When it's not just about the tech

Random acts of modernization alone won’t turn the latest tech trends into lasting value. Canadian business leaders looking to get the full potential out of tech benefit from a willingness to adapt as they go.

In brief

• Technology delivers value when leaders align purpose, incentives and operating model so teams can adopt new tools confidently and focus on measurable outcomes.
• Customer and employee journeys should drive the roadmap so investments target friction points, improve trust and convert progress into revenue and retention.
• Data readiness, skills and responsible controls matter as much as features. Build foundations, measure value frequently and course-correct quickly.

As EY Canada Managing Partner for Clients & Industries, she sits on the professional services’ firm’s Executive Committee. Williams has helmed tech transformations for more than 30 years, and has played a leadership role in EY’s own “client zero” approach to AI adoption since 2023.

“The better we are at improvising, getting comfortable and feeling safe testing out emerging technologies, the more capable we’ll be of adapting our organizations for whatever’s ahead,” she says. “That flexibility will be a big determinant of the kind of value a business ultimately derives from embracing and adopting emerging tech.”

Heading into 2025, EY pegged the ability to turn AI’s promise into realistic revenues as the connective thread in the firm’s Top 10 Opportunities for Tech Companies report. At the time, EY urged tech companies to move away from viewing AI as a capability applied to traditional business processes and instead fundamentally rethink and reinvent the business to operate in an AI-first era.

Fast forward to now, Williams says that theory still holds. But it’s not just relevant for tech companies and not only applicable to AI.

“Businesses across Canada need to think bigger picture about AI and emerging technologies overall,” explains Williams. “This is a chance to be thinking about how AI is a tool that can help us elevate our productivity not just within organizations, but as a country overall. In 2026, we need to be asking these larger questions about how to transform through AI, and act on the answers. That’s how we start to make more of advanced and emerging technologies as they arise.”

For Williams, that means thinking beyond AI and even agentic AI. What’s next on the horizon?

Anelli agrees. “Whether that means upskilling different generations within the business, changing the way we integrate new grads into the company, refreshing product management overall… there’s an internal and external impact to all of this that we have to consider.”

At EY, Williams points to the firm’s own AI adoption as a prime example. Since priming the business to embrace and adopt AI, including large-scale upskilling opportunities and major financial investments to build an in-house AI platform, the firm has achieved expotential productivity gains over several years. Some 83% of the firm’s workforce has completed foundational AI learning; a further 81% have adopted the EY.ai EYQ platform.

“Embracing emerging tech and deriving ROI from its use takes a culture based on experimentation,” she says. “Culture is part of the scaffolding required to really support widespread  and lasting adoption. You need a culture that gives people room and resources to use AI for good, and to support their own productivity as Canadians. This helps us all have better career experiences and shift our behaviours over time. Fostering that culture is the first meaningful step towards really achieving AI’s full potential.”

Canada’s EY Entrepreneur Of the Year

We celebrate the entrepreneurs whose unbounded ambitions deliver innovation, growth and prosperity that transform our world.

• 5,200 nominations
• 3,400 finalists
• 1,540 award recipients
• 32 years
• 1 powerfully connected entrepreneurial ecosystem

Eric Naaman – Damotech Inc.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Eastern Overall Award winner

Assuming full ownership in 2017, Eric built his business by asking: can innovative ideas make for safer workplaces?

He invested an amount exceeding the company’s annual revenue into a state-of-the-art, LEED-certified facility. This milestone decision signalled a new era for Damotech. Eric transitioned the business from a component manufacturer into a tech-enabled safety platform. With an industry-first mindset, he integrated engineering services and proprietary software along with strategic partnerships to grow Damotech into North America’s leader in warehouse rack safety.

Specializing in innovative repair, protection and inspection solutions, Damotech now serves hundreds of Fortune 500 clients, including Amazon, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s. Collaborative, engaged and community-minded: Damotech’s recent $10 million automation upgrade tripled production capacity for repairs without expanding the plant’s environmental footprint.

Charles L’Ecuyer – Ces Corporation

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Prairies Overall Award winner

As AI, blockchain and high-performance computing became table stakes for enterprises in North America, Charles pioneered a new frontier for how we power progress.

With sustainability as a guiding standard, Charles’ low-waste manufacturing practices generate energy-efficient systems that reduce emissions. Creating hundreds of jobs across Canada and the United States, his organization works with communities, local governments and industry leaders to align business goals with broader economic and environmental ambitions. These innovative solutions make it possible for businesses

to deploy scalable, high-tech computing environments at unprecedented speed.

Summary

Technology doesn’t deliver results on its own — people do. Focus your operating model, incentives and skills on the customer and employee journeys that matter most, and you’re investments start paying off.

Strong data foundations, clear guardrails and short learning cycles help teams adopt responsibly and move faster. Use technology to augment your people and you can reduce friction, boost productivity and scale outcomes across markets.