Charles Sirois

Founder and Chairman of the Board, Telesystem
Chairman of the Board, NorthStar Earth & Space
Co-Founder and Chairman, Pangea Agriculture Group
Co-Founder and Chairman, McPeak-Sirois Group for clinical
research in breast cancer

PROFILE
Born in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Charles Sirois is a leading figure in the Canadian communications industry. He is the founder, controlling shareholder and chairman of Telesystem, a company that has been the driving force behind some of the country’s most compelling entrepreneurship success stories.

BACKGROUND
Charles Sirois launched his business career in 1978, as the head of a family-run paging company. He quickly established himself as a leader in the Canadian paging industry through National Pagette and National Mobile Radiocommunications. In 1987, the two companies merged with Bell Cellular to form BCE Mobile Communications, of which Mr. Sirois was Chairman and CEO from 1988 to 1990. From 1992 to 2000, Mr. Sirois was Chairman and CEO of Teleglobe. He also sat on Rogers Communications Board of Directors from 2012 to 2018, and acted as Lead Director from 2014 until the end of his term.

Mr. Sirois founded Telesystem International Wireless Corporation N.V. in 1994 and was Chairman of the Board until the beginning of 1997, when the company became Telesystem International Wireless Inc. (TIW). He chaired TIW until 2005. In 1995, he founded Microcell Telecommunications Inc. During his eight years as Chairman of the Board, Microcell launched Fido, the first carrier in Canada to operate a GSM based network.

In addition, Mr. Sirois was a director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) from 1997 to 2015, and from 2009 to 2015, he was the first Quebecker to assume the chairmanship of this bank. He also sat on Rogers Communications Board of Directors from 2012 to 2018, and acted as Lead Director from 2014 until the end of his term. Mr. Sirois is Chairman of the Board of the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS). He also sits on the board of directors of QG100 Network, a global non-profit entrepreneur network that he co-founded in 2010, and of Zone 3, a movie and TV show producer.

Mr. Sirois holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Sherbrooke, a master’s degree in finance from Université Laval and honorary doctorates from the Université du Québec à Montréal, the University of Ottawa, Concordia University, Université Laval and the École de technologie supérieure.

ACCOLADES AND PUBLICATIONS
Charles Sirois is a member of the Order of Canada and of the Ordre national du Québec. He was inducted into Canada’s Telecommunications Hall of Fame and is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Meritorious Service Cross (civil division). In April 2024, Mr. Sirois received the Fraser Institute Founders’ Award, a very high distinction for his exceptional entrepreneurial career. Mr. Sirois published two books: The Medium and the Muse (1995) and Organic Management: Creating a Culture of Innovation (2000).