A new year means new goals for Ottawa business leaders, many of whom are reaching for new heights in 2025.
OBJ asked a number of people across different industries to break down what they’re hoping to achieve over the course of the next 12 months. Here are three of their responses. For the full article, check out our latest OBJ newsmagazine.
David Ross, CEO of Ross Video
For 2025, we’ve got some big plans at Ross Video and we couldn’t be more excited about where we’re headed. One of our main goals is to launch our new BHAG — what we call our Big Hairy Audacious Goal. It’s a bold vision to double our revenue to $1 billion by 2030. But it’s not just about the numbers, it’s about pushing ourselves to innovate, expand and deliver even more value to our customers.
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A big part of this is working to elevate more of our product lines to No. 1 or 2 in the world. It’s an ambitious target, but we’ve got a solid plan to get there. We’re doubling down on R&D, looking at how we can refine and enhance our offerings to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it’s broadcast, live events or sports production, our goal is to create solutions that aren’t just good — they set the standard. We’re also leaning into strategic acquisitions to bring in new technologies and expertise that will strengthen our portfolio and open doors to new opportunities.
Another exciting priority for us in 2025 is finding the right private equity partner. We’re looking for someone who gets who we are and can provide the “rocket fuel” we need to accelerate our growth without compromising our culture or what makes us unique. It’s shaping up to be a pivotal year and we can’t wait to see these plans come to life.
SabriNa Lemay, executive director of the Centretown BIA
We are now focusing our efforts on beautification, public realm and place-making. So, in 2025, we hope to see 40 planters that are at eye view that will be adjacent to our sidewalks, and then 15 larger planters, which will be seasonal planters that you’ll see throughout the entire BIA. We’re looking to really focus on what goes into those planters in alignment with who we are as a brand, so uncommon to the core. We’re looking at some uncommon florals that are a little bit different colours that really tie in with our new banner program.
We’ll also be adding new banners and these banners are going to be designed by three to four different local artists within the area, really marking Centretown as one of the No. 1 art districts within the city. We’re looking to do a new mural as well. So with the banners and the murals, we’re really focusing on supporting local artists.
In addition, general maintenance-wise, we’re working with the public realm division within the city. So getting our garbage cans changed, because currently they’re rusted and they don’t have lids on them. Getting that fresh new look, getting some bike racks replaced in Snyder Plaza.
We have created a miniature park and we did a soft launch of that park this year, but it will be much more active next year and utilized as a community event space. When it isn’t being utilized as a community event space, there will be opportunities to have lunch and just to go there and sit and be in a beautiful environment.
We’re doing a cold plunge event in February geared toward raising funds for Centre 507 and the Centretown Community Health Association. As our business members and members of the community pledge to take the plunge, they raise funds and those funds get distributed among the two community groups that will actually put the dollars towards impacting the community at hand.
We also will be moving toward an expansion. So, in 2025, we will begin our expansion and that will be active and live by 2026. Part of the expansion plan is working much closer with Somerset BIA, as the expansion is to hopefully absorb the Somerset BIA as well.
Shawn Hamilton, principal at Proveras Commercial Realty
There are a number of factors happening right now that are making it difficult for business owners or business leaders to make decisions about their office, such as return to office, downtown vibrancy, community safety as it relates to the homelessness and addictions epidemic that is plaguing the city. We’re helping to do our part to increase and restore downtown vibrancy, it’s helping as an office in advanced charitable causes that help improve the situation for those less fortunate, it’s really helping to do our part as citizens of downtown and of Ottawa, to improve the perception of our city and to actually improve our city. Before the pandemic, Ottawa had strong fundamentals as it related to workforce, education and the growing technology sector. I think part of our job is to help remind people that those fundamentals still exist, so that we can create a positive narrative again and fuel the flames of that growth.
We want to expand our revenue growth by virtue of doing more and continuing better work on behalf of our clients. We want to continue to grow our market share and be seen as the de facto leaders of the commercial real estate industry in the city, full stop.
We want to continue our program of charitable giving. As a company, we set aside a portion of our revenue every year to give back to the community. We want to continue to build on that and build as our revenues grow so we can continue to build that pool of giving back, because that’s extremely important.
