Leadership
The leadership of the Kanata North Business Association consists of a Board that boasts a wide range of business leaders from the area. With representation from the various sectors that make up our membership as well a range of large and small businesses, our Board is well-positioned to help lead Kanata North as a business innovation destination.
Veronica Farmer
Director of Operations
Veronica has over 20 years of experience in communications, business development, sales and marketing. Recognized as a marketing and communications leader, she is experienced in both public and private corporate environments, for profit and not-for-profit as well as working with entrepreneurs, start ups and corporations. Veronica brings a unique strategic, tactical and practical perspective to the KNBA. Her breadth and depth of experience includes all aspects of marketing and communications – branding, go-to-market, marketing strategy and tactical planning and all aspects of digital marketing.
Veronica has held a variety of senior management, business development and marketing communications positions and contracts in a variety of industries including; local companies such as; Tundra Semiconductor (now IDT), Invest Ottawa, Intouch Insight and Fidus Systems. In 2007, Veronica founded TrueCourse Communications Inc., a marketing communications company, providing clients with a full spectrum of marketing and communications.
Veronica holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Queen’s University and an Executive Masters in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa.
Jamie Petten
Presid
ent and Executive Director
Jamie is a well-known and established member of the KNBA business community with a reputation as a community builder and thought leader. She has a clear vision and strategy for Kanata North to build our vibrant local community and Canada’s largest technology park.
With a wealth of experience in brand building, strategy development, marketing and sales combined with a strong network of local, national and international business relationships, Jamie is uniquely positioned to fill the role. As a founding member of Canadian SaaS Accelerator, L-SPARK, Jamie was head of marketing since its launch in 2014, and is passionate about developing Canada’s technology companies into globally competitive firms. Jamie has since supported 36 portfolio companies in raising over $24 Million in angel and venture capital funding to date, all while building a national community of 10,000+ entrepreneurs, investors and partners. She is also a co-founder of SAAS NORTH, known as Canada’s first conference connecting 1000+ software as a service founders, investors and executives, hosted over two days in Ottawa.
Jamie has served as a member of the board of Women in Communications and Technology and is a strong advocate for women in technology. She enjoys mentoring young women through the Technovation program. Every year, Technovation invites teams of girls from all over the world to learn and apply the skills needed to solve real-world problems through technology and is fostering a generation of future leaders in tech. Jamie serves as a Board of Trustee Member with the Jim Watson Women in Technology Scholarship Fund, an initiative undertaken to recruit new talent into the growing sector of cybersecurity. She is responsible for contributing annually to the awarding of six scholarships to qualified recipients over a three-year period.
Jamie believes in the existing track record and future potential of the businesses in Kanata North to be globally dominant players in their respective markets and looks forward to cultivating further opportunities to gain national and international recognition for the region and businesses within it.
KNBA Staff
Deborah Lovegrove
Marketing and Events Lead
Deborah brings over 25 years of experience in marketing communications, advertising, branding, business development, sales and event planning. She’s held a variety marketing positions in corporate, industrial manufacturing, high tech, associations and non-profit organizations.
Deborah has extensive experience managing a wide variety of large-scale conferences, tradeshows and events in a variety of industry sectors. With a passion for community building and public relations, Deborah has several years’ experience implementing successful and innovative strategic communication plans and publicity programs. She’s worked as a Creative Director and Marketing Consultant with agencies and other leading corporations in Montréal and Ottawa, overseeing visual and digital media and engaging relationships through a variety of Social Media platforms. She also has a degree in graphic design, and has produced a wide variety of print and electronic content, website design and corporate marketing materials.
Outside of working, managing KNBA’s social networks, community events and marketing/communications programs, attending networking events and designing marketing campaigns, Deborah spends her weekends jumping out of perfectly good airplanes having spent the last 24 years skydiving and competing in one of her favourite extreme sports.
Alycia Douglass
Digital Media and Community Coordinator
Alycia brings a fresh perspective to the KNBA, offering a keen eye for personal brand and a deep-seated devotion to digital storytelling. Hailing from Cornwall, Ontario, Alycia began her career with Code Heroes; a small start-up with a focus on providing digital skills to underrepresented groups. Having later contributed to both Cornwall Living Magazine and the eagerly anticipated Perch Magazine, she was also instrumental in pitching Cornwall’s TASTE of the Region Magazine.
Fueled by compassion, curiosity and caffeine, Alycia takes great pride in her ability to add a human element to social media strategy, finding the unique voice of each company she works with. When she’s not busy writing, Alycia can be found watching music documentaries on Netflix, busting a big, Bonham drum solo in her basement or hanging out with her cats, Grace and Joni.
Vanessa Baillie
Executive Assistant
Vanessa is the Owner and Operator of MYpoint5, which helps local entrepreneurs address the administrative and bookkeeping needs of their growing business. She has been in this role since 2013.
Prior to becoming a businessperson, herself, Vanessa held several positions in the Administrative world. Bringing more than 25 years of high-caliber expertise, proficiency, and skill, Vanessa has assisted VP’s at Bell Canada and Department Heads at both The Ottawa Hospital and The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
With a deep respect for discretion and confidentiality, and a dedication to high quality standards, Vanessa believes that client satisfaction is the key to building successful business relationships.
Vanessa lives in Ottawa and is well-supported and well-grounded by her husband and two sons.
Board of Directors
Chair, Amy MacLeod – Corporate Diversity Officer & Vice President Strategic Communications at Mitel
Vice Chair, Vicki Coughey – COO, Fidus Systems
Treasurer, Troy Hughes – Director of Finance, Brookstreet Hotel
Patrick Ferris – General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, KRP Properties
Amanda Gordon – VP, Stratford Managers
Guy Levesque – Associate Vice-President, Research Support & Infrastructure, University of Ottawa
Susan Richards – Managing Partner & Virtual CFO numbercrunch inc.
John Wall – SVP, Head of QNX
Sam Khatib – Owner, Papa Sam’s Restaurant
John Luszczek – Director, Ericsson
Daniel Scott – Lawyer, Labarge Weinstein
Jenna Sudds – Kanata North Councillor Ward 4
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