Company

Germain Lamonde, founder of EXFO, is Executive Chairman of the Board and served as the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for over 30 years. During his tenure as CEO, Germain grew the company from the ground up, turning it into a global leader in the communications test, monitoring and analytics market and the world's #1 fiber/high-speed testing company, with customers in 100+ countries. Today as Executive Chairman,Germain leads EXFO's acquisitions strategy and is actively involved in defining the company's growth and investment strategies, strategic direction and corporate governance policies. Germain has served on the board of directors of several public and private organizations, fulfilled numerous speaking engagements, and received several industry awards for his leadership, innovation and global development and was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 Canada. He is presently Chairman of ENCQOR, the Canada–Quebec-Ontario partnership focused on research and innovation in the field of 5G/IoT innovation and serves on the Board of QG100 – a CEO development forum. Germain holds a bachelor's degree in engineering physics from Polytechnique Montréal and a master's degree in optics from Université Laval in Québec City. He is a graduate of the Ivey Executive Program at Western University in London, Ontario, and is also a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Philippe Morin was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EXFO in April 2017 and is responsible for the Corporation's strategy and financial directions, goals and results. He has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and joined EXFO in November 2015 as Chief Operating Officer (COO) leading the company's global sales leadership, market development, and product strategy. Before joining EXFO, Philippe was Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Field Operations at Ciena. He previously held senior leadership roles at Nortel Networks, including President of Metro Ethernet Networks and Vice President and General Manager of Optical Networks. Philippe holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada, and a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

François Côté was appointed a member of our Board of Directors in January 2015. Mr. Côté is a director as a full-time occupation, for corporations in the public, private and non-profit sectors, bringing his expertise in strategy, M&A, governance and passion for growth. Mr. Côté held a variety of executive positions at Bell Canada prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of Emergis. Following the acquisition of Emergis by TELUS in January 2008, he was appointed President of TELUS Quebec, TELUS Health and TELUS Ventures. In this role, Mr. Côté was responsible for broadening TELUS Quebec's presence and driving the company's national health strategy through timely investments in information technology and innovative wireless solutions. Mr. Côté holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Relations from Laval University. In 2007, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, in the Corporate Restructuring category for the province of Quebec. Mr. Côté serves on the boards of Purkinje, a Montreal health IT growth company as Chairman, Aspire Food Group, HZB Pharma Canada also as Chairman and Diagnos Inc. a new publicly listed company on the TSX Venture Exchange. Mr. Côté also serves on the Advisor Committee of Groupe Morneau.

Germain Lamonde, founder of EXFO, is Executive Chairman of the Board and served as the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for over 30 years. During his tenure as CEO, Germain grew the company from the ground up, turning it into a global leader in the communications test, monitoring and analytics market and the world's #1 fiber/high-speed testing company, with customers in 100+ countries. Today as Executive Chairman,Germain leads EXFO's acquisitions strategy and is actively involved in defining the company's growth and investment strategies, strategic direction and corporate governance policies. Germain has served on the board of directors of several public and private organizations, fulfilled numerous speaking engagements, and received several industry awards for his leadership, innovation and global development and was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 Canada. He is presently Chairman of ENCQOR, the Canada–Quebec-Ontario partnership focused on research and innovation in the field of 5G/IoT innovation and serves on the Board of QG100 – a CEO development forum. Germain holds a bachelor's degree in engineering physics from Polytechnique Montréal and a master's degree in optics from Université Laval in Québec City. He is a graduate of the Ivey Executive Program at Western University in London, Ontario, and is also a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Philippe Morin was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EXFO in April 2017 and is responsible for the Corporation's strategy and financial directions, goals and results. He has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and joined EXFO in November 2015 as Chief Operating Officer (COO) leading the company's global sales leadership, market development, and product strategy. Before joining EXFO, Philippe was Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Field Operations at Ciena. He previously held senior leadership roles at Nortel Networks, including President of Metro Ethernet Networks and Vice President and General Manager of Optical Networks. Philippe holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada, and a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Louis Adam is EXFO’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). He has over two decades of experience, including 10 years as EXFO’s Head of Marketing during which he led the digital transformation of the department and the company’s marketing strategies. As CMO, Louis is responsible for EXFO’s global marketing, including brand strategy and portfolio positioning, digital marketing and sales enablement. He also oversees business operations and strategic planning.

