the voice

THEVOICEOF OTTAWA’S BUSINESS COMMUNITYW I N T E R 2 0 1 3 • V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 4

L E A R N M O R E A B O U T L O C A L B U S I N E S S A T O T T A W A C H A M B E R . C A

Lighting the way

HALOGEN’S PAUL LOUCKS, 2013 CEO OF THE YEAR

PHOTO : COLE BURSTON

HONOURING THE 2013 BOBs RECIPIENTS

The course is delivered by Gareth Jones, a former Director of major investigations at the Department of National Defence Ombudsman’s offi ce, who has over 30 years of investigative experience. A former police offi cer with the Metropolitan Police, London, UK, Gareth has created and delivered investigative training to government, police and private agencies around the world, including UN organizations.

How To Investigate: The Fundamentals Of Effective Fact-Finding

Learn more and register: hrpa.ca/workplaceinvestigation

About the instructor

“This is the best course I’ve taken in 26 years in the Federal Government.”

November 25, 2013

Cartier Place Suite Hotel, Ottawa

� e Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) is Canada’s HR thought leader with more than 20,000 members in 28 chapters across Ontario. It connects its membership to an unmatched range of HR information resources, events, professional development and networking opportunities and annually hosts Canada’s largest HR conference. In Ontario, HRPA issues the Certi� ed Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation, the national standard for excellence in human resources management and the Senior Human Resources Professional (SHRP) designation, reserved for high-impact HR leaders. www.hrpa.ca

Develop the skills to conduct, monitor and supervise a thorough workplace investigation:

Planning an investigationIdentifying & assessing evidence Conducting effective interviewsWriting clear and concise reports

-Government of Canada employee

@ottawachamber • OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAGAZINE 3 Winter 2013 THE VOICE

4 NOTE FROM THE

PRESIDENT & CEO

6 Wes Nicol:

2013 Lifetime Achievement Award

8 Paul Loucks:

CEO of the Year

10 Meet the 2013 BOBs finalists

23 Building Links in China

Paul Loucks: CEO of

the YearTaking the long road

to build a great company.

8

Wes Nicol: 2013 Lifetime Achievement

Defying the laws of physics to

make the impossible happen.

The Best Ottawa has to OfferMeet the 2013 BOBs finalists

10

COVER

V CONTENTS

6


The course is delivered by Gareth Jones, a former Director of major investigations at the Department of National Defence Ombudsman’s offi ce, who has over 30 years of investigative experience. A former police offi cer with the Metropolitan Police, London, UK, Gareth has created and delivered investigative training to government, police and private agencies around the world, including UN organizations.

How To Investigate: The Fundamentals Of Effective Fact-Finding

Learn more and register: hrpa.ca/workplaceinvestigation

About the instructor

“This is the best course I’ve taken in 26 years in the Federal Government.”

November 25, 2013

Cartier Place Suite Hotel, Ottawa

� e Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) is Canada’s HR thought leader with more than 20,000 members in 28 chapters across Ontario. It connects its membership to an unmatched range of HR information resources, events, professional development and networking opportunities and annually hosts Canada’s largest HR conference. In Ontario, HRPA issues the Certi� ed Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation, the national standard for excellence in human resources management and the Senior Human Resources Professional (SHRP) designation, reserved for high-impact HR leaders. www.hrpa.ca

Develop the skills to conduct, monitor and supervise a thorough workplace investigation:

Planning an investigationIdentifying & assessing evidence Conducting effective interviewsWriting clear and concise reports

-Government of Canada employee


OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAGAZINE • @ottawachamber4 THE VOICE Winter 2013

WELCOME TO THE

OTTAWA BUSI-

NESS ACHIEVEMENT

AWARDS!

This is the 20th consecu-tive year of the awards. After two decades of honouring the best and brightest in the Ottawa business community, the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, in partner-

ship with the Ottawa Business Journal, has re-branded the awards as BOBs, the Best Ottawa Business Awards. The change represents an exciting evolution for the Awards and reflects an expanded focus to honour more companies and the people behind them.

Our 2013 recipients are highlighted in the follow-ing pages. The companies recognized in 10 distinctive categories, along with the nominees for the People’s Choice Awards, are all to be congratulated. In particu-lar, we are proud to recognize the services of Wes Nicol, our Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, along with Paul Locks from Halogen Software as our CEO of the Year. Their outstanding contributions demonstrate leadership qualities par-excellence.

The BOBs is a celebration of success, but also

presents a more comprehensive snapshot of Ottawa’s economic performance. The 2013 recipients reflect current and future economic development in our com-munity. As the foremost and largest chamber in the city, we are committed to providing the guidance and advocacy that will make our organizations successful and outstanding.

The challenges are many. The opportunities are immense. But today we pause to recognize those who have brought us this far, and have made Ottawa proud on the global stage.

I take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to all our sponsors for their generous support. Thanks to those who are attending to network and help recognize the nominees and the award recipients. The BOBs is one of more than 50 events organized by the Ottawa Chamber and the Ottawa Business Journal and we ap-preciate the strong support by the business community in attending these events.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the staff of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, we wish all a happy and healthy holiday season and look forward to a prosperous and successful 2014.

Ian Faris President & CEO Ottawa Chamber of Commerce

Keep in touch with us on social media:

@ottawachamberfacebook.com/ottawachamber

[email protected]

To join the chamber contact, Alexandra Walsh, Director of Sales and Member Services 613. 236.3631, or visit online www.ottawachamber.ca

BOARD MEMBERS

V NOTE FROM THE CEO

HONOURING OTTAWA’S BUSINESS BEST

EXECUTIVE MEMBERSMark Sutcliffe, 2013 Chair(Writer Broadcaster – CEO Great River Media) Michael Crockatt, Vice Chair(Vice President, Business Development and Marketing – Ottawa International Airport Authority) Dianne King, Vice Chair(General Manager – AVW Telav) Jeffrey Sullivan, Treasurer(Partner – Collins Barrow Ottawa LLP) Craig Bater, Board Secretary(Augustine Bater Binks LLP)

Dave Donaldson, Immediate Past Chair (Dean, School of Business - Algonquin College)

DIRECTORSIwona Albrecht(Lawyer - Soloway Wright LLP) Don Anderson(Partner Janet LeBlanc +Associates) Dirk Bouwer(Partner – Perley Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP) Keith Parker(President – The Proposal Centre)

Brian Hurley(CEO –Purple Forge)

Jacqueline Richards(Mortgage Agent – Dominion Lending Centres) Marie Boivin(Managing Partner – Accu-Rate Corporation) Dick Brown(Executive Director – Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association) Steve Conrad(CEO – Yorkville Asset Management)

Moe Abbas(CEO- Ottawa General Contractors)

NEW MEMBERS

• Baldwin Audio-Visual Rentals

• Breakthrough Coach Business Solutions Inc.

