Grande West has announced the appointment of Jean-Marc Landry to the position of chief executive officer.
Grande West is making leadership changes that are focused on aligning Corporate management with the needs of its growing company. These efforts are an important part of its shift from a product-focused business to a stronger sales and customer development organization.
Over the course of the past 10 years and William Trainer’s leadership, Grande West designed, engineered, manufactured, assembled and delivered its mid-size Vicinity bus. To date, Grande West has delivered over 300 buses in Canada and the US, and is experiencing increased demand as the concept of right sizing takes hold.
At this time, to support this change in focus, Grande West announces that Trainer will transition from his CEO role to undertake the roles and responsibilities of president and remain as a member of the Board of Directors. Jean-Marc Landry, Grand West's existing VP of sales, will assumed the CEO role.
Trainer noted, “I’ve been intimately involved with the success of Grande West to date and have been very pleased with our growth and expansion throughout North America. However, there comes a point in time when good corporate governance demands the right people in the right roles. That time has come. Our company is reaching an inflection point in our growth and our next phase along this growth path is focused on sales. So, sales strategy rather than product design strategy moves to the forefront. I feel very comfortable handing the reins over to Jean-Marc.”
“Will and I have worked together for over four years now” said Jean-Marc Landry, “and we will continue to work diligently to grow Grande West as we move forward into 2018 and beyond. We will begin to implement expanded sales strategies and processes that will support the continued rapid growth that we expect. I will also be working alongside others here at the company to assure that our shareholders and other stakeholders are well informed of our progress.”
The company has granted Landry 1,000,000 stock options with a strike price of $1.90 for his executive incentive plan that will vest over a three year period. The options are exercisable until February 14, 2023, subject to exchange approval.
The company is currently preparing fourth quarter and year-end 2017 audited financial statements to be released in late April.
