SAINT-AUGUSTIN-De-DESMAURES, Québec (BRAIN) — William Garneau has been named general manager at Louis Garneau, the company his father founded 34 years ago.
William Garneau has previously held various roles at the company, from managing and supervising all aspects of its DreamFactory custom bike program to, most recently, leading the hardgoods division as well as overseeing the procurement and sourcing department. William Garneau also is a former national level racer who competed for Canada at the Junior World Road Championships in South Africa in 2008.
"Garneau is more than a company, it's a family," said William Garneau. "I'm grateful to my father and my brother Edouard for entrusting me with this tremendous responsibility. I will do everything I can to support and inspire the team to ensure the company's growth over the coming years. My father started a great company 34 years ago; it's now up to us to take it into its next prosperous era. "
Louis Garneau will remain the President Designer of the company.
Louis Garneau said, "It's a proud day for me. I've always wanted to see my children take an active role at the company and felt that the time was right to finish my pull and let them take the lead.
"William is a passionate, dedicated and open leader. His youth is an asset as it brings new perspective and life to the company. Of course, I am still here to give him a lead-out every now and then."
Other members of the family also are involved with the company. Edouard is director of IBD sales for the U.S. And Louis' daughter Victoria is completing her college studies in fashion design and will soon join her brothers at the company.
BRAIN wrote about Louis Garneau's generational transition plans in our 2013 package of stories about succession in the bike industry. The 2013 article is attached below.
