Latest news with #L'OréalCanada
Toronto Star
19-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
How a Toronto tech company is fusing AI with drones to change how we view the world
Heads up — drone technology is about to reshape your world. Though many are familiar with its gimmickier applications — aerial cameras, light shows — advancements in artificial intelligence and drone hardware are creating new uses that can save time, money and lives. 'I like to think of this as the post-World War II change in our society, where people went from growing our food and the bargaining system to where we are today,' says Shaun Passley, CEO of Toronto-based AI drone maker ZenaTech. 'That's now going to change dramatically into a different phase — something more sci-fi.' Founded in 2018, ZenaTech works with Fortune 500 companies deploying drones for tasks like indoor barcode tracking, military applications, emergency services for search and rescue, catching criminals and surveillance, farmers for precision agriculture and livestock management, municipalities for targeted aerial firefighting, and developers for land surveying and building inspection. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Measuring seven by 13 feet, the company's latest product, the ZenaDrone 1000, is its largest, most powerful and most intelligent product yet, offering longer flight times and a carrying capacity of up to 40 kilograms. 'The first two production drones are off the production line, they're being tested, and we'll have another 10 coming out in April, and then we'll be doing a minimum of 10 drones per month,' Passley says. 'We're hoping to start doing demos for the U.S. Defense Department, with NATO, with Canada's Defence Department, with Canadian law enforcement, and with law enforcement around the world.' The Chicago-born entrepreneur says he began toying with tech as a youngster after his brother was gifted an Apple II computer that appealed more to the younger sibling. 'I knew who Steve Jobs was when I was eight,' Passley says. Business L'Oréal Canada CEO on how the 'lipstick effect' drives the 'essential' beauty business 'Sometimes people look at beauty as a little bit superficial,' says L'Oréal Canada CEO An Passley started working as a computer technician in high school, while saving for his first venture. Unlike his tech industry heroes like Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison, who all dropped out of college, Passley went in the opposite direction. After earning a bachelor of science degree and a master's in information technology, Passley completed a one-year MBA, a masters in product development, a PhD in business leadership and a masters in intellectual property law. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The Star spoke with Passley from the head office of ZenaDrone, ZenaTech's subsidiary in Phoenix, Arizona, about how drones are poised to revolutionize a range of industries and services, how it can help save time, money, and lives, and why he isn't concerned about tariffs — or an American invasion. How did you go from making software for teachers to making drones for the military? When I founded Epazz in 1999, colleges didn't have a lot of services online yet. Now you can easily register for classes, download the syllabus, upload your work, but those things weren't taking place. So, we created a course tool, and eventually a campus portal for colleges. The issue is it took me a year to develop it, and in 2000 the industry crashed; there was no capital, so there were no staff; it was just me. The good thing is I ended up with 100 per cent ownership, so I changed the campus portal into a business portal and was able to get a few clients and use the capital to acquire other companies. Business The long journey for a kid in the ball pit to top job at Ikea Canada Ikea Canada CEO and chief sustainability officer Selwyn Crittendon, says he was attracted to the I started to build Epazz through the acquisition of about 15 companies over the next 10 years. Then in 2017 we developed ZenaPay as a spinoff of Epazz. This was right before Canada legalized cannabis, and we created a software package that would facilitate transactions using a bitcoin wallet. As we talked to customers, we learned they were concerned about black market cannabis entering the Canadian market, and they wanted a way to track products from seed to store. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW We had a facial recognition software package that identifies key elements of a person's face, and we wanted to use the same concept on plants. The initial idea was to use the program to distinguish between male and female hemp plants, and we went to Ireland in 2019 to test it. The problem was we were using a third-party drone, which didn't have the sensors to adjust for Ireland's unique terrain. Where I grew up in Illinois the land is completely flat, but in Ireland they grow plants on the sides of mountains and in valleys, and it was raining multiple times a day. In addition, there's a lot of work that goes into learning how to fly a commercial drone, so it wasn't something a farmer could do on their own. That's where we came up with the concept for a drone that can scan different terrain and adjust automatically, without a human operator. Why start the company in Toronto? That had to do with the cannabis industry. Business 'It still blows me away.' Meet the accidental developer leading the charge of Toronto's massive city-within-a-city at Downsview With 400 acres to work with, Northcrest Developments CEO Derek Goring is 'excited about its Epazz was a public company, which means it's federally regulated, and cannabis is still illegal in the United States at the federal level, so we moved the entity to Canada. We have offices in the United States and around the world, but ZenaTech is registered and headquartered in Canada. We have 10 people in our Toronto head office and another small office in Vancouver, and we expect to hire another 20 or 30 in Canada in the next 12 months. