Kathryn Tremblay embraces what’s possible

In 2021, when Kathryn Tremblay received the CEO of the year award in Ottawa, she was asked what her billboard sign would read. “What’s possible?” was her answer. Those two words — that simple question — have helped guide her professionally and personally over the years.

As co-founder and CEO of Canada’s leading independent staffing firm, Altis Recruitment, Kathryn grew the company from the ground up with her business partner, Toni Guimaraes. The pair were in their early 20s when they started the company in an apartment in the Byward Market with no employees, but they had big dreams.

Over the years, their business prospered, their relationship grew, and they welcomed four daughters. In 2016, Kathryn and her family were devastated when Toni passed away from advanced prostate cancer. He was just 51 years old.

Those two words, which had helped Toni and Kathryn build their business into the success that it was, would now hold new meaning. “After Toni passed away, I had to reimagine what was possible for me. When we were starting out, we looked at what’s possible as entrepreneurs, and what’s possible to become great employers,” explains Kathryn. “But the distinction there is that once I was on my own, it was different.”

When it came time to redefine what was possible, she explored what it’s like to be an equitable employer, a single mom, as well as an ally for diversity. “It’s how you light up that possibility for others,” says Kathryn.

“I’d encourage anyone to get involved at any level that you can. That financial contribution will mean a new, well-designed, state-of-the-art facility that will make a difference to you as you age, and it will make a difference to your children and grandchildren. I think of it as a kind of generational give back.”

— Kathryn Tremblay

Devoted parents instill desire to help others

Philanthropy also plays an important role in this business leader’s life, and The Ottawa Hospital is a charity close to Kathryn’s heart. Giving is a quality she learned as a young girl growing up in Orleans. “I had extremely devoted parents. We didn’t have a lot financially, but emotionally, in my home, it was a special place,” she recalls. “My parents told me every day they believed in me. Telling me, ‘We stand with you, we stand behind you, we’re here to lift you up.’ And on a difficult day, my dad would be the person who’d come to sit with me and give me some encouragement.”

Kathryn utilized that encouragement as a springboard to help others. “It’s not enough for me to be grateful for what I have. But it’s about how I can show that gratitude towards others, like newcomers to our country, to The Ottawa Hospital or Christie Lake Kids, which was where my husband went as an underprivileged child. And when you give, you get back because you’re making a difference to someone else.”

On May 24, 2022, Kathryn combined her love of art and desire to give back to support our hospital through Art for Impact. It was a week-long online auction featuring a wide range of art from 21 local artists. All proceeds supported the Campaign to Create Tomorrow, and the event raised more than $25,000.

“What a great opportunity to give back to the next generation.”

Thankfully, Kathryn’s interest in the Campaign didn’t stop there. She’s donated $200,000 to the Campaign in support of the new campus development on Carling Avenue and world-leading research.

“The hospital and the new campus are a major pillar for our entire city,” says Kathryn. “I’d encourage anyone to get involved at any level that you can. That financial contribution will mean a new, well-designed, state-of-the-art facility that will make a difference to you as you age, and it will make a difference to your children and grandchildren. I think of it as a kind of generational give back.”

When it came time to consider a gift to the Campaign, Kathryn just had to look to those around her — starting with her four daughters, who were all born at the Civic Campus — and to her late husband. “We needed so much around us in terms of advisors and a team of doctors,” she explains. “I felt they really cared to save my husband’s life. Now, he had very advanced and aggressive cancer, so that was not to be, but the effort that the entire team put into trying to save his life was special. That would be the primary reason why I give.”

But she also looks at what’s possible for healthcare in the future. “I would like to see that our city has something new and modern. And when you think of the aging population, we have this 100-year-old hospital — doesn’t it make sense that the hospital is modernized?” And when Kathryn puts her CEO hat back on, there are big possibilities as well. “When you’re attracting talent, you need great schools and state-of-the-art healthcare. So those two things are almost like the pillars that lift the possibility of wanting to live here in Ottawa.”