While most business leaders who receive a lifetime achievement award might see it as a reason to step back and reflect, Ottawa’s Tracey Clark isn’t resting on her laurels. Instead, after receiving her lifetime award from OBJ and the Ottawa Board of Trade last year, Clark has been growing her passion project, Linden Pizza, and […]
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While most business leaders who receive a lifetime achievement award might see it as a reason to step back and reflect, Ottawa’s Tracey Clark isn’t resting on her laurels.
Instead, after receiving her lifetime award from OBJ and the Ottawa Board of Trade last year, Clark has been growing her passion project, Linden Pizza, and staying connected with Ottawa’s business community by taking on a position with MacKay CEO Forums, proving that, for true serial entrepreneurs, the itch to build never goes away.
Last year, the former Bridgehead CEO opened Linden Pizza, a neighbourhood restaurant at the corner of Beechwood and Chapeleau avenues. When OBJ spoke with Clark at the time, she called Linden Pizza “a deeply personal project” with almost every detail of the restaurant being a reflection of her own life and the people in it.
Eighteen months later, Clark said she’s been surprised by how well the concept has resonated with patrons, especially how the restaurant looks for unique experiences to draw guests in.
“What surprised us was just how eager people were for the dine-in experience and I would say it resonated even more how people are looking for experiences when they go out. One of the things that we’ve introduced is that every full moon we have a special menu. It’s a three-course (meal) for two, reasonably priced and people look forward to it.”
Another takeaway from her latest hospitality venture has been the importance of consistency while balancing innovation, building on a lesson she learned at Bridgehead.
“In my view, it’s the No. 1 thing we have to do,” she said. “We have to always be warm, always make that Caesar salad the same way. People find comfort in the fact that they’ll always get that Caesar salad or tiramisu, but we do different takes on both. If you’re going to put either on a menu, you’re going to compete with everybody’s archetype of what a Caesar salad or tiramisu is, so our approach is we’re going to play with it a bit.”
When reflecting on what’s kept her entrepreneurial curiosity piqued since stepping away from Bridgehead, Clark said giving back to the community has been her north star.
“I would describe my personal leadership style as ‘servant leadership.’ In Japanese culture, they talk about longevity and there’s this principle of having purpose and being of service your whole life, and I think that’s been a little bit of a guide for me. I love social connection. I’ve always been an advocate for the community,” she told OBJ.
Since receiving the Lifetime award, she’s been spending time hiking and took a trip to Ireland with her son. It’s given her time to think, she said, and she realized that she wants to be better connected to the local business community and help drive Ottawa’s next chapter.
“(Something) that was really operating on me was this ‘Build Canada’ moment that we’re in. With the agenda that we want to diversify trade, increase our productivity, scale companies and create employment, (it) prompted me to look at what my role could be. I felt that I didn’t want the heavy lift of taking on a senior role with an organization. Plus, I’m too entrepreneurial to do that.
“It got me thinking. How could I contribute in a meaningful way to the moment? That’s where the idea of becoming a forum chair came from.”
While at Bridgehead, Clark said she was approached by various groups to take part in peer learning for CEOs. At the time, she declined and now calls the decision “a miss.”
“A CEO’s journey can be very lonely. You can have a really supportive board and senior leadership team but, as a leader, there’s always appropriate boundaries that you need to keep … One of the things that I understand now, speaking to leaders that are a part of these peer groups, is they get to the point where they can have those conversations that they might have only had alone in their heads with like-minded people that are on the same journey. It elevates your decision-making. It elevates your confidence, since you’re sharing the load.
“I wished I’d done it sooner. Why didn’t I? It was always the same objection that leaders make: ‘I’m too busy. I’ve got young kids. I might not see the value in it.’ I should have carved out the time,” she added.
That’s why she decided to join MacKay CEO Forums in March as a forum chair. Clark said she was attracted to MacKay for its “less time-intensive, higher-impact” approach.
The decision to join was her “meeting the moment,” Clark said, as she finished work with various boards around Ottawa, including the Community Foundation of Ottawa, Ottawa Climate Action Fund and Eco Trust.
“I was thinking of working with people over time because there’s more trusted relationships that get built … There’s a real benefit in the long-term view because it’s never an easy or straightforward ride in business. There are always ups and downs.”
As part of Clark’s MacKay group, 12 to 14 local CEOs meet six times a year for a full day and once for a two-day retreat to discuss medium-term business opportunities and challenges that each is facing. Clark said her group is “intentionally diverse,” including leaders from different types of businesses at different lifecycle stages, with at least one-third of the group composed of women and one seat reserved for a not-for-profit or charity. Clark focuses on leaders from companies that make $5 million to $100 million in revenue.
With one meeting already in the books, Clark said she’s gotten positive feedback. “At the end of the meeting, (members) talked about how it was a valuable use of time and how they felt deeply listened to by the others.”
She hopes to continue growing her peer learning groups and plans to organize three more in the future. “With slow, organic growth over time, just the way I’ve always run my businesses.”
Though she hasn’t been at it long, Clark said that she feels called to the work. “I’ve always had this facilitative leadership style and always been interested in supporting people and being gentle with guidance. It feels like I am in the right place to be able to do this work.”
The group’s membership is confidential, but Clark said that topics that are top of mind range from the way AI is showing up in the workplace to scaling, access to funding, attracting and retaining talent and how to navigate the “uncertain environment that we’re in right now.”
Clark said a through-line of career is looking to the best-case scenario of risk-taking.
“When Seamus Heaney was passing away, the last thing he said to his wife on his deathbed was, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ That’s a piece of it. We need to take calculated risks. One fellow that I used to work with always used to say, ‘Sometimes we are managing risk instead of opportunity.’ I would say that a through-line for me is how we create and manage opportunity, have good mindsets and focus on being the best humans we can be.”
While she hasn’t had too much time to think about what’s next, Clark knows it involves helping Ottawa’s business community thrive.
“I’m really excited about plugging into Ottawa’s business ecosystem more and advancing business in Ottawa. It still sometimes gets plagued with this ‘government town’ moniker. We have a great business community here. I think it’s one of the best cities in Canada. Let’s keep making a tighter weave of collegiality and collaboration to have an Ottawa that can really thrive.”
