Charles Sirois

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Charles Sirois, CM CQ (born May 22, 1954) is a Canadian businessman. He is the founder, controlling shareholder, chairman and CEO of Telesystem Ltd., a Canadian private equity firm. Effective from March 1, 2017, he has been the CEO and chairman of OnMobile Global Ltd, India^[2]

In 2011, he co-founded (with François Legault) a social and economic liberal centre-right political party, Coalition Avenir Québec.

Early life and education[]

Born in Chicoutimi, Quebec, he earned a bachelor's degree in Finance from Université de Sherbrooke and a master's degree in finance from Université Laval. He is the father of François-Charles Sirois and grandfather of Maxime Sirois.

Business career[]

Sirois has had a long career in corporate management. He is currently a director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Cossette Communication Group and Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal.^[3] He led BCE Mobile Communications from 1988 to 1990 as its chairman and CEO. Subsequently, he was chairman and CEO of Teleglobe, the leading provider of international long-distance and broadband services in Canada. He also served as chairman of Telesystem International Wireless, and founded and was chairman of Microcell Telecommunications, a GSM cellular provider in Canada best known for its Fido brand name. He was also a member of the G8 Dot Force, of the National Broadband Task Force, and was a founding member of the Washington-based (GIIC).

Sirois is known within investment circles for his purchase of Excel Communications in 1998. Excel, which was a reseller of residential long-distance services, relied on door-to-door sales and multi-level marketing. While Sirois was able to sell Teleglobe to Bell Canada in 2000 at a price of $6.5 billion, the subsequent bursting of the internet bubble and telecom bust forced Teleglobe into bankruptcy in 2002 and the writedown of $2.1 billion of Excel.^{[citation needed]}

Sirois is one of the founding partners of Enablis and has served as its chairman and chief executive officer from inception.

Sirois had a net worth of C$1.2 billion in 2015.^[1]

Honours[]

In 1994, he was made a member of the Order of Canada in recognition for being "a visionary in the area of intercontinental communications".^[4] In 1998, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.^[5]

He holds honorary doctorates from Université du Québec à Montréal, University of Ottawa, Concordia University, Université Laval and the École de technologie supérieure.

Published work[]

In 1995, he published a book on the information highway entitled "The Medium and the Muse" (ISBN 0-88645-175-2). In his second book, published in June 2000, "Organic Management: Creating a Culture of Innovation" (ISBN 0-00-200053-9), Sirois shares his management philosophy, along with his vision of the new economy.

References[]

• "Charles Sirois biography". Archived from the original on 2007-02-28.