Mark Sutcliffe
Mark Sutcliffe, the new chair of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, says the future of Ottawa’s economic growth lies in focussing on strengthening the city’s private sector.
Sutcliffe says involvement in Ottawa's economy has always been a part of his family, as many of them worked for the public service.
But he recognizes the dramatic shift in Ottawa’s business community from a focus on the public sector to moving towards private sector growth.
“We’ve got to see a lot more innovation and job creation and entrepreneurship in the private sector to drive that,” Sutcliffe says.
Sutcliffe served on the chamber’s board of directors and was vice-chair last year before assuming his new position in late January.
He acknowledges the work past executive director Erin Kelly and others have done to make the chamber more relevant to the community.
“If we’re going to have growth and economic development in the city, we need to have a strong chamber of commerce,” he says. “I’m happy I can follow in their footsteps and try to take it to the next level.”
Sutcliffe has been an entrepreneur from a young age.
He created his own business when he was 18, and was the CEO of InBusiness Media Network, a company that helped launch a number of Canadian multimedia businesses.
Sutcliffe also works as a broadcaster, spreading the gospel of Ottawa businesses.
He hosts Talk Ottawa on Rogers TV, The Week on CPAC and a morning talk show on 580 CFRA.
Sutcliffe is also a columnist for the Ottawa Citizen, writing on business, politics, and running.
He is the CEO of Great River Media Inc., which publishes the Ottawa Business Journal, iRun and Kitchissippi Times.
Outgoing chair Dave Donaldson says these connections are Sutcliffe’s assets as the new chair. He is very excited about Sutcliffe taking the chamber to the next step, he adds.
“Mark’s going to be outstanding,” he says. “He’s got a number of business interests with his media contacts, he’s extremely well connected.”
Donaldson is the dean of the School of Business at Algonquin College.
“It’s important for the Chamber of Commerce to be connected with the business community, connected with city hall,” he says. “Mark’s ideally suited for that role.”
He says he is pleased with the term he served and will continue to work to establish a junior membership for students since he will still serve on the chamber for another two years as immediate past-chair.
But there was one last surprise for Donaldson before he handed over his position to Sutcliffe at the swearing-in ceremony in January.
Mayor Jim Watson awarded Donaldson the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal for his service to local business, something the recipient says was a total surprise.