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Carleton student raised in Afghanistan launches startup to provide better eye care to homeland > PAGE 2

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June 20, 2016 Vol. 19, NO. 17

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A participant in the Executrek program walks alongside a bomb disposal robot during a recent training exercise at a west-end range. PHOTO PROVIDED

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“One of my biggest philosophies that I’m trying to enter into the community in Afghanistan is the idea of volunteerism and paying it forward.” – BABUR JAHID, CO-FOUNDER OF YOU SEE CLEAR

Babur Jahid’s company, You See Clear, is working with other social enterprises, including U.S.-based EyeNetra, to provide better vision care to the people of Afghanistan. PHOTO PROVIDED

Refugee sets sights on easing Afghan vision care crisis Carleton student entrepreneur’s firm set to provide inexpensive glasses, eye-testing equipment in effort to address ‘silent epidemic’ in homeland BY ADAM FEIBEL adam@obj.ca

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

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student at Carleton University is working with partners and advisers around the world to bring to life a startup that aims to address one of his homeland’s “silent epidemics.” Ever since he was in the eighth grade, Babur Jahid said, he has had an “insatiable hunger and passion for health care.” An Afghan who was born and raised in Kabul during the Taliban regime, the 20-year-old saw “a lot of people suffering,” he said. Among the country’s biggest health care crises is poor access to eye care. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.5 million Afghans are visually impaired, and almost 500,000 are completely blind. The issue imposes an economic burden of about $100 million per year on a country that’s ranked among the least developed in the world. Each year, roughly 25,000 Afghans – mostly women – lose their vision in one eye. Vision impairment affects the country’s citizens in their prime working years, and it prevents many of Afghanistan’s youth from succeeding in school, Mr. Jahid said. “They lose productivity and they lose their livelihoods,” he said in a

recent interview. “It’s one of the silent epidemics that are really impacting our lives on a daily basis.” Mr. Jahid spoke to OBJ from Boston while attending a symposium on social entrepreneurship and innovation as part of the Students for Social Impact internship organized by the British Council, a London-based charity that offers cultural and educational opportunities. The program will take him to the United Kingdom this summer to prepare for the launch of his social enterprise, You See Clear. Established last year by Mr. Jahid and his partner, fellow Carleton student Rory Jipp, You See Clear will provide eyeglasses to Afghans for as little as $2 per pair. The firm plans to work alongside two U.S.-based social enterprises that will provide the eyewear and equipment needed to set up eye clinics in Kabul and elsewhere throughout Afghanistan. Mr. Jahid said You See Clear will have its eyeglasses produced and distributed by VisionSpring, a company founded in 2001 that partners with organizations around the world to provide affordable eyeglasses. Meanwhile, EyeNetra develops digital and mobile refraction technology for measuring eyeglass prescriptions using a smartphone. You See Clear plans to use the system to conduct exams quickly and inexpensively.

Eye care in Afghanistan has been slowly progressing over the last decade as its Ministry of Public Health, the World Health Organization and various NGOs have established ophthalmological training centres and free eye clinics. But Mr. Jahid says there’s still lots of work to be done. You See Clear plans to work with regional governments to establish small clinics in each of Afghanistan’s nine provinces, beginning in Kabul. “I know the demand there is so large that upon our entrance to Kabul they’ll immediately hear about us,” Mr. Jahid says.

PILOT PROJECT His time in Britain this summer will include a pilot project in which clients will test out the type of clinic that You See Clear would operate in Afghanistan. After that, he aims to officially launch in April 2017. Until then, the firm will be hard at work seeking grants and other funding channels in order to raise the $40,000 it will take to launch. Mr. Jahid, who came to Canada as a refugee via the United States in 2013, has a history of philanthropy. Before leaving Afghanistan, he played in one of the country’s very few rock bands – in secret, since the music isn’t widely accepted in the local culture, he says – and played charity concerts to raise money for women’s and girls’ education.

You See Clear’s Babur Jahid. PHOTO PROVIDED

“One of the fortunate things about Afghanistan is that a lot of youth want to get involved with causes like this, they want to help really badly, but they don’t know how,” he says. “One of my biggest philosophies that I’m trying to enter into the community in Afghanistan is the idea of volunteerism and paying it forward.” According to the World Health Organization, 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide, and about 90 per cent of them live in low-income settings. The WHO also says that 80 per cent of blindness globally could have been avoided with access to proper eye care facilities. If You See Clear takes hold in Afghanistan, Mr. Jahid says he would like to eventually expand into other countries in Africa and Asia and will look into working in indigenous communities in Canada too.

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CHANGE LOG INTERSET WINS INVESTMENT FROM U.S. VC FUND Ottawa startup Interset, a specialist in user behaviour analytics, landed an undisclosed amount of strategic investment in June from In-Q-Tel, a U.S. venture capital firm that targets technology to support organizations such as the Central Intelligence Agency. The funding follows the cybersecurity firm’s $10-million financing round last March that CEO Dale Quayle said would “effectively double” the firm’s size. BATTERY STARTUP LAUNCHES NEW PRODUCT LINE GBatteries, an Ottawa tech hardware firm that took part in Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator accelerator program in 2014, is preparing to roll out the second edition in its line of highcapacity portable batteries. The startup is currently offering preorders for the BatteryBox

CALENDAR

FINTECH STARTUP LAUNCHES COIN-PURSE APP Seeking to improve cash transactions by gathering coins digitally on a mobile app, a new Ottawa-based startup called ChangeJar is working with local restaurants, cafes and retailers on what it calls “the first mobile app that lets users receive or pay with change from everyday transactions using their smartphones.” The app acts as a digital purse that immediately stores change from everyday cash transactions for later use, with the same anonymity and absence of fees that come with using coins. So far, the Invest Ottawa portfolio company’s app can be used at nine locations in Ottawa. CONSULTING FIRM LAUNCHES IT ANALYTICS SERVICE Ottawa company RAPA Consulting this month launched a managed software service that lets companies mine their raw IT data in order to identify links between different areas of their business operations and how they affect IT performance. The subscription software, RAPA Insight, is meant to improve on the self-service tools currently providing many firms with their business intelligence and analytics information.

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Lindsay Hockey, Principal, Avison Young 613.696.2766 Lindsay.Hockey@avisonyoung.com

ntrepreneurship in Ottawa has never been stronger. Every week I meet new people rolling up their sleeves and working hard to turn their business dreams into a reality. As someone who’s been a member of Ottawa’s business community for many years, I find it very inspiring. Many of these encounters happen right at Invest Ottawa. Since opening our doors in 2012, we have provided 32,000 hours of advice and mentorship to Ottawa entrepreneurs. In addition, nearly 22,000 people have taken one of our workshops or seminars to upgrade their business skills. Many attendees have come back multiple times. One of our favourite success stories is celebrating a major milestone as well. Victoire Boutique specializes in curating pieces from Canada’s top fashion designers. CoFounders Regine Paquette and Katie Frappier are now celebrating ten years of success and have recently opened their third location. When they were starting up, neither partner had experience working in the fashion industry or running a small business. They simply had the entrepreneurial spirit and an idea. The duo spent a lot of time attending workshops to learn their small business basics and at any major crux of their development, returned back to Invest Ottawa, to once again utilize the

“You have to learn about (how to run your business) and there’s really no other way than Invest Ottawa.” - REGINE PAQUETTE, CO-FOUNDER, VICTOIRE BOUTIQUE.

resources. Even now, a decade after their original launch, they are still attending classes. Except now they are now learning how to grow their online business instead of ways to grow their employee base, and they are attending SEO workshops instead of cash flow seminars. The two friends can attest to the fact that mentorship was a critical factor in their success. Even today they continue to receive advice as well as mentor other founders. Regine says collaboration and support among businesses is the only way to grow and thrive as entrepreneurs. For all of us at Invest Ottawa, they are just two out of the thousands of intelligent and exciting entrepreneurs we work with on a frequent basis. Whether your business is selling racks of clothes or lines of code, we can help. Find out more at investottawa.ca.

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Oliver Kershaw, Principal, Avison Young 613.696.2762 Oliver.Kershaw@avisonyoung.com www.avisonyoung.com

position in the Ottawa technology sector, Lindsay and Oliver will be responsible for continuing to grow the Avison Young brand in the National Capital Region. Avison Young’s collaborative business model is an ideal fit for Lindsay and Oliver, and they look forward in having their clients experience the Avison Young difference.

BY BRUCE LAZENBY

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

Avison Young is pleased to announce the arrival of Lindsay Hockey and Oliver Kershaw as the latest additions to our sales and brokerage team in Ottawa. Effective immediately, Lindsay and Oliver become Principals of Avison Young and will continue to focus on their core specialties of tenant representation and agency leasing in the Ottawa marketplace. Lindsay and Oliver bring a combined 25 years of experience to Avison Young and represent the next generation of commercial real estate market leaders in Ottawa. As Principals, and with their solid reputation and dominant

Whether You Sell Code or Clothes: We Can Help.

