When Robert Brown was appointed president and chief executive officer of Bombardier Inc. in 1999, he was the third person to have held that role since the family-run company was founded by patriarch Joseph-Armand Bombardier in 1942.
Prior to his appointment, Brown headed Bombardier Aerospace where, for a decade, he oversaw the phenomenal growth of the aerospace division, building it into the most profitable of the company's core businesses.
His earlier career was mainly spent in the federal public service, where he held top-tier appointments with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., the Public Service Commission and the Treasury Board. In each of those jobs, Brown demonstrated a rare business acumen as well as the ability to make things happen promptly.
Throughout Bombardier's growth and search for new markets and products, the company's hallmark has been excellence. And the secret of the company's success, as Brown has himself made clear, is the quality of its employees. It is his belief in the importance of a skilled workforce that has incited Brown to speak out as an advocate for higher education. He has pointed out that cuts to funding for universities and colleges will only hurt Canada in the long run. Brown has backed his commitment with contributions from the J. Armand Bombardier Foundation.