It's that time of year again – OBJ's annual Forty Under 40 awards, meant to celebrate a slice of the city's top business talent who haven't yet hit the big four-oh. And what a group we have this year.

From high-performance athletic trainers to human resources specialists, restaurateurs to accountants and land developers to event planners, this year's recipients truly illustrate the cross-section of industries that make Ottawa such a vibrant place to do business. We've even thrown the head of a music management company into the mix.

"While very time-consuming, reviewing nominations for the Forty Under 40 Awards is absolutely fascinating and rewarding. It's incredible to get an inside look at the varied business success stories in Ottawa," says OBJ publisher Michael Curran.

"It is both humbling and inspiring for the judges to see entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners break through all types of obstacles to connect with customers, build revenues and grow businesses. You walk away with an upbeat feeling about the city's economic future."

All recipients demonstrated keen interest in improving their community, while at the same time showing incredible business acumen and unrivalled expertise in each of their market sectors.

Finally, we'd like to thank the judging committee: Rogers Communications Inc.'s regional vice-president Robin McIntyre, OCRI's Michael Burnatowski, CEO and co-founder of Cellwand Communications Nick Quain, OBJ publisher Michael Curran, and OBJ editor Jim Donnelly.

For more information on this year's Forty Under 40 awards gala, visit www.FortyUnder40.com.

To download a ticket order form, please click here http://www.fortyunder40.com/40-40-TICKET-FORM.pdf

Forty Under 40 2009 Recipients:

• Michael Alam (Fidus Systems Inc.)

• Jay Ankersmit (Ottawa High Performance Centre)

• Robert Beauchamp (RJR Innovations Inc.)

• Marie Boivin (Accu-Rate Corp.)

• Thomas Burnett (MDS Nordion)

• Tyler Burns (Wi-LAN Inc.)

• Jody Campeau (Maplesoft Consulting)

• Curtis Dodd (Wi-LAN Inc.)

• Ryan Donovan (Cactus Commerce)

• Craig Dowden (Andre Filion and Associates)

• Timothy Gordon (Event Makers Inc.)

• Caroline Gosselin (Restaurant e18hteen)

• David Gourlay (Oracle)

• Spencer Grabe (DICA Electronics Ltd.)

• Justine Hendricks (Export Development Canada)

• Rosa Maria Iuliano (Collins Barrow Ottawa LLP)

• Erin Kelly (Ottawa Chamber of Commerce)

• Robert Kinghan (Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l.)

• Rahul Kochar (Phoenix Homes)

• Jay Lawrence (Infonium Inc.)

• Geoff MacDonald (KPMG)

• Todd Macuda (Gladstone Aerospace Consulting)

• Jeff Matheson (Globex)

• Patrick McGarry (Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Inc.)

• Mike McLean (Semiconductor Insights)

• Curt Millar (Zip.ca)

• Andrew Milne (bv02)

• Tuan Nguyen (Open Space Marketing)

• Rebecca Page (Concierge Home Services)

• Keith Parker (The Proposal Centre)

• Paul Power (Confluence Consulting)

• Justin Richard (The Artistic Group)

• Andrew Rizk (Canadian Red Cross)

• Aaron Robinson (Ottawa Senators Hockey Club )

• Paul Rushforth (Keller Williams Ottawa Realty)

• Carley Schelck (The Urban Element)

• Akash Sinha (Dharma Developments)

• William Thompson (Ajilon Consulting)

• Michael Wood (City Lights Entertainment)

• Rob Woodbridge (Rove Inc.)