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW How many employees do you have total? Over 100 in Canada, the United States, Ireland, Germany, Turkey, Taiwan, the UAE, and soon in India. We're hiring a lot more this year. What makes your drones unique? DJI is the primary competitor, and what they've done is brilliant in terms of software integration, but they're using a frame system with four motors that essentially hovers and moves like a helicopter. Ours is more of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system that transitions into a fixed-wing plane, and we can add more attachments, more cargo, and you can switch out sensors, so it's got a lot of potential applications. What are some of the primary applications? We have a drone that's 10 inches by 10 inches, the IQ Nano, used primarily for surveillance. Then we have one that's 20 by 20, and that's mostly for indoor inventory. We can use multiple drones at the same time indoors to do inventory faster, and what makes our system unique is that people can be present. Normally if you're doing drone inventory you need to shut down that section of the facility, but we have object avoidance sensors that let you operate as normal. And if one drone is low on battery it will fly back to the home station and another one will replace it and continue scanning. Then we have our ZenaDrone IQ Square, which is 41-by-41 inches, and that's mostly used for land surveys. Right now, land surveys are done with just a person and a stick and maybe a camera system, and it can take weeks or even months, so we can save customers thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW We're also in the initial stages of using the technology for housing developments, so that our drones can generate construction progress reports, and even go indoors and create 3D maps of properties as they're being built. Using artificial intelligence, it could even do building inspection in the early stages of development. Then the ZenaDrone 1000, the production version is seven feet by 13 feet. It can scan farmland to determine which areas need to be treated and treat those areas. Business How a high-tech vertical farm in Ontario could help reduce our need for U.S. produce With indoor farms for leafy greens near Guelph, Montreal, Calgary and Halifax, GoodLeaf CEO Andy And right now, when you see a helicopter in an urban setting, hopefully in the next five years you'll see a drone instead, whether it's in law enforcement, conducting search and rescue operations transporting medical supplies, or putting out building or wildfires, which is one of our top use cases right now. Why's that? Right now, they're using airplanes and helicopters and basically eyeballing it. They fly low and slow over a wildfire, which is very dangerous, and we are working on a Drone swarm of 200 ZenaDrone 1000s that can carry as much water as a $35 million airplane for a fraction of the cost, can get lower to the ground and use sensors to target the hottest spots. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW What do you say to those who think this technology should not be used in law enforcement or military contexts? In the United States and Canada, I believe we defend our countries responsibly, and if drones replace humans so that they're not in the line of fire, we can save a life on our side. That makes war less harmful to our countries, and we're only working with NATO-allied countries. Business Bill Gates opens up about his obsessive tendencies, dropping acid — and his three-hour dinner with Donald Trump Gates's new memoir tells the story of a curious, intense child. 'At the time nobody was taking The same with police officers; if we can replace front line officers in dangerous situations with unmanned drones you can prevent the loss of life for police officers. We can also equip drones with less lethal ways of apprehending suspects and potentially save their lives as well. Many Canadians would say the two countries aren't as aligned as they used to be and may even fear military action across the border. The notion of Canada becoming the 51st state won't happen. It would be like adding another California and giving the Democrats tremendous political influence. We're non-partisan, personally and as a company, but I don't see this as a real threat or a long-term issue. What about tariffs? Has that created a challenge? We see ourselves as a helicopter replacement solution; a helicopter costs $5 million, and our ZenaDrone 1000 is $150,000 to $200,000. If you add another 25 per cent onto that — or 50 per cent, or 200 per cent — we're still saving our customers a tremendous amount of money.