Louis brings deep expertise in multichannel marketing, digital marketing and business intelligence on a global scale. He also brings experience from the telecom sector, having been responsible for competitive intelligence and new services development at Fido, later acquired by Rogers, a Canadian mobile network operator.

In addition to being a regular speaker at conferences, Louis has taught marketing at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels for more than 15 years. He is an active leader in the business community, including as a business coach with Québec International and as head of the marketing group of QG100 Network, an accelerator of 100 companies collaborating to catalyze the growth of Quebec companies on a global scale. Louis has a master’s degree in marketing from Université de Sherbrooke, in Sherbrooke, Canada. He also holds a certificate in entrepreneurial marketing for product line management from the MIT Entrepreneurship Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Abdelkrim Benamar was appointed EXFO’s Vice President of Service Assurance, Systems and Services Division in May 2018, following the Astellia acquisition. In this role, Abdelkrim is responsible for the overall product and services portfolio for monitoring and analytics. He brings over 25 years of experience in the telecom industry with proven leadership, business transformation and change management skills.

Before joining EXFO, Abdelkrim successively held the positions of COO (July 2015) and CEO (June 2016) of Astellia. He previously held several executive roles at Alcatel-Lucent including Vice President EMEA, CEO Alcatel-Lucent International, and Vice President Global Head of Financial Analysis and Risk Assessment. He has also worked for leading telecom companies such as Ericsson Group (2000–2007), Motorola (1996–2000) and Alcatel Mobile Phones, in areas such as R&D, Communications & Public Affairs, and Strategy and Sales.

Abdelkrim holds an engineering degree from Telecom SudParis (formerly known as Institut National des Télécommunications) and a PhD in electrical engineering from Université Paris-Sud.

Stephen Bull joined EXFO in 1995 as an Engineering Manager (project management) for the Advanced Optics group. From September 1997 to December 1999, he held the position of Assistant Director of Engineering responsible for all software development. Stephen was then appointed EXFO's Vice President of Research and Development in December 1999. Today, he manages a department that includes more than 760 engineers and technicians spread across three continents and nine locations. Stephen is responsible for EXFO's product development initiatives and oversees the Project Management Office and related processes. Prior to joining EXFO, Stephen was General Manager and Managing Director at Space Research Corporation, a military engineering company in Belgium, from June 1986 to March 1990, then at Taurus, an IT consulting firm, from 1990 to 1995. He is currently the President of the Institut de développement de produits (an institute dedicated to the advancement of product development practices) and a member of the Product Development Management Association (PDMA). He speaks regularly at conferences on product development. Stephen holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Université Laval in Quebec City, and is a PDMA-certified New Product Development Professional.

Stéphane Chabot first joined EXFO as a Product Line Manager in 1998 and was promoted to Product Line Manager – Network Service Provider Market in 2001. As Vice President, Test and Measurement, Stéphane is responsible for the Optical and Access and Platform product lines. Prior to this appointment, he was Director of EXFO's Optical Business Unit, a position he had held since 2006. In this role, Stéphane led the main team in its responsibility for developing the worldwide optical business and strategy, developing and maintaining the product family roadmap and vision, developing and controlling annual marketing, ensuring go-to-market plans, developing new markets, providing key market watch and competitive updates, analyzing product line performance and metrics, providing periodic benchmarking, and developing partnerships/OEMs/acquisitions within the product line family. Stéphane was highly successful as Director of the Optical Business Unit, doubling its annual revenues to more than $120 million and increasing EXFO's global share of the portable optical solutions market to 38 percent. His leadership has been instrumental in many key applications with global reach, such as fiber-to-the-home. Prior to his employment at EXFO, Stéphane was a telecommunications officer in the Canadian Armed Forces from 1992 to 1998. Stéphane holds a bachelor's degree in space science from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a diploma in business administration from Université Laval in Quebec City.

