Kevin Ford used to think being ridiculously busy was something to be proud of.

Not long after being named Ottawa’s 2017 CEO of the Year, the then-head of Calian Group spoke at the University of Ottawa and boasted about how little sleep he needed.

Three or four hours? No problem.

Two weeks later, he was fighting for his life after suffering a cardiac arrest.

“What changed my perspective?” Ford said Monday. “A heart attack will do that.”

Ford was one of three guest speakers at The Ottawa Business Club’s second-anniversary celebration held at TD Place, joining The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s president and CEO, Tim Kluke, and former CFL player-turned-entrepreneur Nate Behar for a wide-ranging conversation about leadership, burnout, purpose, community and why they’ve chosen to build their careers in Ottawa.

The Ottawa Business Club (OBC) has come a long way from the small group of friends that started it all at a neighbourhood pub two years ago, the crowd heard from OBC president Conrad Dickinson. Now, The OBC is drawing established business and community leaders alongside a younger crowd still figuring out where their own careers might take them.

And on Monday, they got the kind of advice that usually comes from learning a few things the hard way.

Ottawa Business Club (OBC) volunteer committee members, from left, Dan Donnelly, Michael Kouts, Conrad Dickinson (president), Talia Zaidi, Mackenzie Houston, Ian Alexander and Jon Hindo at The OBC’s two-year celebration event held at TD Place on Monday, August 24, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Ford, who retired as Calian’s president and CEO less than a year ago after a decade in the top position, said leading the Ottawa-based company as it grew into a global operation remains the pride of his career. But he also told moderator Mackenzie Houston of Syntax Strategic that leadership was never about the title.

For Ford, it came down to culture, values, positive energy and giving people a vision they wanted to get behind. His advice to aspiring leaders was to become someone others genuinely want to follow.

His brush with death also changed the way he looks at success. “The biggest challenge we have is that top performers and leaders, we never worry about ourselves,” said Ford. “We’re always worried about the job, we’re worried about our family, we’re worried about the community.”

That order, he suggested, needs some rearranging. “The number one thing on your to-do list should be: ‘Am I taking care of myself?’”

Or, as Ford put it somewhat more bluntly: “There are no good dead leaders.”

Award-winning business leader Kevin Ford was part of a panel discussion held during The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year celebration event held at TD Place on Monday, August 24, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Behar could relate to the tendency to push too hard. In 2020, the former Ottawa RedBlacks receiver discovered another outlet for his competitive nature: entrepreneurship. With no CFL season that year, he had time to launch a marketing app that connected athletes with brands.

He has since co-founded Salty Retreats, a fitness and wellness travel company that organizes group trips built around exercise, adventure, travel and — importantly — fun.

At one point, Behar was juggling multiple ventures and clients while sleeping three or four hours a night. Eventually, it caught up with him. “I quite literally did not know what was up and what was down.”

One of the most valuable things he has since learned is how to say no.

Behar said he now approaches business more like a football season: figure out the goal, work backward from it and decide what actually needs to happen to get there. That means being selective about what makes the cut.

He has also learned to hand work over to people who are better at it, freeing him up to spend more time on the parts of entrepreneurship he enjoys most.

Former Ottawa RedBlacks receiver and Carleton Ravens star Nate Behar spoke about his entrepreneurial journey during The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year celebration event held at TD Place on Monday, August 24, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

For Kluke, purpose comes built into the job. “I say every day that I’m in a privileged position,” he told the crowd, speaking about the opportunity to raise money for The Ottawa Hospital and to help support the care and research that helps to save lives.

The longtime professional fundraiser began his career in advertising before being recruited into the nonprofit sector, eventually returning to Ottawa nearly 25 years ago and leading fundraising efforts first at The Royal and now at The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

His work has taken on an entirely new scale through the Foundation’s Campaign to Create Tomorrow, the $500-million fundraising effort supporting Ottawa’s new hospital campus and health-care research. It’s the largest philanthropic campaign the region has ever seen.

“It’s a privilege working in philanthropy,” said Kluke. “You get to surround yourself with great people who are leaders in this sector and who are committed to the community.”

Ford is co-chair of the Campaign to Create Tomorrow and served for nine years on the Foundation’s board.

Tim Kluke is president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, which is currently leading the region’s largest philanthropic campaign in its efforts to raise $500 million toward its Campaign to Create Tomorrow. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Kluke told the crowd the campaign has now raised more than $404 million, with support coming not only through multimillion-dollar gifts but from more than 50,000 individual donors.

It hasn’t always gone according to plan. Kluke recalled a couple of years when his team fell short of ambitious internal fundraising targets despite raising enormous amounts of money. What kept them going was knowing they were doing the right things: talking to people, engaging the community, asking for support and inviting people to be part of something bigger. Eventually, the numbers caught up, and the Foundation has just experienced two of its most successful years.

The conversation eventually turned to Ottawa itself. Houston asked all three men why, after careers that could have taken them anywhere, they had chosen Ottawa.

