Latest news with #Lassonde
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lassonde Industries Inc. announces election of directors
ROUGEMONT, Quebec, May 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lassonde Industries Inc. (TSX: LAS.A) ('Lassonde') announces that the nominees listed in the management proxy circular dated March 27, 2025 were elected as directors of Lassonde. The detailed results of the vote for the election of directors held today at its Annual General Meeting, are set out below. Nominees VOTES FOR VOTES AGAINST Guy Bélanger 39,576,618 99.99% 1,174 0.01% Denis Boudreault 39,277,470 99.24% 300,321 0.76% Paul Bouthillier 39,358,352 99.45% 219,439 0.55% Luc Doyon 39,570,864 99.98% 6,928 0.02% Nathalie Lassonde 38,451,778 97.15% 1,126,014 2.85% Pierre-Paul Lassonde 38,650,121 97.66% 927,671 2.34% Pierre Lessard 39,387,925 99.52% 189,867 0.48% Nathalie Pilon 39,528,482 99.87% 49,310 0.13% About Lassonde Headquartered in Canada and with operations across North America, Lassonde Industries Inc. is a leader in the food and beverage industry in North America. The Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of national brand and private label products, including fruit juices and drinks, specialty food products, and fruit-based snacks. Lassonde also manufactures and markets cranberry sauces as well as selected wines, ciders and other alcoholic beverages. Altogether, Lassonde distributes over 3,500 unique products in approximately 200 formats across shelf-stable, chilled, and frozen categories. The Corporation's go-to-market strategy consists of (i) retail sales to food retailers and wholesalers such as supermarket chains, independent grocers, superstores, warehouse clubs, convenience stores, and major pharmacy chains and (ii) food service sales to restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, and wholesalers serving these institutions. Lassonde operates 19 plants located in Canada and the United States through the expertise of over 2,900 full-time equivalent employees. To learn more, visit SEDAR registration number: 00002099 CONTACT: Information: Investor contact Éric Gemme Chief Financial Officer Lassonde Industries Inc. 450-469-4926, extension 10456 Media contact Isabelle Nadeau Director, Corporate Communications Lassonde Industries Inc. 450-469-4926, extension 10167
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lassonde family donates $25 million — again — to advance entrepreneurship at the University of Utah
When Pierre Lassonde and his wife, Claudette MacKay-Lassonde, arrived in Salt Lake City 54 years ago to attend graduate school at the University of Utah, the couple possessed one suitcase, limited English skills and barely enough cash to see them through Christmas. 'And Claudette was six months pregnant,' added Pierre Lassonde. But the Lassondes tackled their new adventure, making the Utah campus — located far from their Canadian homeland — their second home. 'The University of Utah,' said Lassonde, 'touched our lives.' Now fast forward to today, more than a half-century since the Lassondes' humble Beehive State arrival. On Friday, the Lassonde Family Foundation, led by Pierre Lassonde, donated $25 million to foster continued growth at the University of Utah's Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. Friday's gift, which comes as the institute prepares for its 25th anniversary next year, continues the Lassonde family's ongoing interest and investment in the student-entrepreneur institute which bears their name. The Lassonde Family Foundation has already donated about $25 million to the university in the past — so Friday's donation almost doubles its total commitment. Kurt Dirks, dean of the David Eccles School of Business, called the donation 'a landmark gift' reinforcing the Lassonde family's commitment to student success. 'Whenever I've heard Pierre talk, he's always said: 'This is for students by students' — and this (financial gift) is something that does that so well. 'It makes our entrepreneurship education available for even more students at the business school, as well as across the entire university.' The beneficiaries of the Lassonde family's gift, added Dirks, will not only enjoy personal success in the future — 'but create prosperity in the state of Utah and beyond.' Meanwhile, University of Utah President Taylor Randall said the Lassonde Family Foundation gifts have transformed entrepreneurship education. 'Pierre Lassonde and the Lassonde Family Foundation have inspired us to reimagine what it means to teach entrepreneurship at a university,' Randall said. 'They have challenged us to focus on students and their ideas, hands-on learning, and to provide entrepreneurship education at a scale not available anywhere else. Every student at the University of Utah has the opportunity to get involved with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute to launch a company or product and learn entrepreneurial skills such as creative problem solving, self-reliance and perseverance.' When asked Friday why his family foundation is continuing its support of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, Pierre Lassonde noted that he has been involved in philanthropic enterprises at several universities and institutions. 