Financial management of Aéroports de Montréal | A layman lands in finance

With costly projects to carry out to alleviate the miseries of travelers, Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) is entrusting the reins of its finances to an executive who has never held such positions, a decision that has raised eyebrows among management specialists. Better someone you know well than the other way around, retorts the president of the organization’s board of directors, Mélanie Kau.

Appointed last July, Aymeric Dussart has worked for the manager of Montréal-Trudeau and Mirabel for almost 12 years. Although he has already carried out data analysis and modeling, these are information technology responsibilities that have been entrusted to him in recent years.

“It’s irregular,” says Richard Leblanc, specialist in governance, law and ethics at York University in Toronto. We’re talking about someone specializing in information technology. It raises eyebrows when you entrust a financial position to someone who does not have the appropriate training. »

Before obtaining this promotion, Mr. Dussart was vice-president, technologies and innovation. Holder of a master’s degree in economics and another in IT management, the latter is neither a chartered professional accountant (CPA) nor a chartered financial analyst (CFA) – titles that financial directors generally have.

In an organization, the financial director is a sort of financial watchdog. He manages budgets, plans future expenses in addition to being responsible for everything related to financial compliance. In interview with The Press,M^me Kau defends Mr. Dussart’s candidacy.

Mr. Dussart was appointed approximately two months before the arrival of new President and CEO Yves Beauchamp. A member of the ADM board for three years, he is taking his first steps at the helm of an organization whose model is similar to that of a private company. He nevertheless led major infrastructure projects while he held the positions of vice-principal, administration and finance, at McGill University and general director of the École de Technologie Supérieure.

Just in Montreal

At the country’s other major airports – Toronto (Pearson), Calgary and Vancouver – the managers responsible for finance have all held similar roles before. They all hold CPA or CFA titles.

These certifications are not required to manage an organization’s finances, but they are common. At FEI Canada, a professional association bringing together more than 1,100 financial executives, almost half of the members describe themselves as financial directors. Of this number, 96% are CPAs.

In this aspect, Mr. Dussart’s career stands out.

“Nothing suggests that he would have the skills for a position of financial director, neither his past professional experience nor even his diplomas,” estimates Saidatou Dicko, professor in the accounting sciences department at ESG UQAM.

Major challenges

Financially, there are many challenges at ADM. The COVID-19 pandemic has cost around 1 billion, the organization has a debt of 2.3 billion and it must plan costly investments. The congestion caused by the long lines of cars demonstrates the limits of the capacity of the landing stage on the “city” side, for example. We will therefore have to find money. The experts interviewed by The Press wonder if Mr. Dussart is equipped to achieve this.

In a note published last August, the rating agency DBRS Morningstar said it expected an increase in ADM’s debt due to upcoming large-scale investments.

Author of a recent work which looks at the challenges awaiting Montreal-Trudeau, professor of operations and logistics management at HEC Montreal Jacques Roy is surprised by the choice of Mr. Dussart as head of finance.

“The challenges are major in terms of financing,” says the expert. It seems to me that we could have turned to someone with a financial profile, because this person will have to negotiate with bankers or possible investors if the method of financing airports were to change. »

Mr. Roy also wonders why ADM did not opt ​​for a manager with experience in operating airport activities. However, he specifies that we must give the runner a chance.

120 to 130 applications were analyzed for the position of president, says M^me Kau. She affirms that Mr. Beauchamp’s profile fit with the projects awaiting ADM. In the university sector, the latter found itself at the heart of “complex” investments, notably the development of the new Outremont campus of the University of Montreal, explains M^me Kau. This expertise will benefit Montréal-Trudeau, which is preparing to enter this phase, she said.