When Mark Weightman entered the office of Pierre Karl Péladeau in the heights of the Quebecor tower, he knew what this invitation meant. A trusted man from PKP, the new owner of the Alouettes, had already sounded out his interest.
But nothing was decided since we had already met several candidates. He knew.
At the appointed time, he entered the large room. The boss of the place waved to him and Weightman sat down on the large sofa. Then, as usual, Péladeau settled into a comfortable chair in front of him and crossed his left leg to better observe his guest.
It was gone. “He seduced me when he left,” says Mark Weightman. “He is a person who knows what he wants. He told me why he bought the Alouettes and what he had in mind. It was kind of okay what he had already explained at the press conference. But in person, the tone, the intensity, it’s different. I answered his questions, we had a conversation, discussing our visions,” said the new president of the Alouettes.
It must have been exciting since the meeting lasted more than an hour. “When it was time to leave, we exchanged a handshake. Me, I was conquered. I didn’t need two days to accept. But he wasn’t ready yet,” added Weightman.
TWO DAYS LATER
It wasn’t until two days later that Weightman received confirmation that he had the job. He who had chaired the after Jim Popp, the after Anthony Calvillo and the after Marc Trestman until 2016 before being swept away by the fury of Andrew Wetenhall, the angry son of Bob Wetenhall, the owner of the Alouettes , returned to his chair. And through the front door too.
With a huge task ahead of him. “Because of the circumstances, the time has come to bring pride back to the club. To do this, there is no magic recipe. But it starts with victories. The club must win. Then, these victories facilitate identification with the team. In addition to winning, the club can contribute to the good of society. And last point, you have to make the right decisions. People feel it and are proud of it,” summarizes Weightman.
“And that materializes by creating a culture, by reaching out to the community throughout Quebec and Montreal and by developing an atmosphere at the stadium. We have to welcome and take care of each client, ”says the president.
LONG LIVE SWEDEN
The man is happy. He finds himself in the right place after having had to live a multitude of new experiences. The positive aspect is that a man of his caliber learns from these experiences.
Thus, Weightman has been married to a Swedish woman for more than twenty years. He is able to get by in Swedish and spent several weeks a year in the house the family had bought near Linköping in Sweden. He already knew the people at the hockey club and when he found himself without a job, the people from the Linköping Lions quickly jumped at the chance. He found himself a “senior marketing consultant”.
Then Geoff Molson and France-Margaret Bélanger quickly spotted him and we repatriated him to Quebec to become president of Place Bell and Rocket.
Two years later, the senior management of the Canadiens changed their minds by centralizing all the operations of the subsidiaries and Mark Weightman found himself leading the Lausanne Lions in Switzerland.
Then the offer from the Lions of Trois-Rivières arrived. At the Videotron Coliseum. With matches on TVA Sports by LP Neveu. In a Quebecor environment.
All that remained for Pierre Karl Péladeau was to buy the Alouettes and everything fell into place.
So here, ladies and gentlemen, is the former and especially new president of the Montreal Alouettes…