Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 52
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CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS (2026)
Curiosity and culture drive innovation at ProServeIT
I
f our people are thriving,
our clients will be too,” says
Eric Sugar, president of
ProServeIT Corporation.
That belief shapes how the
company develops leaders and
delivers complex digital and AI
initiatives across cloud, data,
security and modern work. The
result is a culture where curiosity
is rewarded, growth is intentional,
and care is embedded in
daily operations.
ProServeIT, headquartered in
the Greater Toronto Area with
offices in Charlottetown, Chicago,
Paris and Ho Chi Minh City, is
guided by three core values: “people matter,” “be like Gumby,” and
“do it right.” These values shape
employee hiring, development,
and support.
At the centre of that culture
is one defining trait, says Sugar.
“The key trait is curiosity.” He
explains that it’s how people
grow, build confidence and thrive
in a fast-moving technology
environment.
“It’s not technical skills or experience in technology,” he adds.
“It’s ‘Are you curious and can you
apply that curiosity and care to
our customers?’ Because customer
service and curiosity are the only
two things that are important.
Everything else we can teach and
build and coach people through.”
This mindset shapes how
ProServeIT approaches growth
and innovation, he says. When
the company’s AI practice began
expanding, a project manager
expressed interest in joining and
leadership was more than ready to
support their growth.
“So, we helped them with
Microsoft course material and
collaborative training,” recalls
Sugar. “We put them through our
client-facing AI training. They
transitioned into an AI consulting
role because they were curious,
they had questions. They were
willing to invest their own time as
well as company time to learn
and grow.”
ProServeIT fosters internal
growth by prioritizing internal
hires and developing leadership
through mentorship, project
ownership and shadowing.
“Motivated and curious hires, even
from non-IT fields like banking or
legal, can grow into IT roles here,”
says Sugar.
That same philosophy shapes
the company’s internship program. Marketing assistant Kaavya
Shah, who joined as an intern and
works full time on the marketing
team, describes the program as
one of the most supportive she
has experienced.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been part
of an internship program that gave
you that much access to others,”
Shah says. “You really see how
people built their careers here.”
Another cultural touchpoint
Shah shared is the company’s
Passion Talk initiative, where
team members present informal
talks about personal interests to
colleagues. “You can talk about
anything you’re passionate about,”
says Shah. “You present to everyone and although it’s casual, it’s
a great way to build presentation
skills when the stakes aren’t
super high.”
These simple rituals reflect
ProServeIT’s core vision for its
company culture. “We describe
ourselves as people first,” says
Shah. “When people think of
tech companies, they picture
something cold or detached. We
want to make tech feel a lot more
approachable, warm and friendly.”
We want to make tech feel a lot more approachable,
warm and friendly.
— Kaavya Shah
Marketing Assistant
The marketing team at ProServeIT Corporation with the organization's teddy bear mascots, Hope and Hugo.