• CoreShift Inc.• CP and Son General

Contractor Ltd• Doctor Professional

Services• Hampton Wellness Centre• HT Hospitality Training Inc • Independent Insurance

Solutions Inc• Jewel 98.5 FM• Kemiske Safety Group Inc.• Magic Touch Cleaning• Optimal Physiotherapy

Clinic• Ottawa Integrative

Cancer Centre• Ottawa Network

for Education• Ottawa Regional

Cancer Foundation• Paradise Commerce• Pita Pit• Robinson Limousine• Seguin Data Consulting• SEOTwist (a division of

GNIM Media Inc• Shelly Moreau Freelance

Copywriting Services• State Farm Insurance -

Steve Marchese• Summa Strategies

Canada Inc.• TAG HR• WestJet• Windmill Developments• Worvas Hill Creative


The Voice is published quarterly byGreat River Media Inc. on behalf ofthe Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.

PUBLISHERMichael [email protected]

EDITORLeo [email protected]

COPY EDITORRobert Janelle

CREATIVE DIRECTORTanya Connolly-Holmes

DESIGN & PRODUCTIONSarah EllisRegan Van Dusen

ADVERTISINGWendy BailyRuddy DanielsKaren McNamaraWalter O’HalloranSusan [email protected]

Great River Media Inc.P.O. Box 3814, Station COttawa, ON K1Y 4J8613-728-4786

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERMark Sutcliffe

PRESIDENTMichael Curran

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICERDonna Neil

VICE-PRESIDENT OF SALESTerry Tyo

Canada Post PublicationsPM#41639025 • Postage paid at Ottawa, ONReturn undeliverable Canadian and otheraddresses to: Great River MediaP.O. Box 3814, Station C, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4J8

Printed in Canada.

328 Somerset St. W.Ottawa, ON K2P 0J9Phone: 613-236-3631www.ottawachamber.ca

EXAMPLES OF SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES ARE:

• Newbusinesslaunch• Anniversariesthatspeaktoa

business’sstayingpowerandsuccess• NewC-levelexecutive• Changeofownership• Initiativesthatspeaktopositivegrowth

momentum,suchasanewlocationorahiringdrive

• Internationalexpansion• Majorindustryaward• Bigcontractaward• Bookpublication• Notablenational/international

mediacoverage,suchasbeingonDragon’sDenorhavinganinnovativeproductfeaturedonDiscoveryChannel’sDailyPlanet.

Do you have a story to tell?To be featured in The Voice, an Ottawa Chamber member must have a significant milestone to share, or have an opinion or insight on a topic we are covering.

The extent of coverage depends on the inherent news value of the milestone and the amount of available space in the magazine.

To learn more, please contact editor Leo Valiquette at [email protected]

Wes Nicol THE 2013 LIFETIME

ACHIEVEMENT RECIPIENT

By Leo Valiquette

WESLEY NICOL has never been a man to seek out

publicity. Nor has he actively pursued a legacy for

himself. In fact, when asked on the subject, he shrugs

and says that his various career successes “just sort

of happened” – one thing builds on another.




If there is a Nicol legacy, perhaps it is best found in the simple advice he of-fered new grads in a convocation speech he gave at Carleton University in 2006:

“Do your job promptly and efficiently and without fanfare, and continue to vol-unteer. Look on any task that has been shunned by others as an opportunity.”

Over a career spanning seven de-cades, and counting, Nicol has certainly proven there is ample opportunity to be had for those with the energy and forti-tude to pursue it.

Nicol was born during the Great Depression, a member of a genera-tion he believes was wise to consider itself blessed with a rare opportunity: the impact of the Second World War gave Nicol and his peers their pick of the best schools and the best jobs with little competition.

He graduated from Carleton Univer-sity with a BA in 1954, from the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in 1957, and was called to the bar in 1958.

Nicol returned to Ottawa with wife Mary and commenced his law practice with the support of Tom Shipman, of Shipman Real Estate. His exposure to what was then a booming local housing market encouraged him to found Tar-tan Homes in 1966.

Tartan has gone on to build thou-sands of properties in the Ottawa area and also develop properties in the Flori-da market. Today, it continues under the leadership of sons Bruce and Ian.

Nicol also took a turn as a high-tech entrepreneur, founding educational software developer AutoSkill Interna-tional Inc. in 1990.

While he came to practice law less and less, Nicol still kept his name on the door at real estate and commercial law firm Nicol & Lazier and was still licensed

to practice in Ontario until last year. The firm remains under the stewardship of Nicol’s longtime friend and law partner, Douglas Lazier.

But what continues to keep Nicol busy is his commitment to youth entre-preneurship.

Outrage with how the policies of Ontario’s Mike Harris government were impacting post-secondary students in the 1990s led Nicol to hit the Carleton campus in an effort to reward entrepre-

neurial spirit with grants of seed capital.This effort soon evolved into the

Nicol Entrepreneurial Award in 1997. For its first seven years, the Nicol was a Carleton event, but in 2005 it went national and today involves 17 univer-sities. To date, more than $1 million has been awarded to young entrepre-neurs and more than 3,500 students have participated. It is supported by The Wesley and Mary Nicol Charitable Foundation, which Nicol funds with his own resources.

In 2001, Nicol received Carleton University’s Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year award, in recognition of out-standing entrepreneurial achievement. He has also served on Carleton’s board of governors. In 2006, Carleton award-ed him a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, in recognition of his contributions to the governance of the university, the health and spirit of the Ottawa community, and the nurturing of Canadian entrepreneurship.

Nicol is now hard at work on his next endeavour, working with Carleton Uni-versity and professor Tony Bailetti to cre-ate the Nicol Entrepreneurial Institute, “a blueprint for supporting the next gen-eration of entrepreneurs. V Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

V LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

“Do your job promptly and efficiently and without

fanfare, and continue to volunteer.

Look on any task that has been shunned by others as

an opportunity.”

WES NICOL

DOUG LAZIER, LAW PARTNER

“When Wes is on a deal he is absolutely intense and focused, nothing else matters, he goes for it. The hours of the day are irrelevant. The days of the week are irrelevant. He led by example … he always surrounded himself with very competent consultants.”

“Wes always treated his employees and consultants with respect. He expected the best from them and he got it.”

“Anyone who knows Wes or has ever dealt with Wes, knows he’s addicted to the telephone. Before the cell phone, he would race to a payphone. … With the cell phone, he was even more gratified in his addiction.”

BRUCE NICOL, SON AND SUCCESSOR

“Today at Tartan Homes, we enjoy the benefits of the reputation (my father built) and understand how hard it is to earn that reputation. If you lose it, it is very hard to get back.”

“A unique characteristic is his determination and his willpower. I saw it over and over again: he would have an idea, a notion, and he would stick with it. Other people would say, ‘let’s forget that and move on,’ but he would, through sheer determination, defy the laws of physics and make something happen that other people thought couldn’t happen. It’s an innate quality that’s difficult to teach.”

“My father has always been a great believer and supporter of the arts … he supports (the arts) for the benefit it gives to the people pursuing it and to the culture at large … I came to realize his own method for problem solving, of creative thinking, was very artistic.”

ROSEANN RUNTE, PRESIDENT AND VICE-CHANCELLOR, CARLETON UNIVERSITY

Wes’s (support of young entrepreneurs) is really special, because not only does he reward great business ideas, he doesn’t put anyone’s ideas down. It’s always positive reinforcement. He’s always trying to help young people do better.”