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The man who remade uOttawa’s Faculty of Engineering Claude Laguë reflects on 10 years at the helm before stepping down

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

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hen Claude Laguë first took the reins as Dean of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Engineering in 2006, it was a rather bleak time. “In 2006, this faculty was among the bottom third at uOttawa, in terms of enrolment, faculty and resources,” he said. “In many ways, we were a lame duck.” As he prepares to step down as Dean, Dr. Laguë regards the turnaround of the Faculty of Engineering as a hallmark of his time in office. “Today, this faculty is a powerhouse in the university, and among engineering schools in Ontario,” he stated. “This is something I am really proud everyone here has been able to work on together to achieve.” Why was the Faculty such a “lame duck” in 2006? It was still weathering the fallout of the telecom boom and bust. About 75 per cent of the Faculty’s focus and resources were on information and communications technology (ICT) – the sector that had been hardest hit. Equipping students with ‘essential skills’ But at the same time, demand and interest for biomedical, chemical, mechanical and civil engineers was on an uptick. Dr. Laguë and his team set out to rebuild and rebalance the Faculty with the objective of

achieving a 50/50 split between ICT and the other engineering disciplines. But one thing that engineering students as a whole have often struggled with is what Dr. Laguë considers “essential skills” – the interpersonal and business skills to effectively communicate, network and work as part of diverse teams and to be successful. “Our message has long been that these are essential skills that are just as important as your math and science background,” he shared. Couple that with the changing dynamics of the workplace, where the typical engineer must now be much more entrepreneurial than they were in the past to build a successful career. The need to be entrepreneurial Dr. Laguë and his team have worked to prepare students and grads for this new reality through a number of initiatives, such as the annual Graduate Poster Competition, Design Day and the Prizes in Entrepreneurship and Innovation student competitions. And uOttawa Faculty of Engineering has the only NSERC Chair in Design Engineering in Canada with a specific focus on entrepreneurship. “Engineers are people who solve practical problems,” Dr. Laguë said. “We want to give students, researchers and our educators an opportunity to directly relate what

they are doing to a societal need or a commercial opportunity that exists in society and understand what it takes to successfully bring that idea to market.” Despite uOttawa’s success in this regard, Dr. Laguë remains disappointed by one thing – the lack of progress over the past 10 years by the profession as a whole to engage more young women in engineering and computer science. How to bridge the gender gap? Engineers Canada has set a goal of having 30 per cent of newly licensed engineers in Canada be women by 2030. Engineering lags far behind other professions like medicine or law, with women accounting for less than 15 per cent of all professional engineers. “If we continue to move at the same pace that we have been since the beginning of the millennium, we’re never going to get there,” Dr. Laguë said. The place to start? Old stereotypes that still lead parents and K-12 educators to steer girls away from engineering and science, and postsecondary admission requirements that demand too many high school science and math credits. Overcoming these challenges may lie in part with the rise of the maker movement, and advances in 3D printing. These new tools are helping engineers and tinkerers of all ages

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collaborate and encouraging more young people to consider a career in engineering. In fact, the Faculty has launched its own Richard L’Abbé Makerspace that’s open to the public, as well as created a uOttawa Maker Mobile that visits K-12 schools and community centres across the region. “We need to be present, we need to inform kids, parents and K-12 educators about the career opportunities in computer science or engineering that exist for boys and girls,” Dr. Laguë stated. “We have a responsibility to contribute to the technical literacy of our population.” What’s next? So what does Dr. Laguë plan to do once he leaves the Dean’s office? As a Fulbright Scholar, he will be spending eight months in California next year to research best practices in student entrepreneurship at California universities. After that, who knows? “I have a policy of keeping my options open,” he said. “I will be looking for other interesting opportunities. I’ve had 10 great years as Dean that have been both challenging and stimulating.”

ECONOMY

“We must scale up. The goal is to give SMEs, small and medium-sized companies, the support they need to bring their goods and services to market a lot faster.” – FEDERAL MINISTER OF INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NAVDEEP BAINS

Feds ante up for Innovation Centre Liberals announce $8M to fund digital lab, cybersecurity centre at Bayview Yards facility BY TOM PECHLOFF tom@obj.ca

he federal government brought its “innovation agenda” to Mechanicsville earlier this month, announcing millions of dollars in funding for the Innovation Centre scheduled to open at Bayview Yards this fall. Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains said the federal government will invest up to $8 million in the new facility, with the money going towards new software, equipment and programs such as a digital lab and a cybersecurity hub. “We must scale up. The goal is to give SMEs, small and medium-sized companies, the support they need to bring their goods and services to market a lot faster,” Mr. Bains told the audience

of 350 gathered at Laroche Park for the announcement on July 15. The park is across the street from the former city works building that is being renovated to host the 46,000-squarefoot facility, which will also be the new headquarters of Invest Ottawa. “The centre is expected to help about 1,200 businesses accelerate the development and commercialization of more than 200 products and services, so the scale is absolutely impressive,” the minister said, adding the centre will create more than 280 jobs and attract “tens of millions of dollars” in followup investment for participating companies and the region at large. The federal money, which is coming from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, will support the facility’s advanced digital media lab, makerspace and global cybersecurity resource program.

The new Innovation Centre. FILE PHOTO

The makerspace and media lab, to be called Mademill, will be managed by local design studio prototypeD and a group of collaborators. The lab is meant to speed up technology commercialization by providing entrepreneurs with everything they need to design, develop and test their products. The cybersecurity centre, which will be run by Carleton University’s Technology Innovation Management Program and Venus Cybersecurity, will

help entrepreneurs develop commercial cybersecurity solutions. Mr. Bains said cybersecurity is an area where Canadian companies can really make an impact. “We are becoming more digitized in everything we do,” he told reporters after the announcement. “Digitization is taking place in every sector from forestry to mining to agriculture to health care, and so how do we make sure that when we digitize all these different sectors we provide security measures as well?” Officials said the funding will also provide equipment and expertise to help strengthen the digital media, software, defence, aerospace and security and clean technology industries, all considered to be high-growth sectors in the local economy. The province and city have already agreed to provide $30 million in cash and in-kind contributions to the centre.

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TRAINING

Soldier for a day

basic soldier skills and also learn specific trades. However, they can be deployed in full-time missions. Thinking of his own experience, the 38-year-old carries extra responsibilities as commanding officer, so it’s like having two full-time jobs – one with the reserves and one as a senior programmer with Broadview Networks. Still, he wouldn’t change a thing given flexibility sometimes required in having the formative impact of the reserves on his them on staff. career and life. Mr. Kelly notes that at their peak, At Connaught Ranges Primary Training reservists made up about 30 per cent of Centre, with Kanata’s Brookstreet Hotel the total number of soldiers that Canada clearly visible in the distance, six civilian deployed in Afghanistan. In recent decades, teams (mostly gathered from local civil 33 CER members have also served in United engineering firms) gather at 8 a.m. and Nations and NATO missions, including sift through bins with combat clothing, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cyprus, webbing, helmets and backpacks. the Golan Heights, Kosovo, Pakistan and After suiting up, it’s a short march to the Somalia. firing ranges. An official welcome from Mr. Kelly (and PASSION, DEDICATION well-known real estate executive Paul Hindo, Mr. Kelly’s own career with the reserves an honourary colonel) and some training on started in Newfoundland in 1995. At the C9 machine guns follow. time, reservists were paid a flat rate of One by one, the teams pick up 80 rounds $50 per day. Today, that number has risen of bullets, each measuring 45 millimetres, to $100 per day. But that’s not the only and make their way to the target range. improvement over the years. Following instructions, six people lie prone, Equally important, says Mr. Kelly, is secure bipod-mounted C9s with their that the gap between training standards shoulders, peer through the sites at targets of reservists and regular members of the 200 metres down range and squeeze off armed forces has dramatically narrowed. short bursts of gunfire. Bullet casings fly In his pitch to hire reservists, Mr. Kelly through the air. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Behind says they can bring passion, dedication, the targets, small bits of sand explode. work ethic, critical thinking and teamwork Another short march for lunch. Military to private sector employers. rations are distributed and foil-wrapped Most reservists work one evening per meals are dropped into boiling water. week and then train some weekends to gain Smoked meat, Thai chicken and salmon

Military program gives businesspeople a glimpse into life as a combat engineer BY MICHAEL CURRAN mcurran@obj.ca

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

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magine pushing back from the keyboard and picking up a machine gun that fires 100 rounds per minute. How about swapping your BlackBerry for a mine detector? Maybe skip the board meeting to traipse through a booby-trapped field, picking out trip wires attached to hidden IEDs. That’s exactly what two dozen businesspeople did in May when they signed up for Exercise Collaborative Sapper, a day-long adventure designed to simulate the regular tasks of combat engineers. It’s all part of a program called Executrek. In the words of 33 CER commanding officer Lt.-Col. Peter Kelly, it’s all about building a bridge between the military reserves and businesses, especially those related to civil engineering. The goal is to build an appreciation for the training, skills and work ethic of “part-time citizen soldiers” who make up Canada’s reserve regiments. And in doing so, perhaps increase the likelihood of businesses hiring reservists or, if they already employ reservists, allowing the

fillet are on the menu. “Don’t eat the cookies” is the joke. After lunch comes a series of competitions. IED (improvised explosive devices) are hidden in a field. The teams must avoid trip wires and spot the bombs. Trucks weighing almost five tonnes must be moved several metres with nothing but pulleys, ropes and manpower. Buried mines must be located and properly identified with prods and metal detectors.

