BIOGRAPHY
Serge Lafrance has
over 30 years of experience in management, business growth, marketing
consulting, and teaching. He has held various executive positions in both
Canada and the United States.
After completing his undergraduate
studies (1986-1989) and graduate studies (1990-1991) in marketing at the
University of Sherbrooke (Canada), Serge Lafrance joined CECI (Canadian Centre
for International Studies and Cooperation) as a food distribution advisor for a
cooperative group (assigned for one year in Burkina Faso).
Upon returning to the
country, he joined the marketing department at the University of Sherbrooke as
a lecturer and substitute professor from 1992 to 1997.
He has taught several
courses there, including international marketing, marketing decisions,
marketing policies, marketing management, and specialized marketing seminars for
undergraduate, MBA, EMBA, and M.Sc. programs. He was named "Best
Professor" of the Administration Faculty for two consecutive years (1993
and 1994).
During this period, he
also spent some time in Montpellier, France, to complete his doctoral studies
in management (DEA).
After founding his own
market research and consulting company in 1996, he then joined the Léger Group
Inc. in 1997 and went on to become Vice-President of Research (1997-2000),
Vice-President of Marketing (2000-2008), Executive Vice-President, USA
(2009-2012) and Chief Marketing Officer (2012-2013) of the organization.
In parallel, Serge
served as Director for the Americas for Gallup International Association (GIA)
from 2007 to 2013. GIA is one of the largest market intelligence networks
globally, operating in 72 countries with revenues of $1.4 billion USD.
During those years,
Serge advised numerous companies on their marketing strategies, growth, and
market intelligence.
Serge later joined HEC
Montréal as Associate Professor and Advisor to Executive Education business
unit. In line with the HEC Montréal mission, he launched in 2016 Executive
Education HEC Montreal (ED), of which he is still the current Director.
He has directed or
co-directed the publication of books and authored dozens of articles in
specialized and business journals.
He received the
"Best Paper" award from the Canadian Journal of Marketing Research
(CJMR) in 2006.
He has been a speaker
or lecturer on a variety of marketing strategy-related topics in around fifteen
countries (Canada, United States, South America, Europe, and Africa).
He has a keen interest
in international business and has spent time in Cameroun (1 year), Burkina Faso
(1 year), France (1 year), Asia (5 months) and the United States (2 and half
years) and has visited some 60 countries worldwide.
He is (or has been) a
member of the following Boards: UNICON - Consortium for University-based
Executive Education - (2022 -); Belley Canada (2004-2022); The Literacy Foundation
- Quebec-Canada (2006-2008); The Research Intelligence Group (TRIG) - USA
(2009-2012).
Awards, Distinctions, and Honors
- Second "Best Paper," The Disloyal Company, 60th Gallup International Association (GIA), International Annual Conference, Luxembourg 2007
- Chris Cumming Award, "Best Paper” of the Year awarded by the Canadian Journal of Marketing Research (CJMR), Toronto, Canada 2006
- Scholarship from the University of Sherbrooke for doctoral studies at the University of Montpellier, France 1994/1995
- Merit scholarship from the Francophonie (Agence Francophone pour l’Enseignement Supérieur et la Recherche (Aupelf-Uref) – doctoral studies – international competition, France 1994/95.
- Recipient of the "Best Professor" title for two consecutive years from the Administration Faculty of the University of Sherbrooke, Canada, awarded by the BBA Student Association. 1993-1994.
- The Disloyal Company, direction and coordination of the collective work, Transcontinental Editions (210 pages), author of Chapter 1: The Disloyal Company – Or the Myth of the Disloyal Consumer (p.17-26) 2009.
- Web Survey and Representativeness: Close to Three in Ten Canadians do not have Access to the Internet. Should We Care? Canadian Journal of Marketing Research, 24.1, MRIA, CJMR Publisher, Vancouver, Canada, 2007.
- International Challenges for Economics and Physical Security (Chapter 1, p.21-35), Voice of the People (186 pages), Gallup International Association Publishing; London, UK, 2006.
- Further Evidence about the Differences between Response Characteristics from Web and Telephone Surveys: Could it be that Information Gathered from Web Surveys is More Valid? Canadian Journal of Marketing Research (CJMR), 23.1, MRIA, CJMR Publisher, Vancouver, Canada, 2006.
- Le mythe de l‘infidélité des consommateurs (The Myth of The Disloyal Consumers), International Management Magazine, HEC, Management School, Montreal, Canada, 2001.
- Regular columnist, Commerce, Transcontinental Editions, (more than 60 articles on marketing and management) 2000-2005.
- Occasional columnist – La Presse
- wspaper – « Evaluation des sites Web des entreprises canadiennes : Web Perform », en collaboration avec HEC, Montreal, Canada 2000-present.
- Sémiométrie : capter les valeurs par les mots (Semiometry: Capturing the Value of Words), Revue Gestion, Vol.24, HEC, Montreal, Canada, 1999.
Serge Lafrance is qualified as an "expert in marketing and marketing research" by the Quebec Court (Canada) for commercial litigation cases. He has also led projects for clients from the Quebec Energy Board and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Serge Lafrance visited sixty countries, often as part of professional or academic missions. He lived in Africa for two years, in France for one year, in Asia for five months, and in the USA for 2 1/2 years:
South Africa, Germany, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Cuba, Spain, United States, Eswatini (Swaziland), France, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Mexico, Monaco, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Russia, Singapore, St. Martin (France & Netherlands), Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Uruguay, Vatican, Vietnam, South Korea and North Korea (DMZ).