An Olympic bobsledder, the president of the capital’s biggest locally owned coffee chain, the CEO of Ottawa’s fastest-growing company and the founders of a startup that’s leading Canada’s sustainable food revolution are among the rising young business stars who are being feted at this year’s historic Forty Under 40 awards.
A joint initiative of Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Board of Trade, the awards have become widely recognized as the region’s most sought-after business award for people under the age of 40.
This year’s competition once again attracted hundreds of applicants from a wide range of industries, who were assessed and ranked based on business accomplishments, professional experience and community involvement.
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The 2022 selection committee included Charlotte Karam and Gregory Richards from the Telfer School of Management Executive MBA, Robert Rhéaume from BDO Canada, Lise Sarazin from the Casino & Hilton Lac-Leamy, and alumnus Pascal St-Jean from TEC Canada. OBJ publisher Michael Curran chaired the committee.
“With such an outstanding pool of applicants for this year’s Forty Under 40, being a judge was an extremely difficult task,” says Karam, the new director of the Executive MBA at the Telfer School of Management. “The individuals included in the running have achieved results that are of global quality, with a local Ottawa focus. I am inspired by their ability to exceed all expectations during a time of great uncertainty and disruption, while remaining steadfast champions and beacons of service to the local Ottawa community. The final 40 are a group to be celebrated, having achieved so much thus far, and I can’t wait to see what they do next!”
With the reveal of this year’s recipients, the awards program hits a major milestone.
“This is the 25th cohort for Forty Under 40, meaning the program has now recognized 1,000 recipients over its history,” says Curran. “It’s a remarkable achievement. Forty Under 40 started as a newspaper feature way back in the 1990s. To think of the one thousand recipients is really a source of joy and inspiration for us.”
Even after nearly a decade on the judging panel, Rhéaume says he continues to be impressed by the calibre of the honourees.
“When I look back at my eight years on the committee, I think of all the amazing leaders that have been recognized,” he says. “My involvement with Forty Under 40 ranks as one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. I get an inside look at the most innovative and talented leaders in our community. Getting the pulse of the leadership talent pool in Ottawa annually is beyond exciting – it fills me with renewed energy and fuels my desire to contribute more to our community.”
This year will also mark the return to an in-person gala after two years of virtual events. The celebration is scheduled for Friday, June 17 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy. OBJ and the board of trade will continue to produce a TV show to recognize the recipients.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to return to an in-person event,” Curran says. “At the same time, we realize that a professional broadcast can reach thousands of more people. So we’re going to keep the best of both worlds.”
Congratulations to this year’s Forty Under 40 recipients:
- Nadia Allibhai, 35, Associate Partner, EY Law LLP
- Stacey Bedford, 39, CEO, Bandzoogle
- Shawn Berube, 39, Vice President & Project Manager , Mueller-Hein & Associates Ltd.
- Jessey Bird, 38, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, United Way East Ontario
- Alida Burke, 26, CFO and co-founder, The Growcer
- Kate Burnett, 39, President, Bridgehead
- Darren Burrowes, 38, CEO, Responsible Choice
- Mitchell Carkner, 37, Chief Executive Officer , Decisive Group Inc.
- Ian Cascagnette, 38, CFO, Pythian
- Jaiman Chin, 33, Vice President and Group Head, Management Consulting, StrategyCorp
- Conor Cronin, 38, Partner, Perley-Robertson Hill & McDougall LLP
- Shane Currey, 34, Partner, Financial Advisor, Currey Insurance & Investments
- Corey Ellis, 26, CEO and co-founder, The Growcer
- Shannon Ferguson, 36, Co-Founder & CEO, FanSaves
- Dr. Rohit Gandhi, 35, Physician Lead for Eastern Canada, Rocket Doctor
- David Gaylord, 29, CEO, Bushbalm Skincare
- Carly Holm, 36, Founder & CEO, Humani HR
- Kayla Isabelle, 29, CEO, Startup Canada
- Adam Joiner, 39, Chief Executive Officer, BGC Ottawa
- Brenda Kirkwood, 39, Director of Post-Placement Integration, Keynote Search
- Michael Leaver, 39, Lawyer, Kelly Santini LLP
- Julien Leclair-Dionne, 39, CEO, HomeFluent Realty Inc.
- Nadine Mansour, 39, Vice President of Marketing and Business Operations, ROCK Networks
- Kevin McMahon, 38, President, Park River Management Inc.
- Jillian Normand, 36, Vice-President, Land Development, Glenview Homes
- Seth Richards, 39, President, Westview Projects Inc.
- Erik Rossmann, 39, President, Principal Architect, Rossmann Architecture Inc.
- Tal Scher, 32, VP, Asset Management, Investor & GR, The Regional Group
- Natalie Schuler, 39, Partner, Assurance Services, MNP
- Riaz Sidi, 37, President, Sidi.io
- Utkarsh “Karsh” Singh, 29, President , Soublière Interiors Ltd.
- Cody Sorensen, 35, Director, M&A, Welch Capital Partners Inc.
- Mathieu St-Denis, 39, Partner, BDO Canada LLP
- Pooja Suresh, 32, Director, Research & Innovation, Gastops
- Laura Townson, 38, COO, Iversoft
- Solange Tuyishime Keita, 39, President & CEO, Elevate International
- Pierce Ujjainwalla, 37, Cofounder & CEO, Knak
- Brent Weatherdon, 36, Department Manager, Special Projects, Cleland Jardine Engineering
- Jason Wentzell, 37, Founder & Pharmacist, Extend Pharmacy Specialists Inc
- Christy Lynn White, 38, Chief of Staff, Fullscript
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