick days, employee benefits or the support of a manager. “When you’re self-employed, there’s nothing,” she says. “There’s no one who’s going to pay your bills when you’re off.” One particularly devastating depressive episode, triggered in part by the heavy
workload she had brought upon herself in an effort to continue her successful career trajectory, made Blaskie realize she needed to make some changes. “Thankfully, I was able to work my way out of it,” she says, but it wasn’t easy. With some support from her family and several understanding clients, she “put one foot in front of the other,” pulling herself from the depths of the episode and managing to finish the work she had set out for herself. She changed her entire business model once she got through those projects. “I knew the way I had been going wasn’t sustainable, and I didn’t want to put myself back in the same situation,” she says. Blaskie focused on clients with long-term potential, narrowing her portfolio from around 70 to roughly a half-dozen. The new plan worked – without the stress of finding new projects, she was able to better manage her own health and her business. In her current role at L-Spark, she’s in a more traditional workplace, and says the difference in support is noticeable. “My entire life looks different now,” she says. “I’m much more supported now as an employee than I was as a selfemployed person.”
Data Dynamics
MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE • 1 in 5 Canadians experience a psychological health problem or illness in any given year. • Psychological health problems and illnesses are the No. 1 cause of disability in Canada. • Psychological health problems cost the Canadian economy — $51 billion per year, $20 billion of which results from work-related causes.
Erin Blaskie says she wants to pass on some of the mental health lessons she’s learned to other entrepreneurs. She works closely with many entrepreneurs, and hopes to be able to pass on some of what she’s learned so they don’t go through the same difficulties she did.
EVOLVING WORKPLACES
Trisha Cooke of You.i TV, who also spoke at #GetLouder, says she’s noticed the conversation about mental health opening up during her career in technology. “When I first started out, it was not something you discussed,” she says,
• 47% of working Canadians consider their work to be the most stressful part of daily life. • In any given week, at least 500,000 employed Canadians are unable to work due to mental health problems. (Source: Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2016)
referring to the anxiety she has often struggled with. Though she talks about her mental health with friends and some colleagues, she says sharing her experience at that event was an important step toward the destigmatization of mental health issues in the workplace. “Whether you’re a CEO or whether you’re a manager … mental health doesn’t discriminate,” she says.
Cooke highlighted the fact that employees need more than a good benefits package – if their manager is open to talking about mental health, they will be comfortable bringing up any problems they are having. Amy MacLeod, corporate diversity officer and vice-president of strategic communications at Mitel, says companies and managers should be starting to rethink the health supports they have in place for their employees. Mental health is increasingly recognized in conjunction with physical health, and she says SnapClarity is just one example of how technology can help address the growing need for mental health support. She also highlights the 24/7 nature of work, especially in the tech industry, as something that can be detrimental to mental health. “There really is no disconnect from the workplace,” she says, adding that managers should take note of employees who are overworking themselves, such as responding to emails at 2 a.m. “Managers, be aware,” she advises. “Opening the conversation on that level is the first step.”
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FALL 2018 KANATA NETWORKER 17
To stay ahead, contact Sean Murphy, CPA, CMA, FCMC, PMP, Regional Managing Partner and National Leader, Digital Services, at 613.271.3700 x 500 or sean.murphy@mnp.ca
Alacrity’s growing investments puts Kanata at the centre of global startup network Wesley Clover-backed initiative uses unique partnership model to build international ecosystem
T
he Alacrity Global Initiative continues to expand its portfolio of tech startups and venture capital funds around the world, with recent additions in Mexico City and Pune, India. The Alacrity Global Initiative was developed around five years ago by local company Wesley Clover, beginning in B.C. and expanding around the world.
Alacrity and Wesley Clover now have a presence in France, China, Mexico, Turkey, the U.S. and many other countries, with more in development. The Alacrity model is based on the strategy used by local tech titan Terry Matthews for decades, and involves the establishment of a network of micro
18 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2018
KANATA
International presence and development ALACRITY GLOBAL/WESLEY CLOVER POINTS OF PRESENCE ALACRITY GLOBAL MARKETS IN DEVELOPMENT
funds of between $10 million and $20 million. Wesley Clover identifies local investment partners such as individuals and governments, then finds and establishes a fund manager, who works with local universities for recruiting. “We work within the local economy,” says Greg Vanclief, the managing director of the Alacrity Global program. Working with the fund manager, Wesley Clover consults local customers to identify a need and a possible technology solution. Local universities
Greg Vanclief is the managing director of the Alacrity Global program. focus on recruiting an entrepreneurial team to start the company. Wesley Clover becomes a minority investor in the resulting fund, often along with Export Development Canada. Wesley Clover contributes intellectual property and resources to help companies grow more quickly. The startup can also partner with more than 50 Wesley Clover companies worldwide to use existing technology and access marketing channels so they can develop and deliver faster.
“WHAT WE DO IN OTTAWA IS WE SET THE BROAD STROKES OF THE GLOBAL STRATEGY.” – Greg Vanclief is the managing director of the Alacrity Global program.
“We’re identifying a customer and a customer need first, (rather than) identifying a company and a product ... and then trying to find a market,” explains Vanclief. “That allows us to create companies very quickly, create companies that have a global market from the get-go, and that are part of a global network in this Alacrity ecosystem.” Once the entrepreneurs have been recruited, they take part in a one-month boot camp in Kanata. The program exposes the entrepreneurs to existing Wesley Clover companies, as well as training them in business basics and development. In addition, they partner with local accelerator L-Spark to offer
learning from the later stage of startup development. Alacrity’s headquarters in Kanata are strategic for several reasons, according to Vanclief. One of them is, of course, Terry Matthews himself. Countries around the world draw upon the resources provided by Wesley Clover. “What we do in Ottawa is we set the broad strokes of the global strategy,” says Vanclief. “We want them to be able to come to Ottawa and be able to receive and accept coaching.” One example of the Alacrity model at work is three-year-old Istanbul, Turkey company Pisano, which Vanclief says has already had commercial success outside of its local market. Pisano works with retailers to help them identify and react to customer needs in-store. The company recently closed some outside funding, which Vanclief says is an important landmark for any Alacrity startup. “It validates that the company has some market success,” he says. “We want these companies to start locally, but ... with the viewpoint that they are going to go global as quickly as possible.”
Be seen in the next issue of The Kanata Networker. Canada’s largest technology park is our targeted and growing audience of business leaders, professionals and talent. Connect with Cindy Cutts for details: cindy@obj.ca
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“ALL OF THE PIECES ARE COMING TOGETHER FOR OTTAWA TO BE THE AV CAPITAL WE WANT IT TO BE.” – Jamie Petten, executive director, Kanata North Business Association before the funding announcement; Invest Ottawa and the Kanata North Business Association, along with CAVCOE, have been looking for AV opportunities and working on the public track in Kanata North. “Things are already in motion,” says Kelly Daize, director of global expansion for Invest Ottawa.
BLACKBERRY QNX DEMO
In 2017, BlackBerry QNX conducted the first-ever autonomous vehicle test in North America using live city infrastructure.
20 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2018
North America’s first autonomous vehicle test track coming to Kanata New facility follows groundbreaking 2017 on-road demo
K
anata is home to an extensive ecosystem of companies involved in the research and development of autonomous vehicle technology. It’s a diverse field of firms and involves telecom companies led by BlackBerry
QNX, Ericsson, Nokia and Juniper Networks; sensor companies such as SMATS and Neptec; companies that specialize in last-mile transportation including Aurrigo; and many more companies in robotics, cybersecurity and connectivity. Post-secondary instutions Algonquin College, Carleton University and the University of Ottawa are also part of this evolving collaborative effort. Now, Ottawa will receive up to $5
million through the AVIN Program delivered by the Ontario Centres of Excellence to create an integrated AV test environment, the first in North America. This means the addition of a private test track in west Ottawa, plans for which are already underway. Companies will be able to conduct tests that aren’t ready or licensed for public roads yet on the private track. However, plans have been in the works for at least a year and a half
In October 2017, BlackBerry QNX used the existing public track for the first-ever AV test using live city infrastructure in North America. Witnesses saw the car stop at a traffic light for a pedestrian crossing. The track, located in the Kanata technology park, is enabled with short-range wireless communication technology in nine traffic lights as well as a Novatel GPS system. Soon, the track will also have 4G capabilities, cameras, Nokia sensors and a 5G test spectrum from Ericsson and ISED. Jamie Petten, executive director of the Kanata North Business Association, highlights how this test environment will be right in the backyard of Ottawa’s AV cluster, making it accessible for all the companies involved in AV research and development. “All of the pieces are coming together for Ottawa to be the AV capital we want it to be,” she says. Kelly says she sees Ottawa’s AV cluster as a central source of development for the most integral part of AV technology: communication. “We don’t make the tires, we don’t make the doors … we make the intelligence,” she says. Don’t expect to be buying your own autonomous vehicle anytime soon, though: Barrie Kirk of CAVCOE explains that while AV technology is already being used in the mining industry, the next place we’re likely to see it used is in farming. After that will come last-mile pods and then eventually driverless cars, which he predicts will be mostly taxis or ride-sharing vehicles. “Nobody is going to throw a big switch … it’s gradual,” he says.
NEWS BRIEFS
Clearford lands Amazon warehouse contract
Kanata-based Clearford Water Systems has been contracted to supply the wastewater treatment facility for the new Amazon warehouse on Boundary Road. The one-million-square-foot warehouse in Ottawa’s east end is being built by Broccolini Construction, which selected Clearford to provide the engineering, design and installation of the treatment facility. Broccolini began construction of the warehouse this summer, with a capacity for up to 1,000 Amazon employees fulfilling online orders. The warehouse needs a separate wastewater treatment facility because of its distance from central Ottawa. Kevin Loiselle, president and CEO of Clearford, said in a press release that the company is looking forward to fulfilling such a significant contract in their own backyard. “Land developers, businesses and municipalities are all benefitting
from the innovative clean technology solutions being developed right here in Ottawa,” said Loiselle.
