Albert Jean de Grandpré (14 September 1921 – 31 July 2022) was a Canadian lawyer and businessman who served as the president and chief executive officer of Bell Canada Enterprises Inc.

Life and career

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Quebec, he was educated at

Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf , motto_translation = I chose the path of truth , established = , type = Private secondary school and Collegiate , religious_affiliation = Non-denominational, formerly Jesuit , endowment = , dean ...

and received a BCL from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

in 1943. He joined Bell Canada as a general counsel in 1966 and was made president in 1973. He became chairman and CEO in 1976 and was the first chairman and CEO when the BCE holding company was created in 1983. He retired from the company in 1989. From 1984 until 1991, he was the fifteenth Chancellor of McGill University. Since 1996, he has been chairman of the board of Theratechnologies, a Canadian biopharmaceutical company. Grandpré turned 100 in September 2021, and died on 31 July 2022.

Honours and awards

In 1981, he was made an 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 cen ...

. He was promoted to Companion in 1987. Grandpré has received honorary doctorates from the

University of Quebec A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

(1979), McGill University (1981),

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- ...

(1989), the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

(1982), and

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, w ...

(1983).

References

1921 births 2022 deaths French Quebecers Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian centenarians Chancellors of McGill University Companions of the Order of Canada Lawyers from Montreal McGill University Faculty of Law alumni Men centenarians {{Canada-business-bio-stub