'But the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is the one that has given me the most joy, by far,' he said. Pierre Lassonde's wife, Claudette, who died in 2000, was a fellow University of Utah graduate and later became the first female president of the Professional Engineers Ontario. Today, Pierre Lassonde manages the family foundation with their children, Julie and Christian Lassonde. After graduating from the University of Utah, Pierre Lassonde embarked on his own business career, working in construction and mining before launching the Franco-Nevada Mining Corporation, which would ultimately become a multibillion-dollar business success story. Lassonde's financial support of entrepreneurship education at the University of Utah began in 2001 and has continued ever since — highlighted by the construction, about a decade ago, of the sprawling Lassonde Studios. The studios are home to hundreds of residential students and boast a 20,000-square-foot innovation space where student-entrepreneurs can connect, test ideas, build prototypes and launch companies. Today's Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is fueled by a Pierre Lassonde-inspired creed: 'Live. Create. Launch.' Lassonde finds pleasure knowing that the same university 'that has touched me' is now 'touching the lives of thousands of people' through the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. 'In philanthropy, the thing that one looks for most is how many lives can you touch for the better — and this program has done that at a level that we can't even imagine. 'And we're far from finished, It's just going to get better and better.' Business founders — including those at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute — come in all shapes and sizes. But success for each entrepreneur will likely be determined by his or her commitment to a vision. That vision extends to the University of Utah's entrepreneurship program, said Lassonde. 'We want this institute to be one of the top five in the United States … and bring in the very best students,' he said. 'Not necessarily the most academically performing student — but the ones that have the grit to fail and then get up and do it again.' Lassonde also hopes to expand the existing entrepreneurship education program — including its worldwide reach. Already the university's Master of Business Creation program is enrolling globally in select locations around the world — including Africa, Canada and, soon, in Europe and India. 'We will be able to touch the lives of millions of people,' he added. Dirks said Friday's gift from the Lassonde family will help advance the vision of the University of Utah further becoming a gathering place where business-minded students 'can come and really learn, hands-on; and to be able to learn by doing — and then take that forward to make a better life for themselves and for more prosperity for their community.' Troy D'Ambrosio, the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute's founding executive director, said the spirit and opportunities of entrepreneurship have been fueled jointly in the past by Pierre Lassonde and University of Utah leadership. Ideas such as the Lassonde Studios and the MBC program, he added, have defined the university's commitment to entrepreneurship over the past decade — while creating an unmatched campus experience. 'The resources are here to continue to innovate,' said D'Ambrosio. 'And as technology changes, I can see how this institute can grow dramatically and impact more and more lives and have more and more students having the opportunities that we've already provided for tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of students.' A seasoned business owner such as Pierre Lassonde knows that founding and operating a company can be a lonesome endeavor — especially in the beginning. The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute provides a vision-driven community to scores of student-business founders, he said. Each day, students experience life-changing moments as they bounce ideas off each other, connect with mentors and weather the day-to-day challenges of launching a business. 'Just having the opportunity to talk to other people may change your life and may provide that one clue that you were missing,' he said. 'If you're sitting on a couch at home watching TV, it's not going to happen. So we provide that context for these people.' D'Ambrosio said he has witnessed 'success-via-cooperation' happen in real time at the Lassonde Studios. 'We had two students move in our first year — one was an engineer, one was a business student,' he recalled. 'The business student had the idea. The engineer had the skill. They came together… They were in the same dorm room and built a company. 'That kind of 'putting those two-halves of the equation together' is part of what we envisioned, and it's worked beyond any expectation.' Dirks said Friday's $25 million gift will be used to expand the opportunity scope of the University of Utah's business school and across the entire campus. 'We're looking at how we can use (the gift) to also expand the Masters of Business Creation program.' Pierre Lassonde said he and his family's continued commitment to the University of Utah remains grounded in changing lives — both on the Salt Lake City campus and around the globe. 'The University of Utah is going to have a brand name that's going to be worldwide, and that really gets me going,' said Lassonde. 'How many lives can we change for the better? I can't even imagine. It's going to be in the millions. And you never know — one of our companies may end up being an Apple, and then you're talking billions of people. 'Let's dream.'
