The style of the “bug” has never changed in politics. If the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, stood out in the public sphere with his frankness, the main person concerned has rarely surprised his friends and long-time acquaintances in the last five years.
” It is what you see is what you getsummarizes André Bourbonnais, head of a private equity fund at BlackRock. I never felt that he played a role. I never felt that we had anything other than the Fitzgibbon “bug.”
Mr. Bourbonnais – a friend of the superminister – and others who knew the minister before he entered politics described his style in interviews last year with The Press.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
André Bourbonnais is the head of a private equity fund at BlackRock.
The common denominators? Someone who “doesn’t mince his words”, who “says what he thinks”, who “isn’t afraid to express it”, who “reads his files” and has an “extraordinary” network of contacts.
“But I haven’t seen a different personality on television than when I have the opportunity to have dinner with him,” confides Mr. Bourbonnais, former head of PSP Investments — which manages the pension plans of federal employees.
His path crossed that of the outgoing minister in the late 1990s at the Telesystem group. The two men would also work together in the years leading up to the IPO of the firm Addenda Capital in 2004. Mr. Fitzgibbon was then employed by the National Bank.
Straight talking
A heavyweight in the Legault government, Mr. Fitzgibbon has regularly found himself in the spotlight during his time in politics due to his frankness, his tendency to express his deepest thoughts and his free spirited demeanor.
This is the minister who called himself a “bug” after entering politics.
“Did I recognize any character traits in him? Yes,” says Andrée-Lise Méthot, founder and managing partner of Cycle Capital Management. “He’s someone who shares his point of view. I think that’s how he is in life. Period.”
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Andrée-Lise Méthot, founder and managing partner of Cycle Capital Management
In the many positions he held in the private sector before running under the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) colours in 2018, Mr. Fitzgibbon was notably an advisor for one of the funds of the Quebec platform specializing in venture capital in clean technologies.
The mandate: to give an opinion on investment files.
“A counselor is not there to tell us what we want to hear, he is there to tell us what he thinks,” summarizes M.me Méthot. Pierre Fitzgibbon is excellent at that. He also reads his files. And that elevates the conversation.”
And frank speaking makes no exceptions.
Gilles Labbé, an architect for landing gear specialist Héroux-Devtek, has known the resigning minister for 40 years. Both men graduated from HEC Montréal in the same year, in 1978. The minister also briefly sat on the board of directors of the Quebec multinational in 2018.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Gilles Labbé, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Héroux-Devtek
“A project that has no allure and which is presented, it [Pierre] would not hesitate to say so,” says Mr. Labbé.
Mme Méthot, as well as Mr. Labbé and Mr. Bourbonnais, were surprised in 2018 when they learned that the person concerned was making the leap into politics. The decision was met with astonishment, but politics did not get the better of Mr. Fitzgibbon’s style, they say.
“He knows the world”
The super-minister also stood out in government offices.
His knowledge of the Quebec business community and the extent of his network of contacts could come as a surprise in internal meetings, says a former political advisor, who asked not to be identified so as not to harm his career.
“He knows the world, their qualities and their faults,” the former advisor sums up. “It was difficult, as a minister, to find someone who had more knowledge of the economic environment.”
His style, however, did not suit everyone. The minister was very open-minded, which could also displease. These were the “qualities of his faults,” adds this former advisor.
Pierre Fitzgibbon before politics
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Pierre Fitzgibbon in 2007, when he had just been appointed President and CEO of Atrium Innovations
Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Peerless Carpet Corporation from 1988 to 1992
Chief Financial Officer and President of the Packaging Division at Domtar from 1992 to 1997
President of Telesystem International Wireless (TIW) Asia from 1997 to 1999
President of New World Mobility from 1999 to 2002
Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of the National Bank from 2002 to 2007
President and CEO of Atrium Innovations from 2007 to 2014
Board member: Transcontinental (2009-2017), WSP (2016-2018), Héroux-Devtek (2018), Lumenpulse (2013-2017), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (2009-2012), Arianne Phosphate (2014-2016), Walter Capital Partners investment fund (2015-2018)