Marc Parent

Career

Canadair and Bombardier Parent began his career as an aerospace engineer with Canadair in 1984, starting as an engineer on the Challenger and Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) programs. He continued working on these programs following the sale of Canadair to Bombardier in 1986. In 1987, he became manager of the Challenger's mechanical systems group, with the mandate of fixing the aircraft's teething problems. In 1990, he was made head of Program Management for the CRJ aircrat flight test program at the Bombardier flight testing and certification center in Wichita, Kansas. Parent was put in charge of the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 program.

From 2000 to 2004, Parent held various executive positions within Bombardier. He was promoted to Vice President of Operations for the company's De Havilland facility in Toronto, Canada, In 2006, he was promoted to Group President of Simulation Products and Military Training & Services Parent became president and CEO of the company in October 2009.

With the shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and ventilators in Canada at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the loss of revenue caused due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic, Parent shifted CAE's focus towards helping Canada's COVID-19 response. Under Parent's leadership, CAE developed the CAE Air1™ ventilator, signing a contract with the Government of Canada to manufacture and supply 10,000 ventilators. In 2021, Parent led the charge in a mobilization effort with many large Quebec and Canadian companies to work with the government so they could expedite the vaccination effort by opening their own "vaccination hubs" for employees. CAE's vaccination centre opened in April 2021 and administered over 33,000 doses of vaccine.

During his time as CEO of CAE, the company became the first carbon neutral Canadian aerospace company, and in November 2022, CAE was voted as one of Canada's top employers. Company revenue also doubled to $4.3 billion during his time as CEO. In 2024, Parent announced he would be retiring from CAE and left his role in the company in August 2025.

Other corporate activities

Parent chaired the board for Aero Montreal, Quebec's aerospace cluster, from 2008 until 2010. He is a past board member and chair for the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC). He also served as a member of the board of directors and executive committee for the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI). and the McGill University Health Centre Foundation. He also served on the Business Council of Canada.

Philanthropy Parent is a trustee of the Lakefield College School Foundation, and is a member of the Council of Governors for the greater Montreal branch of the United Way Centraide Canada Organization. In 2013, he joined Michael E. Roach as co-president of the Centraide Cabinet de Campagne.

In 2019, Parent made a donation of $3 million to Lakefield College School for the construction of a new student residence. The new residence was named "Parent House" in his honor. In 2019, he joined Jean Raby as co-president of the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (MBAM) Ball.

In 2020, Parent made a $100,000 donation to the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Foundation. The funds were used to support research using the Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19). In 2020, he joined Suzanne Legge Orr and Jean Charest as co-chairs of the MUHC Foundation's Dream Big campaign.

Personal life

Parent is an active pilot, holding an Airline Transport Pilot ratings from Transport Canada. He was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2020 and inducted into the Québec Air and Space Hall of Fame in 2022. He was also named a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec in 2022.