CBC
17-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Quebec businessman gifts $50M to Polytechnique Montréal for disruptive innovation hub
A Quebec-born businessman and philanthropist who is donating $50 million to a Montreal university to establish an institute dedicated to "disruptive innovation" says it has never been more important to invest in homegrown talent. Pierre Lassonde's donation to Polytechnique Montréal, to be officially announced at an event Monday, comes as Canada finds itself in the midst of a tariff war with the United States, its largest trading partner and ally. Lassonde believes Canada had grown used to being dependent on the U.S., a relationship that U.S. President Donald Trump has turned on its head since he took office in January. "It was an easy relationship. Well, it isn't anymore and we have to wake up to that," Lassonde said in an interview last week from his Toronto home. "Never waste a good crisis, this is a good crisis, so let's do something about it," Lassonde added. "This hopefully will kick-start something even bigger. Every single moment matters and this one matters a great deal." WATCH | Trump tariffs are in effect. Here's how Quebec is helping businesses: Trump tariffs are in effect. Here's how Quebec is helping businesses 13 days ago Duration 2:08 Lassonde, a Polytechnique graduate and an expert in mining and precious metals, heads the school's board of directors, and the family name already adorns a number of pavilions at the institution thanks to previous donations. The engineering school, which is affiliated with the Université de Montréal, described the $50 million as the largest gift in its history. Lassonde said the idea formed as he roamed the labs and spoke to professors and students. He detected untapped potential, due in part to a lack of money. "We do have incredible brains at Polytechnique in terms of deep tech. We are in some respects at the very cutting edge of the domain," he said. That's why the new funding will be used to invest in those minds before they are recruited into the private sector. Disruptive innovation is a process where a new product or service, often with a simpler or less sophisticated design, initially targets a specific market and then gradually or eventually replaces the existing product. "None of it is going into bricks and mortar, it's all about intellectual capital and about creating intellectual properties that will really be meaningful, that will create jobs, that will create economic activity, growth in Canada hopefully, and impact the world," Lassonde said. He also hopes to spur on others with the financial means to contribute toward the creation of forward-looking projects. Though Quebecers have in recent decades started "throwing their weight around" and giving more to higher education, he said more can be done. "It's a recurring issue in Canadian universities, simply because we don't have the philanthropic model that the U.S. universities have," Lassonde said. New tools, younger minds Oussama Moutanabbir, a professor at Polytechnique, said the new institute's main focus will be developing technologies to address immediate problems. "Since the beginning of humanity, people develop technology based on what they have in hand and what they need, and that paradigm continues today. There are many universities and research labs doing the same thing," Moutanabbir said. "But Polytechnique has a commitment to focus on this innovation by tapping into new fundamental knowledge, so bridging the gap between the discovery and the application." Moutanabbir gives the example of medical imaging and cancer — developing technology that can detect the first small clusters of tumour cells that appear in the body and to test as many patients as possible. Existing technology requires exposure to an X-ray with a high dose of radiation for people who are vulnerable, so the idea is to create a new tool that is smaller and can be operated with a much lower exposure. That involves going back to the drawing board. "To address that challenge, we have to go to the fundamental nature of matter and manipulate it," Moutanabbir said. "The institute would be focusing on these kind of problems ... the driving force will always be to maximize the impact of academic research on society." Forward-looking also means the need to invest in young minds, Moutanabbir said. "The very precious resource that we need to focus on is really young scientists," he said. Lassonde said he is worried about recent measures that limit the number of international students coming to Quebec. WATCH | Quebec cutting number of foreign students that can enrol in schools in the province Quebec cutting number of foreign students that can enrol in schools in the province 19 days ago Duration 2:05 The CAQ government is reducing how many applications it will process for new international students by about 20 per cent starting this year. Last month, the province announced it would issue 20 per cent fewer acceptance certificates to foreign students this year compared to last. "I am very concerned about our ability to attract the very best minds and bring them here," Lassonde said, noting that two-thirds of doctoral candidates at Polytechnique are international students and there are not enough Quebecers to meet the demand.