BOMB DISPOSAL ROBOTS Bomb disposal robots controlled with joysticks must pick up cups, move them a few metres and empty them into containers. Military jackhammers are used to chisel away large blocks of concrete that must be placed into buckets and piled high. They are all everyday tasks undertaken by combat engineers. When deployed, they ensure troops can live, move and fight on the battlefield. That can include everything from highway construction to operating heavy equipment. Barry Grover of Milestone Environmental Contracting, which participated in Executrek, says the experience left him with a strong impression of combat engineers and reservists in general. “The day was very well-organized by people who are clearly passionate about what they do,” says Mr. Grover. “As a participant, it was amazing to see the teamwork and energy that the reservists showed during all parts of the day … all with a smile.”

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It’s all about building a bridge between the military reserves and businesses, especially those related to civil engineering Facing page: Executrek participants donned full military gear as part of a day-long adventure designed to simulate the regular tasks of combat engineers. Clockwise, this page: The two dozen businesspeople performed a range of exercises, including firing bipod-mounted C9s, hauling five-tonne trucks with pullies and ropes and loading blocks of concrete into buckets. PHOTOS SUPPLIED

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

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COMMENTARY I have never seriously tried to negotiate a lower interest rate than the one offered by my bank when taking out or renewing a mortgage. That’s my mistake While I am locked into my mortgage for five years at a fixed interest rate, the bank’s terms permit annual early repayment of 15 per cent of the sum originally borrowed. A bank employee told me I could lower my monthly payments by borrowing on a line of credit and using the funds to pay down the mortgage. How right he was! I was surprised at how much I am saving – especially since the interest rate on the line of credit is similar to the interest rate on the mortgage. It took me a while to get my head around the explanation for this. Here it is: My conventional 25-year mortgage one offered by my bank when taking has only a few years left to run, so much out or renewing a mortgage. That’s my of my monthly payment is principal. My mistake. And I’ve vowed not to make it home equity line of credit is actually a again. 30-year mortgage, with a fixed interest According to the Financial Post, banks rate for one year, so I pay off very little may extend mortgages to their most principal in the early years. valued customers at about 1.5 percentage Initially, my bank wanted to charge points below their posted rates. On a me $695 for raising the limit on my line of $100,000 mortgage, that could mean a credit, but it agreed to waive this charge savings of close to $1,500 a year for the when I protested that I was borrowing no bank’s most valued customers – or those more money than before. who drive the hardest bargain. Why did I choose a line of credit over a I have no idea where I rate on my reverse mortgage? Because I had no need bank’s scale of credit-worthiness. But to increase my indebtedness; I merely I do have a very good idea of what my wanted to lower my monthly payment. home is worth. And surely that should Would I recommend a home-equity be the key factor in determining the line of credit to those whose home is fully bank’s risk in lending money on the paid for and who want extra spending home, shouldn’t it? money? Yes, definitely. It’s always been the case that only Of course, the money must be repaid the relatively affluent can afford home with interest. And, as with a conventional ownership. Fully repaying the mortgage mortgage, you must make monthly has been a goal of homeowners for principal-and-interest payments. But say generations. It’s a worthy goal. But why you borrow $5,000 each year for the next be house-rich and cash-poor? 10 years. That’s $50,000 plus interest. With There are three choices for those any luck, your home will rise in value by seeking a loan based on the equity in at least that amount. their home. They are: a conventional In the last 10 years, average home mortgage; a home-equity line of prices in Ottawa have risen by about credit; or what is known as a “reverse $12,000 a year – from $245,000 in 2005 to mortgage,” where the borrower pays $368,000 last year. Surely the kids won’t neither principal nor interest for the begrudge your spending a fraction of term of the loan. their inheritance. I have a conventional mortgage that is within my means to repay, but I wanted Michael Prentice is OBJ’s columnist to lower my monthly payments in order on retail and consumer issues. He to have more spending money. can be contacted at news@obj.ca.

Why be house-rich and cash-poor? With the cost of borrowing at near-record lows, Michael Prentice says now is the time for homeowners to use that to their advantage

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

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ho couldn’t use an extra few thousand dollars a year in spending money? The cost of borrowing is close to record lows, yet many of us fail to make the most of this. Here are four suggestions for getting the most out of low interest rates: • When negotiating (or renegotiating) a loan, especially a mortgage, shop around and make sure you get the lowest possible interest rate you deserve. • Take a stand against paying any administrative or legal costs associated with the loan. When pressured, the lender might agree to waive these charges, which inflate the true rate of interest. • If you have a mortgage, consider extending the number of years over which you repay the loan. Recently, I was surprised to learn that I was able to cut my monthly mortgage payments by about 50 per cent by lengthening the repayment period. • If you own a home that is mortgagefree, consider taking out a mortgage on the property. This might sound sacrilegious, especially to adult offspring who view the home as their inheritance. But the way Ottawa home values continue to rise, your heirs might never notice. These days, money is cheap – so why not get your hands on more of it? I have never seriously tried to negotiate a lower interest rate than the

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MODEST GAINS IN THE HOUSING MARKET The last economic update for the Ottawa region from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce calls for modest growth in the local housing market for 2016 after a surge last year that was driven by low interest rates. Higher demand has rebalanced the market and price growth is pegged at 2.5 to three per cent. Meanwhile, the commercial real estate market is in flux, caught between cutbacks in some sectors, notably government, and billions of dollars’ worth of new non-residential construction activity, such as LRT. The results from the latest Ottawa Business Growth Survey show most respondents are anticipating modest gains in the market.

What do you project will happen to residential real estate prices in Ottawa in the next 12 months?

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Once again Polo (hockey on horses) comes to Ottawa! Enjoy a day of thrilling arena polo matches, and a fundraiser for the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health and TROtt (Therapeutic Riding Association of Ottawa-Carleton. A children’s village, boutique ally, beer and wine garden … TICKETS: General admission: $15 or $20 at the door

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Hydro Ottawa & Mealshare: Turn dining out, into helping out

community, this number will continue to grow. For Operation Come Home’s Executive Director Elspeth McKay, the support from local companies such as Hydro Ottawa has her confident in the success of the Mealshare program. “Ottawa is a very giving city, and we’re excited to see how many youth in need will benefit through the initiative.” With more than one million youth not having access to adequate food, and nearly 8 million Canadians dining out every day, Mealshare is making it simpler than ever to give back to your community. For more information about a potential partnership

or where Mealshare is available, check out its website at www.mealshare. ca, or contact Alanna Smith, Mealshare Ottawa Community Leader, at 403-863-8190.

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Ottawa. “We are excited to be one of Mealshare’s founding supporters in the Ottawa area, and believe strongly in the impact this program will have for the youth in need within our community.” Giving to this great cause is both easy and delicious thanks to Mealshare’s innovative donation arrangement. Mealshare works by partnering with local restaurants that display the Mealshare logo next to select menu items. For every Mealshare item sold, Mealshare provides one meal to a youth in need. Since 2013, Mealshare has provided more than 700,000 meals. Thanks to the support of Hydro Ottawa and various other businesses in the

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

ne of Mealshare’s founding supporters in the Ottawa region, Hydro Ottawa, is helping to turn dining out into helping out. Mealshare is a charity that currently operates in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Edmonton, providing meals to youth in need. Having launched in Ottawa this June, Hydro Ottawa is proud to support such a great cause as Mealshare is working alongside Operation Come Home to provide meals to homeless and at-risk youth. “Giving back to the community is an important part of Hydro Ottawa’s culture,” said Bryce Conrad, President and CEO of Hydro

TECHNOLOGY ‘What we do is connect with people’ Tech veteran Les Rechan is leaning on 30 years of experience in Asia and North America in his drive to make Halogen a worldwide force in talent management software BY DAVID SALI david@obj.ca

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

OBJ.CA

fter a globetrotting high-tech career, Les Rechan would seem to be just the right person to lead Halogen Software’s quest to become an international software powerhouse. The 54-year-old was born in Niagara Falls before his family moved just across the border to Buffalo when he was a youngster. Upon graduating from Brown University in Providence, R.I., in 1984 with a degree in computer engineering and organizational behaviour, Mr. Rechan embarked on a three-decade career that took him to Chicago, London, Singapore, Seattle, California and finally Ottawa, where he joined the company then called Cognos as chief operating officer in 2006. Cognos was eventually acquired by IBM, and Mr. Rechan continued to work for the multinational tech giant as general manager of its business analytics unit until 2014. Never one to just put his feet up, he then joined the boards of several tech organizations. One of them was Halogen, where his old friend, former Cognos CEO Rob Ashe, was already a board member. But he didn’t stay out of the executive suite for long. When Halogen chief executive Paul Loucks, the company’s CEO since 2000, unexpectedly resigned in July 2015, the firm turned to Mr. Rechan on an interim basis while it searched for a permanent replacement. Four months later, Halogen removed the “interim” from Mr. Rechan’s title, putting him in charge of a growing company that now employs nearly 500 people worldwide, 410 of them in Ottawa. “I wouldn’t have joined the board unless I strongly believed in what Halogen Software does,” he says in a New York accent that belies his Canadian roots. “I’m a big believer in people – people matter most in any company. It’s the biggest expense line, but also the biggest differentiator – whether it’s a company, whether it’s a government agency. What we do is connect with people and really enable people to grow and succeed in companies.” Mr. Rechan believes Halogen is just scratching the surface in its effort to sell its talent-management software around the world. He says there are 300,000 companies in Halogen’s “sweet spot” – small and medium-sized businesses with between 100 and 5,000 employees

After a 30-year career that has taken him to several countries, Les Rechan is now CEO of Halogen Software. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

– and 90 per cent of them aren’t using any software to recruit talent, measure performance or train employees. The way Mr. Rechan sees it, that equates to $15 billion worth of customers waiting to be served all over the planet.

