The Master Group L.P.

• Company founded in 1952
• The most important and the oldest independent distributor in the air conditioning, refrigeration and heating fields in Eastern Canada serving the residential, commercial and industrial sectors
• 20 branches spanning from Ontario to the Maritimes:
  • Kingston
  • Ottawa
  • Nepean
  • Laval
  • Lachenaie
  • Saint-Jérôme
  • Montréal
  • Saint-Léonard
  • Ville Saint-Laurent
  • Ville Saint-Laurent – heating specialist
  • Longueuil
  • Trois-Rivières
  • Québec
  • Moncton
  • Dartmouth
  • Chicoutimi (Sales Office)
  • Brossard
  • Etobicoke
  • East York
  • Hamilton

• 2 distribution centres totalizing 190,000 square feet
• More than 475 employees from over all branches and distribution centres
• More than 500 lines of products in inventory
• Major projects partners
  • Olympic Stadium
  • Marché central
  • SAQ distribution centre & many branches
  • Sobeys food stores
  • Marchés Métro-Richelieu
  • Palais des congrès de Montréal
  • CGI Complex (Montréal)
  • Groupe Jean Coutu
  • Place Ville-Marie
  • Restaurants McDonald
  • Cité Multimédia
  • Cirque du Soleil
  • Saputo
  • Olymel
  • Alcoa (Iceland Project)
  • Ultramar
  • Concordia University
  • École de technologie supérieure (ETS)

• Member of OCTO
• Member of APCHQ ; ACT ;  ACQ ; AQGN ; AQP ; ASHRAE ; APC ; ASPE ; RSES Canada ; AQME ; CETAF ; CRFA.

Louis St-Laurent
President

Business acumen and management flair

Louis St-Laurent has been president of the Master Group since 2006. He started to make his mark upon graduating from Concordia University, thanks to his superior interpersonal skills and innate business sense. After gaining experience as a sales representative at Kraft, he was hired in 1984 as sales manager of Master’s Kelko division. With the company’s rapid expansion, he was promoted to the position of vice-president – marketing in August 1990. He became a shareholder a year later.

Louis St-Laurent is a natural leader and a remarkable executive who is deeply respected within the industry.

Michel Ringuet  M.B.A.
Chief executive officer

Financial expertise and a talent for business

Michel Ringuet, a natural entrepreneur, obtained a bachelor’s degree in administration at Université Laval in 1980 and a MBA at McGill University in 1983. He joined the National Bank after graduation, working in corporate financing and venture-capital investment. He brought valuable experience and expertise to the Master Group when he was hired as vice-president – finance and administration in December 1990. He became a shareholder a year later.

Michel Ringuet’s rapid progression within the company testifies to his exceptional talent. As chief executive officer since 2006, he is responsible for Master’s long-term development.

Alain Fournier
Executive vice-president

Determination and enthusiasm

Alain Fournier’s career at Master Group spans close to 25 years. After starting out as a sales representative in one of the company’s branches, he rose through the ranks to become sales manager in 1993. He became a shareholder in 1999 and was promoted to the position of executive vice-president in 2009. Persistence, leadership and team spirit are among the assets that have contributed to the company’s growth and influence.

Determined and enthusiastic, Alain Fournier was named executive vice-president in January 2009.

François Brisebois
Vice-president – logistics and information systems

Creativity and a willingness to go the extra mile

François Brisebois joined the Master family in 1990. He has worked on a great variety of projects over the years, in response to an endless stream of technological developments. Innovating and being ahead of the competition is what drives him and his team. His creativity, dedication and sound grasp of business realities contribute to the company’s growing success.

An innovator at the vanguard of change, François Brisebois became vice-president – logistics and information systems in September 2007.

Luc Bouchard
Vice-president – operations

Experience and vision

Luc Bouchard has been leaving an imprint on various aspects of the operations of the Master Group since he joined the company as a branch representative in 1993. Before becoming vice-president – operations in 2007, he notably headed the refrigeration division and then the entire network of branches. In his current function, his main responsibility is to facilitate interaction between the branches, the sales teams and the administration. His success within the company is due to his in-depth experience and comprehensive understanding of the company’s operational needs, along with his dedication and superior listening skills.

Experience, versatility and vision are among Luc Bouchard’s distinguishing assets.

Greg Miller
Vice-president – finance and administration

Financial savoir-faire and superior administrative skills

Greg Miller is a seasoned professional with over twenty years of financial management experience at senior levels. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting at Concordia University in 1984 and a graduate degree in accounting at McGill University in 1987, along with his CA designation (chartered accountant). After six years at the international accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand, he acquired valuable experience, mostly as vice-president or controller, in key economic sectors such as aerospace, manufacturing, insurance and distribution. He joined Master Group in 2005 as vice-president – finance and administration. His responsibilities include managing the accounting, credit, real estate, returns and human resources departments.

Knowledgeable employees working together as a team add up to solid growth and sound financial results under the leadership of this effective communicator.

Éric Lajoie

Regional Sales Vice-President

An acute sense for sales and customer satisfaction

Since his arrival at The Master Group in 1991, Éric Lajoie has successively occupied the positions of Sales Representative, Sales Manager, Montréal and Principal Sales Director, for the greater Montréal area. 

His devotion, creativity, good judgement and knowledge of the market make him the perfect candidate to take over the reins of this territory as Regional Sales Vice-President in January 2009.

Daniel Le Tallec

Vice-President, Supply Chain Management

Trust and knowledge of the manufacturing sector

Daniel Le Tallec began his career at Master over 20 years ago as a buyer. He has assumed this role for more than 13 years and then rose to Purchasing Manager.

His extensive experience among and at the head of this department has allowed him, not only to develop tight relationships with suppliers, but above all to acquire a thorough knowledge of the market and of the product offering. In April of 2010, Daniel is promoted to Vice-President, Supply Chain.

André Paré eng.

Vice-President, Engineering & Products

Rigor and engineering expertise

A graduate of the University of Sherbrooke in mechanical engineering, André Paré began his career as a sales representative for a contractor in Montréal and later worked on the manufacturer front, at Blanchard-Ness. He joined the Master team in 1993 as a Sales Representative alongside our engineers; he was later named Director of Commercial & Specialized Equipments followed by Principal Director, Industrial, Commercial & Heating.

His professionalism, excellent technical knowledge of the products and reputation within the engineering profession are the strengths that earned him the appointment in January 2009 of Vice-President, Engineering & Products.