Forty Under 40 Recipients Revealed
Monday, May 3, 2021 - Technology sector executives, startup founders, health care entrepreneurs and business leaders from construction, real estate, retail, tourism and communications are among the 40 rising young business stars recognized in the 2021 Forty Under 40 awards.
The program is a joint initiative of Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Board of Trade. It’s widely recognized as the region’s most sought-after business award for people aged less than 40 years.
Despite the health and economic crisis, this year’s awards competition attracted hundreds of applicants, who were assessed and ranked based on business accomplishments, professional experience and community involvement.
The 2021 judging panel was chaired by OBJ publisher Michael Curran and included Gregory Richards from the Telfer School of Management Executive MBA, Robert Rhéaume from BDO Canada and two alumni, Joelle Hall from Richardson Wealth and Pascal St-Jean from TEC Canada.
“The first thing that struck me this year was balance,” says Richards, director of EMBA program at the Telfer School of Management. “We saw nominees from health care, non-profits and profit generating businesses. I welcome that. The other thing is that judging is getting harder each year. These folks are generating impressive results. I think it’s quite fascinating. It’s good for the community, but challenging for the judges.”
To celebrate the 2021 Forty Under 40 recipients, OBJ, the Ottawa Board of Trade and Rogers Sports & Media are producing an online and television broadcast on Wednesday, June 23.
“The celebration will be virtual again this year, but it will be inspirational,” says OBJ publisher Michael Curran, who has led the awards program for 20 years. “We’re going to put the success of these young entrepreneurs in the spotlight. This is something that our region really needs, as we’re more than one year into this pandemic.”
Sueling Ching, the president and CEO of the Ottawa Board of Trade, shares, “Every year, the young leaders recognized in this program represent the best of what Ottawa has to offer today and for our future. This cohort has demonstrated excellence in a year of extreme change and challenge. And their contributions are a beacon of energy, innovation and optimism. Congratulations and thank you to each of you.”
Forty Under 40 is sponsored by the Telfer School of Management Executive MBA, BDO Canada, TEC Canada and OakWood Design Build.
Congratulations to this year’s Forty Under 40 recipients:
| Roberto Aburto | Lawyer, Gowling WLG Canada LLP |
| Darryl Arvai | Corporate Controller, Shopify |
| Jonathan Atwill-Morin | President, Atwill-Morin Ontario Inc |
| Cynthia Benoit | CEO, CB Linguistic Services |
| Bradley Bezan | Commerce Intelligence, Spark Lifecare |
| Kevin Brennan | General Manager, Cavanagh Concrete Ltd. |
| Matthew Carr | President, Principal Broker, Gifford Carr Insurance Brokers Inc. |
| Michelle Coates-Mather | Vice President, Syntax Strategic |
| Sean Cochrane | President, TCC Canada |
| Sarah D'Angelo | Director of People Operations, You.i TV |
| Dr. Tracy Dalgleish | Clinical Health Psychologist, Integrated Wellness |
| Gareth Davies | Founder, Maker House Co. |
| Kurtis Funai | Chief Technology Officer, Fullscript |
| Shawn Gandhi | World Wide Head of AI/ML Solutions, Amazon Web Services |
| Meseret Haileyesus | CEO, Canadian Center for Women's Empowerment Ottawa |
| Kelly Haussler | Manager, Destination Development, Ottawa Tourism |
| Dr. Samuel Hetz | Owner & Medical Director, Concept Medical |
| Sarah Howard | Manager, Buildings & Structures, WSP Canada Inc. |
| Ken Jennings | Owner, Jennings Real Estate Corporation |
| Taylor Johansen | Director, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario |
| Elnaz Kanani Kuchesfehani | Senior Manager, Deloitte |
| Ashleigh Kennedy | CEO, Neurovine Inc. |
| Jason Kealey | VP, Strategy FranConnect |
| Jordan Latimer | Operations Manager, PCL Construction |
| Benjamin Leikin | Program Manager, Mental Health and Substance, Ottawa Public Health |
| Diego Matute | CEO, Cyphercor Inc. |
| Dave McCann | Managing Partner / General Manager, IBM Canada |
| Nick McRae | President, Roxborough Bus Lines Ltd. |
| Chris Murray | Chief Strategy Officer, Wake Network |
| James Nguyen | Co-Founder & CEO, Quantropi Inc. |
| Kailin Noivo | Co-Founder & VP Sales, Noibu |
| Sergey Poltev | CEO, CAPITALTEK |
| Christopher Redmond | Director, Distant Red Pictures |
| Allan Reesor-McDowell | Executive Director Matthew House Ottawa |
| Sandro Ricci | President ASL Agrodrain Limited |
| Ronald Richardson | Co-Founder , Benbria Corporation |
| Solmaz Shahalizadeh Kalkhoran | VP of Data Science & Engineering, Head of Commerce Intelligence, Shopify
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| Connor Shea | Director, Investment Management Colonnade, BridgePort |
| Trevor Szutu | Director, Corporate Development, Descartes Systems Group |
| Emilie Wilcox | Managing Partner, Baiame Consulting Ltd. |