Suzanne Daneau joined EXFO in October 2019 as Vice President of Human Resources. Heading a global HR team, Suzanne is responsible for developing and implementing the overarching HR strategy under the business plan for the outreach, acquisition, development and retention of talent.

With more than 25 years of experience in well-known organizations that are recognized within their communities, Suzanne has led several strategic transformations and has been involved in numerous acquisitions. She leverages strong business acumen to support senior management and she actively participates in building the organizational capacity and a culture of performance.

Recognized for her expertise in organizational development and talent management, Suzanne is keen about optimizing the role and impact of human resources.

She holds a bachelor's degree in industrial relations from the University of Montreal and is currently studying for a McGill University EMBA. A CRHA member, she is also involved in Women's Governance and the Parity Certification Committee.

Suzanne is deeply committed to the health of children and she is involved as a volunteer with Les Gouverneurs de l’Espoir, a research foundation that helps families through hardships.

Gabriel Duford joined EXFO in June 2020 as Chief Technology Officer. In this role, Gabriel is responsible for EXFO’s technology vision and strategy, as well as the continuous improvement of solution development methodologies to meet the highest standards of innovation and quality.

With more than 20 years’ experience at top-tier software R&D organizations, including over a decade driving their technology and innovation strategies, Gabriel has a proven track record of developing valuable technology in diverse markets and domains. He also brings deep experience in productizing artificial intelligence (AI), making him a valuable advisor to EXFO’s customers on their AI transformation journeys. Gabriel’s accomplishments include co-founding Element AI, an artificial intelligence solutions provider, in 2016. As the company’s Senior Vice President, Platform and Technology, he oversaw all aspects of the creation of the AI platform, products and solutions, including applied research, product strategy, product management and software development. Previously, Gabriel led the software as a service (SaaS) initiative at JDA Software, a leading supply chains solutions provider, and was in charge of technology at JDA Innovation Labs. He has also held senior leadership positions at startups specialized in workforce management software and the video game industry.

Gabriel holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Université de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Canada. He is also a seasoned glider and airplane pilot, flight instructor and aerobatic instructor.

Étienne Gagnon was appointed Vice President, Commercial Transformation in February 2019. Étienne is a noted international business and B2B marketing professional. Over the past 25 years, he has held leadership roles in sales team management, marketing strategy implementation and innovation management in high-growth, international tech companies. From 2017 to 2019, he headed up global commercial efforts as Senior Global Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Eddyfi Technologies, a fast-growing company in the field non-destructive testing inspection technology. From 2015 to 2017, he served as Vice President and then President of Optel Vision, positioning the company as the undisputed leader in the field of pharmaceutical product serialization. Under his leadership, the international sales team generated growth and market share in pharmaceutical packaging rapid inspection and serialization. From 2003 to 2015, he worked at EXFO. As part of his responsibilities as Vice President of Test and Measurement and Corporate Marketing, he was responsible for EXFO's wireline and wireless test and measurement business units (Optical, Transport and Datacom, Access, Simulators and Analyzers) and Corporate Marketing for the company. Étienne previously held sales and innovation roles at TeraXion, EXFO and Bombardier Aerospace. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Polytechnique Montréal and a master's degree in European affairs from Télécom Bretagne.

Floyd Allen Johnston was appointed as Vice President, Sales – Americas in September 2019. Floyd has 27 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and extensive expertise in both wireline and wireless technology. Before joining EXFO, he served as vice president of the North America and Americas divisions for Mavenir. He previously held leadership roles at Oracle, Acme Packet and Tekelec. Floyd has an MBA in telecommunications from University of Dallas, and a master's degree in mediation and conflict resolution from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas.

