Great interview – Josée Fiset, co-founder of Première Moisson | Advocacy for caring leaders

After co-founding the Première Moisson bakery chain with her mother and two brothers, which was sold in 2014 to Metro, entrepreneur Josée Fiset returned to her first love by becoming an associate professor at HEC Montréal and co-director of Pôle D, for leader, manager and strategic direction.

“Business leaders can contribute to making the world better than it is, they have the means to do it on their own scale,” summarizes Josée Fiset, who is fully involved in Pôle D of HEC Montréal since its creation in 2021.

The entrepreneur, who graduated from HEC Montréal, was excited by the idea of ​​giving back to her alma mater, which helped to structure her entrepreneurial spirit, which she had developed since her early childhood.

“My mother, Liliane Colpron, was a true entrepreneur. She founded a bakery in LaSalle in 1969 with her second husband before starting Boulangerie Mansion, an industrial company manufacturing frozen raw dough which was bought by Heinz in 1990. In 1991, my two brothers and I started teamed up with my mother to launch Première Moisson,” says Josée Fiset.

Even though she started working at the age of 10 in the family bakery and has never stopped since, Josée Fiset believes that it was her diploma obtained at HEC Montréal that allowed her to better define herself as a true leader, capable of manage change.

In 2014, the Colpron-Fiset family sold Première Moisson to the Metro Group, and Josée Fiset will remain with the Quebec retailer until 2019 where she will ensure the integration of the thirty bakeries and factories that belonged to Première Moisson.

The entrepreneur then began writing intensively and completed two recipe books and a third on management, Benevolent leadershipwhich will be published by Pratico Édition.

“It was at that time, in 2021, that HEC Montréal and Yves Devin, the former CEO of the STM, approached me to become an associate professor at the School. I was already involved through philanthropy with HEC Montréal.

“Professor Alaric Bourgoin asked me to accept the role of associate director of the new Research Center on Business Leaders. I was immediately excited about the project,” says Josée Fiset.

Four laboratories to move forward

This new research module entirely focused on the profession of CEO has set up four laboratories which are working to produce results which will enrich the lives of business leaders by opening up new perspectives for them.

A first laboratory called L’Observatoire, which was set up in collaboration with the Léger firm, seeks to generate exclusive data on what CEOs do and think from a panel of executive directors.

A second workshop, called Accelerator, plans meetings with managers and researchers to discuss major societal issues and different management systems, while the Alter Ego laboratory offers a space for reflection by pairing an experienced manager with an HEC professor. Montreal.

Josée Fiset, for her part, proposed the creation of the Atypical laboratory, which she directs today. It is essentially a matter of producing video capsules with leaders from different backgrounds who come to share their own practical wisdom, what they have developed in an atypical way and which can inspire other leaders.

“I did it for my book Benevolent leadership by speaking with six leaders. I wanted to continue this reflection by creating a library of testimonials from inspiring people. We have now produced around a dozen video clips that we are making available to everyone on the Pôle D website or on YouTube,” explains the entrepreneur-professor.

Josée Fiset makes no secret of it: throughout her life as a manager, she has always drawn inspiration from the experience of others. When she saw the good results obtained by a company, she did not hesitate to ask for the recipe for this success; same thing with its employees.

“That’s what caring leadership is all about: being open to others, exchanging and sharing our best practices. We did this throughout the life of Première Moisson, choosing healthy ingredients, opening new bakeries in 50-50 partnerships with bakers that we sometimes financed ourselves,” explains Josée Fiset.

The entrepreneur’s involvement in the new research center on managers is not limited to her contribution to the Atypical laboratory, where she produces video clips with managers; she also wanted to contribute financially to the new Pôle D.

“I chose to get financially involved in the research center, because I care about HEC and I believe in the great usefulness of what we do. We have incredible projects and skills and, above all, Pole D puts science at the service of leaders so that they become better,” she says.

“We did it at Première Moisson, we put our values ​​at the center of our company, we did not hesitate to put the word “love” in our mission statement. Leaders can make a difference and caring leadership is a winner,” says Josée Fiset, convinced.