“That name, Nicol, is misleading. There is nothing of that metal here. Mary and Wes Nicol both have hearts of gold.”

V COVER

That was 2001. By the end of the year, Loucks had spearheaded a sub-stantial pivot. Halogen parlayed its expertise in e-survey software into Halogen e360, a web-based employee performance appraisal product.

“It’s been a rocket ship since then,” he said.Halogen e360 has grown into a suite of cloud-based talent manage-

ment products that help organizations large and small manage the

entire lifecycle of an employee’s tenure.Loucks may compare Halogen’s growth in the market space to a

rocket in flight, but it bears noting there is a 12-year spread between that “reinvention” of the company and this year’s successful IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

His focus with Halogen has always been on the long haul. Loucks

‘Don’t bet on an overnight success’

By Leo Valiquette

PAUL LOUCKS has little interest in a sprint. He’s looking to run a marathon.

When he joined Halogen Software at the height of the tech boom, the company was still split between

a software division and a consulting division under its precursor’s banner, Manta Corp. But the market

crash that followed was a sharp wake-up call: the company had to reinvent itself and do so with haste.

Paul LoucksCEO of the Year




‘Don’t bet on an overnight success’

Paul LoucksCEO of the Year

plans to still be at the helm 10, 15 or 20 years from now, giving media interviews about hitting the billion-dollar revenue mark. For him, solid growth falls into the 10 to 20 per cent per year range, versus the heady triple-digit figures sought by ambi-tious web startups.

“The most important thing we’re focused on here is building a great com-pany,” he said. “The IPO was a capital raise along the way -- that was how we have al-ways deemed it. It wasn’t an exit.”

In other words, success is defined by ef-fort and persistence. These are traits he picked up from his parents, who both came from hardworking Ontario farm families. His father was a chemistry professor while his mother served as executive director of the Canadian Cancer Society.

Loucks graduated high school in the early 1980s, the dawn of the personal com-puter age. He was never one to tinker with hardware, but the excitement of emerging technology and creative appeal of software design led him to pursue a computer sci-ence degree from the Technical University of Nova Scotia.

After coming to Ottawa and working with a local consultancy, he and a few colleagues decided they could make a go of it them-selves, and deliver a higher quality of service. NeoDyne Consulting, a custom software development shop, was born. After growing from three to 50 employees, NeoDyne was acquired by Compaq Canada in 1997.

While Loucks and wife Dawn spent a brief period back in the Maritimes, (he served as VP of client services at White-hill Technologies), they found themselves compelled to return to Ottawa. One of Loucks’ employees at NeoDyne was the sis-ter of Manta/Halogen co-founder Michael Slaunwhite. An introduction soon led to a position with the company.

To be a startup founder in any decade

is, of course, to be chief cook and bottle washer. The “breadth of functional respon-sibility” that came of having to be hands on with all aspects of NeoDyne’s business has served Loucks well through his time at Halogen’s helm.

He hasn’t had what would be considered a “mentor,” but does cite a num-ber of “influencers” who have helped him develop both professionally and personally. These include friend George Major, who has since passed away, and positive-thinking business coach Bob Proctor. Loucks also credits the peer-to-peer relationships he de-veloped through his TEC CEO group.

“They were just incredibly thoughtful, caring and smart,” he said. “To be able to work through business challenges with peo-ple who have those skills is tremendously beneficial … each of them would look at a problem through a different lens and give you multiple ways to address the problem.”

As CEO, Loucks feels beholden to four groups of stakeholders: customers, employ-ers, shareholders and the community in which Halogen lives.

“Keeping that balance in mind in your decision-making process, your thought pro-cess, helps build a great company,” he said.

What’s his advice for the next generation of entrepreneurs and startup executives? Think long-term and don’t look for shortcuts in the hope of collecting quick riches.

“I think people who are building compa-nies to sell don’t have the right approach,” he said. “Don’t bet on an overnight success, bet on long-term success -- that’s how we’re go-ing to build great companies.”

Halogen is also featured elsewhere in this issue as one of our Outstand-ing Companies of the Year, and for Fi-nance Deal of the Year. V Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

“Don’t bet on an overnight success, bet on long-term

success -- that’s how we’re going to build great companies.”

PAUL LOUCKS

12 QUESTIONS WITH PAUL LOUCKS

BORN: Ottawa

RAISED: Charlottetown, PEI

SPOUSE: Married high school sweetheart Dawn, a teacher, 27 years and counting

CHILDREN: Daughter Chantelle, 21; son Taylor, 16

FAVOURITE BOOKS: The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Tearing Down the Walls: How Sandy Weill Fought His Way to the Top of the Financial World

FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION: Sydney, Australia

FAVOURITE PASTIME WITH FAMILY: Travel

FAVOURITE PERSONAL PASTIME: Reading the Globe and Mail Report on Business on Saturday morning

FAVOURITE CUISINE/FAVOURITE RESTAURANT: Great steak houses, such as Ruth’s Chris, Morton’s and Del Frisco’s

FAVOURITE BEVERAGE WITH WHICH TO RELAX AND SOCIALIZE: Diet Coke, red wine (cabernet)

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS MOST PROUD OF: Building Halogen, taking it public; Building, selling NeoDyne Consulting

CAREER CHOICE IF DOING IT ALL OVER AGAIN: Financial analyst

V COVER


Thank You to Our Sponsors


V OBAA FINALISTSV BOBs FINALISTS

By Leo Valiquette

A publicly traded software company with billion-dollar

growth plans. A second-generation home renovation

firm that has Mike Holmes’ stamp of approval. A

grocer that can’t think of anything but the food. The

recipients for the 2013 Best Ottawa Business awards

prove there is no standard template for defining or

measuring excellence in business. In the following

pages, we profile what has earned each of them

the nod in their respective categories. They also

share their thoughts on business success, longevity

and the obligation to give back to community that

nurtures and sustains them.

M E E T T H E

2013 BOBSF I N A L I S T S

THE BEST OTTAWABUSINESSHAS TO OFFER

Halogen SoftwareSimply put, Halogen Software helps employ-ers manage the complete lifecycle of an em-ployee within their organizations.

Its successful IPO in May, the only one so far this year on the TSX by a Canadian soft-ware company, has earned it the nod for Fi-nance Deal of the Year. And of course, chief executive Paul Loucks is our CEO of the Year.

Halogen has staked a strong claim in the market for talent management software with a suite of products that have been built from the ground up, rather than bolted together. It has also taken this product suite into the cloud, with simple and affordable usage options.

For Loucks, it’s all about keeping a ra-

zor focus on Halogen’s four key stakeholder groups: customers, employers, sharehold-ers and the community in which the com-pany lives.

“As CEO I really focus on making sure our four stakeholder groups benefit from our success,” he said. “It’s great for a small busi-ness such as Halogen to get recognized at this broad level by the Ottawa community.”

He is also optimistic about what he sees in the local tech sector as it moves on from the telecom bust of a decade ago:

“We’ve got a lot of great startups and a lot of smart people in Ottawa building our next generation of great companies.”

