Honorary degree citation - Xavier-Henri Hervé
By: Martin Pugh, November 2011
Mr. Chancellor, it is my honour to present to you Mr. Xavier-Henri Hervé, President and COO, Mechtronix Systems.
New information technologies in the last thirty years seem to have got their start in basements and garages with innovators, like Gates, Jobs and Wozniak, tinkering with new ideas. So did our honorary degree recipient begin his career here at Concordia as a student in mechanical engineering, working on a project that would become both a passion and enterprise – the flight simulator. Xavier-Henri Hervé and his collaborators took that innovation to new levels and with it created a leading Montreal and Canadian enterprise in Mechtronix. We are indeed proud of his beginnings and his continuing affiliation and encouragement of Concordia University.
Président de Mechtronix Systems inc., Xavier-Henri Hervé supervise la gestion et la restructuration de cette division principale de Mechtronix World Corp (MWC), dont il est président. À ce titre, il participe à l’expansion stratégique et commerciale du groupe, en plus de l’encadrer. M. Hervé dirige également les relations publiques et les communications de Mechtronix avec le milieu des finances et des investissements dans son ensemble.
His business acumen was and continues to be instrumental in building what has become one of the fastest growing companies in the aviation simulation industry. In 2007-2008 he led the refinancing initiatives resulting in a 39M investment by Richardson Capital Inc. From 2009-2010 he was also instrumental in leading Mechtronix Systems to triple its overall flight simulation capacity. As COO, his responsibilities include participating and overseeing strategic and business development initiatives. He has led the effort with other executives to shape corporate strategy as the organization expands its operations from flight simulation technology to a line of aviation training solutions. Known for innovative thinking and action, Mr. Hervé believes in thinking beyond traditional boundaries and models for those around him a commitment to balancing family and professional goals and priorities.
Avant d’entrer au service de Mechtronix, M. Hervé a été ingénieur à CAE et chez Bombardier inc., et a assumé diverses fonctions en ventes et en marketing pour la branche européenne de la société Oracle Corporation. Il est titulaire d’un baccalauréat en génie mécanique de l’Université Concordia (Montréal) ainsi que d’une maîtrise en administration des affaires de l’INSEAD (Paris, France).
Mr. Chancellor, on behalf of Senate and the Board of Governors, it is my privilege and honour to present to you Mr. Xavier-Henri Hervé, so that you may confer upon him the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.