Cision Canada
13-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
L'ORÉAL'S SOCIAL & ECONOMIC IMPACT IN CANADA Français
MONTRÉAL, May 13, 2025 /CNW/ - L'Oréal Canada unveils today the results of a global study conducted by economic researchers at Asterès assessing its socio economic impact by utilizing data from the OECD tables. Far beyond the company's direct operations, the study demonstrates that thanks to the investments and activities of its distributors and suppliers, 1 job created at L'Oréal generates 11 jobs in the Canadian economy, totaling 20,500 jobs. This ripple effect of benefits reaches countless Canadian businesses and communities and includes additional employment, skills and revenues that contribute to the country's prosperity. A National Champion in Beauty The world leader in beauty, L'Oréal has operated in Canada since 1958 and plays a crucial role in shaping the beauty industry's trajectory. The company currently employs close to 1,800 employees in Montréal, at a head office, production plant and distribution center, and a sales offices in Toronto. L'Oréal also employs more than 200 beauty advisors and temporary workers and provides internship opportunities to 70 students each year. L'Oréal is an employer of choice and has been recognized as one of Canada's top 100 employers for the past 20 years. Economic Leadership and Impact: In addition to the employment impact, the company also has other substantial economic and social contributions: The total footprint of L'Oréal in the Canadian economy (direct activity of L'Oréal and cascading effects for other businesses in the country) represents a total turnover of approximately 5.2 billion Canadian Dollars (CAD). The portfolio of L'Oréal in Canada includes 39 brands distributed nationwide, offering a wide and diverse range of products to meet varying consumer needs. L'Oréal is dedicated to serving vulnerable populations across the country through its social initiatives. Thanks to the Fondation L'Oréal, brand-supported causes, and partnerships with 75 local NGOs and NPOs, including the Canadian Cancer Society, L'Oréal helps 110,000 people in Canada each year. Local Production and Value Creation: L'Oréal's dedication to local production generates substantial value across the Canadian supply chain. Its manufacturing and distribution centers play key roles in the national economy: Montréal Plant: 1,000 jobs supported, contributing directly to local employment and economic stability. Montréal Distribution Center: 1 million orders prepared and delivered per year, demonstrating the scale and efficiency of L'Oréal's distribution network. All orders delivered to Canadian retailers and consumers (online shopping) are shipped directly from its Montréal distribution center. "L'Oréal's considerable impact in Canada is a testament to our commitment over the last 67 years, combined with the efforts of our local partners, to create sustainable value-creation and growth for the Canadian economy," said An Verhulst-Santos, President and CEO of L'Oréal Canada. "The Asterès study confirms that L'Oréal's influence extends beyond our own operations, adding to economic vibrancy, resilience and national prosperity. The commitment of L'Oréal to Canada is unwavering, and we will continue to invest in and support the Canadian economy and its people.", emphasized Mrs. Verhulst-Santos. About L'Oréal Canada L'Oréal Canada is a subsidiary of the L'Oréal Groupe, the world's leading beauty company. The Canadian subsidiary, established in 1958, includes a head office, plant and distribution center in Montréal, a sales office in Toronto, and employs close to 1,800 people from 73 different nationalities. The products from its 39 iconic brands are available in all distribution channels, including hair salons, department stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, medi-spas and e-commerce. Its sense of purpose, to create the beauty that moves the world, defines its vision of beauty that is inclusive, ethical, generous and responsible. With ambitious social and environmental commitments set out in the L'Oréal for the Future program, the subsidiary also actively supports L'Oréal Foundation programs such as L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science. Through its various programs and partnerships, L'Oréal and its brands help more than 110,000 Canadians every year. Learn more about its impact in Canada: About L'Oréal For 115 years, L'Oréal, the world's leading beauty player, has devoted itself to one thing only: fulfilling the beauty aspirations of consumers around the world. Our purpose, to create the beauty that moves the world, defines our approach to beauty as essential, inclusive, ethical, generous and committed to social and environmental sustainability. With our broad portfolio of 37 international brands and ambitious sustainability commitments in our L'Oréal for the Future program, we offer each and every person around the world the best in terms of quality, efficacy, safety, sincerity and responsibility, while celebrating beauty in its infinite plurality. With more than 90,000 committed employees, a balanced geographical footprint and sales across all distribution networks (ecommerce, mass market, department stores, pharmacies, perfumeries, hair salons, branded and travel retail), in 2024 the Group generated sales amounting to 43.48 billion euros. With 21 research centers across 13 countries around the world and a dedicated Research and Innovation team of over 4,000 scientists and 8,000 Digital talents, L'Oréal is focused on inventing the future of beauty and becoming a Beauty Tech powerhouse. More information on About Asterès Asterès is a Paris-based economic consultancy. The firm is, among others, specialized in the realization of socio-economic footprint analysis in order to estimate the total economic or social impact of a company in a country. The data collected by L'Oréal is used in the Asterès Impact Model, which evaluates the total economic footprint generated by L'Oréal in Canada. The model utilizes data from the OECD 'input-output' tables. For 2023 expenditures, the model quantifies the total economic effects of L'Oréal over a year.