Ottawa’s Outstanding Company

SPONSORED BY

Paul Loucks - Halogen Software

Jeff York - Farm Boy

John Liptak - Oakwood

Farmboy For Farmboy CEO Jeff York, the company’s focus, appeal and chief market advantage is summed up in its savoury slogan: “It’s all about the food.”

Farmboy has grown from its first modest lo-cation in Cornwall, founded by Jean-Louis and Colette Bellemare, into an Eastern Ontario mainstay with 14 locations. Core to Farmboy’s success has been its focus on great service, great food and great people, for discerning con-sumers looking for fresh and healthy choices.

But Farmboy isn’t only expanding, it’s also redefining itself with the addition of 24-foot salad bars in all of its stores and hot food bars in seven locations that feature quality, home-

style meals. It continues to focus on healthy options, such as low-sodium soups, gluten-free sausages, and nitrate-free deli roasts.

“We not only have the best shopping expe-rience but we think we also have one of the best fresh meal experiences in Ottawa,” said York.

Farmboy has also been working hard to streamline its operational processes in order to keep passing cost savings onto its customers. It has adopted automated labeling and packag-ing processes, invested heavily in fruit and veg-etable triple-wash equipment, and implement-ed strict quality control and delivery methods for its hot food and daily fresh salad bars.

Oakwood Renovation ExpertsOver the past 57 years, Oakwood has gar-nered more than its fair share of accolades for an impressive combination of quality, service, and accountability to clients. But perhaps its greatest stamp of approval came earlier this year from home improve-ment contractor and television personality Mike Holmes.

In fact, Oakwood was the first renovator in Canada, and still the only one in Ottawa, to have measured up to the Holmes Standard.

Oakwood has completed more than 5,500 renovations in the Ottawa area. Its new head of-fice, built to LEED Platinum, signifies its commit-ment to eco-friendly and sustainable practices.

In an industry often maligned for shoddy business practices and budgetary overruns, Oakwood has pioneered something it calls FullQuote, which guarantees the price cli-ents were quoted is the price they pay.

President John Liptak said it has been an out-standing year despite weak market conditions.

“We’ve grown substantially over the past six years,” he said. “We’re in a great position in the Ottawa homebuilding industry and we expect a stellar 2014.”

“Being a family-run company, we’re very passionate in what we do,” said COO Patri-cia Liptak. “Winning an award like this lets us know we’re on the right track.”


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ShopifyIn seven years, through the worst of the recession, Shopify has

grown to become a darling of the Ottawa high tech sector.

Shopify is a commerce platform that allows any-one to easily sell online,

at their retail location, and everywhere in between.

The company has grown to more than 300 staff, serving 75,000 retailers in 100 countries.

Over the past year, Shopify has continued to grow with the acquisition of Toronto-based

design and user experience agency Jet Cooper, the launch of its own point-of-sale solution and online payment service, and a wave of new hires.

“The Internet has given us this great opportunity because now, for $29 a month, anyone can open up an online store and they can sell 24-7 to anywhere around the world,” chief platform officer Harley Finkel-stein told the OBJ earlier this year. “That’s very compelling, and we’re on the forefront of that democratization.”

But what truly makes Shopify stand out in Ottawa is its tireless ef-forts to support other startups and entrepreneurs, but hosting various networking events, hackathons and youth initiatives.

“Although we operate on a global scale we still consider ourselves a very proud Ottawa business,” Finkelstein told The Voice. “We will al-ways be an Ottawa company.”

TUC Managed IT SolutionsIn an industry character-ized by consolidation, TUC Managed IT Solu-tions intends to be one of the hunters, rather than one of the hunted.

In the past year alone, the managed services pro-vider has acquired three peers: MSPs Protek, TechSupport.ca and Nitro IT. The company says there are more to come, as part of a three-year plan to reach $100 million in revenue by 2015.

What makes TUC different? It offers small to mid-sized busi-nesses the “technology they need in the model they want.” In other words, businesses no longer need to be defined and held hostage by their legacy technology.

TUC’s clients can chose from a mix of traditional hardware and ser-vice solutions, by paying only for what they consume, or by taking their IT into the cloud.

The business model appears to be working. When TUC was named one of Ottawa’s Fastest Growing Companies in April, its three-year rev-enue growth clocked in at almost 1,500 per cent.

For CEO Mark Scott, it’s all about the team.“The power is within the sum of the parts,” he said.

Harley Finkelstein - Shopify

Mark Scott - TUC



Ottawa’s Exceptional New Business

SPONSORED BY

Health WaveHealth Wave is tackling the challenges of an aging population and an over-taxed health-care system with digital tools that put the emphasis on preventative care, rather than disease management.

The startup’s first product is The Smart Dispensary, a virtual patient relationship management and engagement platform to help health professionals deliver treatment plans, dispense health supplements and pre-scriptions, and manage patient compliance.

Its initial market focus is licensed natu-ropathic doctors (NDs). Health Wave had already signed up half of the NDs in Canada

and is also gaining traction in the U.S. market.With the proliferation of mobile technology,

health-related apps are becoming mainstream. According to Health Wave, what makes its plat-form different is its ease of use and emphasis on the patient rather than the health professional.

The Health Wave team is extremely passion-ate about the integrative healthcare industry,” said CEO Kyle Braatz. “Our team has worked countless nights and weekends to bring our vi-sion to fruition and this award is a small piece of validation that we are doing the small things right. I truly believe Health Wave has the oppor-tunity to disrupt the way healthcare is delivered.”

RimikonRimikon has been bringing extra-low volt-age electrical components to market for 25 years. But with a ban of incandescent lights coming in 2014 and growing concerns about electricity costs and carbon emissions, founders Richard and Michel St-Jacques de-cided to chart a new path.

After several years of research, develop-ment and beta testing, the company earlier this year launched its line of extra-low voltage LED lights. These provide the brightness of traditional incandescent bulbs at a fraction of the power consumption.

Unlike other LEDs, Rimikon’s lights need only

the dribble of DC power that comes through a conventional speaker wire. They are shock free and hazard free. An LED can last up to 50,000 hours. That’s 17 years if used for eight hours a day.

Ottawa’s Tamarack Homes and Min-to Group supported the development of Rimikon’s LED lights and other homebuilders have also jumped on board. But the company is already looking much further afield, with distribution across Canada and in the U.S.

“A month ago, we launched in the U.S.,” said Richard. “It’s been a huge success and we’ve had great response. Everyone should have this technology.”

A Hundred Answers“If I consistently do right by my client, I too will be rewarded.”

That’s the guiding mantra for A Hundred Answers (AHA), an employee-based manage-ment consulting and systems integration firm.

A Hundred Answers refers to the many strengths, talents and capabilities the AHA team brings to its clients every day. It also serves as a reminder that there are often many viewpoints and multiple ways of approaching business challenges and opportunities.

In a few short years, AHA has parlayed its work with two key accounts in the fed-eral government into the mid-market, and from there, into the larger and more lucrative

North American enterprise market. While its rivals have been shedding staff,

AHA has been taking advantage of the op-portunity to hire great people and build its core competencies in managing web infor-mation, improving case management work-flow and helping clients address the con-sumerization of data.

