Julie Watson still remembers her father’s disappointment when she told him she would not work in the family business. Twenty years later, after taking the helm of Ultimate Tech, the woman who has just won the prestigious CEO‑of‑the‑Year award from the Quebec Association of Technologies (AQT) knows she would have made him proud.
A pride tinged with sadness: her father, who died 18 years ago, is not there to see the company he founded evolve under his daughter’s leadership.
Ultimate Tech is a Quebec‑based SME that provides automation solutions for the printing industry. The story begins in 1989, at the dawn of the computer age. David Watson sensed the transformation awaiting the field.
He then launched Ultimate Technographics. The company started by automating the layout of “films” for large commercial presses, replacing manual tasks. An initial software product, Impostrip, was followed by several others as technology evolved.
Entrepreneurs, from parents to daughter
Julie Watson’s two parents carried Ultimate Tech on their shoulders, and she absorbed the inner workings of the business and the printing world by osmosis.
After completing management studies at HEC Montréal in 2005 and spending two years in the family firm, the future CEO realized she needed to look elsewhere. “I felt it was everything I’d ever known, actually,” she says. She told her father she might return one day.
In 2008, David Watson died tragically and unexpectedly of a heart attack during the largest professional printing fair, drupa. Julie’s mother was present, as were employees and competitors—a volatile context. “The whole industry knew,” notes Ms. Watson. “So there was mourning, but at the same time we had to defend our place.”
The tragedy occurred amid the global economic crisis. Julie’s mother, Joanne David, took the helm of the company and dared to ride the wave. “She’s a very strong woman. Seeing her go through that taught me a lot. Now, when I think I’m facing problems, I tell myself that if she could get through it, I can get through whatever is happening to me.”
Women looking toward the future
Ms. David’s strategic efforts bore fruit. By 2017, when the daughter took over the family business, she was in an advantageous position. “We are truly regarded as innovators,” she emphasizes. “Manufacturers and forward‑looking clients approach us to work on tomorrow’s projects.”
The SME is now present in more than 50 countries and in thousands of factories, doing business with partners such as HP, Canon, Ricoh, Horizon, and Meccanotecnica. “The printing world isn’t going to disappear,” says Ms. Watson. Some products, like paper newspapers, may be fewer, but at the same time other formats are emerging, such as photo albums and custom‑made objects.
Julie Watson also shines a light on female leadership in an industry still dominated by men. She is the director of the Canadian division of Women in Tech and a mentor with Girls Who Print. This year she was among the “Rising Stars” medalists in the family‑business category. Most notably, she became the second woman to win the prestigious AQT CEO‑of‑the‑Year award.
“I hope this will inspire others, because as a woman,” she says, “we don’t always tend to put ourselves forward for that award.”
Why Ultimate Tech?
Because a Quebec‑based, internationally‑renowned technology SME led by a woman deserves to be highlighted.
Source: LaPresse.ca | The original article can be found here.
Original article by : Lila Dussault