Paradigm has new owner, but same name and team
Brand now part of SEB company
Paradigm Consulting Group Inc., an information technology (IT) company started in Regina in 1990, has a new owner, but the company’s president and CEO says the change is mostly behind the scenes.
“I call it business as usual — plus, plus, plus,’’ said Mark Hustak, who cofounded Paradigm nearly 25 years ago. “Our relationships with our customers won’t change. We need all of our employees, so there’s no change there. If anything, it means a lot more growth.”
Paradigm and Winnipegbased PCGI Consulting Services, which was formed in 1999 as a subsidiary company, are now officially a part of Smart Employee Benefits Inc. (SEB), after a lengthy period of due diligence and financial negotiations. The acquisition was announced last August.
“The process started in the fall, which took us to Christmas. (The deal) was supposed to close over Christmas, but it took quite a bit of time to get the banking done. We signed the agreements on Dec. 31, got all the banking approvals and corporate reorganization done and that resulted in the closing (last) Friday.’’
Hustak said Mississaugabased SEB was looking for an IT partner in the area of health care and benefits managements in Western Canada and Paradigm fit the bill. SEB also wanted to keep Paradigm’s brand, management and IT professional team intact.
“(SEB) wanted to consolidate everything into one (company). So we decided to amalgamate everything under Paradigm Consulting Group and operate under the brand, Paradigm Consulting Group Inc., an SEB company,’’ Hustak said.
“We get to keep our corporate identity and continue to operate as Paradigm in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and that’s the brand (we) will take forward into other Western provinces. So we’re very excited about that.’’
Paradigm employs about 150 IT consultants. Hustak said the merger with publicly traded SEB is an “excellent corporate fit” that will allow Paradigm to increase the breadth of services it offers to customers, including Crown corporations, government agencies, insurance companies and utilities. “It provides opportunities for our people to work in Ottawa or anywhere,” Hustak added.
SEB has two divisions, the benefits division and the technology division, providing business processes software, solutions and services to corporate and government clients, focused on managing group benefits and health claims processing.
With the acquisition of Paradigm, SEB now has offices in Regina, Winnipeg, Mississauga, Ottawa and North Bay, Ont., as well as India and the United Arab Emirates.