CEO Sean Murphy characterizes the com-pany’s success with a nod to Wayne Gretzky.

“We skate where the puck is going to be instead of where it is,” he said. “Being a small company, we’ve been able to invest at an early stage in key (market areas) and that has al-lowed us to get ahead of larger players.”

Kyle Braatz - Health Wave

Sean Murphy - A Hundred Answers

Richard St. Jacques - Rimikon


INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS (IEEE) • NHL FANFAIR™ • 2011 TELECOM LAUREAT AWARDS • ALGONQUIN COLLEGE CONVOCATION • OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL – OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAYORS BREAKFAST • OCC GRAND OPENING • BOMBARDIER GALA • NHL FANFAIR • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTOSHOW • OTTAWA TOURISM GALA AWARDS • PCL CONSTRUCTORS HOLIDAY PARTY • CANADIAN TIRE SNOW SUIT FUND GALA • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW • 2012 JUNO GALA AWARDS & DINNER • TIM HORTON’S REGIONAL MEETING • FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OF CANADA • SEXAPALOOZA 2012 • OTTAWA WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL • TRAVEL AND VACATION SHOW • ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS – SPECIAL CHIEFS ASSEMBLY • 2011 PCL OPERATIONS CONFERENCE • CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY • CCA NATIONAL CONFERENCE • 2011 CIPMM NATIONAL WORKSHOP • PHOTONICS NORTH 2011 • INFORMATION PHOTONICS 2011 • THE OTTAWA RACE WEEKEND 2011 • CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA 32E CONGRÈS ANNUEL DE L’AJEFO - JUSTICE EN FRANÇAIS AU COEUR DES GÉNÉRATIONS ! • INTERNATIONAL WIND AND RADAR FORUM - EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS LEARNED • WOMEN’S WORLDS 2011 • SERRA’S 69TH INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION • SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TURBULENCE AND SHEAR FLOW PHENOMENA (TSFP-7) • 32ND INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR CLINICAL BIOSTATISTICS • OTF 2011 ANNUAL BOARD OF GOVERNORS’ MEETING • 2011 RIM CANADA CONFERENCE - CAPITAL CONNEXIONS • INVESTORS GROUP 2011 APEX SUMMIT • CSGNA 2011 NAVIGATING “LE CANAL” IN THE CAPITAL • CANADIAN STROKE CONGRESS • PUBLIC SECTOR FINANCIAL REPORTING CONFERENCE • OPPI 2011 PLANNING CONFERENCE • GTEC • ESRI CANADA USER CONFERENCE - OTTAWA • 2011 CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE CONGRESS • 2011 NATD • CADSI SECURETECH • STATISTICS CANADA SYMPOSIUM • 17TH ANNUAL WOUND CARE CONFERENCE • EDMONTON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION • 2011 RPIC REAL PROPERTY NATIONAL WORKSHOP • FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OF CANADA - PD WEEK 2011 • ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA • TIM HORTONS REGIONAL MEETING • NATURAL RESOURCES CANADA - CANADIAN FOREST SERVICE • LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA • CANNEXUS12 • NORTHERN LIGHTS 2012 • MANNING NETWORKING CONFERENCE 2012 • HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION OF CANADA - ANNUAL CONFERENCE & TRADESHOW • CBC RADIO - PRIX DE LECTURES • THE OTTAWA RACE WEEKEND 2011 • WOMEN’S WORLD 2011 • 32ND INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR CLINICAL BIOSTATISTICS • CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA • SCOTIABANK NHL FANFAIR - FESTIVAL DES PARTISANS DE LA LNH 2012 • INVESTORS GROUP 2011 APEX SUMMIT • LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA 2011RI M CANADA CONFERENCE - CAPITAL CONNEXIONS • EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL DHADKAN’S 9TH ANNUAL FUNDRAISING EVENT • 17TH ANNUAL WOUND CARE CONFERENCE • RECOGNITION OF ENTRY TO THE EX GROUP – GALA • NORTHERN LIGHTS 2012 • INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS (IEEE) • NHL FANFAIR™ • 2011 TELECOM LAUREAT AWARDS • ALGONQUIN COLLEGE CONVOCATION • OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL – OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAYORS BREAKFAST • OCC GRAND OPENING • BOMBARDIER GALA • NHL FANFAIR • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTOSHOW • OTTAWA TOURISM GALA AWARDS • PCL CONSTRUCTORS HOLIDAY PARTY • CANADIAN TIRE SNOW SUIT FUND GALA INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS (IEEE) • NHL FANFAIR™ • 2011 TELECOM LAUREAT AWARDS • ALGONQUIN COLLEGE CONVOCATION • OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL – OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAYORS BREAKFAST OCC GRAND OPENING • BOMBARDIER GALA • NHL FANFAIR • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTOSHOW OTTAWA TOURISM GALA AWARDS • PCL CONSTRUCTORS HOLIDAY PARTY • CANADIAN TIRE SNOW SUIT FUND GALA INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS (IEEE) • NHL FANFAIR™ • 2011 TELECOM LAUREAT AWARDS • ALGONQUIN COLLEGE CONVOCATION • OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL – OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAYORS BREAKFAST • OCC GRAND OPENING • BOMBARDIER GALA • NHL FANFAIR • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTOSHOW • OTTAWA TOURISM GALA AWARDS • PCL CONSTRUCTORS HOLIDAY PARTY • CANADIAN TIRE SNOW SUIT FUND GALA INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS (IEEE) • NHL FANFAIR™ • 2011 TELECOM LAUREAT AWARDS • ALGONQUIN COLLEGE CONVOCATION • OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL – OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAYORS BREAKFAST • OCC GRAND OPENING • BOMBARDIER GALA • NHL FANFAIR • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTOSHOW • OTTAWA TOURISM GALA AWARDS • PCL CONSTRUCTORS HOLIDAY PARTY • CANADIAN TIRE SNOW SUIT FUND GALA INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS (IEEE) • NHL FANFAIR™ • 2011 TELECOM LAUREAT AWARDS • ALGONQUIN COLLEGE CONVOCATION • OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL – OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAYORS BREAKFAST • OCC GRAND OPENING • BOMBARDIER GALA • NHL FANFAIR • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTOSHOW • OTTAWA TOURISM GALA AWARDS • PCL CONSTRUCTORS HOLIDAY PARTY • CANADIAN TIRE SNOW SUIT FUND GALA INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS • NHL FANFAIR™ • 2011 TELECOM LAUREAT AWARDS • ALGONQUIN COLLEGE CONVOCATION • OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL – OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAYORS BREAKFAST • OCC

SOME GREAT NAMES HAVE ALREADY MET HERE.

