Management Team

Eric Beauregard

CEO

Graduated from the University of Sherbrooke with a degree in Economics in 1991, Eric Beauregard began his career in business development with two American companies specialized in information technology. Hired at Netergy in 1999, he has been Sales Director for Europe and General Manager.

Thereafter, Mr. Beauregard was named Vice-President and General Manager at Silicomp Canada, (now Orange Canada) where his role was to structure the company and make it grow. At his departure in 2005, the company had about thirty employees.

Finally, Mr. Beauregard joined AV&R as CEO in 2006. At first, his role was to structure the former Averna group as an independent company and, then, with his team, to find a market niche for the company. Mr. Beauregard now concentrates on leading AV&R to be recognized as a world leader in Robotic Finishing and Automated Visual Inspection for gas turbine parts.

Member of the Aerospace Advisory Board of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT), Administrator on the Board of the CRIAQ, member of the Board of Directors of the Quebec Aerospace Association (AQA), advisor on the AÉROÉTS’ Industrial Advisory Board, Vice-President of the Regroupement des équipementiers en automatisation industrielle (REAI) and speaker for the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal's "Back to school" operation, Mr. Beauregard is highly involved in giving back to society.

Jean-François Dupont

COO

Jean-François Dupont holds a Bachelor's Degree in Automated Production Engineering. He also followed an Entrepreneurship Training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Co-founder of the company, Mr. Dupont held almost every role within AV&R. In 1994, Mr. Dupont elaborated the development, running and marketing of the first AV&R systems installed in North America (under Walsh Automation). Initially specialized in image processing, he developed his management expertise by occupying, in turn, the roles of Project Manager, Operations Manager, Engineering Director and Vice-President Engineering.

Today, Mr. Dupont is Chief Operations Officer (COO) and works closely with the CEO to guide the team according to the company's mission.

Francois Arrien, Eng., M.Sc.

CTO - Robotic Finishing

Graduated in 1990 with a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Laval University, Francois Arrien started his career in machine vision and mechanical conception to become Product Designer and was quickly promoted to be in charge of Engineering and R&D.

In 1999, Mr. Arrien joined AV&R's team (formerly Walsh Automation) and, a few months later, received the mandate to create a mechanical group inside the vision division. In 2003, he was named Principal Engineer for Mechanical and Robotics. In this role, Mr. Arrien was in charge of conceptualizing and evaluating the cost and risk of potential projects while supervising current projects.

Thereafter, Mr. Arrien was named Vice-President. He now is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Robotic Finishing Centre of Excellence. Under his leadership, revenues associated to Robotic Finishing reached 50% of the company's total revenues. Mr. Arrien's main philosophy is to create the best products by mixing innovation and lean design to meet customers' needs.

Sebastien Parent, Eng., M.Sc.

CTO - Automated Visual Inspection

Sebastien Parent holds a Bachelor Degree in Physics Engineering from the Laval University and a Master's Degree in Physics conducted at the laboratories of the Center for Optics and Photonics of the Laval University (COPL) under Professor Henry H. Arseneault in "Optical Information Processing".

Mr. Parent began as a Systems Developer and his expertise led him to become an Applications Engineer in Machine Vision. In April 1996, he joined AV&R (formerly Walsh Automation) and held several positions such as Director. Today, Mr. Parent is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Automated Visual Inspection Centre of Excellence.

Mr. Parent is specialized in machine vision, followed a Green Belt Quality Training and participated in a vast variety of Machine Vision projects.

Jerome D'Anjou, Eng.

Operations Director

In 1998, as a recent graduate of Montreal's ETS School of Electrical Engineering, Jerome D'Anjou joined AV&R (formerly Walsh Automation).

Mr. D'Anjou gained significant experience over the years; from Control Expert to Electrical Designer, he visited countless industrial areas in North America, worked alongside dozens of customers' teams and accomplished hundreds of projects.

Attracted by management and development of engineering processes, Mr. D'Anjou was ready to become Operations Director in 2010. He positions the Project Team in the center of innovation while maintaining a strong connection between the various stakeholders because, for him, innovation firstly finds its way into people's heads. He preaches that the success of a new technology is also the matter of those who benefit from it.

Stephane Nolin, Eng., MBA

Software Research & Development Director

Stephane Nolin holds a Bachelor's Degree in Automated Production Engineering from ETS and a MBA from the UQAM School of Management.

Mr. Nolin joined AV&R's team in 1998 (formerly Walsh Automation) as the designer and developer of machine vision systems and image processing. Animated by his passion for software design and development, he quickly became the main software architect for the vision division. Mr. Nolin then developed new work methods and designed a software platform which simplifies software development process.

Mr. Nolin temporarily left AV&R to work as a consultant for multinational companies in the field of food processing where he developed his expertise in management and followed a "Six Sigma Black Belt" training.

In 2011, Mr. Nolin comes back to AV&R as Software Research & Development Director. His team is in charge of the development of software platforms used by the company.

Marc-Olivier Abel, Eng.

Engineering Director

Marc-Olivier Abel holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the ETS. At the end of his studies, Mister Abel joined the AV&R team (formerly Walsh Automation) as Mechanical Designer. He takes part of a hundred of projects and quickly acquires valuable experience in system design.

In 2007, Mister Abel is promoted Mechanical Director. In this role, he is in charge of the design, the supervision and the costs’ evaluation of the projects. This function allows him to work closely with his team to increase the quality of the systems while reducing their costs based on lean design.

In 2011, Mister Abel is named Engineering Director. His team is in charge of the development of the customers’ systems and of the integration of the technologies developed by AV&R’s centers of excellence.

Dominic Després, CPA, CMA

Financial Director

Newly graduated from his Bachelor’s Degree, Dominic Despres, CPA, CMA, joined AV&R in 2008 (Baccalaureate in 2007 and CMA 2009).

Mr. Després’ tasks evolved over time, in synergy with the company's growth. Today, he holds the position of Financial Director, is in charge of an accounting clerk and part of the steering committee.

Mr. Després ensures AV&R’s funding for international expansion through grants, loans, purchasing conditions’ management, financing letters of guarantees, etc. In order to vigil financial health, Mr. Despres maintains a dashboard that monitors the finances of the company (forecasts, actual budgets, variances, cash, etc.).

In 2012, Mr. Després was nominated for CMA Award for Excellence in the category 30 years and under. This award recognizes the CMAs who professionally stand out by their expertise in strategic and financial management and possess communication skills.