Bradley Fauteux has been a lifelong environmentalist, serving as Managing Director of Ontario Parks for the Government of Ontario as well as working in Green Infrastructure as Senior Director P# for EQUANS Services Inc..
During his tenure at Ontario Parks, Fauteux oversaw 2,500 employees, as well as a $90 million operating budget on top of a $1.5 billion capital portfolio. Today, he is the Senior Director P3 Management at EQUANS, which offers solutions and services to meet the energy, multi-technical and digital needs of industries, cities, and buildings, where you can improve energy efficiency and performance. His current position is in direct alignment with his lifelong commitment to the environment.
“I believe that everyone in a leadership position has the responsibility to help ensure we preserve the natural world,” said Fauteux. “Without it, little of what we do or achieve holds significant meaning. After all, we have to ensure that we have a place where others following in our footsteps have the opportunity to achieve their own goals.”
Before he got his start in his career, Fauteux earned a bachelor’s degree in 1995 from the Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada. He would later continue his education, earning an additional Management Certificate from the American Management Association International in 1999. He also completed an Indigenous Studies Certificate from the University of Alberta in 2017.
Today, Brad serves as the Senior Director P3 at EQUANS Services. There, he manages the strategic delivery operations for multiple P3 contracts across both Canada and the U.S. He oversees transit, healthcare, transportation, and cultural infrastructure.
We are thrilled to have you join us today. Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
BRADLEY FAUTEUX: It’s great to be here, thank you for having me. To try and keep it concise, I have a diverse background in leadership and management and as a generalist I haver been fortunate to work in roles that interested me as an environmentalist. Throughout my colourful career, I’ve worked with about 300 separate intergovernmental, community, Indigenous and private sectors entities. I’ve also been honoured with several awards for my professional pursuits, predominantly in the areas of environmental policy, practice and tourism. Notably, I received the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Award for four years running(2012-15) and the Tourism Marketing Industry Association of Ontario. Both of those were great honours for me, and I hold them near and dear to my heart. As for the current position I serve in, EQUANS is one of the leading providers in energy efficiency and facility management services, including outsourcing and P3 partnerships for both companies and communities. I felt it aligned greatly with my personal interests and professional background.
I have specialized experience in multiple areas from service delivery, business development, organizational design, relationship and financial management on top of my environmental interests. I’ve built a very diverse career that has come together quite well.
In the past year, what is the greatest business achievement you’d like to celebrate with your team? Please share the details of that success.
BRADLEY FAUTUEX: It may come as a surprise, but I would say that our biggest achievement this year has been creating a culture of optimism about the future. A few years post-COVID, many things in our everyday lives and business were forced to change everything and adapt. There were many disruptions that came as a result of this, and it created a great deal of unease, especially in the business sector. Companies are struggling to maintain their employees, hybrid work is blurring the lines between when you clock in and when you leave – it’s been a very hectic space to traverse in the aftermath of a global pandemic. However, I have always believed that optimism and remaining positive is the best method to not only get through challenging times, but to also inspire the people who look to you for guidance. Allowing yourself to get frustrated and doubtful is when you begin to make mistakes, and while everyone is human, you have to hold yourself accountable and make sure you’re keeping yourself and your team on the right track. That optimism has been what has kept my team happy and inspired, it’s something that we can all share together. When your leaders are happy and optimistic, it rubs off on the rest of your team.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
BRADLEY FAUTUEX: You have to keep your eyes open for growth at every opportunity. A big part of business is being able to project what is coming ahead and making sure that you’re prepared for it – take the necessary steps to address hurdles as they come. But as for the biggest challenge right now? I’d like to step out of the box and say that it’s the conservation of our country’s most vital resources, such as wetlands and wildlife. It’s easy to believe that, in business, all that matters is the bottom line. But the truth is, without the protection of invaluable ecosystems that exist around you, none of us have a leg in the race of life. It’s easy to lose sight of what is truly important when you’re career focused, but it’s important for all of us to consider the collective health of the world around us, even when our lives are busy and facing challenging times. It’s even more important for those in leadership positions to ensure that we’re fostering ethical businesses that keep these goals in their minds and implement them into their business models.
2020, 2021, 2022 threw a lot of curve balls into businesses on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past years, how can businesses thrive in 2023? What lessons have you learned, and what advice would you share?
BRADLEY FAUTEUX: Stay the course and be ready to adapt. No business can remain successful by being stagnant in their ways: you have to learn how to adjust to the changing times and face it with a smile, no matter how challenging it might be. Don’t allow yourself to become the victim of self-doubt. If you need to, rely on the team you’ve built to help you stay the course and get through. It can be easy as a leader to think you have to do everything alone. But that isn’t true – we build teams to achieve collective success. Don’t be afraid to utilize your colleagues in trying times. It will save you in the future. I assure you.
