Neil’s first experience with the company was as a client – he had hired Ascent in 2014, and he was so pleased with the experience that he and the company founder, Evan Wicklund, kept in touch. Once a year, they used to go out for a coffee or a beer and catch up. At one of those annual catchups, Evan confided that the company was “having all sorts of business challenges that they hadn’t been able to resolve.” “I had just finished a project, I had time on my hands, and I thought this could be a good fit,” Neil recalls. Neil is not personally a tradesman and had never run a trades company prior – but he had consulted for some, and “I’d worked for companies in almost every other industry,” he says. He describes himself as “a business man,” and he brought that business acumen and experience to his role at Ascent. In the nearly two years since, the company has evolved considerably under his leadership. “We had a very rough year last year,” he admits. “There were a lot of existing problems that were exacerbated by the material and labour costs increases associated with COVID.” “This year, wehave comeout the other side of it,” he says. “Our business has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. We have new processes, new procedures, new people, and new supporters. We fired a bunch of customers and we have a bunch of new customers on board. This year looks like it’s going to be a record year for us.” When he took over, Neil says his first priority was “to stop NOVEMBER 2022
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