‘AN UNTAPPED MARKET’ “It’s an untapped market,” he says. Halogen, which went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange with a $63.5-million IPO in 2013, has been diligently working to establish a global presence for years. Headquartered in Kanata, the company now has U.S. offices in Charlotte, N.C., and San Jose, as well as overseas operations in Australia, Britain and the Netherlands. It sells its products to more than 2,100 clients in 55 countries from China to Switzerland and offers customer support in 23 languages. Like most software-as-a-service companies, Halogen has invested heavily in sales and marketing to boost its customer base, an effort that has yet to pay off at the bottom line. Despite earning record-breaking revenues of $65.7 million in fiscal 2015, the firm still posted a loss of about $13 million, bringing its total losses over the past five years to more than $70 million. But Mr. Rechan says he’s confident the company is just getting warmed up. International markets – those outside Canada and the United States – currently

account for a mere 11 per cent of Halogen’s sales, a figure he believes will rise dramatically in the years to come. “There certainly is an opportunity

to get a higher mix, absolutely. We do extremely well in some of these markets. We can do better in some of them, as well,” he says, citing Australia, Britain

LES RECHAN’S ROAD TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE SUITE President and CEO, Halogen Software General manager, IBM Business Analytics Vice-president, IBM Business Analytics Sales, Solutions and Services Chief operating officer, Cognos Senior vice-president and general manager, CRM Strategy, Oracle (San Mateo, Calif.) Senior vice-president and general manager, Americas and Global Manufacturing and Distribution Industries, Siebel Systems (San Mateo, Calif.) Senior vice-president and general manager, North America Operations, Cadence Design Systems (San Jose) Chief operating officer, Onyx Software (Seattle) General manager, Asia Pacific communications sector, IBM (Singapore) General manager, Asia Pacific travel and transportation industries, IBM (Singapore) Director, global travel and transportation industry solutions, IBM (London) Client executive, solutions manager, transformation consultant, systems engineer, IBM (Chicago)

July 2015-present November 2011-April 2014 February 2008-October 2011 May 2006-January 2008 January 2006-May 2006

July 2004-January 2006

May 2003-July 2004 February 2001-November 2002 January 1999-January 2001 January 1996-December 1998 January 1995-December 1995

August 1984-December 1994

& s& bs p ub o pu e ive t o e t uttiv e os e cu ec e c x ex cllos

S O OS T T S S E E r r

he to tthe s to iin ns m 2 m 2

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and New Zealand as countries with major growth potential. Still, he stresses every market is different. Compliance laws vary from country to country; the way certain verticals, such as health care, operate can change substantially from one nation to another; each culture has its own way of doing business. In its ambitious bid to become a world leader in its field, Halogen must avoid the temptation to rush headlong into markets it doesn’t understand, Mr. Rechan cautions. For now, he says, he is focused on building a stronger foundation in the regions Halogen already serves, rather than continuing to extend its reach further.

“The challenge in these global markets is once you get into them, you realize just how much you don’t know.”

nd d hiin b eh s be g s n g y i t n ly ee ti o nl on s tt m mee f a s e f a l w e e el ay y!! nw wn

H a ow ks wa to aw nt s c wn k o c ow do l d blo w e wb f e f A A

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“The challenge in these global markets is once you get into them, you realize just how much you don’t know,” he says. Recently, Mr. Rechan has turned his attention to signing up partners such as employee recruitment software producer Jobvite to complement Halogen’s own services. Though the firm has grown organically throughout its history, Mr. Rechan isn’t ruling out the possibility of future expansion through mergers or acquisitions. “I’ve done a lot of acquisitions throughout my business career,” he says. “There’s a lot of different places you could go, so in order to optimize this, you need to have a vision. But then you also need to be opportunistic around what makes sense, where can I get synergy, what makes sense in terms of affordability. We’re constantly looking for those opportunities.” In the meantime, he says, he’s happy with the direction the company is headed. Halogen is projecting recordbreaking revenues of between $72 million and $73 million for fiscal 2016, and Mr. Rechan believes its growth trajectory will continue on its upward path. “If you look at the past nine months since I’ve joined the company, the results and where we’re going, I really think the team has done a very good job of really unifying around our vision,” he says. “We want to continue really growing this thing as aggressively as we can.”

GO GLOBAL Innovative agency thrives while flying under the radar NAV Canada’s cutting-edge air traffic control technology has become a key component at airports around the world BY DAVID SALI david@obj.ca

n a basement testing facility near the Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Jim Hill is helping to shape the future of air traffic control technology. Mr. Hill is a tower systems specialist for NAV Canada, the private agency created two decades ago to operate the country’s flight control systems. Over the years, the company has forged an enviable reputation for innovation, thanks in part to its groundbreaking work in developing a computerized

system to replace the archaic paper strips that have been used to track flights at control towers since the dawn of commercial air travel. In the old days, Mr. Hill explains, air traffic controllers would sometimes have to toss the plastic containers holding the paper strips, which contain information such as flight numbers, across the room to someone else who would then put them in their proper positions on the tracking board that lists flights in order of their arrival and departure times. Today, thanks to technology that NAV Canada pioneered and sells around the

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NAV Canada’s Rudy Kellar sees lots of growth potential in foreign sales. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

world, all that information is available at a glance on a digital screen. “It lets us have the brainpower to do the big-picture stuff – to monitor the traffic and what’s going on,” Mr. Hill says, standing next to a colour computer display showing the status of various flights within the tower’s jurisdiction. “That’s what safety’s all about.” It’s a far cry from the way things were in 1996 when NAV Canada was launched. The agency knew it needed to revamp its

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antiquated technology, but a computer system designed by a private contractor to help controllers route traffic between airports was plagued by delays and technical problems, forcing the company to dramatically rethink its approach. “We really quickly realized … the technology was obsolete, run-down,” says Rudy Kellar, NAV Canada’s vicepresident of service delivery. “There was a need for a lot of capital to build new technology, new facilities. We chose

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“At the end of the day, it’s not as much about the money as it is about what you can do with the technology to provide a safe air traffic management environment.” – RUDY KELLAR, NAV CANADA’S VICE-PRESIDENT OF SERVICE DELIVERY

to start building our own technology software for ourselves. Not very long in, we realized we entered an area that had a sustainable competitive advantage if we thought about selling it. At that point, we realized there is an opportunity for an alternative revenue stream.” That decision has paid off handsomely for NAV Canada, an independent non-profit corporation headquartered in downtown Ottawa that employs about 1,000 workers in the National Capital Region. Many of those employees are software engineers, and the agency is now recognized as a global leader in automated air traffic systems. In 2015, NAV Canada earned about $29 million – two per cent of its total revenue of $1.33 billion – from selling its technology to other flight-control agencies around the world. Products it developed are now in use in eight other countries, including Australia, Denmark, Great Britain and India. Any surplus revenues NAV Canada generates are poured into new technology and offsetting potential increases in the service fees it charges to airports and their carriers, which have not been raised in a decade.

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YOW, or the airport improvement fee – are ultimately reflected in airfares. Monetizing land we don’t use is one way we can keep these costs as low as possible.” The Authority has earmarked these lands for development only after careful consideration of its future needs. For instance, land that has (or potentially has) direct access to runways, taxiways, and aprons is reserved to support the long-term needs of the airport operation. But what it considers non-airside lands are available for development. Laroche and his team are working with real estate services company Colliers International to market the Authority’s development land. “We’re open to ideas,” he said. “From a service and repair shop, to a training centre or a high-tech park, there are many valuable uses for these lands.” To learn more about the Authority’s leasing and development opportunities, please visit collierscanada.com/19385.

