Laurent Beaudoin

Laurent Beaudoin
Born	(1938-05-13) 13 May 1938 Laurier Station, Quebec
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	businessman
Known for	Chairman of the Board of Bombardier Inc.
Awards	Order of Canada National Order of Quebec

Laurent Robert Beaudoin CMG CC OQ (born May 13, 1938) is a Canadian businessman.

Born in Laurier Station, Quebec, the son-in-law of Canadian businessman Joseph Armand Bombardier, Beaudoin joined Bombardier Limited in 1963. He began his career in 1961 by founding a firm of chartered accountants, Beaudoin & Blais, soon followed by a second firm, Beaudoin, Morin, Dufresne & Associés. 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 used the funds thus raised to build a formidable rail transportation empire. In 1986 he entered the aviation world by acquiring the assets of Canadair, which had been manufacturing Challenger business jets and amphibious aircraft. He then acquired other cash-starved companies; by 1992 he controlled Short Brothers, Learjet, and de Havilland.

In June 2000, Beaudoin was named a member of the Advisory Board of Lazard Canada. In December 2003 his son, Pierre Beaudoin, was named CEO of Bombardier. At that time Laurent Beaudoin became chairman of the board of Bombardier Recreational Products.

Honors and recognitions

• 1973 - Officer of the Order of Canada
• 1989 - Fellow of the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec
• 1989 - Companion of the Order of Canada
• 1990 - Officer of the National Order of Quebec
• March 1994 - Laureate for Aeronautics and Propulsion - Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine
• 2000 - Great Quebecers of the century (Grand Québécois du siècle) - Académie des Grands Québécois
• 2001 - Yves Landry Foundation award
• October 3, 2008 - International Michael Smurfit Business Achievement Award - The Ireland Chamber, United States (awarded at the 20th Annual American Celtic Ball)
• November 3, 2008 - Recipient of the first Best Global Business Award - Canada China Business Council, Beijing
• February 26, 2009 - Grosse silberne ehrenzeichen mit dem stern - President of the Republic of Austria (awarded in Vienna)
• December 31, 2013 - Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (for services to British industry, particularly in Northern Ireland)
• March 2014 - Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement - Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine
• Elected member of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame
• Great Montrealers (Grands Montréalais)

Honorary doctorates

Université de Montréal (Québec)

York University

Université de Sherbrooke (Québec)

University of Sainte-Anne (Nova Scotia)

Bishop’s University (Québec)

Queen’s University, Belfast (Northern Ireland)

University of Toronto

Carleton University (Ottawa)

McGill University in Montreal (Québec)

Concordia University in Montréal (Québec)

External links

• Laurent Beaudoin at The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Office of the Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada citation. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 24 May 2010