Author / Krystle K.

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Posts by Krystle K.

Christian. Logophile. Writer. Gourmand. Film geek. Apt to break out into song (showtune-style) at any moment. Passionate about mental health.
by Krystle K.

Pfizer’s fizzle helps pave way for local firm’s cholesterol drug

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Dec. 11, 2006

Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.

Local biopharmaceutical company Liponex Inc. says it is now well-positioned to take the lead in the good-cholesterol drug market after the fall of Pfizer’s torcetrapib drug last week.

Liponex is currently conducting its first Phase 2 trials in heart patients for its CRD5 drug, which increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good cholesterol.”

Dr. Daniel Sparks, the company’s chief scientific officer, says CRD5 had already shown the ability to increase HDL by 20 per cent in its two-week Phase 1 trials with no apparent side-effects, even before the company had come out with its latest formulation.

The drug was also shown to lower triglycerides – the storage fat in bodies which also contributes to heart disease – by about 40 per cent.

He adds that there are no other compounds Continue reading →

by Krystle K.

Local manufacturing sector stable, report shows

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Nov. 20, 2006

Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.

Although it’s no secret that the strong Canadian dollar is squeezing the manufacturing sector all across the country, a new survey indicates that Ottawa’s manufacturing industry is still performing solidly.

The Ottawa Manufacturers’ Network (OMN) released a report this week on the state of the city’s manufacturing industry.

The report notes that the industry employs approximately 41,000 people in 700 companies in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec, out of a total labour force of 673,400 in the Ottawa-Gatineau area. Of the 700 companies, computer and electronics manufacturers represent 27 per cent of manufacturing firms and nearly half the employment in the sector.

OMN spokesperson Roy Sunstrum says a focus on specialized electronics manufacturing – rather than consumer electronics such as personal computers – has helped Continue reading →

by Krystle K.

The votes are in, and the winner is…

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Breaking news story, published on the Ottawa Business Journal website.
Nov. 13, 2006

Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.


Ottawa mayor Larry O’Brien.
Photo by DARREN BROWN for the Ottawa Business Journal

The new mayor of Ottawa is Larry O’Brien.

Mr. O’Brien, the former CEO and founder of Calian Technologies, was declared the winner of the mayoral race at 8:25 p.m. Monday night, with nearly half of all votes.

At the end of the night, the mayor-elect got a total of 141,262 votes.

The new mayor beat out Alex Munter and incumbent Bob Chiarelli despite coming into the race six months later than both his opponents.

The race was a fairly close one although much less of a nail-biter than expected, with Mr. Munter getting just a little more than 36 per cent of the vote with 108,752 votes, and Mr. Chiarelli trailing behind at approximately 15 per cent or 46,697 votes. The level of voter turnout was almost unheard of, at more than 60 per cent.

Going into the polls, Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Munter were neck-and-neck at 45 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.

“We’re pretty excited,” said Gord Hunter, Mr O’Brien’s campaign manager. “We ran an incredible campaign and an incredible candidate, but we never expected anything like this. Larry will make a great mayor of Ottawa.”

The new mayor walked into his campaign headquarters at Broadway’s Bar & Grill on Prince of Wales Drive and raised his arms above his head with a resounding “Yes!”

He was joined shortly after by Mr. Chiarelli, who pledged his full support to the winner of the mayoral campaign and said his opponent had run a “smart campaign.”

“I’m declaring Larry the champ,” said the incumbent to cheers from Mr. O’Brien’s supporters. “We all know he’s been a tremendous community leader and business leader and… will become the greatest mayor Ottawa has ever had.”

Mr. Chiarelli added that being mayor was a “complicated job,” and said it was important for a full consensus in council to “make (Ottawa) a G-8 world capital.”

“I want to make a plea to the public, council and the media… to come together and build consensus behind this mayor,” Mr. Chiarelli said. “(Mr. O’Brien) ran a very great campaign and (he) had a very short time to do it. I’ll do whatever he wants me to do, for transition and to help the city.”

In his acceptance speech, the mayor-elect thanked the people of Ottawa for voting for change.

“The city is not a business but (the people) want to see it run like a business,” Mr. O’Brien said.

Mr. Munter opened his congratulatory speech with a joke about how it was probably a good thing he hadn’t been elected mayor as his supporters were causing a noise violation.

“We had a lot of tiger in the tank, but unfortunately Larry O’Brien had more,” he said. “As he enters at this crucial time, it’s important he succeed, and I’m here to help him succeed.”

As Mr. O’Brien heads to City Hall, he is facing an upcoming city budget, as well as the hotly debated light rail transit issue.

The other mayoral candidates – Piotr Anweiler, Robert Larter, Barkley Pollock and Jane Scharf – took a total of 3,328 votes.

by Krystle K.

Spotwave’s new chief exec focused on aggressive growth

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Nov. 13, 2006

Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.

With his 20-year background in the wireless industry, Larry Jennings is no stranger to Spotwave Wireless’s products.

“I was attracted initially by Spotwave’s products, having followed trends in wireless (during my career),” says the former chief operating officer of the U.S.-based emergency services software provider Intrado. “But I’m also really interested in the passion and commitment Spotwave’s employees have shown.”

Mr. Jennings was appointed as the new president and CEO of Spotwave Wireless on Nov. 6. He says the first order of business is to improve distribution the company’s brand-new residential indoor antenna system.

“This is a great consumer product, and we’ve had very strong feedback for it,” says Mr. Jennings. “We’re going to be focused on how to better penetrate the market by improve relationships with distribution partners and working with Internet marketing.”

Mr. Jennings has worked extensively Continue reading →

by Krystle K.

Constant job-hopping may cost you career opportunities

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published on the Ottawa Business Journal website.
Nov. 7, 2006

Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.

