Invest Ottawa has taken the interim tag off president and CEO Sonya Shorey, cementing her as the economic development agency’s newest leader.
Shorey held the leadership role in an interim capacity after Michael Tremblay departed the firm in November 2023 to become the president of IT and cyber solutions at Calian. Before taking the CEO chair, Shorey had been Invest Ottawa’s vice president of strategy, marketing and communications since 2017.
Invest Ottawa co-chairs Adam Miron and Mark Sutcliffe, who is also Ottawa’s Mayor, said Shorey’s experience and proven track record make her an ideal leader for Invest Ottawa’s future.
“She is tireless in her efforts to drive entrepreneurship, investment and economic growth in our region,” Sutcliffe said in a statement. “Her vision and commitment to collaboration are invaluable as we strive to create new economic opportunities and impact in every corner of our city.”
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Shorey leads Invest Ottawa’s Women Founders and Owners Strategy, which looks to increase the visibility of women founders and provide them with the tools needed to scale up. Shorey is also a co-founder of SheBoot, a non-profit that aims to help women founders secure capital to use for scaling and competing globally.
Founded in 2013, Invest Ottawa operates out of local innovation hub Bayview Yards, delivering incubation, acceleration, and scale-up programs to startups in the National Capital Region. Invest Ottawa says it has supported almost 14,000 companies, helped domestic companies raise $1.86 billion in capital, and attracted $1.47 billion in domestic and foreign direct investment to Ottawa since its founding.
Invest Ottawa also operates Area X.O, which launched in 2019 under the name Ottawa L5 consisting of a 16-kilometre test track intended for use as a testing ground for autonomous vehicles, smart agriculture, and unmanned drones. The testing ground received $5.4 million in federal funding, alongside an additional $1.25 million from in-kind contributions, at Invest Ottawa’s 10-year anniversary event in February 2023.
Ottawa has risen in Startup Genome’s latest Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems ranking for the second year in a row. In the latest rankings, released this week, Ottawa advanced from the 71-80 range, which it graduated to in 2023, to the 61-70 range. The Emerging Ecosystems ranking is meant to measure smaller ecosystems with high potential to become top global performers in the coming years.
Feature image courtesy Invest Ottawa.