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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, May 29, 2014 | 6 Spotlight "Connected to your Community" Meteorologist Dayna Vettese in the control room at The Weather Network. Its parent company, Pelmorex Media Inc., is celebrating its 25th anniversary. | photo by Nikki Wesley ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) The Weather Network's proud parent -- turning 25 by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff O akville entrepreneur Pierre Morrissette says having a vision early and never letting up on it has been paramount to his company's success. The company, Pelmorex Media Inc., which is The Weather Network's parent, was created by Morrissette from the ground up in 1989 with a goal of being a national communications business that served the Canadian market in both languages. Headquartered at 2655 Bristol Circle in Oakville, it employs more than 500 people globally and 369 in Oakville. It's celebrating its 25th anniversary this year -- and the successes it has had along the way as it transformed from being a television station to a multi-platform, all-encompassing interna- tional media company. "For an entrepreneur to achieve a 25-year milestone is a very proud achievement because it's very challenging," said Morrissette, re ecting on the business. The Oakville resident credits a "great team along the way dedicated toward making us a market leader in our category." "We do a pretty good job at understanding the needs of Canadians and meeting those needs across all the different devices that Canadians use to access information," the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Award recipient continued. "There aren't many media companies in Canada who operate internationally and do so successfully and we're one of them and that's another thing we're very proud of." Morrissette handed the CEO reigns to Ron Close last year, but continues to be integral to the companies' operations as the executive Pierre Morrissette chairman of the board. He shared with the Oakville Beaver how Pelmorex "lucked into the weather category," quickly carving a niche for itself when it purchased MétéoMédia and The Weather Network in 1993. Now, The Weather Network's reach in Canada averages more than 22 million across all its platforms. It was also named one of Canada's leading brands this year, placing 12th on Ipsos Reid's third annual study of Canada's 100 Most In uential Brands. Morrissette said the company continues to invest in digital technology. Over the last few years, it's taken over Spain's leading multi-platform weather information provider El Tiempo Previsto and just last year expanded The Weather Network into the United Kingdom. see The on p.7 NEIL OLIVER Vice ­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Volume 52 | Number 64 447 Speers Road, Oakville ON (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Advertising Department (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4444 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 DANIEL BAIRD Director of Advertising ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor