HAMILTON, ON — MINA Medical Marketing has been named the 2026 Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Under 40) at the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce’s 42nd annual Outstanding Business Achievement Awards, held on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at Carmen’s Event Centre. According to the Hamilton Chamber, this year’s gala was the largest in the event’s history, with more than 650 attendees gathering to celebrate business excellence across the city.
The win marks an important milestone for MINA Medical Marketing, a healthcare-focused digital marketing agency founded in Hamilton and now serving clinics, specialists, and healthcare organizations across Canada. Earlier this year, the company was announced as a finalist in the same category. It has now officially taken home one of the city’s most recognized business honours.
Presented annually by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, the Outstanding Business Achievement Awards recognize organizations and leaders making an impact through entrepreneurship, innovation, community engagement, and alignment with strong mission-driven values. In its official announcement, the Chamber said recipients were selected by an independent panel of judges and noted that this year’s winners reflected the “strength and momentum” of Hamilton’s business community.
A Hamilton-founded company now serving healthcare organizations across Canada
MINA Medical Marketing was founded in Hamilton with a focused mission: to help clinics, private practices, and healthcare organizations grow through digital marketing built specifically for the healthcare sector. While the company’s roots are in Hamilton, its work now extends across Canada, supporting medical, dental, and specialist healthcare brands through services including medical SEO, website design and development, digital patient acquisition, and long-term content strategy.
For MINA, the significance of the award is twofold. It is meaningful local recognition in the city where the company was founded, and it also reflects the momentum of a business that has grown beyond Hamilton into a national healthcare niche.
Recognition in a credibility-driven industry
Healthcare marketing is one of the most trust-sensitive areas in digital strategy. Clinics and healthcare organizations operate in environments where patient trust, clear communication, and professional credibility matter. MINA Medical Marketing has built its model around those realities, focusing exclusively on healthcare and developing systems tailored to the needs of medical brands.
That specialization has helped the company build across a wide range of healthcare categories, while also supporting institution-connected initiatives in Hamilton’s broader healthcare ecosystem.
A win that reflects momentum
In the Hamilton Chamber’s official post-event announcement, President & CEO Greg Dunnett said, “Each year, the OBAAs celebrate the people and organizations driving Hamilton forward,” adding that this year’s recipients reflected the “strength and momentum” of the local business community.
That sense of momentum was echoed in a post by Joseph Apps, Chair of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce’s YEP Division, who presented the Young Entrepreneur award that evening. In his remarks after the event, he congratulated Dean Murad and the MINA team, describing the company as “a Hamilton-based healthcare marketing agency growing across Canada” and calling it “focused, specialized, and making real impact.” He also noted that it was “exactly the kind of entrepreneurial story this community deserves to celebrate.”
A note from founder Dean Murad
Following the event, founder Dean Murad reflected on the moment in a public post, writing that receiving the award was difficult to put into words and that building MINA Medical Marketing had been “one of the most meaningful journeys” of his life. He also emphasized what the recognition meant in the city where the company began, saying it meant a great deal “to stand among Hamilton’s best in the city where it all started for us.”
Murad added that the company has had the privilege of helping Canadian physicians and healthcare organizations grow and reach more patients, and that the recognition made him even more excited for what lies ahead.
A Full-Circle Moment in Hamilton Healthcare
In his acceptance remarks, Dean Murad also gave special recognition to Hamilton’s healthcare community, including teams at McMaster Children’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.
For Murad, that acknowledgment carried personal meaning. As a child, he received care within Hamilton’s healthcare system following a serious eye injury. Years later, standing on stage in Hamilton and announcing that MINA Medical Marketing had been selected to support the launch of an upcoming retina disease research and clinical care initiative connected to McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton marked a genuine full-circle moment.
That announcement also reflects the direction of the company’s work today: supporting the digital growth, communication, and visibility of specialized healthcare initiatives, including those in retina and ophthalmology marketing. More details about MINA’s involvement in the upcoming initiative can be found in the agency’s earlier retina initiative announcement.
Celebrating Hamilton’s broader business community
MINA Medical Marketing was one of several organizations and leaders recognized at the 2026 OBAAs. According to the Hamilton Chamber’s official winners announcement, this year’s recipients included:
- Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Under 40): MINA Medical Marketing
- Hamilton Citizen of the Year: Joseph Mancinelli
- Hamilton Executive of the Year: Ian Hamilton, HOPA Ports
- Century Award (100+ Years in Business): Ross & McBride LLP
- IDEA Award: Keetup Publishing House
- Large Business Award: AIM Recycling Hamilton
- Mid-Sized Business Award: TradePort International / Hamilton International Airport
- Small Business Award: Open Road Systems Inc.
- Not-for-Profit Organization Award: Hamilton Food Share
The event also included special recognitions for Oak View Group and Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group as Tourism Champions of the Year, and Norm Schleehahn for a Recognition of Service Award.
Building from Hamilton, growing nationwide
For MINA Medical Marketing, this award is not just a reflection of one night. It is part of a broader story: a Hamilton-founded company building national momentum in a highly specialized field, while continuing to strengthen its ties to the city’s business and healthcare communities.
More updates will be shared soon as the company continues to expand its work across Canada and deepen its involvement in healthcare-focused initiatives.
About MINA Medical Marketing
MINA Medical Marketing is a Canadian healthcare-focused digital marketing agency that works with clinics, private practices, and healthcare organizations across the country. The agency specializes in medical SEO, website design and development, content strategy, and digital patient acquisition for healthcare providers in high-trust, highly competitive markets.
