Ottawa Board of Trade Adds Two Influential Women to Growing List of Leaders Who Have Volunteered for More Than a Year for Small Business
For Immediate Release: On March 24th, Ottawa Board of Trade (OBoT) welcomes Lise Sarazin, Executive Director of Le Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale (RGA), Ottawa Gatineau’s francophone chamber of commerce and Michelle Groulx, Executive Director of the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas (OCOBIA) to new roles.
Sarazin and Groulx, already active with OBoT, will move to the SME Council (small and medium sized enterprises) effective immediately, joining other influential business leaders (list below) who have spent more than a year advising CEO Sueling Ching on what was needed during a crisis.
“As we start to look to Ottawa’s rebound because of the vaccine distribution, I can’t say enough about the tremendous volunteer efforts of some of our community champions who not only kept running their own businesses but dedicated themselves to quietly helping others,” says Ching.
As OBoT is the Voice for Business, Ching has taken that input to help influence policy decisions at every level. Other OBoT groups, like the CEO Council and the Talent Recruitment Council have also been working diligently, even before the COVID-19 crisis. As a key connector and collaborator, Ching has also worked with other Ontario chambers, Ottawa Public Health, Invest Ottawa, Ottawa Tourism and the City of Ottawa, to name just some.
Says OBoT Board Chair Ian Sherman, “At a board level, the eyes and ears of our volunteer leaders have been invaluable for us to make informed decisions about how we could help. We made an important decision when COVID-19 hit to not just assist our members but to advocate for all businesses.”
Here are those volunteers:
Ottawa Board of Trade, Board of Directors: Ottawa Board of Trade, Economic Growth Council:
Craig Bater Amanda-Lyn Smith
Wayne French Ingrid Argyle
Shelley True Karen Butterfield
Priya Bhaloo Rob Campbell
Greg Skotnicki Nick Quain
Mark Nisbett Kumar Saha
Brendon McGuinty Jeff Snyder
Sally Douglas Peter Van Roon
Erin Crowe Rob Woodbridge
Erin Benjamin Carole Anne Piccinin
Megan Wallace Shawn Hamilton
Karla Briones Brian Simpson
Andrew Arnott Nathalie Pulcine
David Coletto Karen Brownrigg
Ottawa Board of Trade, SME Council: Ottawa Board of Trade, CEO Council:
Andrew Scott David Ross
Shelley True Francoise Gagnon
Andrew Penny Greg Hiscock
Dave Donaldson Hugh Gorman
Jarrod Goldsmith Ian Sherman
Jessica Zhang Chapman John Liptak
Karla Briones John Proctor
Kimothy Walker Julie Taggart
Lee Underwood Kevin Ford
Lise Sarazin Lise Sarazin
Lynn Johnston Mark Gouldie
Margo Crawford Michael Waters
Michelle Groulx Neil Malhotra
Nancy Morris Paul Wood
Rick Chase Rob Woodbridge
Warren Wilkinson Ross Meredith
Shawn Hamilton
Steve Gordon
Ottawa Board of Trade, Talent Council: Wendy Trudel
James Baker
Ingrid Argyle
Karen Butterfield
Roddy Bolivar
Brent Moore
Cathy McCallion
Sharon Rowan
Julie Bélanger
Andrea Greenhous
To speak to CEO Sueling Ching about this, or anything related to issues impacting businesses of any size:
Kimothy Walker
613.859.3753