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re you looking to break ground? Maybe it’s for light industrial use, a truck transport terminal, bank, restaurant, convenience store, technology centre or warehouse. The Ottawa International Airport Authority has 333 acres of land primed for development, including areas adjacent the EY Centre, a future light rail line, as well as established neighbourhoods. These seven plots of land range in size from 1.7 to 100 acres. Rather than just let this prime real estate lie fallow, YOW wants to see it put to good use. Why? To spur economic activity in Ottawa and make it more affordable to travel by air. “Land management and development is an important part of the Authority’s strategy to reduce our reliance on aviation-related revenue to fund operations,” said Mark Laroche, President and CEO. “This is good for the community because aeronautical charges – whether they are the rates an airline pays to land an aircraft at

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

The company is also a partner with Virginia-based Aireon LLC, which is building a system that uses satellites to track aircraft movements in areas of the world such as oceans and the poles that are too remote to be covered by radar. The technology is designed to allow planes to fly more efficient routes, saving time and reducing fuel consumption. “This is clearly a case where you’ve got technology making sense because you’re going to be saving fuel and saving money at the same time,” says Grant Headrick, managing director of Toronto-based credit-rating agency DBRS, which tracks NAV Canada. “From NAV Canada’s standpoint, they’re developing and exporting this wonderful new technology that can be used globally to (reduce) fuel bills and the burning of fossil fuels. Secondly, it’s going to be helpful for their own ratepayers. It’s really a win-win on all sides.” Mr. Kellar says NAV Canada’s air traffic controllers and software engineers work side by side in the development process, meaning the developers receive immediate feedback from the

people who use their products every day. Air traffic control agencies from other countries also offer input into the process. “We’ve got all of these different controllers contributing to one software build centre on how to make (the technology) better,” he says. NAV Canada still earns the vast majority of its revenue from charges levied on its main customers, airports and the carriers that serve them. That will never change, Mr. Kellar says, but he notes the corporation’s executives must answer to a board of directors “much like a Fortune 500 company” does, encouraging a culture of innovation. Those directors include representatives from the aviation and aircraft industries, employee bargaining units, the federal government and private industry. “We like to say we’re a non-profit, but we are looking for performance in all of those areas like financial, safety, all these things,” Mr. Kellar explains. “The technology side of the business has not only provided an alternative source of revenue. What it’s provided is a wider-based idea-generating platform that … allows us to think of ideas to build stuff that contribute back to the safety and all the other aspects. At the end of the day, it’s not as much about the money as it is about what you can do with the technology to provide a safe air traffic management environment.” Being a private entity frees NAV Canada from “political interference” and red tape that can stifle innovation at government-run agencies, he adds. “We want the most creative and innovative software and technical people out there to want to come and work here,” Mr. Kellar says. “Our approach is, we put out a (new software) release last month; we think we’ll have another release in six to eight months. What are the good things we’re going to do between now and then to make it better?” NAV Canada earned a total of about $50 million from all outside sources last year, he says, which also includes external service contracts in addition to foreign sales. He believes that figure could eventually increase to 10 per cent of the corporation’s revenues. “I think we’re optimistic we can grow it,” he says. “So far, we’re on a good path to get there.”

THE LIST 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 11 MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

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Company/Address/ Phone/Fax/Web Sussex Strategy Group 200-440 Laurier Ave. W. Ottawa, ON K1R 7X6 613-782-2320 sussex-strategy.com Global Public Affairs 901-50 O’Connor St. Ottawa, ON K1P 6L2 613-782-2336 / 613-782-2428 globalpublicaffairs.ca Hill+Knowlton Strategies 1100-55 Metcalfe St. Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5 613-238-4371 hkstrategies.ca Summa Strategies Canada Inc. 1000-100 Sparks St. Ottawa, ON K1P 5B7 613-235-1400 / 613-235-1444 summa.ca StrategyCorp Inc. 100 Queen St. Ottawa, ON K1P 1J9 National Public Relations 81 Metcalfe St., 2nd Floor Ottawa, ON K1P 6K7 613-233-1699 / 613-233-2431 national.ca CFN Consultants 1502-222 Queen St. Ottawa, ON K1P 5V9 613-232-1576 / 613-238-5519 cfnconsultants.com MediaStyle 131 Bank St., 3rd and 4th Floor Ottawa, ON K1P 5N7 613-369-5006 mediastyle.ca Prospectus Associates 820-45 O’Connor St. Ottawa, ON K1P 1A4 613-569-3200 / 613-589-4055 prospectus.ca High Road 1200-45 O’Connor St. Ottawa, ON K1P 1A4 613-236-0909 / 613-238-9380 highroad.com Tactix Government Relations & Public Affairs Inc. 700-45 O’Connor St. Ottawa, ON K1P 1A4 613-566-7053 / 613-566-2026 tactix.ca Impact Public Affairs 300-66 Queen St. Ottawa, ON K1P 5C6 613-233-8906 / 613-230-2669 impactcanada.com Temple Scott Associates Inc. 190 O’Connor St., 5th Floor Ottawa, ON K2P 2R3 613-241-6000 / 613-241-6001 tsa.ca The Hillbrooke Group 1A-260 Metcalfe St. Ottawa, ON K2P 1R6 613-739-2921 The Rothwell Group 100-46 Elgin St. Ottawa, ON K1P 5K6 613-567-6775 therothwellgroup.ca Thornley Fallis 730-55 Metcalfe St. Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5 613-231-3355 / 613-231-4515 thornleyfallis.com Earnscliffe Strategy Group 200-46 Elgin St. Ottawa, ON K1P 5K6 613-563-4455 / 613-563-1768 earnscliffe.ca Fleishman Hillard 1200-45 O’Connor St. Ottawa, ON K1P 1A4 613-238-2090 / 613-238-9380 fleishman.ca Flagship Solutions 70 George St., Third Floor Ottawa, ON K1N 5V9 613-562-1777 flagshipsolutions.ca Blueprint Public Relations 100-46 Elgin St. Ottawa, ON K1P 5K6 613-216-1420 / 613-237-0123 blueprintpr.ca

LARGEST PUBLIC AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS FIRMS

(RANKED BY NO. OF LOCAL PUBLIC AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS CONSULTANTS AND REGISTERED LOBBYISTS)

No. of Ottawa PR consultants/ registered No. of local lobbyists employees Key local executive(s)

Year est. in Ottawa Services offered

Major clients

Rodrigue Gilbert senior associate

1998

Public affairs; government relations

WND

Randy Pettipas CEO Genevieve Young chief operating officer

1995

Strategic government relations and communications; advocacy; government and media monitoring

Shell; TOTAL; Chevron; FedEx; Gilead; Dow Agro Sciences; RioTinto Minerals; Labbatts; Alliance Pipeline; GSK; Abbott; Sanofi; Ferus; Pulse Canada; Xstrata; CN; Canadian Toy Association; Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

Jackie King senior vice-president and general manager

1993

Public relations; internal communications and change management; B2B communications; stakeholder engagement and relations; public engagement and research; government relations; procurement; mergers and acquisitions; cyber resilience

WND

Tracey Hubley president

1997

Government relations; strategic communications; event planning; media training

WND

Lisa Samson John Duffy pricipals

2004

Government relations; public relations; strategic communications; business consulting

Avaya Canada Corp.; First Gulf Corp.; Insititute for Quantum Computing; Juniper Networks Canada; PotashCorp; Progressive Contractors Association; The Nature Conservancy of Canada; Quebecor Inc.; Canada Green Building Council

Chris Froggatt managing partner

1988

Full-service public relations and public affairs consultancy providing communications planning and counsel; media relations and WND training; government relations; issues and crisis management; event management.

George Macdonald managing senior partner

1983

Government procurement, especially related to defence and securiIBM; Lockheed Martin; Magellan Aerospace Corp.; Oracle; Siemens ty, including cyber security. Strategic planning; federal government Canada; Sierra Systems Group; Harris Canada; IMP/Cascase; Vector; contract management; bid support; dispute resolution; industrial Weatherhaven and technological benefits (offsets)

Ian Capstick; Caitlin Kealey; Allyson Chisnall; Ewald Friesen partners

2009

Full-service agency specializing in communications audits, plans National Association of Friendship Centres; Canadian Building Trades and strategy; media relations, graphic design, digital strategies, soUnion; Egg Farmers of Canada; Canadian Federation of Nurses Union; cial media management, communications workshops and training, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation websites, message crafting and speech writing; video production.

Robert Evershed and William Pristanski principals

1993

Government relations; public relations

Katherine Fletcher senior partner and managing director Natalie Sauvé senior vice-president

1996

Integrated strategic marketing communications services in paid, American Express; Avaya; Boston Pizza; Canadian Labour Congress; earned and owned channels; services: media and influencer Clarks; FedEx Canada; Huawei; Pfizer; Salesforce; Sobeys; Sun Life relations, creative strategy; content marketing; digital; social media; Financial; The Weather Network; The Womens College Hospital video production

Howard Mains and Alan Young co-presidents

1996

Strategic counsel, risk management, perception audits, product defence, red team reviews, procurement/bid support, crisis management, media training, strategic communications, policy analysis

Accenture; Airbus; Air Canada; American Chemistry Council; Babcock; Canadian Public Works Association; Dow Agro Sciences Canada; Dell Canada; GATX; International Union of Painters and Allied Trades; Pratt & Whitney Canada; United Technologies; Valero Energy

Huw Williams president

1997

Government relations; public relations; strategic communications; event planning

Canadian Automobile Dealers Association; Insurance Brokers Association of Canada; Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science; Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health

Don Moors principal

1987

Government relations, communications and event management firm with experience in lobbying, advocacy, media relations, corporate communications and event planning and execution.

