Jacques Foisy
Director
Jacques is a seasoned professional in the field of Accounting and Finance. With a Bachelor's degree from HEC Montreal and a CPA designation, he began his career at KPMG in the audit sector before becoming Chief Accountant at Olymel. Over a 12-year tenure, he helped position the company as one of the largest in Canada through his involvement in several mergers and acquisitions. Currently, he serves as President and Managing Director at Novacap Industries, a leading private equity and buyout firm in Canada, where he has helped build world-class companies in the technology and media telecommunications industries. Jacques is a recipient of the Arista Award for his personal achievements in business and serves as Chairman of the Board for Master Group and Royal Mat Inc. He has also sat on numerous boards of directors, including Bentley Leathers, KDC, and GTI Group, sharing his expertise to drive the growth of other businesses.
Mathieu Gauvin
Director
Mathieu is a highly experienced private equity professional with a strong focus on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Based in Montreal, he has a deep understanding of fund raising, investor relations, due diligence, and investment monitoring. Mathieu holds multiple professional designations, including CPA, CBV, and CFA, and has served on boards in both public and private sectors. He has held senior positions at top financial institutions, including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, where he was responsible for overseeing private equity investments. As a consultant, Mathieu leverages his expertise in both private equity and M&A to help clients successfully navigate complex transactions and grow their businesses.
Elizabeth Haggerty
Director
Elizabeth, better known as Liz, is a self-proclaimed customer experience enthusiast and gender diversity leader with over 30 years’ experience in the HVAC-R industry. She began in research engineering before tackling roles in operations and distribution at Carrier Corporations' South Central region. Her experience, hard work and knowledge propelled her into the role of Vice President / GM and ultimately President / GM at Carrier California. In this role, she managed over 600 employees and 48 distribution points. Liz now works as the CEO of Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, the leading supplier of value-added, glazing-focused, interior and exterior products and services operating in North America, Europe and Australia.
George McClean
Director
George is a highly experienced Board member and chair, with a long resume including names like United Way, Kids Help Phone and Workplace Safety and Prevention Services, and Walker Industries. An excellent negotiator, decision maker and strategist, he also holds the Juris Doctor degree, the highest law degree in North America. George began his career as a Sales Manager for Butterworths, an automobile sales and service centre. He then spent a decade at GM, leading Fleet and Commercial Sales, but moved out of the auto industry in 2006. Following as VP and GM of Grainger, Canada’s leading Industrial supplier, George led over 800 team members in 90 different locations. His most recent accomplishment was managing the successful sale of National Tire Distributors as their President from 2016 to 2022.
Jean-François Routhier
Chairman of the Board
Jean-François is a versatile young man with extraordinary experience in the business community. Over the course of his career, he has developed leading-edge expertise in the areas of operations, finance, project management, business development and in mergers and acquisitions, with more than 30 transactions to his credit, both in Canada and in the United States. His work ethic, strong team spirit, dedication, passion and interpersonal skills saw him be promoted several times during his 12 years at Novacap ultimately reaching the position of principal before joining Master in 2017.
Louis St-Laurent
CEO & Director
Louis St-Laurent has been Chief Executive Officer of the Master Group since 2019. A graduate of Concordia University, he quickly set himself apart from his peers with 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, then was at the helm of the company as President from 2006 to 2019.
Louis St-Laurent is a natural leader and a remarkable executive who is deeply respected within the industry.