François Deschênes
François Deschênes has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the Montreal-based company. He is the fifth member of the Deschênes family to be nominated president in the company’s 77 years of business.
François replaces his brother, Martin Deschênes, who will assume the position of vice chairman of the board after 17 years at the helm. He will continue to work on special projects and also become chairman of the board of the AD Canada P&H buying group (formerly Canaplus), a position previously held by François.
“As a family business founded more than 75 years ago, Groupe Deschênes is very serious about the succession process. The board members have unanimously chosen François, following a rigorous process and are very pleased to work with him to achieve the company goals,” remarked Groupe Deschênes board chairman John LeBoutillier.
François started at Groupe Deschênes in 2000 and his first role was as a representative at Canaplus. He also held the positions of vice president of procurement and vice president of marketing.
In 2010, he became vice president and general manager for the Deschênes & Fils Ltée subsidiary in Montreal. Last year, he was appointed vice president of operations for the Quebec Region. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from HEC, the business school at the University of Montreal, and an Executive MBA from McGill-HEC Montreal.
“I am very proud to see this continuity in the sustainability of the family enterprise,” commented Jacques Deschênes, honorary president of the board and father to Martin and François.
His father founded the business in 1940, his brother Pierre led the business in the 60’s and he ran it from 1973 to 2000, when Martin took over.
Groupe Deschênes operates about 140 branches in plumbing, HVAC/R, electrical and automotive across Canada and has 18 retail plumbing stores in Ontario and Quebec.
For more information, please visit www.groupedeschenes.com.