Entretien avec Éric Martel, président et chef de la direction de Bombardier ✈️

There were many. We always had the gang show in this room. Students played music, we filled the room to overflowing. It was a great moment on stage. Then there were the challenges. One year in electrical engineering, we kidnapped the Bonhomme Carnaval with a helicopter. You can imagine how that went; a colleague's father had a helicopter company, so we had one. It was fun and made headlines. That department had the biggest exploit of the week.

The carnival hasn't started; it's a bit early. That's true, so effectively thank you.

Not at all. I grew up here in Quebec City, born at Lac Saint-Jean but grew up here. Very modest family. Few went to university; out of 75 cousins, only three went. I never envisioned it. One lesson is to take time, be patient. I never woke up and said I'll be CEO of Hydro-Quebec or Bombardier. I just wanted a job. But you had responsibilities in the cadets. That was my second school. You learn a lot. Starting at 12-13, learning to give courses, going to camps, becoming an officer. We did a lot of leadership training. Leadership is something you learn. I became the highest-ranking cadet in Valcartier, with 2000 cadets under my responsibility at 18-19. I climbed the ranks. I had models who inspired me. I made many errors, but that learning was an advantage when I entered the workforce. Important to learn from mistakes. People think leadership is about being authoritarian; it's not. It's about influencing and inspiring people.

I partly spoke about it. What I learned in cadets served me later, but it can be elsewhere. Getting experience managing or influencing people early is important. Another thing: when I started working as a production supervisor on shift with mechanics, our job was to ensure machines were ready for production at Pratt & Whitney. Working with people who could be my father. I was humble but led them where I wanted. I was part of the team; they invited me to play ball. I always approached with humility and authenticity. Authenticity is important for a leader—staying true to yourself. People can sense when someone is not genuine. I always say what I think and listen.

Being true. How I speak to clients—I never try to sell them a plane. Our business jets are exported; 95-96% of our revenue comes from exports. Our clients are sophisticated, using the plane as a tool for global business. I spend a lot of time on sales now, and authenticity means clients have access to me and our chairman. They have my phone number. We have a particular relationship that I'd qualify as authentic, not just corporate. This is a competitive advantage over our main competitor, Gulfstream. In our rebranding last year, we changed the logo. I'm no marketing expert, but we worked to have a brand that truly represents who we are. It took 18 months of debate. We wanted to preserve our heritage from Joseph-Armand Bombardier, from the Ski-Doo to the world's largest passenger train company. But the old gear symbol didn't fit a plane. We evolved the logo to keep the Bombardier name and reflect that we are now like the Ferrari of aircraft. It's something to be proud of. Technologically, building a plane is extremely complex. Only about four countries can build aircraft from A to Z: Canada, US, Brazil, France. China is trying and will likely succeed but has spent billions. For example, Japan, with brilliant engineers, tried to compete with Mitsubishi but abandoned after spending $14 billion. So we must be humble. But here we can design, build, test, and deliver. Pratt & Whitney makes engines. We are a people capable of doing this, and there are few because it's extremely difficult.

Very possibly. What I meant is that after 30 years, you've seen many problems. Engineers love solving problems. Sometimes people come to me and I know the solution, but I prefer to ask questions to help them arrive at it themselves. That develops their skills. Sometimes it takes more time, and they may go deeper than I would. It's important because we hire people to contribute, learn, and stay long-term. When I have the chance to work with people, I ask questions. Sometimes they come out of the meeting surprised that I asked the question they didn't expect. I experienced that with Laurent Baudoin. When I was 35, I'd present something and he'd ask the question I hadn't thought of. I'd take it humbly and reflect. As a leader, you have to build your team by asking questions to make them think, not just knowing the answer yourself. It's good advice.

My first real challenge was that I spoke almost no English, and half of my first team spoke only English. That was a big challenge. I told them I would make efforts to learn. I struggled through the first months. I'd say, 'I make mistakes, you tell me, and I'll improve.' Today, when I work internationally, it's always in English. At the office we balance it. We always wanted to preserve French, but for me, that was the biggest challenge. It was in Quebec, in West Island, but it was fun because people were nice and helped me improve quickly. The advice: do it with humility. We can't know everything. Our degree prepares us for some things, not others.

I had several. I learned humility and authenticity early. I watched people. You'll meet bad managers, and I learned from them what not to do. I tried to have a positive attitude. I observed leadership in cadets, how to influence rather than command. I learned from good and bad examples. Both are useful.

We make many. I've had various obstacles. One current obstacle is with tariffs and how Mr. Trump's actions will reshape the global order. We don't know exactly. But when faced with obstacles, I gather the team, discuss, and consider multiple scenarios. I think it's important to put the right people around the table. There are no stupid questions. I have an anecdote: when I was at Pratt & Whitney, we had a vibration problem in a test chamber. We put our best scientists and engineers on it, redesigned the gearbox three times at a cost of $20 million. It still failed. Then someone less knowledgeable asked why. We discovered that the vibration sensors were mounted on brackets that had natural vibration. The problem wasn't the engine; it was the brackets. Cost 200 pieces to fix. If we had asked the right questions earlier, we could have fixed it for $800. So always surround yourself with good people and ask questions.