Knak co-founder and CEO Pierce Ujjainwalla must be doing something right: He’s got his former boss working for him now.
Longtime technology executive Mychelle Mollot is the new chief marketing officer at the Ottawa-based software firm. Her first day was Aug. 7.
“I’m very excited,” she enthused about joining Knak, a codeless campaign creation platform that, essentially, makes life easier for marketers.
OBJ360 (Sponsored)
Connecting homebuyers with convenient, attainable options in Ottawa’s west end
Minto Communities has been building new homes, master-planned communities, and condominiums for almost 70 years across North America, always putting homeowners and homebuyers first. To ensure the best quality of
Oakview Capital Inc. is the solid option for your real estate investment portfolio
You know a real estate investment is sound when your advisors put their own money behind it.
With more than 25 years of leadership experience, Mollot has a proven track record in software marketing. She’s worked for IBM Cognos, Klipfolio and, most recently, Solace.
It was a knee injury, of all things, that rerouted her to this particular career path, years ago.
Mollot graduated from Queen’s University with an engineering degree in geophysics. It’s an area of earth sciences that requires a lot of field work, which wasn’t a problem until she tore a ligament in her knee downhill skiing. She knew she would have to step away from her job to undergo surgery and rehab. Fortuitously, she was contacted by Cognos for a marketing position in product management at the Ottawa-based software development company.
Mollot almost missed her interview with Mike Laginski, who worked at Cognos at the time. They were supposed to meet in person, but Mollot was called out of the province last minute to work in the field. She found a pay phone at a gas station in rural Manitoba to reach Laginski. “I had to make a collect call.”
Cognos didn’t seem to mind. “They were so desperate at that point for people who were technical but also had the ability to write and communicate, that (Laginski) said, ‘Okay, come see me when you come back.’ I did, and they literally hired me on the spot.
“At the time, Cognos was exploding and couldn’t hire fast enough.”
Mollot looks back now at that gas station interview as a major turning point. “My whole career changed in that one moment.”
She had planned to return to engineering after recovering from knee surgery, but changed her mind. “I loved Cognos, I loved the excitement, and I just stayed.”
It goes to show, she added, “Your skills are more transferable than you think. You never know what you might get captivated by until you actually try it. I never thought I would be working in software or marketing.”
Mollot remained with Cognos from 1989 until 2014. The company was bought by IBM in 2008 for US$5 billion. Through IBM Cognos, she met Ujjainwalla. He was a junior member of the 200-member marketing team she was managing at the time.
“All I heard all the time was, ‘What a rock star, what a rock star,’” she recalled of Ujjainwalla’s stellar reputation as a rising young talent.
Ujjainwalla left IBM in 2010 to eventually launch his own consultancy, Revenue Pulse.
“He started developing the tools that became Knak when he was running his consultancy to help him and his team,” said Mollot of how Knak began in 2015.
Knak is pronounced with a silent ‘k’, much like knack, which means a clever and skilful way of doing something. Co-founders also include Brendan Farnand and Patrick Proulx.
Mollot became part of the advisory board for Knak in 2020, along with former Cognos CEO Rob Ashe and former Cognos marketing executive Leah MacMillan.
“That’s when I really started to get to know Pierce, in the context of this company and his thinking as a CEO and how he was building it,” said Mollot. “I was just so impressed. Pierce is very creative. He’s really a great guy and a visionary.”
This past May, Mollot left her job as chief marketing officer at Solace due to “differences of opinion” between her and Denis King, who was promoted to CEO in 2020.
“It was time to go. It was not my decision but I’m happy with the decision,” said Mollot, who had built a marketing department and SDR (sales development representatives) team from scratch during her nearly six years at the software firm. “Look, I’m extremely happy and proud of what I did at the company.”
Mollot said she was partial to joining Knak for many reasons, including its Ottawa roots. She was born and raised in the National Capital Region. “I really wanted something local that I could help grow,” said the board member with The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
As well, she liked that the co-founders have a deep understanding of marketing due to their own marketing background.
Knak solves a problem that many marketers struggle with by helping them to build and manage online marketing campaigns in a way that saves them time and money, said Mollot.
Also a draw was Ujjainwalla, a 2022 Forty Under 40 award recipient. “Of course, having that personal connection to somebody, knowing that they’re a person you want to work with and they value what you can do and that you value what they do is always important,” said Mollot.
ALSO ON THE MOVE IN OTTAWA
The National Arts Centre announced in June that it’s appointed Juniper Locilento as new CEO of the NAC Foundation, effective Aug. 21. She takes over from Jayne Watson, who stepped down this past May after 14 years in the position. Locilento brings 20 years of experience in fundraising, philanthropy and non-profit leadership. She has driven strategic initiatives that have resulted in revenues of more than $200 million for arts and culture, education, health care, and human services, the NAC stated in a release. Most recently, Locilento was the chief development and communications officer for Toronto-based Community Food Centres Canada. She’s also served in key positions at the YMCA of Greater Toronto and Ketchum Canada. As well, her career journey includes roles at several arts institutions, including Soulpepper Theatre Company and the Canadian Opera Company.
The National Gallery of Canada has welcomed Jean-François Bélisle as its new director and CEO, effective July 17. He was previously the executive director and chief-curator of the Musée d’art de Joliette (MAJ), one of Canada’s most important regional museums with a permanent collection that spans 5,000 years of visual art history. Under his leadership, the MAJ significantly expanded its presence, role and profile in Canada and abroad, with particular attention to the inclusion of diversified cultural voices, according to the National Gallery.
The Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation has announced Deborah Lehmann as its new president and CEO. She began her new job on July 24. Lehmann had been executive director of the Parent Resource Centre for the past eight years. She replaces Michael Maidment, who joined the Ottawa Community Foundation in April as its new president and CEO.
Ottawa-based supply-chain management software company Kinaxis has promoted Megan Paterson, who has served as the company’s chief human resources officer for the past five years, to the newly created position of chief operating officer. Taking over her former role is Amber Pate, the company’s former vice-president of human resources. Also promoted was Andrew Bell to chief product officer. As well, Kinaxis recently named Margaret Franco as its new chief marketing officer. Franco previously worked as the CMO at Finastra and as a senior marketing leader at Dell.
Canada Lands Company Limited, a self-financing federal Crown corporation that specializes in real estate development and attractions management, announced the government appointment of Stéphan Déry as its new president and CEO for a term of four years, effective April 12, 2023. Déry most recently served as assistant deputy minister of real property services at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), an organization with more than 4,000 employees. In this role, he was responsible for the delivery of the entire suite of real property services to federal departments and agencies.
Full-service real estate investment and management company Colonnade BridgePort has announced the appointment of real estate veteran Andrew Blair as managing partner of its investment and fund management business. Blair’s previous positions include head of real estate investments for the Americas at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, executive vice-president and COO of TrizecHahn Development, and president and CEO of both StorageNow and Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities.
iSisters Technology Mentoring Inc. announced the appointment of Karyn Steer as incoming executive director of the Ottawa-based women’s charity that provides free technology and employment skills training to disadvantaged women, girls and gender-diverse people. Steer will assume the role currently held by Ann McSweeney, who is retiring on Sept. 30 after more than 50 years in the non-profit sector, including the past three years at iSisters. Steer has had a series of roles of increasing seniority at the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO), an iSisters partner, and is an accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience within the charitable sector.