GRAND OPENING • BOMBARDIER GALA • NHL FANFAIR • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTOSHOW • OTTAWA TOURISM GALA AWARDS • PCL CONSTRUCTORS HOLIDAY PARTY • CANADIAN TIRE SNOW SUIT FUND GALA • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW • 2012 JUNO GALA AWARDS & DINNER • TIM HORTON’S REGIONAL MEETING • FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OF CANADA • SEXAPALOOZA 2012 • OTTAWA WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL • TRAVEL AND VACATION SHOW ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS – SPECIAL CHIEFS ASSEMBLY • 2011 PCL OPERATIONS CONFERENCE • CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY • CCA NATIONAL CONFERENCE • 2011 CIPMM NATIONAL WORKSHOP • PHOTONICS NORTH 2011

TIME TO ADD YOURSSince opening its doors in spring 2011, the Ottawa Convention Centre has hosted hundreds of great organizations and high-profi le events. Find out what they already know about the features and advantages of Canada’s Meeting Place by visiting online. Better yet, contact us for a personal tour and a bid on one of your future events.

1-800-450-0077 • 613-563-1984info@ottawaconventioncentre.comOTTAWACONVENTIONCENTRE.COM

INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS (IEEE) • NHL FANFAIR™ • 2011 TELECOM LAUREAT AWARDS • ALGONQUIN COLLEGE CONVOCATION • OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL – OTTAWA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MAYORS BREAKFAST • OCC GRAND OPENING • BOMBARDIER GALA • NHL FANFAIR • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTOSHOW • OTTAWA TOURISM GALA AWARDS • PCL CONSTRUCTORS HOLIDAY PARTY • CANADIAN TIRE SNOW SUIT FUND GALA • OTTAWA GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW • 2012 JUNO GALA AWARDS & DINNER • TIM HORTON’S REGIONAL MEETING • FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OF CANADA • SEXAPALOOZA 2012 • OTTAWA WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL • TRAVEL AND VACATION SHOW • ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS – SPECIAL CHIEFS ASSEMBLY • 2011 PCL OPERATIONS CONFERENCE • CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY • CCA NATIONAL CONFERENCE • 2011 CIPMM NATIONAL WORKSHOP • PHOTONICS NORTH 2011 • INFORMATION PHOTONICS 2011 • THE OTTAWA RACE WEEKEND 2011 • CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA 32E CONGRÈS ANNUEL DE L’AJEFO - JUSTICE EN FRANÇAIS AU COEUR DES GÉNÉRATIONS ! • INTERNATIONAL WIND AND RADAR FORUM - EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS LEARNED • WOMEN’S WORLDS 2011 •

69TH INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION • SEVENTH SYMPOSIUM ON TURBULENCE AND SHEAR PHENOMENA (TSFP-7) • 32ND INTERNATIONAL FOR CLINICAL BIOSTATISTICS • OTF 2011 BOARD OF GOVERNORS’ MEETING •

CONGRATULATIONS

TO ALL NOMINEES FOR THE

BEST OTTAWA BUSINESS AWARDS

(THE BOBs).

“The Ottawa Convention Centre is centrally located, providing an ideal venue for our GTEC community to gather. The pre-function areas offer an atmosphere conducive to networking, which is a key component of the event. The OCC staff is professional and the quality of food this year was exceptional.”

Nancy Dorigo, Executive Director, GTEC

“Our experience at the OCC was fl awless. We would not hesitate to recommend the OCC as the go-to venue for other large conferences and events.”

Amelia Zaglul, Senior Offi cer, EventsThe Royal Society of Canada

HazloLaw Business LawyersHazloLaw Business Lawyers is a boutique business law firm that was intent on break-ing the mould from day one.

When Hugues Boisvert launched the firm two years ago, he chose not to put his name on the door as lawyers often do for “ego pur-poses.” Instead, he chose “hazlo,” which means “do it” in Spanish, because it defines entrepre-neurs – they are individuals who take action.

The team prides itself on thinking like business people, not lawyers, and in being the “Jerry Maguire” of the profession, by having fewer clients who receive more at-tention. The firm is also unique in that it bills by the project instead of by the hour.

Boisvert has also taken his cue from his work in the Argentine market. In Argenti-na, the first 45 minutes of any meeting isn’t about business, it’s about building rapport by talking about family and personal matters. He finds North American business culture quite cold by comparison. At HazloLaw, it’s all about the relationship with the client.

“We want to be the reference for business owners in the Ottawa region … from zero to $50 million in revenue,” he said. “Everything we do is built in reputation and trust.”

SoshalIn October, Soshal hosted an appropriately spooky “Soshalloween” costume party at its new headquarters in Westboro. Partygoers were asked to contribute to a digital and media technology scholarship fund.

The event characterized the socially-minded and fun atmosphere that pervades this self-described user experience agency.

Hugues Boisvert - HazloLaw


In fact, Soshal plans to open a non-profit Digital Learning Centre next year.

This impressive level of community commitment comes as the young startup works tirelessly to define its market posi-tion and expand. In the past year, it has grown from 12 to 20 staff.

“There’s been a lot of sleepless nights and living out of our cars,” said CEO David Hale.

Soshal conceives and builds “large-scale digital products that involve complex infor-mation architecture and software systems.”

The agency launched with a focus on the retail and non-profit industries, but has since ex-panded to target niche markets in education, health and government, as well as continuing its geographic expansion across Canada.

“There are a lot of agencies that can be creative and catch brand message really well,” said Hale. “But when it comes to hav-ing a really robust technology need for any-thing that is going to be on the web or mo-bile, or that has sophisticated data needs, that’s when clients turn to Soshal.”

David Hale - Soshal

Harley Finkelstein, ShopifyFor Harley Finkelstein, it was those eve-nings in a Glebe coffee shop with other like-minded entrepreneurs that compelled him to put down roots in Ottawa.

He had grown up in Montreal and Mi-ami, but after completing his undergrad and whetting his appetite for business with a T-shirt venture, he decided to come to Ottawa in 2005 for law school. Law, he thought, was a great grounding for a career in business.

He soon met Tobias Lutke, today, CEO of Shopify. They and a few others created the Ottawa chapter of Fresh Founders. The col-legial and collaborative atmosphere of that group provided Finkelstein with a valued sounding board and a sense of community.

“That sense of community I felt when I came to Ottawa is part of why I fell in love with the city,” he said.

Eight years later, he is a driving force be-hind Shopify, one of Canada’s fastest grow-ing tech darlings and one of our Outstand-ing Companies. As chief platform officer, his role is to make the relationships that will drive the business happen. Or, as he puts it, to “#hustle.”

“I am very humbled that I was even con-sidered for this award,” he said. “All I can say is that I am only getting started and Shopify is only getting started.”

The support he has found in the Ottawa community, both personally and profession-ally, has inspired him to be a tireless supporter of other entrepreneurs, startups and youth.

“Anyone in Ottawa can come and talk to me about their personal careers or entrepre-neurial ventures,” he said. “I am committed to helping anyone in Ottawa achieve their goals.”

SPONSORED BY

Newsmaker of the Year

HR Initiative of the Year

Heidi Hauver - Pythian

The Pythian GroupThe Pythian Group bills itself as a worldwide leader in data infrastructure and big data management consulting.

That’s what it does. But what it is – is people. Talent acquisition and management has long been the key ingredient in the company’s secret sauce.

