James Temerty of Northland Power Income Fund takes home Canada’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2010 Award
(Toronto – 18 November, 2010) Ernst & Young honours James Temerty of Northland Power Income Fund for his significant contributions to Canadian business with Canada’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 Award.
“By anticipating future trends and responding quickly to changing needs, James epitomizes the ability of entrepreneurs to transform industries and move the economy forward,” said Colleen McMorrow, National and Ontario Director of Entrepreneur Of The Year. “With an eye for opportunity and an unsurpassed drive to succeed, James has made what is sure to be a lasting impact on the Canadian power industry.”
James has built a reputation across Canada for both financial and technical innovation. Recognizing an opportunity to develop a new industry within the power sector, James founded Canada’s first independent power producer in 1987. Putting a considerable amount of his own resources at risk in pursuit of development opportunities, James has led Northland Power to impressive growth. After more than 20 years, Northland Power maintains investments in operating biomass, natural gas and wind power projects, with wind solar and waterpower ventures under development.
Fostering an environment of teamwork and loyalty, James has celebrated the ongoing success of Northland Power alongside his core management, many of whom have been with the company since its inception. By encouraging a culture of empowerment, James aligns both his own and his management team’s long-term interests and goals for Northland Power.
With the same passion he devotes to Northland Power, James volunteers his time and financial support to numerous organizations in and outside of his community. As chair of the Royal Ontario Museum Governors Board, James was responsible for raising $250 million, the largest sum of funds raised by a charitable organization in Canada. James also supports a variety of local projects in the Ukraine. His recent contributions include the establishment of a business school in Kiev and ongoing support of local orphanages.
Acknowledging his achievements for both Canadian business and culture, James was recently appointed chair of the Advisory Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, in addition to receiving the Order of Canada, the highest honour bestowed to Canadian citizens.
“James represents the fearless ambition it takes to build a successful business from the bottom up,” said McMorrow. “By embracing risk and paving the way for groundbreaking ideas, Canadian entrepreneurs continue to restore the economy and inspire future generations of talent. We congratulate and honour this year’s Canadian Entrepreneur Of The Year, James Temerty, and all of our regional winners, who truly embody the entrepreneurial spirit.”
The national winners
Congratulations to the regional Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year winners. Their achievements stand as testament to the strength and vitality of the entrepreneurial spirit from coast to coast.
Pacific
Chad Wasilenkoff
Fortress Paper Ltd. | North Vancouver, British Columbia
fortresspaper.com
Fortress Paper is an international manufacturer of specialty and security papers.
Prairies
William Elkington
JV Driver Group | Leduc, Alberta
jvdriver.com
JV Driver is a competitive, results-oriented industrial contractor that has successfully completed major projects in the oil and gas, petrochemical, mining and forestry products sectors.
Ontario
James Temerty
Northland Power Income Fund | Toronto, Ontario
northlandpower.ca
Northland Power has interests in 10 power plants that generate electricity using a variety of clean and green technologies, and a large pipeline of development projects. Northland’s market capitalization exceeds $1.6 billion.
Québec
Stanley Ma
MTY Food Group Inc. | Saint-Laurent, Québec
mtygroup.com
MTY is one of the leading companies in the Canadian fast-food industry. Of its 25 brands, 21 are fully owned and four are exclusively licensed.
Atlantic
Duncan Shaw
Cogsdale | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
cogsdale.com
Cogsdale develops software solutions for local governments and utilities to address the complex and changing needs of their operations.
Special citations
Many of the award winners across the country stand out, not only as leaders in their industry, but also for the unique mark they’ve made on the entrepreneurial landscape. The following entrepreneurs are Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year category award recipients in their regions and were selected by the national judges as special citation honourees.
Pacific
Peter Barnes
Silver Wheaton Corp. | Vancouver, British Columbia
silverwheaton.com
Innovative global strategies
Silver Wheaton has quickly positioned itself as the largest metals streaming company in the world. It currently has 13 silver and two precious metals purchase agreements.
Prairies
John Leder
Supreme Group Inc. | Edmonton, Alberta
supremegroup.ca
Business services excellence
The Supreme Group offers a wide range of steel fabrication, erection, mechanical and construction services. It was started in 1972 under its current ownership and, through the process of acquisition, can claim a continuity that goes back more than a century.
Ontario
David Shaw
Knightsbridge Human Capital Management | Toronto, Ontario
knightsbridge.ca
Customer-driven excellence
Knightsbridge provides human capital advice and customized solutions through integrated teams of specialists.
Québec
Etienne Veilleux
Distech Controls Inc. | Brossard, Québec
distech-controls.com
Innovation design and manufacturing
Distech Controls designs, manufactures and markets innovative building automation solutions, promoting energy and cost-efficient operation of buildings, while maintaining optimum comfort.
Atlantic
Andrew Ayre
Other Ocean Interactive | St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
otherocean.com
Product innovation
Other Ocean Interactive develops games and enterprise software for all platforms, and has development studios in Canada and the US.
Lifetime achievement
Pacific
Peter M. Brown | Canaccord
Atlantic
Dr. Regis Duffy | BioVectra Inc.
Québec
Charles Sirois | Telesystem
The national judges
The national panel of independent judges comprises past Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program finalists, award recipients and business, academic and community leaders. They include Mark Dobbin, President, Killick Capital; Ginny Dybenko, Dean, School of Business & Economics, Wilfred Laurier University; Steve Gupta, President and CEO, Easton’s Group of Hotels Inc.; Jacques Landreville, Corporate Director, Uni-Sélect; Claude Lessard, Chairman and CEO, Cossette Inc.; Jim Moore, President, Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc.; Kevin Wolfe, President, Richmond Equity Management Ltd.
Entrepreneur Of The Year is sponsored nationally by Global TV, National Post, La Presse and RDI. The National Banquet Patron is Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.
What’s next?
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards recognize the spirit and contribution of entrepreneurs here and around the world who have created and sustained successful, growing business ventures. The 2011 World Entrepreneur Of The Year awards will be held June 2 to 5 in Monte Carlo. James Temerty, Canada’s Entrepreneur Of The Year will compete with more than 50 country recipients for the title of Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year®.
About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 141,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential. For more information, please visit ey.com/ca.