Andrew Waitman’s Journey: From Modest Beginnings to CEO of the Year Through Resilience
Attendees filled the room at Telfer’s Desmarais Building on March 27 for a crash course in business leadership, delivered in just one hour by CEO of the Year Andrew Waitman.
The award-winning head of Assent spoke confidently and knowledgeably on a wide range of topics, including AI and outsourcing trends, lifelong learning and the key qualities of effective leadership. This discussion was led by Leslie Feldman, principal at global executive search firm Boyden, and Stéphane Brutus, dean of the Telfer School of Management.
The CEO of the Year Breakfast has become a tradition at Telfer, going back 24 years. It’s organized in partnership with Boyden, the Ottawa Board of Trade and the Ottawa Business Journal, which was represented by its publisher, Michael Curran.
Last year, the Best Ottawa Business Awards named Waitman the 2024 CEO of the Year. Assent is a leading company in compliance and management of supply chain sustainability. It helps businesses manage regulatory requirements related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Under Waitman’s leadership, Assent has experienced exponential growth, expanding from less than US$1 million in annual recurring revenue to over US$100 million.
Waitman’s humble beginnings were displayed on large screens, featuring a photo from his youth of him standing next to his 1979 Honda Civic. “The engine ran great; the floor fell through,” the business leader quipped before telling a story about resilience and the effort required to keep the car running.
Waitman candidly shared the lowest point of his career, recalling how he was “essentially fired” as managing partner of a venture capital firm “All of us will get knocked down in our career in some ways,” said Waitman. “Stuff will happen — stuff that you don’t see coming, stuff that is really, really disappointing. But you know what? You pick yourself back up, you get up and you keep moving forward.”
Waitman later became CEO of Pythian, a company founded by Telfer grad Paul Vallée (BCom ’94), before joining Assent in 2014.
He encouraged students to pay attention to new developments. “There is no question that every single company, every single person, is going to be affected by AI. There’s no stopping this tech. It has all kinds of potential benefits and all kinds of potential risks,” he said.
It’s a tremendous tool that allows society to move forward. “But it should send a shiver through everyone’s spine because it has implications for what work is, what careers are and ‘What will I do?’” he added.
“We have to, as a society and as a country, figure this out. This isn’t going to happen in 10, 20, 30 years. This is happening in the next three to five years. We all need to pay attention, and we all need to understand how we will play a role in the dramatically changing technological world, said Waitman. According to him, one way to equip yourself for the rapidly changing business landscape is lifelong learning. “Lifelong learning is something we have to tool up for,” he noted. “All the tools exist, but we need to make sure they’re accessible to everyone because it’s a very different, more sophisticated world.”
When discussing leadership in challenging times, Waitman compared the role to that of a 16th-century sea captain who must stay calm despite the surrounding chaos. “The storms will come randomly, the food will rot, the pirates will arrive, but you’ve got to keep your head if you’re going to keep everyone alive,” he explained.
Waitman’s journey serves as a powerful reminder that leadership is not just about achieving success but about overcoming challenges and continuously adapting in a rapidly changing world. His message of resilience, lifelong learning and proactive leadership in the face of uncertainty resonated deeply with those in attendance. As attendees left the room, they carried with them not just lessons on leadership but also a renewed sense of purpose in navigating the complexities of the future business landscape.