Marc Parent (born February 5, 1961) is a French-Canadian business executive, mechanical engineer, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He has been the president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of CAE since 2009.

Early life and education

Marc Parent was born in

Verdun, Quebec Verdun (; , ) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, located in the southwestern part of the island. Long known as a working class neighbourhood, it has experienced significant gentrification and social change in the 21 ...

. At the age of 12, he joined the 51st Air Cadet squadron in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. He later switched to the 783rd Air Cadet squadron in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Parent obtained his pilot's license through the Air Cadets at the age of 17. He remained in the Air Cadets for a total of 6 years. Parent graduated from the Polytechnique Montréal in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

. In 2012, Parent received an honorary doctorate from the same institution. Parent is a graduate of the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

Advanced Management Program An Advanced Management Program (AMP) is an intensive non-degree senior executive education program often offered by elite business schools and aimed at senior managers and government officials. It is offered by business schools in several parts of ...

Career

Canadair and Bombardier

Parent began his engineering career as an aerospace engineer with Canadair in 1984. He started as an engineer on the

Challenger Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...

and Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) programs. Following the sale of Canadair to Bombardier by the

Mulroney government The Twenty-Fourth Canadian Ministry was the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. It governed Canada from 17 September 1984 to 25 June 1993, including the 33rd Canadian Parliament and most of the 34th. The government was formed by ...

in 1986, Parent continued his work on those programs. In 1987, he became manager of the Challenger's mechanical systems, with the mandate of fixing the aircraft's teething problems. In 1990, he was made responsible for setting up the Bombardier flight testing and certification center in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. In 1993, Parent's responsibilities were expanded, as he was promoted to project director for the Challenger 604. Soon after Bombardier's acquisition of De Haviland Canada, Parent was put in charge of the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 program. In 1998, he was named as Bombardier's vice president, Program Management, making him responsible for all of Bombardier's aircraft development programs, including the Global Express, the Learjet 45, the CRJ, and the upcoming

Challenger 300 The Bombardier Challenger 300 is a range business jet made by Bombardier Aerospace. Announced at the 1999 Paris Air Show, it made its maiden flight on 14 August 2001, received its Canadian type approval on 31 May 2003 and was introduced on 8 J ...

. From 2000 to 2004, Parent held various executive positions within Bombardier. In 2000, he was promoted to vice president, Operations, for Bombardier's De Havilland facility in Toronto, Canada. In 2001, he was named vice president and general manager of operations for that facility. In 2003, he was promoted to vice president and general manager, U.S. operations. In 2004, Parent returned to Bombardier's Montreal facility in order to take on the role of vice president and general manager of the Challenger 300, Challenger 604, 850/870, and CRJ-200 aircraft programs.

CAE

In February 2005, Parent joined CAE to take on the role of group president, Simulation Products. CAE had been financially struggling since 2004, and Parent was hired to correct the situation. In 2006, he was promoted to group president, Simulation Products and Military Training & Services. His role at CAE was once again expanded in 2008, as he was promoted to executive vice president and

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

. As executive vice president and COO, he was responsible for all four of the company's business segments and all new growth initiatives. In November 2008, he joined CAE's board of directors. Following the retirement of CAE's CEO Robert E. Brown August 12, 2009, CAE's board of directors announced that Parent would be chosen as his successor. Parent officially became president and chief executive officer of CAE in October 2009. As president and CEO, Parent focused on expanding CAE's position in the flight training business and diversifying CAE's product portfolio, including expansion into the healthcare sector. Under his leadership, CAE expanded its core military training in the U.S. through the acquisition of L3 Harris' military training business. Under Parent's leadership, CAE became the first carbon neutral Canadian aerospace company, and in January 2020, CAE was voted as one of Montreal's top employers.

COVID-19 response

With the shortages of

Personal Protective Equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...

(PPE) for healthcare workers and ventilators in Canada at the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and the loss of revenue caused due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic, Parent shifted CAE's focus towards helping Canada's COVID-19 response. Under Parent's leadership, CAE developed the CAE Air1™ ventilator, signing a contract with the Government of Canada to manufacture and supply 10,000 ventilators. In 2021, Parent led the charge in a mobilization effort with many large Quebec and Canadian companies to work with the government so they could expedite the vaccination effort by opening their own "vaccination hubs" for employees. CAE's vaccination centre opened in April 2021 and administered over 33,000 doses of vaccine.

Other corporate activities

Parent serves on the board of directors of Telus, McGill University Health Centre Foundation, and the Business Council of Canada (BCC). Parent chaired the board for Aero Montreal, Quebec's aerospace cluster, from 2008 until 2010. He is a past board member and chair for the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC). He also served as a member of the board of directors and executive committee for the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI).

Philanthropy

Parent is a trustee of the

Lakefield College School Lakefield College School (sometimes called LCS, The Grove or simply Lakefield) is a private day and boarding school located north of the village of Lakefield, Ontario. It was the first Canadian member of Round Square, an international affiliation ...

Foundation, and is a member of the Council of Governors for the greater

branch of the United Way Centraide Canada Organization. In 2013, he joined Michael E. Roach as co-president of the

Centraide United Way Centraide Canada (french: Centraide United Way Canada) is the national organization for the 71 autonomous, volunteer-based United Ways and Centraides across Canada. The United Way Movement in Canada is a federated network of local Unite ...

''Cabinet de Campagne''. In 2019, Parent made a donation of $3 million to

for the construction of a new student residence. The new residence will be named the "Parent House" in his honor. In 2019, he joined Jean Raby as co-president of the

Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

(MBAM)

Ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

. In 2020, Parent made a $100,000 donation to the

McGill University Health Centre The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC; french: Centre universitaire de santé McGill) is one of two major healthcare networks in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is affiliated with McGill University and is one of the largest medical complex in ...

(MUHC) Foundation. These funds were used to support research using the ''Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19'' (BQC19). In 2020, he joined Suzanne Legge Orr and Jean Charest as co-chairs of the MUHC Foundation's Dream Big campaign.

Awards and recognition

*2005: Aerospace Engineering Leadership Award, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) *2005: Forest R. McFarland award * 2011: Defence Executive of the Year, Canadian Defence Review * 2012: Honorary Doctorate, Polytechnique Montréal * 2016: Merit Award, Association of Polytechnique Graduates * 2018: CEO of the year, Les Affaires * 2019: James C. Floyd award * 2020: Defence Executive of the Year, Canadian Defence Review * 2020: Bernard-Landry prize * 2020:

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 ...

*2021: Prix Prospère, Conseil du patronat du Québec *2021: Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame *2022: Industry Leader of the Year award, Living Legends of Aviation *2022: Panthéon de l’Air et de l’Espace du Québec

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parent, Marc Canadian businesspeople 1961 births Living people People from Verdun, Quebec Harvard Business School alumni Canadian mechanical engineers Université de Montréal alumni Members of the Order of Canada