Laurent Robert Beaudoin (; born May 13, 1938) is a Canadian businessman from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. 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.

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, 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, Learjet, and

de Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) 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 ...

. In June 2000, Beaudoin was named a member of the advisory board of Lazard 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 () 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 ...

. In 1989 he was named a Fellow of the ''Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec'', and also Companion of the

. The next year he became and Officer 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 ...

. 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 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, 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; ) 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-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

, York University,

Université de Sherbrooke The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS; Quebec English, English: ''University of Sherbrooke'') is a French-language Public university, public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the Mont ...

, Université Sainte-Anne,

Bishop's University Bishop's University () 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 Quebec, Anglican Bishop of Quebec ...

, Queen's University, Belfast (Northern Ireland),

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, Carleton University, McGill University and Concordia University.

Footnotes

External links

Laurent Beaudoin
at The Canadian Encyclopedia *
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