When Hesam Mahdavi came to Canada at age 14, he could barely speak a word of English. His entrepreneurial drive and talent was such that barely three years later, he’d launched a tutoring business that was so successful it paid for his first year of university.
After graduating from the University of Ottawa with a degree in electrical engineering in 2006, Mahdavi joined the family business, Zodiac Light Waves. He spearheaded a major new direction for the firm, transforming a company that installed security camera systems into a major provider of IT managed services for the health-care industry.
Thanks to Zodiac’s technology that integrates IT systems at retirement and long-term care homes under one platform, the firm has achieved triple-digit revenue growth. Under Mahdavi’s watch, the company has also branched out to provide phone services to its clients and recently launched a voice-activated nurse call system.
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Zaahra Mehsen was three years into a biology degree at a local university when she realized she wanted to take a different path. “I realized that it’s not my thing,”
Away from the office, Mahdavi is an active member of the community. In addition to being a board member with the Orléans Chamber of Commerce for the past three years, he’s also volunteered with the Ottawa Police Service’s crime prevention program and helped organize events for the city’s Iranian community.
