Pierre J. Jeanniot O.C., C.Q. (; April 9, 1933 – June 22, 2025) was a Canadian businessman. He was president and CEO of JINMAG Inc., a consulting, management and investment company which he created in 1990.

Life and career

Jeanniot was born in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, France on April 9, 1933. He held the honorary title of Director General Emeritus of the

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

(IATA) in recognition of his major contribution to civil aviation worldwide as Director General and CEO, which he headed from 1993 to 2002. Under his leadership, IATA was transformed into the acknowledged leader of international civil aviation, promoting the interests of the airline community and its partners around the world, and becoming a major supplier of products and services for the industry. Following his retirement from IATA, Jeanniot was chairman of the board of THALES Canada Inc., a subsidiary of the international

THALES group Thales S.A., Trade name, trading as Thales Group (), is a French multinational corporation, multinational aerospace and defence industry, defence corporation specializing in electronics. It designs, develops and manufactures a wide variety of aer ...

, from 2003 to 2009. Jeanniot was president and CEO of

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

from 1984 to 1990. During this time, he directed and implemented the privatization of the State-owned airline, and headed it for the next two years. He previously held senior positions in Operations, Marketing, Strategic Planning and Technical Services, and contributed directly to the development of the first comprehensive flight data recorder - the famous “

Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

”.Desrosiers 2009, https://www.ledevoir.com/economie/transport/274950/l-entrevue-peut-on-voler-sans-risquer-la-faillite. Jeanniot served on the board of

Scotiabank The Bank of Nova Scotia (), operating as Scotiabank (), is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada's Big Five (banks), Big Five banks, it is the ...

from 1990 to 2004. He was a long-standing member of Scotia's executive committee, chairman of its Human Resources and Compensation Committee for senior executives, and chairman of its Succession Committee. He also served on Scotia's Audit Committee and its Corporate Governance Committee. Jeanniot also served on the board of directors of airlines and telecommunications companies, airports, air navigation authorities and publishing houses. He served on the Board of a number of hi-tech companies. In addition to his professional duties, Jeanniot devoted himself to many social and charitable organizations. He was Chancellor of the

Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...

, from 1995 to 2009, having previously held the position of chairman of the board, as well as president of the institution’s foundation. Jeanniot was Honorary President of the

Canadian Cancer Society The Canadian Cancer Society () is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada. History The Saskatchewan Medical Association formed Canada's first cancer committee in 1929, whi ...

fund-raising campaign, and presided in a similar capacity for the Youth and Music Canada Foundation. He served as chairman of the Canadian Unity Council from 1991 to 1992, and was the Founding Chairman of the association “Canadians in Europe” with chapters in France, Belgium and the U.K.Lumley 2010, p. 1439. In March 2008, he became the founding chairman of the international Foundation on Antivirals, which promotes the research and development of drugs for neglected and emerging diseases in developing countries. Jeanniot died 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 ...

on June 22, 2025, at the age of 92.

Honours

Jeanniot’s efforts and accomplishments have been recognized by countries and institutions around the world. He 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, and was appointed Chevalier de la

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

by the French government in 1991.O’Toole 2001, p. 40. In 1995, H.M. King Hussein of Jordan awarded him the Independence Medal of the First Order, and he was named to l’

Ordre national du Québec 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 (National ...

in 2002. Jeanniot was honoured with a Doctorat Honoris Causa, from the

Université du Québec The Université du Québec () is a system of ten provincially-run public universities in Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters are in Quebec City. The university coordinates 1400 programs for over 100,000 students. The government of Quebec founded ...

in 1988. He received the Management Achievement Award of

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, ...

’s Faculty of Management in 1989, the Prix Rogers Demers – des Gens de l’Air in 1990, an Honorary Doctorate in International Law from

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

in 1997, and an Honorary Doctorate in Science from

in 2006. In 2004, he was inducted into the Québec Air and Space Hall of Fame, and he was made a Fellow of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest Aeronautics, aeronautical society in the world. Memb ...

in January 2008.

Education

Jeanniot held a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics at Sir George Williams University (now

), Business Administration at

in Montreal and Advanced Statistical Mathematics at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

References

External links

*
La mémoire des leaders : Pierre Jeanniot (interview of Pierre Jeanniot by journalist René Vézina from ''Les Affaires'' – in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeanniot, Pierre Jean 1933 births 2025 deaths Businesspeople in aviation Air Canada people International Air Transport Association Academic staff of the Université du Québec Officers of the Order of Canada Knights of the Legion of Honour Businesspeople from Quebec Sir George Williams University alumni McGill University Faculty of Management alumni New York University alumni Canadian chief executives

Life and career

Honours

Education

Archives

References

Further reading

External links