Tired of your job already and getting itchy feet? You may want to think carefully before changing your job too quickly, a new survey reports.

The survey by financial recruitment service company Robert Half Finance & Accounting says chronic job-hoppers may be overlooked for future opportunities. Eighty-eight per cent of chief financial officers polled rated the length of time a job candidate has spent with previous employers as Continue reading →

by Krystle K.

Solectron to shut down Kanata facility

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Breaking news story published on the Ottawa Business Journal website.
Nov. 7, 2006

Click here to read this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.

Manufacturing company Solectron will be closing down its facility in Kanata early next year, eliminating nearly 400 jobs.

A senior executive told the Ottawa Business Journal that the U.S.-based firm would be shutting down the plant in February or March of 2007, putting 247 permanent workers and 147 temporary employees out of work.

Solectron’s director of EMS operations Lucie Dastous confirmed in a phone interview that the Kanata facility Continue reading →

by Krystle K.

‘Above and beyond’ no big deal for tourism award winner

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published on the Ottawa Business Journal website.
Oct. 25, 2006

Ginette Pion, grand prize winner of the Ottawa Tourism Stars of the City campaignGinette Pion, grand prize winner of Ottawa Tourism’s Stars of the City campaign (Image supplied)

Ginette Pion never thought she would win an award for taking the time to help a customer get ready for a special event.

But Ms. Pion, who is the manager of the Femme de Carrière outlet in the Rideau Centre, walked away with the top prize in Ottawa Tourism’s Stars of the City campaign at last night’s award ceremony, as well as an award in the Above and Beyond category.

She was nominated for spending three hours helping a customer shop for the perfect outfit and accessories for a gala dinner, then going with the customer to look for shoes at another store in the mall, booking a hair appointment, and even driving the customer to the hairstylist and taking her new outfit to be tailored in time for the event.

“The only thing I can say is: wow. I’m overwhelmed,” Ms. Pion says, adding that she doesn’t actually remember the woman who nominated her because she and her staff regularly help out customers in the same manner.

“I always teach my staff to go above and beyond… I’d like people to do the same for me,” she says.

She explains that she often takes tourists and people who aren’t familiar with the Rideau Centre around the mall and goes on her own time to drop off altered outfits at customers’ homes, even driving to Montreal once to hunt for a white suit for a customer’s wedding. Continue reading →

by Krystle K.

Entering a new “grey zone” of shifting cultures

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in theCICAK.com.
Sept. 20, 2006


A still from Tsai Ming-Liang’s I Don’t Want
To Sleep Alone.Photo taken from the website of the
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.

I had the privilege of attending the North American premiere of I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone (Hei Yan Quan) last Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The film is Malaysian-born Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-Liang’s treatise on the lives of foreign migrant workers in Kuala Lumpur, and a reference to his own experience as an immigrant in Taiwan.

The film was an enigma, virtually devoid of dialogue between the main characters, featuring long, loooong still shots with no camera movement whatsoever, and a curious absence of any shots of the KL skyline (besides a few glimpses of the outside of Pudu Jail and some coffee shops downtown); it could really have been filmed anywhere in the world if not for those fleeting references to local landmarks and the smattering of Malay spoken in the beginning of the movie.

Even more intriguing, however, was the question asked by Continue reading →

by Krystle K.

New Sprott dean aims to boost business school’s reputation

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Aug. 14 2006

Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.

Dr. Bill Keep will become the first dean at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University this January.Dr. Bill Keep will become the first dean at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University this January (Image supplied)

As Dr. Bill Keep prepares to step into his new role as the inaugural dean of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, he says he is looking forward to picking the brains of the business school’s faculty and putting it in the same league as the heavy-hitters.

“I want students to know that (Sprott) is not just an option, but a very attractive option,” he said in a phone interview from Connecticut, where he is currently serving as a marketing professor at Quinnipiac University.

Dr. Keep’s appointment was announced Aug. 4, but he will be joining the Sprott School of Business full-time in January. The appointment is the latest move by Carleton University after it made the decision last December to raise Sprott to full faculty status.

“Sprott has got a really good core faculty, and raising the school to faculty status looks like the beginning point, but it is really the result of years of work,” Dr. Keep said, adding that he believes the school will be able to develop more of a name for itself in its new position.

“I don’t know yet what that reputation will be for, but the kernels are within the faculty,” he said. The incoming dean says he’s eager to meet with the acting dean of the school, Professor David Cray, as well as with associate deans and staff, to discuss the future of the school.

Professor Cray said Sprott already has several interesting programs – such as its research programs in international business, and its Centre for Social Marketing, which deals with marketing for non-profit organizations.

However, he agreed with Dr. Keep that the school’s new faculty status will help bring awareness to these programs and allow for the growth of more research. Continue reading →

by Krystle K.

Bank Street construction hits biz harder than expected

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Aug. 7 2006

Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.

Although provisions have been made to accommodate pedestrian traffic while Bank Street is under construction, small- and medium-sized businesses in the area say they are really feeling the pinch.

“The summer is usually the busiest time, but now it’s even slower than in the winter time,” says H. Agour of Shawarma Laguna. “I can tell it’s slower (even with only a few days of construction).”

The five-block stretch between Laurier and Wellington has been closed off since July 31. The move is part of $3.6-million project to reconstruct Bank Street’s underground water and sewage lines, and improve the appearance of its sidewalks north of Queen Street, according to Richard Holder, the senior project manager for infrastructure for the city.

“We’ve been involved with the Bank Street BIA for several years,” he says. “We’re very much aware (of the disruption to business) and have delayed construction until as late as possible.”

The business improvement area’s executive director, Gerry LePage, says the business community has been enjoying Continue reading →