The Ontario Broker - December 2019 - 16

W

hen I was growing up, one
of my favourite things about
school was going on field
trips. The combination of
getting out of the classroom to take in new
things was an exciting mix for an energetic
nerdy kid like me.
I was reminded of those trips when our
Marketing Team recently visited the
Communitech Hub in Kitchener. We were
invited by Wawanesa to check out their
Innovation Outpost-located within
Communitech-to learn about some of
the work they're doing. Andrew Godden &
Paul Murphy from Wawanesa's Business
development team and David Arbuthnot,
Director of Wawanesa's Innovation Outpost,
guided us through the space located in the
heart of Kitchener's Innovation District.

OUR DAY AT
WAWANESA'S
INNOVATION
OUTPOST
JEFF TOTH, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST, IBAO

DECEMBER 2019

16

David, who's based out of the Outpost, shared
a history of the building and surrounding area.
"Communitech is housed in the former Lang
Tannery, once the largest leather tannery in the
British Empire. Down the street is the former
headquarters of both the Kaufman Rubber
Company and the Rumpel Felt Company.
Sorel winter boots combined the area's skills
and products in an innovative way to solve a
challenging problem-how to keep your feet
warm and dry during Canada's harsh winters.
Now these spaces are occupied by companies
like Google and Shopify and hundreds of
startups big and small, but that spirit of
innovation and community lives on as we try to
solve new problems."
We toured the sprawling complex filled with
open-concept workspaces and graffiti-style
murals. Walking through the space you'd see
all the teams working on different things and
collaborating to solve complex problems. Many
of these bright minds were recruited directly
from post-secondary schools in KitchenerWaterloo.
A few years ago, Wawanesa adopted a mandate
to make innovation part of its mission
to improve the customer experience and

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The Ontario Broker - December 2019

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