Behar said one of the city’s strengths is that, despite its size, there’s still a real sense of connectedness within the business community. He came to Ottawa to attend Carleton University, play for its football team, the Ravens, and eventually for the RedBlacks.

He said Ottawa’s business community is close-knit enough that the same faces often turn up at events, making it easier to know who to call for advice, an introduction or help getting something off the ground. “The best of the best aren’t hiding in some Wall Street penthouse that’s inaccessible,” he said.

Kluke described Ottawa as large enough to make a difference but small enough to remain nimble. After working in Toronto and travelling extensively across Canada and the United States, he said he has come to appreciate just how livable Ottawa is — noting that after the event, he was simply getting in his car and heading to his cottage.

Ford spoke about raising his four sons here and the opportunities he and his family have had. “Why would I want to go anywhere else?”

He does worry about protecting what makes Ottawa work, particularly as affordability and other pressures change the city.

His message to the younger business leaders in the room was that they have a role to play in that. “You are all custodians of the city,” said Ford. “We have to protect what we value.”

Ford’s point was that Ottawa can accomplish a lot when people get behind something. “Look where we are as a city. When we get focused as a city, we get shit done.”

Kevin Ford, one of the special guests at The Ottawa Business Club’s second-anniversary celebration, seen listening to attendee Leah Dickinson, from Export Development Canada, during the networking portion of the event, held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Business and community leader Paul Hindo with his son, Jon Hindo, a volunteer committee member with The Ottawa Business Club, a business networking organization that brings together young entrepreneurs and professionals with established business leaders. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Micah Garten, executive director of the OSEG (Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group) Foundation, was seen mingling with fellow attendees at The Ottawa Business Club’s second-anniversary celebration held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Craig Heward, sales manager at Advanced Business Interiors;  CAA North & East Ontario business development manager Lauren Parkes; Keaton Ambrose, business development at Brawn Construction, Kadus Group; and Ottawa Interlock Repair owner Jonathan Gilman at The Ottawa Business Club’s second-anniversary celebration held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Tim Kluke, one of the special guests at The Ottawa Business Club’s second-anniversary celebration, mingled with Tiah Moffatt, business development manager at Hire Value, following his participation in a panel discussion at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Luxury realtor Reba Wilson with Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties/Christie’s International Real Estate, and Ashley Tannis, financial manager with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, at The Ottawa Business Club’s second-anniversary celebration held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Nearly 100 attendees helped to celebrate The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year anniversary at a gathering it held at TD Place on Monday, August 24, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Gilad Sarusi, founder of AI-powered SaaS platform Intel:legal, and seasoned networker Reza Mashkoori, manager of corporate sponsorships at Christie Lake Kids and president of CrossFit NCR, at The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year anniversary held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Monica Dale, president at Asset Protection Insurance, First Avenue Investment Counsel senior associate Haniya Habibollahi, Pleo — Family Peer Support executive director Michelle Crogie, and Gallagher Insurance associate vice president (commercial insurance) Lezlie Jamieson, at The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year anniversary held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Hertford Advisors owner Andrew Bailes and John Robinson, CEO of Intega IT, at The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year anniversary held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Audience members applaud during The Ottawa Business Club’s second-anniversary celebration at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Sergey Poltev, founder and CEO of CAPITALTEK; Sarwar Qureshi, partner at Paterson & Company, president of the Ottawa chapter of M&A Club Canada, and founder of Beyond Networking; and executive, leadership and team coach Nadine Zeinoun at The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year anniversary held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Ottawa Business Club committee member Michael Kouts, business development representative at DashQ, seen networking during the OBC’s second-anniversary celebration event at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Conrad Dickinson, president of The Ottawa Business Club, and Katya Berezovskaia at The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year anniversary held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Nearly 100 attendees helped to celebrate The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year anniversary held at TD Place on Monday, August 24, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Mackenzie Houston, senior director at Syntax Strategic and a volunteer committee member with The Ottawa Business Club (OBC), and Sophia Wojdak, senior communications strategist at Syntax Strategic, at the OBC’s two-year celebration event held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Emily Gray, wealth advisor associate at Raymond James; Reza Mashkoori, manager of corporate sponsorships at Christie Lake Kids and president of CrossFit NCR; and Sarwar Qureshi, partner at Paterson & Company, at The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year anniversary held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Ottawa Interlock Repair owner Jonathan Gilman, financial associate Danika Edirisinghe (CIBC Wood Gundy) and John Robinson, CEO of Intega IT, at The Ottawa Business Club’s two-year anniversary held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, First Avenue Investment Counsel senior associate Haniya Habibollahi and benefit consultant Oyin Netufo meet for the first time as Pleo — Family Peer Support executive director Michelle Crogie looks on during The Ottawa Business Club’s second-anniversary celebration at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Drew Yenson and Sara Werblinski volunteered at The Ottawa Business Club’s second-anniversary celebration held at TD Place. Photo by Caroline Phillips 

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WEALTH (WCPD), Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law and Prime Benefits Group.

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