Montreal's Top Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 46
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MONTRÉAL’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Openness and flexibility engage staff at Saputo Inc.
R
oland Canimo worked
as an information
technology consultant
for many companies
over 16 years before he
found one that he wanted to work
for full-time: Saputo Inc., the
Montréal-based manufacturer of
cheese and dairy products.
“When I saw the way Saputo
operated, I knew it was a company
I’d be open to joining,” says
Canimo, who’s now senior director
for IT. “One of the biggest selling
points for me was that it’s a large
company that operates almost like
a small, family business. You can
walk into anybody’s office and get
advice, or just chat.”
Canimo also appreciates the
co-operation among the different
departments. “Traditionally, IT
is siloed, and people only see IT
when there’s a problem,” he says.
“That’s not what it’s like here.
We’re more like partners who are
trusted to execute on strategy.”
That extends to Saputo’s many
professional development initiatives. “I was nominated to join an
Elevate Your Influence leadership
training program,” he says. “I like
that it’s not just IT, it’s a crosscompany program where I get to
meet people from different roles
across the business and the globe,
and I think we learn a lot from
each other because of that.”
A year ago, Canimo asked if
there was any training in presentation skills available for his IT
team.
“Our training team came back
with a 12-week program called
Presenting with Impact, where my
team could use the job they were
doing and learn different ways to
present it,” he says. “Usually with
IT, the focus is on technical skills,
so it was great that the company
invested in soft-skills training for
them.”
Canimo then asked several
senior leaders if they were willing
to spend the time to listen to the
team’s presentations. “Nobody
said no — they all sat down and
listened for four hours,” he says. “I
think that kind of support is really
stellar.”
Everybody works toward
the same goal, and when
you’re open to input from
everybody, it creates
confidence in the whole
team.
— Georges Jebara
Senior Legal Counsel
A Saputo employee at work at the company’s Montréal warehouse.
Georges Jebara, a senior legal
counsel for Saputo’s Canadian
division, says he also receives valuable support in his role. “I think
it’s the perfect balance of my boss
giving me enough freedom with
my files but being there to support
me in case I have questions,” he
says.
Jebara also values the company’s
open-door policy, which includes
informal coffee time with company leaders. “Our president takes
the time to do that with everybody,
and it’s really appreciated,” he
says. “Even when I started as a
young lawyer, I always felt my
opinion mattered, and that starts
with the leaders. Everybody works
toward the same goal, and I think
when you’re open to input from