Over the past three years, Pythian has grown from 90 to more than 250 employees, with op-erations in 25 countries. Key to expanding the workforce effectively has been a comprehensive and proactive talent management strategy.

Pythian sees its innate ability to recruit, engage and retain a talented and diverse

global workforce, delivering exceptional ser-vice and quality to clients, as the difference between success and failure.

Substantial effort is invested in new hire orientation and onboarding, continuous learning and talent development, and in em-ployee feedback and recognition programs.

“Our goal as a team is to foster and grow a fantastic working environment for our staff,” said Heidi Hauver, director of HR and self-pro-claimed HR evangelist. “The work we’ve done over the last number of years has allowed us to create a very unique company here in Ottawa.”

Harley Finkelstein - Shopify


Marketing Initiative of the Year

SPONSORED BY

Acart CommunicationsIt’s safe to say there are few people in the Ot-tawa area who are not familiar with Calypso Theme Waterpark, Canada’s largest themed waterpark, which opened just 20 minutes down the road three years ago.

And that’s been the creative challenge for the team at Acart Communications: to pro-actively diffuse any “fatigue” among Calypso’s regional target audience.

Acart developed the initial marketing and communications strategies for Calypso in 2009 and 2010. Through the spring and summer of 2012, Acart launched a new mul-timedia campaign called Calypso Beyond to maintain the waterpark’s initial success and momentum, expose the brand in new markets and showcase new attractions in an effort to encourage repeat visits.

“Calypso is an easy client to work for because it is the largest water theme park in Canada,” said Al Albania, owner of Acart. “But beyond that, you need clients who ap-preciate the creativity that goes into each component of a campaign.”

Did Acart’s creativity pay off ?Albania said the proof was at the admis-

sions gate. Calypso attracted more than 350,000 visi-

tors for the third consecutive year, despite poor August weather and negative publicity from an accidental injury at the park.

Al Albania - Acart


Christie and Walther CommunicationsWhen a company’s product brochure reads, “Two-way action has never been more ex-citing,” you could be forgiven for jumping to the wrong conclusion.

Wireless communication firm Christie and Walther Communications has a 50-year history in the Ottawa area, but it’s how the company has shaken itself up in the past two years that earned it a BOB award.

Christie and Walther operates a radio tower network and has strategic co-loca-tion partnerships to provide extensive net-work coverage throughout the region. It also partners with mobile device vendors such as Motorola and Icom.

A new marketing team and a new sales strategy were brought in to revive sales of PushPlus, billed as the most reliable two-way radio network in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. It was a marked depar-ture for a company that had come to rely on its reputation to make the phone ring.

The sales effort targeted the construc-tion industry with playful headlines that had “stopping power,” using direct mail, email, and telephone outreach. This de-mand generation campaign was so success-ful that Christie and Walther was awarded the 2013 Motorola Canadian Partner of Ex-cellence Award.

Philanthropic Initiative of the Year

Exporter of the Year

David Ross - Ross Video

Ross VideoIf you are watching a live video produc-

tion, odds are the technology behind the broadcast is from Ross Video.

For almost 40 years, Ross Video has de-signed, manufactured and brought to market a wide range of innovative products used in live production by television stations, sports stadiums, corporate and government com-munications departments, houses of worship, and live events such as like rock concerts.

The company’s track record of stable growth, begun by founder John Ross, continues with son David. Ross Video has enjoyed 19 consecutive years of growth and leads the industry by invest-

ing 25 per cent of its revenue back into R&D.But the investment in business development

is equally important. It should come as no sur-prise that David Ross couldn’t attend the BOBs gala to accept the award in person. At the time of the gala, he was somewhere between France, Qa-tar or Dubai, busy building that export business.

“I jump onto an airplane every month,” he said. “It’s what I do. It’s how I understand the markets we’re growing into.”

For 2014, Ross Video expects that inter-national growth to continue. It’s investing heavily in the American, European, Latin American and Middle East markets.

Sales Initiative of the Year

Joe Hickey - Christie Walther

Giant TigerGiant Tiger is a retail brand that needs little in-troduction in the Ottawa area. The “all-Canadi-an family discount store for Fun Smart Savings” opened its first location in the ByWard Market in 1961. Today the privately held company has more than 200 stores in eight provinces, em-ploying more than 7,000 people.

It isn’t any one philanthropic initiative that has earned Giant Tiger the nod this year, but a sheer volume of charitable acts that illustrate the company’s unwavering commitment to the communities it calls home.

In 2012 alone, Giant Tiger donated more than $2 million to more than 700 local asso-

ciations and charities across Canada.In the Ottawa area, this includes: the

Montfort Hospital Foundation, which re-ceived $200,000 in support of the new Giant Tiger Family Birthing Centre; The Snowsuit Fund, which has received 1,300 snowsuits val-ued at $79,000 over the last two winters; and the Ottawa Food Bank, which was provided with almost two tones of non-perishable food items, in addition to $100,000 in total dona-tions to food banks across Canada.

Giant Tiger’s altruism is shared by its employ-ees, who also give of their time to events such as the GT Cycling Team in the CN Cycle for CHEO.

SPONSORED BY


Sustainability Leader of the Year

Abbott Point of Care Ottawa

There is a certain symmetry in the fact that Abbott Point of Care Ottawa, a com-pany focused on individual health and well-being, is also working to protect the health and well-being of the natural environment.

Abbott is an industry leader in point-of-care testing. Its Ottawa operation’s f lagship product is the i-STAT System, a hand-held blood analyzer that provides real-time, lab-quality results within min-utes to accelerate the patient care deci-sion-making process.

The Ottawa site is also the location of an ambitious environmental initiative to reduce the manufacturing plant’s overall water use by 25 per cent for 2014, as well as direct emissions and purchased electricity consumption by 15 per cent for 2015.

Abbott has also developed, with the Rideau Conservation Authority, a Campus Naturalization Project, that will provide an enhanced wildlife and fish habitat along a 750-metre stretch of Stillwater Creek that runs through Abbott’s property.

These efforts build on Abbott’s long his-tory of sustainable leadership. In 2013, Ab-bott achieved the maximum score in the environmental policy and management category of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the fifth consecutive year.

Sean Tomalty - Abbott Point of Care


Cadillac Fairview/Rideau CentreIn September, The Rideau Centre broke ground on a $360-million expansion that will add 230,000 square feet of retail space, a three-level underground parking garage and a “pre-mium” dining hall that will seat 850 people.

This re-imagining of the 30-year-old main-stay will also see the arrival of high-end retail chains such as Simons, J. Crew, Nordstrom and Victoria’s Secret. The expansion will add al-most 30 new stores to the existing roster of 138.

It’s a bold, but perhaps necessary move. Ottawa is an active market that retail analysts say needs about 450,000 square feet of new retail capacity added each year to serve its

population. With much of that growth hap-pening in the suburbs, aggressive expansion and revitalization is the best way for older and more central shopping venues to remain destinations of choice.

“We’re absolutely confident in what we’re doing,” Sal Iacono, senior VP of de-velopment and portfolio management at Rideau Centre owner Cadillac Fairview, told the OBJ in September. “We’re seeing a very strong trend in downtown living in Ot-tawa, and we believe that, as in many other urban centres in Canada, (it’s) going to be a strong and growing trend.”

