Alain Bouchard

OC OQ
Born1949 (age 74–75)
Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupationbusinessman
Employer(s)Alimentation Couche-Tard
(1980–present)
Known forChairman, CEO and Co-founded Alimentation Couche-Tard
Board member ofAtrium Innovations
SpouseSandra Chartrand[1]
Children4

Alain Bouchard OC OQ (born 1949) is a Canadian billionaire businessman. He is co-founder and chairman of Alimentation Couche-Tard, and also serves on the board of directors of Atrium Innovations. Both corporations are based in Quebec.

Early life

Alain Bouchard was born in 1949, in Chicoutimi, Quebec, and was one of six children. His parents were devout Catholics, as was most of Quebec at that time. His father, Jean-Paul Bouchard, owned an excavation company and was ambitious and a tireless worker, despite only having three years of elementary school education. Bouchard’s mother, who went to school through the seventh grade, managed the company’s finances.[2]

Bouchard's father once owned and managed a road-construction business in Quebec. When his father's company went bankrupt, the family moved to a mobile home in the village of Micoua.[3]

Career

At nineteen, Bouchard worked as a stock boy in his brother's Perrette milk store and in 1969 was hired by Perrette's owner to scout and set up new stores.[4] After Bouchard had opened 100 of Perrette’s 184 stores, he left Perrette because he believed that the company did not treat its employees well. He then joined Provi-Soir, a competitor, as the head of development, construction, and real estate. Wanting to open his own store, Bouchard also attended business courses at HEC Montreal for three years while studying English. He eventually bought two Provi-Soir franchises using his earnings from private real-estate investments. [5]

In the late 1970s, Bouchard worked independently as a retailer before founding Alimentation Couche-Tard in 1980.[6] Serving as Chief Executive Officer of Alimentation Couche-Tard from 1980 to 2014, Bouchard led the company as it expanded from one convenience store to more than 12,500 convenience stores around the world.[7] Maintaining a decentralized organization structure and using the best ideas found in the organization has been noted by Bouchard as factors in Couche-Tard's success.[8] In 2003 the company acquired U.S. based Circle K.[9]

Organizations and recognition

Bouchard was a member of the board of Québecor from 1997 to 2009. With a net worth of US$6.2B billion in 2023,[10][11] Bouchard is in the top 10 of richest people in the province of Quebec and top 25 in Canada and was named Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year for 2012.[11][6] He is the recipient of an International Horatio Alger Award.[7]

Personal life

Bouchard is married and a father of four children, Jonathan, Karinne, Camille and Rose.[7]

The Sandra and Alain Bouchard Foundation is devoted to helping those with intellectual challenges as well as the arts and culture. The foundation also financed the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Quebec City.

References

  1. ↑ "Gala Raises More Than $1 Million for Red Cross". Retrieved 7 April 2017 – via PressReader.
  2. ↑ "Alain Bouchard". Horatio Alger Association Canada. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  3. ↑ "Couche-Tard's Alain Bouchard has led his retail chain around the world, but he's not done yet". Financial Post. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Exclusive: One on One With Alain Bouchard". CSP Magazine. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Alain Bouchard". Horatio Alger Association Canada. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  6. 1 2 "Couche-Tard's Alain Bouchard named 'Outstanding CEO of the Year'". Financial Post. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 "Quebec corner store king Alain Bouchard vows to pursue journey of global conquest". Financial Post. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Business leader with egoless ethic". The Chronicle Journal. 15 May 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Couche-Tard retiring Mac's moniker, rebranding as Circle K". Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  10. ↑ "Forbes profile: Alain Bouchard". forbes.com. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Canada's Richest People 2016: The Top 25 Richest Canadians". Canadian Business - Your Source For Business News. Retrieved 2015-11-22.


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