Salesforce; MasterCard Canada; NAV Canada; Entertainment Software Association of Canada; TransUnion Canada; MNP LLP; Government of Yukon; Lakehead University; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Grant Kippen Lisa Robertson principals

1005

Strategic communications planning and implementation; media University of Ottawa; Canadian Medical Association; Canadian relations; social media; stakeholder outreach; employee and change Cardiovascular Association; CATSA; Partnership for Stroke Recovery; communications; crisis communications; creative services and GAVI; The Vaccine Alliance; Library of Parliament design; event planning; project management

Leo Duguay Mark Resnick principals

2001

Public affairs; government relations; corporate strategy; communications

Greyhound Lines Inc.; Telus; Purdue Pharma; Dow Corning; Motorola Canada Ltd.; OmniTrax Canada; Duty Free Americas; Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group; Nissan Canada Inc.; Renault

Sherrilynne Starkie executive vice-president Joseph Thornley CEO

1995

Full-service communications agency; strategy development and implementation; social media; content marketing; digital public engagement; video production; design; web development

GM Canada; Metrolinx; Eli Lilly; UA Canada; CRA; DUCA; Leading Boards; The Ottawa Clinic; Angela Pollard & Associates; Hull & Hull LLP; Agrisoma Biosciences; Trucking HR Canada; CAA

Michael Robinson president Velma McColl managing principal

1989

Consulting services: government relations; strategic communications; public policy analysis; opinion and market research

CIBC; Eli Lilly; General Motors; Hoffman La Roche; Microsoft; Nova Chemicals; RX&D; Shaw Communications; Spectra Energy; CUTA; Canadian Electricity Association

Nicolas Ruszkowski senior vice-president, senior partner and general manager, Ottawa

1986

Government relations; public affairs; strategic communications

Financial; natural resources

Serge Buy Chris Frantz senior partners

2004

Public and government relations; association management

National Association of Career Colleges; Canadian Ferry Operators Association; Agricultural Institute of Canada

Robyn Osgood principal

2001

Strategic counsel; communications planning; media relations; issues management; crisis communications; project management

Alberta Urban Municipalities Association; Algonquin College; Canadian Medical Association; Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health; Greyhound Canada

Lockheed Martin; Walmart Canada Inc.; Scotiabank; National Hockey League; Resolute Forest Products; Archer Daniels Midland; Sikorsky; CAE; Ratheon; Ericsson; Gildan; Apple; Porsche; Garda; Canadian Beverage Assoc.

WND = Would not disclose. Should your company be on this list? If so, please send details to research@obj.ca This list is current as of June 15. © 2016 by Ottawa Business Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced by any method in whole or in part without written permission by Ottawa Business Journal. While every attempt is made to ensure the thoroughness and accuracy of the list, omissions and errors sometimes occur. Please send any corrections or additions by e-mail to research@obj.ca. OBJ lists are primarily compiled using information provided voluntarily by the organizations named. Some firms that may qualify for the list are not included because the company either failed to respond to requests for information by press time, because the company declined to take part in the survey or because of space constraints. Categories are drawn up in attempt to gather information of relevance to the Ottawa market. Research by Patti Moran. Please send questions and comments to research@obj.ca.

FOR THE RECORD People on the move Global IQX has named Jeffrey Weaver director of underwriting consulting services. Mr. Weaver has an extensive background in underwriting management and hands-on experience with the Global IQX sales and underwriting workbench as well as more than 19 years of underwriting experience in group life, disability and dental products. Lindsay Hockey and Oliver Kershaw have been named principals of Avison Young. They will continue to concentrate on their core specialties of office tenant representation and agency leasing. Ms. Hockey brings 15 years of commercial real estate experience to the role, while Mr. Kershaw has worked in the industry for 10 years. Prior to joining Avison Young, both worked as associate vice-presidents with CBRE.

Thinkwrap after spending more than 10 years at Innovapost, part of the Canada Post group of companies, where she served as senior vice-president of application development and vicepresident of corporate operations. She brings an extensive background in managing large, complex software organizations.

the highest sales of any Canadian decorator who is not a franchise owner. Halogen Software has been named a leader in the IDC MarketScape worldwide reports for integrated talent management, performance management and learning management. The Halogen

Hats off Decorating Den Interiors – The CPI Team was recognized for the highest sales last year among all Canadian franchises of the company. Owner Catherine Pulcine was honoured for being the design professional with the highest individual sales in all of North America. She also was presented a Crystal Award for achieving a new milestone in yearly sales. Additionally, Natalie Cox, an interior decorator with The CPI Team, was honoured for having

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THE TALK OF THE TOWN Chatbots the latest trend in artificial intelligence

CONNECTING TECH IN OTTAWA

VOL. 1, ISSUE 5

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

THE TALK OF THE TOWN Chatbots the latest trend in artificial intelligence PAGES 4-5

HISTORIC FRONTIER

Museum CEO looks to future PAGE 3

INNOVATION NATION?

GAINING ASSENT

Feds urged to revamp strategy PAGES 7-9 Firm fights its way to the top PAGES 10-11

SYSTEM UPDATE

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SIPI 2016 25 - 29 July 2016 • ottawa, canada KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:

• Participate in More Than 150 Technical Papers, Workshops & Tutorials and Special Sessions • Learn from our Sessions in 6 Informative Panels • Global University Offers 12 Presentations by an International Team of Instructors • Engage in More Than a Dozen Hands-on Experiments and Demonstrations • Visit Over 100 Exhibitors to Discover New Technologies, Instrumentation and Solutions

Electromagnetic Compatibility in 2016 and Beyond: What Is It and Why Do We Care?

EMC 2016 NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES Tuesday 26 July • 6-8 pm

Welcome Reception:

With entertainment by The EMC Band! The Grand Hall at the Canadian Museum of History

Wednesday 27 July • 6:30-9:30 pm

Evening Gala:

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

A night of incredible entertainment, exquisite food and panoramic views

Young Professionals & Undergraduates Social: Monday 25 July • 6 pm at d’Arcy McGees, followed by the Ottawa Haunted Walk.

Team EMC Bike Ride:

Thursday 28 July • 7 am Meet outside the Registration Area

Trillium Ballroom at The Shaw Centre

Thursday 28 July • 12:30-2 pm

Awards Luncheon:

Celebrating excellence in EMC and SIPI The Westin Hotel

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Dr. Robert Scully, Lead EMC Engineer from NASA Johnson Space Center

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MUSEUM SPACE Science and Tech CEO looks to new frontiers

Change is in the air at the Canada Museum of Science and Technology. The museum’s main building, which closed in 2014 due to mould in the walls, is undergoing an $80-million revitalization and will reopen in late 2017. Earlier this year, the federal government approved $156 million for a new collection and conservation centre to house the museum’s 300,000 artifacts. Alex Benay, 35, is at the centre of it all. The president and chief executive of Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation, which also operates the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, is a leading proponent of museums stepping outside their traditional walls and into the digital world. TECHOPIA spoke with Benay, one of the Ottawa Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 recipients this year. The interview has been edited for length.

LT.-GEN. MICHAEL J. HOOD, CANADA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MUSEUMS CORP. PRESIDENT AND CEO ALEX BENAY AND MP KAREN McCRIMMON, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY TO THE MINISTER OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND ASSOCIATE MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENCE, AT AN EVENT TO MARK THE ARRIVAL OF CANADA’S OLDEST HERCULES AIRCRAFT. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Science and Tech it’ll be amazing, but we don’t want to lose that.

TECHOPIA: You’ve said museum attendance as a measure of success is outdated. What are some other, more up-to-date ways to measure success, in your view?

BENAY: Well, we still measure attendance.

fantastic; it just wasn’t in the cards. And we feel confident in the site that we have. We have 20-plus acres of land to grow on. A science park outside doesn’t exist in Ottawa, but seems to exist in other major cities like Vancouver or Calgary. So why not look to create something for youth in the area? Let’s face it: it’s an area that needs this kind of space.

TECHOPIA: After several years of asking for it, the federal government finally approved the funds for a new collection and conversation centre in this year’s budget: $156 million over three years. How much of a game-changer was that?

BENAY: It’s everything. The museum

03 TECHOPIA.CA

investment was important, but this is at par with that, if not greater. One is we get to have all of our staff in the same building. A lot of the corporate staff are spread out. We have 19 buildings to manage, so we have 65 per cent of the national museum portfolio infrastructure to manage. From the collections perspective, it’s going to be a purpose-built facility. This is going to be state-of-the-art. We’re going to be co-housed with the National Gallery and the Canada Conservation Institute. We’re trying to make as much of it open to the public as possible. We are trying to create some digital research labs in partnership with post-secondary institutions and incubators like Invest Ottawa and DigiHub from Shawinigan and others. We are committed to opening a large part of this by March 2018. It’s extremely aggressive. I think the word I officially want to use is “awesome.” The unofficial word may be “absolutely chaotic and crazy.” But we’ll get it done.