Deals of the Year

SPONSORED BY

CindyVanBuskirk - Cadillac Fairview-Rideau Ctr

Pete Low - Halogen

Jonathan Westeinde - Windmill

Halogen SoftwareHalogen Software chief executive Paul

Loucks, our 2013 CEO of the Year, is quick to downplay his importance to the company’s success and deem it a “team effort.”

It was almost certainly the perceived strength of the team that propelled Halogen’s stock price following its May IPO on the To-ronto Stock Exchange.

The IPO was expected to raise $55.2 mil-lion through the sale of 4.8 million shares at $11.50 each. Halogen shares ended the first trading day at $13.15.

By the end of July, the stock had lost none of its luster. Blair Abernethy, an ana-

lyst with Stifel Nicolaus, gave the company a buy rating and pegged the share price at a $17.50 one-year target. Analysts have been bullish on Halogen’s potential because of its lucrative software-as-a-service model and its position in what they see as a large and early-stage global market for talent man-agement software.

“You really need three things to make an IPO,” said CFO Pete Low. “You need the market opportunity and investors willing to invest, you need a great story to tell, and you need a great team behind you able to execute. We had all three.”

Windmill Development GroupYou don’t have to be a real estate guru to

appreciate the value of downtown real estate or waterfront property. And yet Ottawa has long been criticized for having an underde-veloped downtown waterfront.

In July, brothers Jeff and Jon Westeinde and the team at Windmill Developments announced an ambitious plan to change that. Windmill is buying 37 acres of island property located north of Lebreton Flats from Domtar. Inc.

The deal includes Albert Island, parts of Chaudiere Island and 22 acres in Gatineau on land that used to be Wright Island. West-einde said the redevelopment has three goals:

increasing ecological activity, reconnecting the city to its waterfront, and celebrating the Algonquin First Nation’s history.

Windmill wants to build a mixture of ho-tels, condominiums and office space at the site – all to the highest environmental stan-dards, in keeping with its mandate to be the greenest and most sustainable developer in Canada, if not the world. Zoning approvals are expected within the next 18 months.

“The purchase of these lands we take with a great honour and also with a great respon-sibility,” said Jon Westeinde. “I think it can transform the fabric of Ottawa.”

Events OttawaIn 2011, Ottawa Tourism and the City of Ottawa partnered

to create Events Ottawa. Its mandate is to actively bid on festivals, awards ceremonies and sporting events to attract visitors,

fill hotels and drive busi-ness for local restaurants

and retailers.The effort is paying off.Using the Canadian

Sports Tourism Alliance’s economic impact model,

Ottawa Tourism has assembled some impressive statistics. For exam-ple, for an investment of $62,500 to make the bid, Ottawa won the 2013 Canadian Gymnastics Championships in May. The economic impact was tallied at $2.4 million, for a return on investment (ROI) of 39 to 1. The 2013 Duathlon World Championships in August yielded an ROI of 30 to 1. Expectations for the 2014 Canadian Figure Skating Champion-ships in January is for an ROI of 48 to 1.

“We are pleased to be recognized as a world class destination for festi-vals and events,” Mayor Watson writes on his website. “Our bid more, win more, host more approach has been key to attracting new sports, arts and cultural experiences for the residents and visitors to our city, while at the same time generating local economic benefits for our businesses.”


Mitel & prairieFyreIn June two Ottawa tech sector mainstays came to together to better tackle the growing contact centre market, a market estimated at $3 billion annually.

Mitel Networks pur-chased prairieFyre for $20 million. It was clearly a good match – Mitel, after all, was prairieFyre’s largest custom-er, accounting for about 95 per cent of its revenues.

Because Mitel previously lacked significant expertise in the contact centre field, management at the time said there was very little overlap and the bulk of prairieFyre’s employees would stay on board. The deal was characterized by prairieFyre as “one plus one is three.” CEO Chris Courneya became VP and GM of Mitel Contact Centres.

When Mitel announced better-than-expected Q4 earnings in June, it said the deal would be accretive and serve to provide reassurance to those customers and prospects who were wary of the fact that Mitel’s contact centre solution was part of a separate company.

“We are very proud of the deal we did,” said Mitel CFO Steve Spooner. “Quite often a merger or an acquisition comes about after companies have dated for a while. We had dated for 15 years, so it was time to go to the altar.”

Steve Spooner - Mitel

Noel Buckley - EventOttawa

In true holiday form, a portion of the proceeds raised at this event are donated to the Christmas Cheer Foundation.

b r i n g y o u r s ta f f a n d c e l e b r at e t h e s e a s o n !A HOLIDAY PARTY LIKE NO OTHER

thursday, dec. 12ottawa convention centre 6 to

midn

ight

live band: Friday’s deadline

DJ networking

dance cocktails

food stationsPRIZES

v e n u e s p o n s o r

A u d i o - V i s u a l R e n t a l s Locations audio-visuels

M E D I A s p o n s o r

SINGLE TICKETS: $55 GROUP OF 10: $500 / CHAMBER MEMBERS: SINGLE TICKET: $50 GROUP: $450TO REGISTER: OTTAWACHAMBER.CA OR OBJ.CA CLICK ON EVENTS


BUILDING LINKS IN CHINA

In true holiday form, a portion of the proceeds raised at this event are donated to the Christmas Cheer Foundation.

b r i n g y o u r s ta f f a n d c e l e b r at e t h e s e a s o n !A HOLIDAY PARTY LIKE NO OTHER

thursday, dec. 12ottawa convention centre 6 to

midn

ight

live band: Friday’s deadline

DJ networking

dance cocktails

food stationsPRIZES

v e n u e s p o n s o r

A u d i o - V i s u a l R e n t a l s Locations audio-visuels

M E D I A s p o n s o r

SINGLE TICKETS: $55 GROUP OF 10: $500 / CHAMBER MEMBERS: SINGLE TICKET: $50 GROUP: $450TO REGISTER: OTTAWACHAMBER.CA OR OBJ.CA CLICK ON EVENTS

Chamber President Ian Faris thanks Governor-General David Johnston for presiding over uOttawa medical school

announcement in Shanghail - with Mayor Jim Watson

IN OCTOBER, MAYOR JIM WATSON led Ottawa’s largest ever

trade mission to China to develop opportunities for local companies

and to promote the city as a destination for tourism and education.

A new trade agreement was signed between Beijing and Ottawa

Tourism to create a think tank that will promote business tourism

in both cities. Beijing will also support Ottawa’s presence at several

trade shows in the Chinese capital.

In a separate agreement, Invest Ottawa and the Zhongguancun

Development Group (ZDG), an investment group founded by the

Beijing government, announced that iNano Medical, JP Canshielding,

Viscore and GREENERGY will be the first cohort of companies at

the Ottawa International Incubation Centre. The centre is a joint

venture intended to help Ottawa-area companies export to China.

Mayor Watson with Beijing Mayor

Members of Team Ottawa delegation outside Beijing City Hall, Mayor’s Office

the voice

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