Albert "Aldo" Bensadoun (born 1939), is a Canadian-Moroccan businessman. He is the founder and executive chairman of Aldo, a retail shoe company based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, Canada. Bensadoun's family foundation donated $25 million to

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

to help found the Bensadoun School of Retail Management.

Early life

Aldo Bensadoun () was born in Fez to a

Moroccan Jewish Moroccan Jews (; ; ) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews began immigrating to the region as early as 70 CE. They were much later met by a second wave of migrants fro ...

family; his father was a shoe retailer in Fez, Morocco and France. Bensadoun moved to the United States for his post-secondary education. He attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

before relocating to Montreal and graduating from

with a commerce degree in 1964.

Career

He worked at Yellow Shoes before founding the precursor to the Aldo Group in 1972 as a stand within the

Le Château Le Château Inc. () is a fashion company, currently owned by Suzy's Inc. The chain was founded in 1959 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and designed, imported, and retailed women's and men's apparel, accessories, and footwear. In 2015, the company ...

store in Montreal. As of July 2020, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' estimated his net worth at US$1.1 billion.

Honours

Bensadoun is a recipient of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. He is a recipient of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

, and the Ordre de Montréal.

Personal life

Bensadoun has been married twice. His first wife was a Scottish

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

; they had two sons: David (born 1970) and Douglas (born 1973). His second wife is Dianne Bibeau;L'Actualite: "Aldo : l’homme qui vous fait marcher" by Kathy Noël
18 novembre 2012 , ''"La seconde épouse du fondateur, Dianne Bibeau – de 17 ans sa cadette -, travaille aussi dans l'entreprise. De même que les deux fils d'Aldo?: David, 42 ans, et Douglas, 39 ans. La petite dernière, Daniela, 21 ans..."'' they have a daughter, Daniela (born 1991). His son David is the CEO of the Aldo Group La Presse: "Aldo Bensadoun: le génie du detail" by Jean-Philippe Décarie
11 février 2012 and is married to Isabelle Poirier. Bensadoun lives in Montreal. In 2012, his son, David, along with Patrick Beaule were the first Canadian four wheel team to complete the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

.Wheels Canada: "David Bensadoun, Patrick Beaule become first Canadians to finish Dakar Rally on four wheels" by Lawrence Hacking
January 19, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bensadoun, Aldo 1939 births Living people Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian Jews Canadian philanthropists Moroccan philanthropists Knights of the National Order of Quebec Cornell University alumni McGill University Faculty of Management alumni Moroccan emigrants to Canada 20th-century Moroccan Jews