“The reshaping of operations under Avenir Global reflects the firm’s presence as an innovative global company with a management philosophy that values a long-term growth strategy and that puts its people and clients at the centre of decision making,” says Jean-Pierre Vasseur, president and CEO of Avenir Global. “Our vision is to build the global footprint of our firm by aggregating companies and talent to deliver value for our clients."

The firm, which began as two-person Montreal-based public relations consultancy in 1976, is now ranked among the top 25 largest communications agencies in the world, with 550 employees and 60% of revenue coming from outside of Canada. In addition to sustained organic growth over the years, key recent acquisitions include Madano (2013), TMX Equicom (2015) and Shift Communications (2016).

“The Avenir Global name represents our ambition while recognizing our heritage – ‘Avenir’ being the French word for ‘future,’” says Ralph Sutton, international managing partner. “In recent years, we have experienced rapid growth based on our integrated approach – bringing together research, strategy, creativity and discipline expertise from across our diverse network. We will continue to grow globally as we pursue our long term growth strategy, seeking out acquisitions which help us maintain and diversify our international client base and capabilities.”

The firm will retain the same leadership team based at the head office in Montreal, with Andrew Molson as chairman and Vasseur as president and CEO. The firm’s brands will continue to operate within the same business models, seeking out a best teams’ approach of discipline and sector experts across the network to best meet the needs of their clients.