After spending the last two decades turning his business into a global video production powerhouse, Ross Video CEO David Ross is looking to take the company even further – with dozens of new jobs set to open up in Ottawa within the next year.
The 900-person company provides high-end video production equipment and services for live events all over the world, including the Oscars, major sporting competitions and even White House briefings.
While COVID-19 took a toll in early 2020, forcing the cancellation of virtually all major events and festivals, the business quickly rebounded in the fall and helped Ross Video mark its 29th straight year of revenue growth.
“We had so much upward momentum that the pandemic couldn’t slow us down,” Ross says, noting the company’s revenues grew four per cent despite the difficult operating environment.
Heading into 2021, Ross says he expects the business to see around 15 per cent growth, which is driving the company’s need for more staff.
Ross Video is looking to hire 200 new employees, with 100 of them expected to land in Ottawa – split between the company’s Kanata North and Nepean locations.
The bulk of the new hires will support the research and development side of the business, which is firing on all cylinders thanks to some creative thinking during the pandemic.
A team of Ross Video employees in the U.S. designed a new system for hyper-remote video production, allowing all of the audio and video components of an event broadcast to be controlled from home – just one example of the new products the team is working on bringing to market world wide.
“We’re pretty excited about how COVID moved our industry forward by five years inside of five months,” says Ross. “My goal is to grow our R&D side to 1,000 employees, simply because I already know all the sorts of things that these people could be working on right now if I had them.”
Calling Kanata North home
As Ross Video continues to collaborate with telecom and data connectivity companies to grow its remote network capabilities, the Kanata North location stands out given its proximity to Canada’s largest technology park and big name players who also call the area home.
Ross Video currently has about 30 people working in Kanata North and is well positioned for growth. The office recently underwent a massive expansion and renovation, so the team is prepared to welcome new hires in 2021.
With a “collaborative rather than competitive” culture at the office, Ross is excited to welcome new members to the team, and looks forward to adding to the growing list of talented and innovative employees working at Ross Video.
“Having access to a talent pool that exists in that area is just fantastic,” he says. “The more great jobs we have in Kanata North, the more talented people it attracts. That gives employers and employees more choice, and then all boats rise.”
If you’re interested in joining the Ross Video team in Kanata North, visit https://www.discovertechnata.com to see available positions.