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

Aviation and Space has had some of its best years in history, in terms of attendance. But there are so many other almost two years. What has surprised factors. We’re a national institution that you the most about the gig so far? happens to be in Ottawa. What are we doing with youth in Iqaluit? What are we BENAY: After six or seven weeks on the doing to engage in Victoria? In St. John’s? job, we closed Science and Tech. That We just signed an MOU with the was probably the biggest “what the Smithsonian Channel to help produce heck” moment. We had always been televised documentaries in science and the underdog museum in the national tech and to get Canadian content out capital, and I kind of liked that, but we in the world. That’s just as important as found a whole other level of underdog. attendance in Ottawa. The agriculture But the thing I found the most and food museum is going to be at the surprising is how this group’s been able Stampede in Calgary this year. to turn this around into something Is attendance important? Absolutely. absolutely amazing. We’ve completely We want to have the best local experience redefined the meaning of the word “place” in the institution for us. The place that we can. But the point is, we have a is not Lancaster Road or the Aviation and local, national and international role as an institution. It’s a much, much broader Space Museum or downtown. “Place” is mandate than just getting visitors in the world. If you’re at a tech company or at an export company, people understand the door. So that’s what we’re looking at: what is that new value proposition that. If you’re in the museum space, you for a cultural institution in today’s don’t always think about it that way. We do a lot of things digitally now with world? If we’re not at least having these conversations, then I would argue we’re the collection to increase our outreach. almost archaic by default. We do video games that are in over 170 countries. We’ve been able to put our public programming in vehicles and TECHOPIA: You just launched take it on the road from Montreal to consultations for a year-round science Toronto to Sudbury, you name it. We’ve been able to slowly use 3D printing as an park in the green space next to the outreach mechanism across the country. museum. What’s your vision for that? Considering everything that happened, that’s really good for us. When we reopen BENAY: Being downtown would have been

TECHOPIA: You’ve been in this job for

We’ve completely redefined the meaning of the word “place” in the institution for us. The place is not Lancaster Road or the Aviation and Space Museum or downtown. “Place” is the world. If you’re at a tech company or at an export company, people understand that. If you’re in the museum space, you don’t always think about it that way.

“I think as a company, if you can get those two things right — having a clear direction on what you are trying to do and bringing in great people who can execute on Follow TECHOPIA on Twitter @techopiaOTT or like us at Facebook.com/techopiaOTT the stuff — then you can do pretty well.” – MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO OF FACEBOOK

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Bots just became this huge door that gave us access to over two billion users combined on all those networks. Conversational commerce is this next big branch of commerce that we see being developed, and it creates huge opportunities for marketing, for delivering and ordering goods.

TECHOPIA.CA

04 MICHAEL GOLUBEV, CEO OF OTTAWA-BASED 3DPRINTLER, SAYS CHATBOTS WILL SOON BE SO PREVALENT PEOPLE WON’T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO CALL A 1-800 NUMBER FOR ASSISTANCE. PHOTO PROVIDED

HOPEFULLY THIS DOESN’T GO TO TORONTO’S HEAD TECHOPIA.ca

CHATBOX REVOLUTION? Ottawa companies early adopters

service providers. Golubev has described the company as “Kayak meets TripAdvisor for 3D printing services, on steroids.” 3Dprintler launched a chatbot-enabled 3D-printing search engine earlier this year, which it presented at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in Brooklyn last month. “Bots just became this huge door that gave us access to over two billion users combined on all those networks,” Golubev said in an interview. “Conversational commerce is this next big branch of commerce that we see being developed, and it creates huge opportunities for marketing, for delivering and ordering goods.” By conversing with the bot, users can BY MICHAEL WOODS the rising popularity of messaging apps compare prices for local 3D printing and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence services, place orders, track purchases The days of dialing 1-800 numbers and speech recognition have helped them and leave reviews, all without leaving the could soon be over, thanks to the latest become the hottest new tech trend. messaging app of choice. (It’s available on trend in artificial intelligence – and Ottawa At its F8 conference earlier this year, Facebook Messenger, Kik, Slack and Skype, companies are embracing the craze head- Facebook announced it was launching among other services). on. Messenger Platform, a new chatbot On average, there’s a 56 per cent better The rise of chatbots means people can service. It has been a hit with developers conversion rate using the chatbot than order food, hail an Uber, buy a plane ticket so far. using the website, Golubev said. or even apply for a job by chatting with a “I think it just requires a little bit of “It’s such a different environment,” he bot on a messaging platform. awareness, and Facebook is creating it,” said. “It’s almost like chatting with your Part of the thinking is that younger, said Michael Golubev, CEO of Ottawabuddy, and he’s helping you convert the more tech-savvy customers are more based 3Dprintler. “In a year or two, people file and get the best price.” inclined to use a chatting service than call won’t even remember what it was like In April, Shopify announced it was an actual person for help. to call some toll-free number and be on building commerce bots for Facebook Chatbots themselves aren’t a new hold.” Messenger. A day later, it acquired the phenomenon; they have been around in 3Dprintler, founded in August 2012, privately held startup Kit CRM, a company one form or another since the 1960s. But helps connect customers with 3D printing that helps businesses communicate with

of conversational commerce

their customers through chat. “We believe messaging apps are the gateway for the internet on mobile, and conversational commerce represents a huge opportunity for Shopify,” Craig Miller, Shopify’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement at the time. While developers have flocked to Facebook’s new platform, the road to a chatbot-dominated commerce world won’t always be smooth. When Microsoft’s Twitter chatbot “Tay” was released in March, it soon started spouting racist and sexually-charged messages in response to other Twitter users. Microsoft blamed a “co-ordinated effort by some users,” and the bot was taken down 16 hours after it launched. But as messaging platforms continue to gain popularity and the technology improves, chatbots will certainly become more ubiquitous. Golubev has a vision of the near future when everyone has a phone with a 3D scanner built in and local micro-factories manufacture 3D-printed products. That’s when he thinks the consumer side of 3Dprintler will take off. But until that happens, the company is targeting the business-to-business market. “The biggest thing we hear right now from Fortune 500 companies is they want to be involved in 3D printing, but they don’t understand how,” he said. “Until the market fully matures, that’s where the money is.”

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

05 TECHOPIA.CA

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he biggest changes in Canadian securities law in a decade have taken place in the past year. The onus is on public companies and their officers to keep up to speed and avoid running afoul of securities laws. A lot has changed in the compliance requirements and reporting obligations for a public company and its officers – just in the past year. The OSC is making it easier to raise capital, but, on the other hand, it is also taking fresh steps to penalize wrongdoing. The most commonly talked about change relates to crowdfunding. In January, Ontario became the fifth province to have a program that allows start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to raise capital through equity crowdfunding. But crowdfunding is just the tip of the iceberg. Other recent developments include:

Security holder prospectus exemption (Feb. 11, 2015). Listed issuers can access capital from their current shareholders more easily. Shareholders can access the often “sweetened” private placements of listed issuers that were previously for the most part only available to the small number of investors able to take advantage of the accredited investor exemption. Family, friends and business associates (FFBA) prospectus exemption (May 5, 2015). This replaces Ontario’s much narrower founder, control person and family exemption and increases investment opportunities for investors who are closely related to a corporation but who would not have qualified under previously existing exemptions. Amendments to the rights offering prospectus exemption (Dec. 8, 2015). The

new rights offering exemption is designed to be faster and more efficient but it is only available to reporting issuers other than investment funds. As a result, the rights offering exemption changes the capital raising potential of both reporting and non-reporting issuers, but in very different ways. Offering memorandum (OM) prospectus exemption (Jan. 13, 2016). This allows business enterprises, particularly SMEs, to benefit from more costeffective access to capital from investors than was previously permitted under Ontario securities law. The forthcoming whistleblower program, expected this year. This will provide monetary incentives for individuals to report alleged insider trading, accounting and disclosure violations and registrant misconduct. The program is also expected to entice companies to self-report wrongdoing to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).

“The OSC is cracking down on people who try to fly by the seat of their pants and end up running afoul of securities regulation,” said Tim McCunn, a partner with the Business Law Group at PerleyRobertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l. with a focus on corporate and securities law. If you’re an Ottawa-based listed company, the team at Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall is one of a few local choices with the experience and expertise to provide the sound legal counsel you need. With a well-rounded securities team that includes a dozen lawyers and law clerks, the firm acts for several public companies every day. Recent engagements include: • Closing a bought deal for DataWind Inc., a (TSX:DW) a Montreal/Toronto based provider of Internet connectivity for emerging markets • Acting for both parties in the recently announced merger of International Datacasting and Novra Technologies • Acting for SKILLSdox in

their recently announced reverse take-over transaction that will result in their listing on the TSX Venture Exchange • IPOs for two capital pool corporations on the TSX Venture Exchange – Percy Street Capital Corp. and Mercal Capital Corp. “We’ve built an excellent team of lawyers and clerks with great bench strength to help both public and private companies raise capital and close IPO and M&A transactions,” said Robert Kinghan, head of the firm’s Business Law Group. “Clients are often surprised they can find the same level of service from us, for substantially less than they would pay a firm in Toronto or Montreal.” To learn more about how Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall can help your company navigate a rapidly changing securities environment, right here in your own backyard, visit www.perlaw.ca or call Robert at 613-566-2848.

