NBIF portfolio company walks away on top at KIRA Awards

By Alexandra Davis – Daily Gleaner | link to original article

Radian6 walked away the big winner at the KIRA Awards on Thursday night.

The Fredericton social media monitoring company was nominated in the export product and employment growth categories, and took home both awards.

The 12th annual KIRA Awards, hosted by Enterprise Fredericton, were held at the Delta Fredericton Hotel. The event honoured innovation and achievement in New Brunswick's knowledge industry, and handed out seven awards to companies and individuals from across the province.

Marcel LeBrun, CEO of Radian6, said that while it's always nice to be recognized, his company doesn't focus much on winning industry awards.

“We like these events, but whether we win or not is not relevant,” he said. “We focus on building our business (and) serving customers. Those are the things we want to feel proud about.

“I think events like this are great because they tell stories that other people need to hear and encourage other people to venture out and do things.”

He said the past year has been an excellent one for Radian6, and it's exciting to be involved in an industry that's on the rise.

“We're outgrowing a lot of startup companies anywhere in the world, with triple digit percentage growths that are hard to achieve,” LeBrun said.

“To do that, you have to have a number of ingredients come together – the right product at the right time and the right market – and all those things have come together for us last year and this year.”

He said Radian6's employee base has doubled in the last year, and he expects to see it double again in the year ahead.

LeBrun said he's expanding on the potential Radian6 demonstrated in 2008, when the company won the KIRA award for most promising startup.

“We can show that the Startup of the Year Award was a good decision two years ago,” he said. “It's not a curse award.”

Richard Jones, who left his position at Xwave to create Shift Energy in Saint John last year, was named Industry Person of the Year. He said he was thrilled by the nomination and he's always pleased to see the information technology industry receive recognition.

“I'm a firm believer in IT as a driver of the provincial economy. Not just in the IT sector, but also to improving productivity in other industries,” he said. “If you look at any industry, information technology can be a key drive in improving productivity in that sector.”

RedBall Internet and the National Research Council – Institute for Information Technology jointly won the award for technology advancement/innovation – private sector. They were recognized for a project they recently completed for city transportation systems.

“The system gives you high-quality bandwidth service on the bus and you can manage bus schedules,” said Christian Couturier, general director of the institute. “You'll be able to text a number and know when to expect the bus. You'll also have improved productivity, as you'll be able to use a laptop while on the bus.”

Sean Adams, chief marketing officer for Moncton-based Red Ball Internet, said he was thrilled the product was recognized at the awards gala.

“It's one of the most advanced municipal mass transit management systems in the world,” he said. “We're honoured to have been nominated.”

The other winners were:

* Innovatia in the category of export service;

* NB Tourism and Parks for technology advancement/innovation – public sector;

* and Lymbix for most promising startup.

Premier Shawn Graham said the KIRA Awards are evidence of where New Brunswick's economy is heading. He said the province's future looks bright.

“Our economy used to be based mainly on industries that relied on our natural resources, but nowadays we're capitalizing more and more on our intellectual resources,” he said.

“It just goes to show how New Brunswick's knowledge industry has grown over the years. There are now over 571 innovative companies in this sector. Together, they maintain good jobs for more than 8,100 people. And they add about $1 billion to our economy every year.

“It's my hope these numbers will continue to grow. And I'm confident they will. That's because there are many people dedicated to making it happen.”