Annual awards gala celebrates daring local entrepreneurs
TORONTO, Oct. 25, 2017 /CNW/ - John Sicard, President and CEO of Kinaxis Inc., an organization that delivers cloud-based solutions for the world's largest manufacturing companies, is this year's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 Ontario winner.
"John is a values-driven leader with cunning eye for innovation," says Paula Smith, Entrepreneur Of The Year Ontario Program Co-Director. "For over two decades, John has helped transform Kinaxis from a small but mighty Ottawa-based supply chain software company into a global Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) leader."
John joined Kinaxis in 1994 – a time when supply chains were becoming increasingly complex at the hand of globalization. John led Kinaxis through this period of change and then, just a few years later, revolutionized the company to take advantage of the transformative power of the internet. In 2004, Kinaxis became a subscription-based SaaS company.
"John's glass half-full approach to disruption continues to pay off," says Elena Doucette, Entrepreneur Of The Year Ontario Program Co-Director. "He's now turning his attention to another opportunity: the evolving workforce, prioritizing company culture, trust and transparency at each step of the way."
Kinaxis is particularly unique in that executive meetings are open fora: requiring cross-functional participation from all business units. This model puts people ahead of business and guarantees the elevation of good ideas without regard to rank, position or hierarchy.
Inspired by his son, John also implemented Kinaxis at Work – a commitment to staff at least 1% of their workforce with individuals on the autism spectrum – to bring awareness to strong teams and the link to diverse hiring.
"John is championing a new standard for innovation in the workplace and in the SaaS industry with cutting-edge, creative solutions," says Smith. "We are honoured to present John with this award and look forward to seeing more of his innovations come to life."
What's next?
As the Ontario region's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017, John will compete with top entrepreneurs from the Pacific, Prairies, Atlantic and Quebec regions for the national honour of Canada's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017, to be presented at a gala celebration on 30 November 2017 in Toronto. In June 2018, Canada's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 will move to the world stage to compete with more than 60 country recipients for the title of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year.
This year, Canada took home the gold. Murad Al-Katib of AGT Food and Ingredients was named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 in Monaco this past June. Murad is a shining example of accelerating growth with purpose.
More information
Follow @EYCanada and #EOYOntario on Twitter for the latest event updates.
Visit ey.com/ca/EOY for more program details and a complete list of category finalists and gala dates in other regions.
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 Ontario category award recipients:
Business-to-Business Products and Services
Magnet Forensics | Waterloo
Adam Belsher, Jad Saliba
www.magnetforensics.com
Consumer Products & Retail
King Cole Ducks | Stouffville
Debbi Conzelmann
www.kingcoleducks.com
Digital Media & Marketing
Index Exchange | Toronto
Andrew Casale
www.indexexchange.com
Emerging Entrepreneur
Ritual | Toronto
Ray Reddy
www.ritual.co
Enterprise Technology
Kinaxis Inc. | Ottawa
John Sicard
www.kinaxis.com (TSX: KXS)
Financial Services
iFinance Canada | Toronto
Ann Kaplan
www.ifinancecanada.com
Health
PointClickCare Technologies Inc. | Mississauga
Mike Wessinger
www.pointclickcare.com
Power & Utilities & Environment
GFL Environmental Inc. | Toronto
Patrick Dovigi
www.gflenv.com
Real Estate/Construction
Deep Foundations Contractors Inc. ("Deep") | Stouffville
Bill Starke
www.deep.ca
Young Entrepreneur
THP | Toronto
Amanda Riva
www.thpagency.com
Special citation: Social Entrepreneur
Lucky Iron Fish Enterprise | Guelph
Gavin Armstrong
www.luckyironfish.com
About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ is the world's most prestigious business awards program for entrepreneurs. The program makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global awards program of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. ey.com/ca/EOY
The 2017 Ontario independent judging panel consists of Jill Denham, Corporate Director; Lisa Melchior, Founder and President, VERTU Capital; Steve Faraone, Managing Director, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; Jeff Parr, Co-CEO and Managing Director, Clairvest Group Inc.; Gerald Slemko, CEO, Trudell Medical Ltd.; Rick Watkin, President and CEO, KUBRA; Andy Burgess, Managing Partner, Russell Square Partners; Code Cubitt, Founder and Managing Director, Mistral Venture Partners; and Lori O'Neill, Corporate Director.
This year's program national sponsors are TEC Canada, La Presse, RDI, The TMX Group, The Globe and Mail Inc., Merrill Corporation, Kira Talent, Air Canada, SheEO, The Printing House Limited, Hillberg & Berk and MediaOne Creative. Ontario regional sponsors are Captivate Network, Business News Network and Steam Whistle.
About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.
EY is proudly celebrating 150 years in Canada. For more information, please visit ey.com/ca. Follow us on Twitter @EYCanada.
EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
SOURCE EY (Ernst & Young)
Matt O'Connor, [email protected], 403 206 5675; Victoria McQueen, [email protected], 416 943 3141; Camille Larivière, [email protected], 514 879 8021
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