Crank Software earns John Deere Supplier Innovation award
Kanata company Crank Software received the John Deere Supplier Innovation award April 2018 for its Storyboard Suite software. The award recognizes innovation in the Electronic Controls division as part of John Deere’s Achieving Excellence program, with awards based on four factors – creativity, feasibility, collaboration, and bottom-line impact. Crank Software specializes in embedded user interface (UI) software and solutions. Storyboard Suite is aimed at reduced the complexity of developing UI products by allowing designers and developers to work in tandem on creating user experiences.
Incognito expands to Kanata North
Incognito Software Systems made its expansion into the Kanata Technology Park official this fall as the firm broadens its global footprint. The company’s technology helps digital service providers manage their devices and services, as well as lowering costs through automation. Incognito said in a statement that the new satellite office in Kanata North is a strategic location for the company, putting it next door to other global technology companies and helping to reach the tech talent being cultivated in Ottawa. Incognito is also expanding to the Philippines to support its growing customer base in southeast Asia. “This growth is representative of the great strides we have taken as a team, and the value we deliver to digital service providers around the world,” CEO David Sharpley stated. Incognito is a division of the Volaris Group, an operating arm of Torontobased Constellation Software.
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Momentum Law triples Kanata North footprint A growing Kanata law firm recently celebrated its threeyear anniversary as it moved to a new 2,800-square-foot office, tripling its footprint. Momentum Law currently has seven employees in Ottawa, plus another in Montreal, as is planning to expand to Toronto with an additional two staff members. “Ottawa is definitely growing,” says Megan Cornell, Momentum’s founder and CEO. “There is work coming in from so many directions.” Cornell says she plans to continue expanding into 2019, focusing on Kitchener-Waterloo and secondary markets in the Greater Toronto Area.
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Susan Richards, the first female chair of Invest Ottawa, says female leaders have an opportunity to be examples to others. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON
Kanata tech community fosters female leadership 22 KANATA NETWORKER FALL 2018
Growing number of initiatives and events help women broaden networks, grow careers
W
hen Leah MacMillan started her career in technology 28 years ago at Corel, she says a strong female leader and mentor made all the difference when it came to fostering her career growth. Though she was in a male-dominated industry, she says having someone on her side meant the barriers faced by many women seemed diminished. “Working in tech, women have always been outnumbered,” she says. “I was used
to being the only woman at the table.” Now, as the head of corporate marketing at Trend Micro, MacMillan wants to inspire the next generation of female leaders in technology, in part by playing the same role that her leader and mentor did for her. “I feel that sharing my experiences (is) almost like my way of giving back,” she says. That opportunity comes in many forms, including public forums where
women share their experiences, such as panel discussions, networking events or other initiatives. There are currently more of these opportunities than ever, and leaders from the Kanata tech park are investing in and supporting such initiatives as Women in Technology or Technovation. Last May, a standing-room-only crowd of more than 200 attendees filled L-Spark’s Kanata offices to hear the perspectives of other inspiring women entrepreneurs at Female Founders & Funders. L-Spark is also building the largest database of Canadian female founders, funders and the organizations that support them, all of which are publicly available online. But personal, less formal connections are also still key for women in the industry, where women like MacMillan can help foster leadership, learn from each other, and continue to address diversity in technology. Leah says that informal settings often provide an opportunity for making connections that can be hard to find in a male-dominated industry. “It’s a way of just connecting people,”
she says. “We use it as an opportunity to share.” Thusha Agampodi of Magnet Forensics began organizing monthly lunches with other women in the tech park as a way of broadening the network of female leaders in the community. “I just thought it would be good to have that other perspective,” she says. The first lunch, which MacMillan attended, was small – but the group has only grown since, attracting women from a variety of companies including BlackBerry and IBM. The group is an informal way of networking and making connections that might not happen elsewhere, says Agampodi. “They’re all really accomplished women, and I find our lunches are really inspiring,” she says. The group is comprised of women from all levels of leadership, as well. Arwa Kassamali has been in Kanata for four years, having moved from the U.S. She currently works at Abbott, and is involved in an initiative at her workplace to help engage girls in STEM careers. She joined Thusha’s group as a way of broadening her network, learning about opportunities within the tech park, and making connections that might help her grow her career. “You have to put yourself out there,” she says, adding that the informality of the group made it easier for her to connect with the other women. Kassamali says it’s important to continue making time to foster those connections. “Whether you’re just starting in your career or you’re 25 years in, you need to make the time to hear these stories,” she says. “When I do meet a woman executive who’s in the technical role, and they’re keeping up with it, it’s pretty impressive and often inspiring.” For Susan Richards, the first female chair of Invest Ottawa, one of the most important changes she’s seeing is a slow rise in the number of female leaders at the executive level. As more women rise to leadership roles in technology, Richards says they play an important role for other women with leadership goals. “The leaders in our community … have an opportunity to be an example to others,” she says.
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