Laurent Robert Beaudoin (; born May 13, 1938) is a Canadian businessman from
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. From 1979 to 2003, he was the CEO of the transportation company Bombardier.
Early life
Beaudoin was born in
Laurier Station, Quebec. In 1959, while studying accounting at the University of Sherbrooke, he married Claire Bombardier, daughter of Canadian businessman
Joseph Armand Bombardier
Joseph-Armand Bombardier (; April 16, 1907 – February 18, 1964) was a Canadian inventor and businessman who was the founder of Bombardier. His most famous invention was the snowmobile.
Biography
Born in Valcourt, Quebec, Joseph-Armand Bombar ...
.
Career
Beaudoin began his career in 1961 in Sherbrooke, Quebec by founding a firm of chartered accountants, Beaudoin and Blais, soon followed by a second firm, Beaudoin, Morin, Dufresne & Associés. In 1963 he joined the family business, L’Auto-Neige Bombardier Limited, as comptroller. He was named president of the company in 1966, shortly after Bombardier's death. He became chairman and chief executive officer of
Bombardier Inc. in 1979. Under his leadership, the company grew from a snowmobile manufacturer to the world's largest manufacturer of rail transportation equipment and to the world's third largest civil aircraft maker.
After taking the company's helm, Beaudoin took it public, then during the 1970s used the funds thus raised to grow Bombardier into a large rail transportation company.
In 1986 he oversaw Bombardier's entry into the aviation field through acquiring the assets of
Canadair
Canadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. In 1986, its assets were acquired by Bombardier Aerospace, the aviation division of Canadian transport conglomerate Bombardier Inc.
Canadair's origins lie in the establishm ...
, which had been manufacturing Challenger business jets and amphibious aircraft. He led the acquisition of other cash-starved companies; by 1992 he controlled
Short Brothers
Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...
,
Learjet, and
de Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...
.
In June 2000, Beaudoin was named a member of the Advisory Board of
Lazard
Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's lar ...
Canada.
Paul Tellier, CEO of Bombardier Inc. resigned as CEO and a director on December 13, 2004. Non-management independent directors Michael McCain and Mrs. Jalynn Bennett also resigned as directors of Bombardier Inc. at the same time.
A new Office of the President was then established with Executive Chairman Laurent Beaudoin as chair. His son, Pierre Beaudoin, then President and Chief Operating Officer of Bombardier Aerospace, became a member of the Office of the President and was appointed a director of Bombardier Inc.
In 2018 Beaudoin retired from Bombardier after 55 years.
Honours and recognition
In 1973 Beaudoin was named Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
. In 1989 he was named a Fellow of the ''Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec'', and also Companion of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
. The next year he became and Officer of the
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...
.
In 2000 Beaudoin was named one of the great Quebecers of the century by the Académie des Grands Québécois.
In 2008 he was presented with the International Michael Smurfit Business Achievement Award' by the Ireland Chamber, United States, and also received the ''Best Global Business Award'' from the
Canada China Business Council
The Canada China Business Council or CCBC (French: ''Conseil d'affaires Canada-Chine'', Chinese: ''加中贸易理事会'') is a private, non-profit business association founded in 1978 to facilitate and promote business, trade and investment betwe ...
in Beijing. The next year he was presented with the ''Grosse silberne ehrenzeichen mit dem stern'' by the President of the Republic of Austria.
In 2013 Beaudoin became a Companion of the
Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honou ...
, for services to British industry, particularly in Northern Ireland. The next year he was presented with the Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement by ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'' magazine
[''AW&ST'', March 24, 2014, p. 51, "From Snowmobiles to Regional Jets"]
Honorary doctorates
Beoudoin has received honorary doctorates from the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
,
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
,
Université de Sherbrooke
The University of Sherbrooke ( French: Université de Sherbrooke) (UdS) is a large public French-language university in Quebec, Canada with campuses located in Sherbrooke and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It ...
,
Université Sainte-Anne
Université Sainte-Anne is a French-language university in Pointe-de-l'Église, Nova Scotia, Canada. It and the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick are the only French-language universities in the Maritime Provinces.
History
It was founde ...
,
Bishop's University
Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...
,
Queen's University, Belfast
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(Northern Ireland),
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
,
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
,
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
and
Concordia University
Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
.
Footnotes
External links
Laurent Beaudoinat
The Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available fo ...
*
Laurent Beaudoin's profile at Bloomberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaudoin, Laurent
1938 births
Living people
Bombardier Inc.
Businesspeople from Quebec
Companions of the Order of Canada
Officers of the National Order of Quebec
People from Chaudière-Appalaches
The Carlyle Group people
Canadian chairpersons of corporations
Canadian chief executives
Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Bombardier family