National Capital Region's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 28
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NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
Innovation and collaboration help Qlik employees thrive
E
ven before she got
the call inviting her
to apply at Qlik, Julia
Ricketti already knew
about the company.
“The bus I took to work passed
right by their offices,” she says.
“They had a huge company sign
out front and it was a pretty cool
looking building, too.” At the time,
Ricketti was working as a software
engineer at a smaller Ottawa
company and wondered what it
would be like to work for a larger
organization. From the start, it
turned out to be a dream job.
Her first impression of the
friendly culture was very positive.
“I remember that soon after I
started, I felt like I had been here
forever — but in a very good way.
I immediately got along with
everyone.”
Everything I want for
my career development
is already available to
me.
— Julia Ricketti
Software Engineer
Qlik is a global leader in data
integration, quality, analytics and
artificial intelligence, helping
businesses derive value and
insights from their data. When
Ruthann Wry, chief people
officer, joined the company 11
years ago, she recognized there
was something special about the
people and the culture.
Initially, she thought it would be
for a shorter-term consultant role.
Employees at Qlik connect at one of the organization’s many seasonal group social events.
“If you told me I’d still be working,
I would have said, ‘no way’ but
I’m proud of the culture we have
created. At Qlik, people feel like
they can belong and want to be
here. Whether we’re giving back,
through our internal charitable
platform, to the communities
that we serve or doing things for
the care and protection of our
employees to ensure they are
treated fairly, I think we’ve done a
good job,” she says.
Continuous learning and
innovation are the hallmarks of
the culture. Since 2020, Qlik has
offered a virtual classroom that
gives employees access to 1,500
courses from professors at top
universities like Duke, Stanford
and Columbia.
Qlik’s commitment to
continuous learning is something
Ricketti appreciates. “Everything
I want for my career development
is already available to me,” she
says. Employees meet with their
managers to set both professional
and personal goals. “There are
whole libraries on multiple
platforms, and managers reserve
a certain percentage of the
employee’s working hours to
professional development and
innovation,” says Ricketti.
Qlik also places a strong
emphasis on strengthening the
capability of leaders through
online learning and in-person
training. Recently, the company
invited 30 high-potential leaders
from around the globe to Boston
for a three-day accelerated
leadership event.
“We make sure our leaders
have the tools and insights they
need,” says Wry. “We have a
roll-up-your-sleeves culture
where it’s less about ‘staying in
your lane’ and more about caring
about the people and the overall
outcome. In leadership team
meetings, everyone can express
their opinion, and we have healthy
debates. Once a decision is made,
we lock arms on it and have each
other’s back.”
To support the company
culture and cross-functional
collaboration, Qlik prioritizes