QNX REACHES 50-MILLION MILESTONE FOR UNITS SHIPPED TECHOPIA.ca

DAY ON THE HILL Bringing small business owners, public servants and politicians together BY MICHAEL WOODS

The federal government’s muchanticipated innovation agenda took centre stage at Ottawa’s Shaw Centre early last month. The event was Startup Canada’s third annual Day on the Hill, a 1,500-person gathering geared toward bringing small business owners, public servants and politicians together. Activities included so-called ‘policy hackathons,’ during which entrepreneurs worked with ministers to tackle policy challenges such as women in entrepreneurship, social innovation and disruptive tech in government. The 50 meetings with cabinet ministers and members of Parliament, policy hearings, panels and other events centred around the theme of Canada’s innovation agenda. Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains is leading the Liberal government’s development of an innovation agenda by next year’s federal budget. Here are four ideas and recommendations for the federal government that emerged from the gathering:

OVERHAUL CANADA’S PROCUREMENT STRATEGY

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

07 TECHOPIA.CA

The feds are being urged to overhaul their procurement strategy to better support small businesses owned by indigenous, women and ethnic minority entrepreneurs. Startup Canada suggests a program that adopts elements from the U.S. 8(a) Business Development Program, which helps socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs compete in the marketplace. “Most small businesses cannot compete for these government tenders,” Startup Canada CEO Victoria Lennox said. “They’re just not to scale.” A new program would make it easier for businesses owned by women, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities to bid for contracts.

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

BETTER SOFTWARE CEO DELIVERS STREET SMART, INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGES TECHOPIA.ca

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Government departments could also ensure major contracts awarded to large companies have a minority-owned company as a subcontractor.

BETTER ATTRACT AND RETAIN TALENT Startup Canada says the government needs to update economic immigration programs, such as the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Express Entry, to bring more executive talent to Canada to help train startup founders. New companies have difficulty bringing in new talent because of long processing times and administrative inefficiencies, Lennox said. That means they lose out on employees who don’t want to wait for months for approval to come to Canada. Lennox also noted that Canada does a good job of training international students, but a bad job of keeping them here. Canada should look for ways to accelerate the permanent residency of international students trained here.

A NATIONAL WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGY STARTUP CANADA CEO VICTORIA LENNOX (ABOVE) SAYS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO OVERHAUL ITS PROCUREMENT PROGRAM TO MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE TO INDIGENOUS, WOMEN AND ETHNIC MINORITY ENTREPRENEURS. PHOTOS PROVIDED

AMIKA MOBILE CEO SUE ABU-HAKIMA

MODERNIZE THE PUBLIC SECTOR

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Lobbying forms a small part of Startup Canada’s mandate. But since the Day on the Hill, Lennox said she has been booked solid with government officials eager to connect with the entrepreneurship community. “That was truly unexpected,” she said. One of the messages she stressed is the need for the federal government to embrace an entrepreneurial culture to make it more nimble and foster innovation. “It’s about public sector modernization; thinking like a startup and employing the latest technologies to create efficiencies like any company would,” she said.

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

There’s definitely some bias going on with how women are perceived in business, especially in tech. I’ve created hundreds of jobs and contributed well over $18 million to the Ottawa economy, and yet we still get treated as secondclass citizens. It’s astounding.

Spurring women-led entrepreneurship was a huge theme of the Day on the Hill. Sue Abu-Hakima, the CEO of Amika Mobile, participated in several policy sessions. She called for a $100-million venture fund for women, since studies have shown eight out of 10 women are rejected for funding by banks. “It looks like unless you have an intermediary male that the bank is comfortable with, they’re not going to fund you,” she said. That’s despite women leading about half of all small businesses in Canada. In the United States, the rejection figure is much lower. “There’s definitely some bias going on with how women are perceived in business, especially in tech,” Abu-Hakima added. “I’ve created hundreds of jobs and contributed well over $18 million to the Ottawa economy, and yet we still get treated as second-class citizens. It’s astounding.” Lennox said it’s estimated that a 10 per cent increase in the number of women- owned firms over the next decade could result in a net economic gain of $15 billion. “What we really need to do is doubledown on women entrepreneurship.”

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volunteer, but not long afterward became the company’s CEO. “If you were to ask me what do we need in Ottawa to build more businesses, I would say to you we need more Matt Whitteker,” Waitman said. “He is the reason Assent exists.” Boxing, he said, is “kind of part of our DNA now.” “It’s unique in the sense that you see a lot of icons and emblems being put into companies, you just haven’t seen any boxing rings,” Waitman said. The ring is not just a symbol. It gets practical use, too. “We’re not settling HR conflicts with boxing,” he said. “But we are using it as a stage. We are talking about the metaphors of going all the rounds and what it takes to be successful. We use it to announce wins, to talk to the company all-hands and so on.” The $20-million Series A round is one of the largest ever raised in Canada, said Waitman. The compliance industry is not a new one, so what’s driving the sudden growth now? He points to a few factors. The industry has been around for quite some time, but compliance has been done manually, he said. The compliance and the supply chain data collection business has generally not been what you call automated yet. Another issue is that many senior experts well-versed in compliance information are retiring. “It’s a bit of a demographic issue,” Waitman said. “That kind of trend of having your experts retire is terrible for these large organizations.” Another is that data are spread all throughout companies. “You need a central repository of your data to be able to do the business analysis you need.” The vast majority of software-as-aservice companies are built on highvolume businesses, Waitman said. But with compliance complexity increasing, Assent has risen rapidly by focusing on high-value clients. “We are in the high-value, not highvolume, business,” he said. “What that means is we’re selling to the world’s largest corporations, and we’re selling large ACV, anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 a year and up. If you’re going to do that, you need to deliver significant value.” That’s why the company needed to raise money quickly. “At our core, we are a data company, and data is the new oil,” Waitman said. “We see the opportunity to be a data company with expertise and put it all together with automation.” manage their supply chain and product Cyril Cochrane, managing director compliance to make sure they’re meeting of growth and transition capital at regulations. Assent works with more the Business Development Bank of than 30 per cent of S&P 500 product Canada, said Assent was already growing companies. rapidly when they first met. BDC Waitman, the former CEO of Pythian, was comfortable with the company’s picked up boxing in his 40s and met subscription-based model, he said. Whitteker at a local gym. Soon, they were “We knew that as Assent were adding sparring weekly and trading shop talk clients, those clients would generally be between punches. sticking for a long period of time,” he When Waitman decided to leave said. “So any revenue they were adding Pythian in August 2014, Whitteker was going to stay, and they were adding it invited him in to check out what Assent very rapidly.” was up to. Waitman started out as a He said the bank was comfortable

PUNCHING ABOVE ITS WEIGHT Ottawa’s Assent Compliance raised one of the largest Series-A rounds in Canadian history last month. What’s driving the company’s growth? MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

BY MICHAEL WOODS

TECHOPIA.CA

For Assent Compliance, it all starts in the boxing ring. The Ottawa company was founded by boxing aficionados Rob Imbeault and Matt Whitteker, two organizers of the Fight for the Cure charity boxing matches. Company CEO Andrew Waitman got involved through the ring. Oh, and there’s a giant Olympic-sized boxing ring in the company’s new eastend office near St. Laurent Shopping Centre. These days, Assent isn’t pulling any

punches. The decade-old company had about 25 employees two years ago. Last month, it announced a $20-million equity investment, which it plans to use to expand its employee count from 165 to 265 people within 18 months. “We made a decision that we had grown to a point where we could not organically grow for the ambition of the product and what the customers need,” Waitman said in an interview. “What is being asked of us to do is increasing quite significantly.” The Ottawa-based firm helps clients

MERGER WILL CREATE MICROPROCESSOR JUGGERNAUT IN OTTAWA TECHOPIA.ca

FACING PAGE: JONATHAN HUGHES, ROB IMBEAULT AND MATT WHITTEKER GATHER IN ASSENT COMPLIANCE’S BOXING RING DURING THE GRAND OPENING OF THE LOCAL SOFTWARE FIRM’S NEW OFFICE. THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE: THE COMPANY’S TEAM GATHERS IN THE RING TO CELEBRATE THE NEW OFFICE AND ASSENT COMPLIANCE’S RECENT $20-MILLION FUNDING ROUND; CEO ANDREW WAITMAN, WHO JOINED THE FIRM AFTER MEETING WHITTEKER AT A BOXING GYM; WHAT WOULD A PARTY BE WITHOUT CAKE? PHOTOS PROVIDED

11 TECHOPIA.CA

ASSET COMPLIANCE CEO ANDREW WAITMAN

with Assent’s track record and the value proposition it offers its clients. He said BDC was also comfortable with the management team’s shared vision. “All the things we liked were aligned,” he said. “Certainly the founders were young, very ambitious and extremely hard-working. Andrew does bring a level of organization and sophistication to the team, and the founders were just full of great ideas and energy.” In keeping with the boxing theme, Cochrane likened Assent to Canadian boxer George Chuvalo, “who fought and went toe to toe with one of the world’s greatest 50 years ago.” Chuvalo fought Muhammad Ali in 1966. “That’s what we’re trying to do with Canadian companies; help them compete on a global scale with the best of the world. I think that’s what Assent can do here.”

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

We’re not settling HR conflicts with boxing. But we are using it as a stage. We are talking about the metaphors of going all the rounds and what it takes to be successful. We use it to announce wins, to talk to the company all-hands and so on.

THE TALK OF THE TOWN Chatbots the latest trend in artificial intelligence

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