Mr. Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien III
Serial Entrepreneur
“I was raised with a respect for education, public service, and commerce. To leave the world a better place. To contribute to society in politics or business or literature. To make a difference."
Education: Harvard MBA, Wharton School of Business Investment Analyst Program
Core strengths
- Holds close ties to local, provincial and federal governments in Canada, one of the world’s most stable and entrepreneurial business environments
- Identifies trends and opportunities well ahead of the mainstream
- Successfully commercializes undervalued businesses and products
- Develops niche strategies to allow B2B companies to dominate their industry
- Possesses considerable experience in navigating diverse industries and volatile markets
Background
Family and roots matter greatly. The de Gaspé Beaubien clan has over 400 years of developing business and contributing to society in both Canada and the United States. De Gaspé Beaubiens were not only among the earliest inhabitants of Quebec City and Montreal, they were also present at the founding of Detroit and Chicago, with others extending the family name to the Midwest and down to New Mexico.
Successive generations of the family have started diverse businesses, while also serving social causes through philanthropic endeavors. Philippe’s mother Nan-b has served as director for a number of large corporations, and is a family enterprise expert. His father, Philippe II, has held a number of high-profile roles, including as the Operations Director behind the hugely successful Expo 67 in Montreal, still considered one of the greatest world fairs.
Connections
As President and CEO of the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation, and through his travels and participation in various global organizations, Philippe has developed an extensive network of families, foundations and private trusts around the world – gaining access and partnerships for his companies in new markets around the world.
He has close ties to the local, provincial and federal governments in Canada. Obtaining financial and political support is one of his key strengths. His family obtained the first cellular license for Canada and the cellular company they created subsequently became the largest in the country. They also acquired the first satellite broadcasting license to distribute content to Canadian communities, and 10 years later received 1G of spectrum for commercial development, the largest amount of spectrum ever given to the private sector.
Vision
Starting or acquiring companies before they become mainstream, Philippe has had a direct hand in areas as diverse as cellular phones and towers, radio station consolidation, broadband wireless expansion, spirits, data mining and anti-aging products companies. His investments span these industries and more, including Zoom, Biomod, Nannette de Gaspé, SonoFit, EERS, PUR, Starlink, Jobbook, and TechTown. <add hyperlinks to each, but not if this will only appear as a paper document.
He develops niche strategies for B2B companies that allow them to dominate their industry, with added forays into the B2C market where attractive opportunities exist.
Instincts
Philippe is an accomplished entrepreneur and has been involved in 15 start-ups and turn-arounds over the past 20 years. He understands entrepreneurs, embraces technology, and is highly aware of the need for sufficient funding at the growth stage. He is accomplished at finding companies that possess a key product but have not been able to commercialize it effectively.
He rates these areas of the Canadian business environment as being particularly attractive for growth and investment potential: Pharma, ICT, Wellcare, FinTech, Agri-Food and Cleantech.
Experience
On top of his many successful ventures, Philippe has lived through several significant industry collapses in the last 17 years. He navigated his investments through the dotcom and telecom collapses of the early 2000’s and the debt crisis of 2008-09, suffering inevitable losses but also managing to multiply his ROI on a number of occasions.
Notable successes include his move to privatize Telemedia, a multimedia company, producing a 15X ROI, and his founding of Redline, a telecom company now operating in 60 countries and considerable upside.