Michael D. Penner
Born1969 (age 54–55)
Occupation(s)lawyer
businessman
Known forformer chairman of Hydro-Québec

Michael D. Penner (born 1969) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman and chairman of the board. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he served as chairman of the board of Hydro-Québec from 2014 to 2018.[1]

Born in 1969, Penner attended elementary school at Roslyn Elementary School and secondary school at Selwyn House School.[2][3] He received his JD degree from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York after earning an undergraduate degree at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.[4] He began his career as a lawyer in New York, first with Rivkin Radler & Kremer and then with the Olsten Corporation.[5]

Business career

In 1998, Penner joined Richelieu Group, a company that manufactures and imports legwear, and then acquired the company in 2006.[4] He managed the company through the economic downturn that began in 2008 when many manufacturers began exporting production overseas, and returned the company to profitability. Penner became an advocate of the Made in the USA program, which aimed to bring back manufacturing to the United States.[6] The company expanded into the US in 2011 through the acquisition of certain assets of International Legwear Group (ILG), which included the brands PEDS and MediPEDS. On November 17, 2014, PEDS opened a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Hildebran, North Carolina with Governor Pat McCrory in attendance.[7]

U.S. President Barack Obama invited Penner to talk about PEDS' investment at a roundtable discussion at the White House in 2014.[8]

In 2016, Gildan Activewear Inc. purchased PEDS for US$55 million.[9]

He currently serves on the board of directors of Scotia Bank, the Toronto headquartered financial services company with 88,000 employees serving 23 million customers in over 55 countries worldwide, with a stronghold in Canada and Latin America.[10] In his function as a Lead Operating Director for Partners Group based in Zug Switzerland), Penner serves as the Chairman of the United States Infrastructure Corporation (USIC) and EnfraGen Power. USIC is the largest underground telecommunications, power and water utility line locating and damage prevention company in North America. EnfraGen is a leading developer, owner and operator of renewable power generation assets in Chile, Colombia and Panama. EnfraGen's power portfolio includes solar, hydro, and gas generation assets.[11]

Chairman of the board of Hydro-Québec

On October 8, 2014, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard announced that Penner, who had supported him for the Liberal Party leadership,[12] would replace Pierre Karl Péladeau as Chairman of Hydro-Québec. He was the first anglophone, first Jewish, and youngest person to hold this position.[13] He confirmed that Hydro-Québec would not be privatized.[14] Penner resigned on November 5, 2018, shortly after Couillard was defeated.[15]

Honors

In 2008, Penner was named by Caldwell Partners as one of "Canada’s Top 40 Under 40".[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Senior Management and the Board of Directors | Who Are We? | Hydro-québec". Archived from the original on November 22, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Penner picked to chair Hydro-Quebec". October 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Selwyn House School Yearbook 1986". Selwyn House School. 1986. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Hydro-Québec gets its first Jewish chair". The Canadian Jewish News. October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  5. ↑ Rettino-Parazelli, Karl (October 10, 2014). "Le C. A. d'Hydro-Québec a un nouveau président: Michael D. Penner". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  6. ↑ An American Revival, The Globe and Mail, July 5, 2014
  7. ↑ Record, EVAN MATSUMOTO Hickory Daily (March 11, 2015). "PEDS Legwear: Ribbon cut for new facility". News Herald. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  8. ↑ http://business.financialpost.com/2014/05/20/how-the-ceo-of-montreal-sock-maker-richelieu-group-got-to-meet-barack-obama/Financial Post article. Retrieved March 20, 2015
  9. ↑ "Gildan snaps up Peds Legwear". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Board of Directors".
  11. ↑ "Underground Utility Location and Damage Prevention | USIC".
  12. ↑ "Couillard supporter Penner is new Hydro-Québec chairman | Montreal Gazette". October 9, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Michael Penner on his first year as an 'entrepreneur and an anglophone' at the head of Hydro-Québec". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  14. ↑ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-ttews/energy-and-resources/sell-hydro-quebec-no-way-chair-says/article27266400/ The Globe and Mail article. Retrieved November 29, 2015
  15. ↑ "Le président du conseil d'Hydro-Québec claque la porte". La Presse (in Canadian French). November 5, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Updated Stock Market Pricing & News for Canada & US". The Globe and Mail. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
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