Jean-Luc Labarre serves as EXFO’s Chief Information Officer, leading the Information Technology and corporate security. Appointed CIO in 2020 and following a long-lasting Information technology leadership of more than 10 years, Jean-Luc is responsible for overseeing the global IT and security strategies, including risk management practice. He joined EXFO in 1997 as industrial engineer, transforming and leading the improvement of EXFO’s manufacturing activities. He joined the IT in 2001, leading the group activities and strategic projects amongst which several digitalization projects and ERP implementations worldwide.

Jean-Luc holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Université du Quebec à Trois-Rivières, and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Université Laval in Quebec City.

Claudio Mazzuca was appointed Vice President, Strategic Partners in May 2018. Prior to this appointment, he had served as Vice President, Systems and Analytics since 2012 and director of EXFO's Transport and Datacom Business Unit since 2006. In this role, he was responsible for the development and execution of business and product strategy for the unit, which now is a leading player in the Ethernet and next-generation packet transport test market segments. Claudio began his career as a systems engineer for Nortel Networks, where he worked on the launch of the highly successful 10G High-Speed Transport and DWDM product line, and later on Nortel's Preside Network Management solution. He then moved to technology startup Hyperchip Systems as Senior Product Manager, focusing on the development of large-scale metro and core IP routers and switches, and associated OEM components. In 2004, Claudio joined EXFO's Transport and Datacom Business Unit as Product Line Manager for the next-generation SONET/SDH products, and in 2005, was promoted to Group Manager for the entire Transport and Datacom product line. Claudio holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Montreal's Concordia University and a master's degree in business from McGill University, also in Montreal.

Luc Pelletier was appointed Vice President Global Services of EXFO in August 2020. As such, he leads the business strategy, goals and financial results for Global Services, with a strong focus on the corporate customer experience.

He joined EXFO in 2018 as Director of Customer Care and moved on to lead the Service Assurance, Systems and Services (SASS) division in 2019.

Luc has over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to joining EXFO, he was the Senior Director of Professional Services at Ciena. He started his engineering career at Canadian Marconi Company (CMC) and then successfully held, at Nortel and Ciena, global leadership roles in operations and services. He championed operations integrations of strategic acquisitions, major supply chain and services reshaping. He is a recognized transformational leader and clients value his thorough understanding of mission critical solutions and the services and operations imperatives required for their success on a global basis.

Luc holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Polytechnique Montréal and a post-graduate diploma in business administration from H.E.C., both affiliated with Université de Montréal. He has also attended focused executive leadership programs at McGill University’s Desautel Executive Management Institute.

Luc has served on the board of directors of the Montréal Science Centre Foundation.

Pierre Plamondon was appointed Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance of EXFO in January 1996. He is responsible for accounting, legal and IT services, as well as financial reporting and investor relations. Prior to joining EXFO, Pierre served as Senior Manager for Price Waterhouse, now PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, from September 1981 to December 1995, in Canada and France. Pierre is a member of the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Quebec. Over the years, he has served on the boards of several organizations, including Urbanimmersive, a public company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, as well as non-profits, such as the Fondation de l'Université Laval and SOVAR Inc. (Société de valorisation des applications de la recherche de l'Université Laval). Pierre holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and a license in accounting, both from Université Laval in Quebec City.

Benoit Ringuette has been EXFO’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since 2004. Prior to joining EXFO, Benoit practiced mainly in commercial, corporate and securities law from 1998 to 2003 as an associate in the law firms of O’Brien; Flynn Rivard, and Desjardins Ducharme Stein Monast in Quebec City. Mr. Ringuette has been a member of the Quebec Bar since 1998. Mr. Ringuette holds a bachelor’s degree in civil law and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Université Laval in Quebec, Canada.

Michael Scheppke was appointed EXFO's Vice President, Sales – APAC in October 2016. Michael is responsible for managing telecom sales, both direct and indirect, and executing sales strategies across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. He developed his expertise working in the industry in both the USA and Asia. Following several years at HP and Agilent, he spent a significant part of his career at Ixia, where he held various senior roles. Michael has developed and executed the go-to-market strategy for their network monitoring business in APAC by successfully leading diverse sales teams and expanding sales coverage with channel partners. Michael holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Florida.