Hamilton Spectator
29-04-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
L'Oréal Canada CEO on how the ‘lipstick effect' drives the ‘essential' beauty business
After working for Paris-based L'Oréal Groupe in just about every other corner of the world, An Verhulst-Santos was eager to come to Canada. That's because L'Oréal Canada, she says, is the market leader nationally, one of the global brand's top ten national subsidiaries, and home to many innovations. 'Many of the transformation projects that the Groupe puts in place, very often, they come first to Canada,' says Verhulst-Santos, who became the first female president and CEO of L'Oréal Canada in 2021. 'Why? Because the Canadian teams have this hard-working attitude and an eagerness to contribute something positive in an agile and creative way.' The Belgium-native was always drawn to the fashion and beauty sector, but was convinced by her father to first earn a bachelor's degree in business before pursuing a master's from the French Fashion Institute. Soon after graduating Verhulst-Santos landed a job with L'Oréal in her home country in 1991 and has worked for the 116-year-old brand ever since. Over the next 30 years she would take over marketing operations for all of Europe from Paris, then served as GM of the company's professional products division in the Netherlands, then Brazil, then the U.S., then Paris again, before being named president and CEO of L'Oréal Brazil. It started 39 years ago with a sports bar near Maple Leaf Gardens. Now, the Liberty 'After almost five years in Brazil I really wanted to come back to North America, and specifically Canada, because I wanted to discover a little bit more about this country, which I had seen a little bit of when I was in my global role,' she says. 'I was always very impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of the of the Canadian teams.' Established in 1958, L'Oréal Canada now has 1,700 employees spread across its Montreal-based headquarters, manufacturing facility and warehouse, as well as its satellite offices in Toronto and Vancouver. L'Oréal Canada's portfolio includes 39 beauty brands from Garnier, Biotherm and Maybelline New York to Lancôme, Kiehl's and Giorgio Armani Beauty. The company also owns salon supplier SalonCentric Canada. Some of the global Groupe's recent innovations — like its AI-powered beauty assistant tool, BeautyGenius and virtual makeup try-on tool — are the result of the 2018 acquisition of Toronto-based ModiFace. The Star recently spoke with Verhulst-Santos from L'Oréal Canada headquarters in Montreal about the often-underappreciated value of beauty, the loss of a longstanding retail partner in Hudson's Bay, and why the sector has proven surprisingly resilient in times of economic uncertainty. Sometimes people look at beauty as a little bit superficial, but we at L'Oréal believe it's essential; there's not one civilization that has survived without beauty, and it has to do with self-esteem, and having the strength to step out into the world. Gates's new memoir tells the story of a curious, intense child. 'At the time nobody was taking I wanted to study fashion, but my dad saw that I had good grades in mathematics and hard sciences, and said 'why don't you pursue something in a more serious field, and then you can do something in fashion afterwards?' That's exactly what happened. I did a business degree, which was a combination of engineering and commercial studies, and then I went to Paris to do a master's degree in fashion, where I had my first contact with L'Oréal. I love embracing challenges, I love getting out of my comfort zone, and at L'Oréal I've found these amazing opportunities to take on new challenges around the world. My first international move was leaving Belgium to become the head of marketing in Europe, where I was travelling four days a week everywhere from Finland to Israel, seeing different cultures — which was mind-blowing for me, coming from a small country. Then I was appointed general manager of the professional division in the Netherlands, and I learned so much about sales and commercialization from the Dutch; they really are the best traders in the world. Paul Fogolin, a lifelong gamer and CEO of industry advocacy group ESAC, says the gaming business Then I asked to move to Brazil, because it has the most complex hair care market in the world, and I could not imagine working in the professional division — which takes care of every variety of hair — and not work in the most demanding hair care market. Then I was appointed to the United States, which is the biggest beauty market in the world, where I was in charge of creating a network of distributors through a series of acquisitions. Then I left the U.S. to take over the professional product decisions worldwide in Paris, which was a huge step. In the meantime, I had married an amazing Brazilian man, and we had two small children, so after six years of travelling around Europe I wanted to come back to Brazil. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to be the president and CEO of L'Oréal Brazil. L'Oréal Canada is a top-10 country for the Groupe, and one of the reasons I wanted to come is because L'Oréal is the number one leader in the country — three times larger than our closest competitor. In Brazil we were always a challenger, so I thought it would be interesting to manage a team that was already leading in the country with a challenger spirit. The question is, if you're already a leader, where do you find room to grow? The L'Oréal Groupe is built on four divisions, and I had taken a similar approach in Brazil, to come up with 'One L'Oréal Spirit,' where the four divisions become greater than the sum of their parts, and that's what I worked on with our management team. We are very committed to creating value for the Canadian market, because we are a Canadian company. That means we want to create economic value, so for every person we have in our organization we create 11 jobs for our suppliers and retailers. That means that we have 1,700 employees but represent more than 20,000 jobs in Canada. Nespresso Canada president Carlos Oyanguren talks diversity, new flavours on the horizon and why The second is our social impact, specifically for the 170,000 Canadians we reach through 65 different partnerships and our foundation, because all of our brands have a social cause attached to them. L'Oréal is also the only company in the world to have achieved a triple A rating from the CDP for nine years in a row, which tracks how well companies protect forests, ensure sustainable water management, and help fight climate change. Here in Canada, we became the first beauty company to sign the Net-Zero Challenge with the Canadian government. We also have 72 different nationalities at the company. We are making sure that our talent is representative of our consumers, so we are committed to diverse thinking and ensuring all 72 nationalities feel heard and respected and integrated into the company. L'Oréal was founded by a chemist named Eugène Schueller, so research and innovation is part of our DNA. We have more than 4,000 scientists in 21 research centres around the globe; we invest about $20 billion in research and file about 700 patents every year. Our view on beauty is through the lens of science — from the founder in 1909, until now. If we want to delight the consumers we need to come up with new formulas, new technologies, new approaches. For example, there's a very strong quest now in longevity research, and we're very engaged in that. And with the 2018 acquisition of ModiFace we are making breakthroughs in AI technology, which is all happening in Canada. With indoor farms for leafy greens near Guelph, Montreal, Calgary and Halifax, GoodLeaf CEO Andy Now, when you shop online, we have virtual try-ons where you can check a lipstick or view a hair colour or check a foundation colour for your skin. Last year our CEO did a huge speech at CES Las Vegas where we launched BeautyGenius for L'Oréal Paris. This feature is like a personal beauty assistant for you when you shop. That was also developed by ModiFace, so Canada is helping the Groupe create new beauty experiences for the world. It's very sad to see a Canadian landmark like this facing difficulty. Our consumers may have been going to these stores and seeing the same beauty advisors whom they've gotten to know over years. We have a lot of gratitude for HBC, they were a very good partner to us always, but the beauty market for Canada is bright. We have other retail partners, and as a leader in this market, our job is to reach consumers in the best way possible, and our customers have other partners they can go to, or shop online. The beauty industry is very resilient industry because of something called ' the lipstick effect .' It started with the Great Depression of the 1930s where we saw cosmetic sales increase from 1929 to 1933 despite a huge industrial downturn, and we saw it again after the World Wars, after the Great Recession of 2008, after COVID. The logic is that in an economic crisis consumers postpone buying luxury goods, like a new car or a vacation, but they still want to treat themselves with something that feels luxurious; so, they buy cosmetics. It's not the lipstick itself, but the concept of beauty; you put on this lipstick, and you immediately feel like you can take on the world. Taking care of yourself gives you confidence, and in an economic downturn people look for those small pleasures and ways to feel good about themselves that cost less than other luxuries.
