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| Pierre Loyer Interim President and CEO |
Our 25th
year in business has barely begun and the action is already heating up! The
main projects demanding attention in 2017 are our health and safety performance,
growth and sales targets, and a change in senior management.
First, the
target that should be easiest to meet is improved occupational health and
safety performance. We absolutely must make a great effort in this area. We can
never repeat it too often: OH&S is everyone’s business! This month, we welcome Luc Harrison, who will
replace Caroline Paquette during her maternity leave. Like Caroline, he can
advise you and act on your behalf. If we all apply ourselves, we can achieve
our goals. The ball is in your court!
As noted in
the previous issue, we did well in 2016. Given our very strong numbers, the
directors of our business unit have reaffirmed their confidence in us, in part
by giving us an ambitious new target of 12 percent organic growth, but also by
allocating funds so we can hire new staff to help us meet that target. We
therefore will continue to bring new members on board throughout the year. We
are counting on all of you to extend them a warm welcome and integrate them
into your teams.
Our sales
target for 2017 has been set at $196M. Without neglecting our current
territories, we will continue to expand on the east coast of the United States.
Of course, our expansion in the rest of Canada will continue as well. Good
opportunities are already emerging in these territories. To maintain our growth
and meet our targets, we are seeking the best way to work in synergy with our
sister companies OpTerra, Ecova and Green Charge. Our offerings complement each
other, so we just need to apply ourselves to gain mutual benefit from this
diversity. The Group has also given us a new focus: deploying ENGIE’s B2T
(Business to Territory) services in North America. This entails everything that
constitutes green mobility, smart cities, heat networks, digitalization, etc. In
this initiative, we can count on the collaboration of our colleagues in Europe,
and on a new player based in Toronto: Siradel. This 3D modelling specialist
recently joined the ENGIE family and we are already capitalizing on the
potential of their tools. We are just taking our first steps in these sectors. The
challenges are daunting, but motivating!
And finally,
as you probably know, the name of the person who will take over as President
& CEO of ENGIE Services will be announced in the spring. That’s all I can say
right now, except to reassure you about the selection process engaged by our
colleagues in the business unit. Great effort is being expended to maintain our
stability and growth. I can also confess that I have thrown my name into the ring.
Like you, therefore, I will be anxiously awaiting the end of winter.
In closing,
the traditional kickoff will have an additional component this year. In March, all
ENGIE Services’ managers will gather in Montreal for a day of consultation and
awareness-raising. This will provide an opportunity to get to know and understand
each other so they can learn to work together. Note that we will do everything to
help you help us! Our managers are the core of our operations and the
administrative centre in Montreal is here to support and equip them to carry
out their mission. This event will be followed by the usual tour. Of course, we
will also be celebrating our 25th anniversary in various ways
throughout the year. We will need your involvement to ensure its success.
In short, the
year is coming in like a lion and may very well go out like a lion as well. In
2017, let’s work together to make this a banner year!
