A Role Model of Business: Pierre Peladeau

Many of us have heard of Pierre Peladeau, a man who built a multi-billion dollar company from a $1,500 loan. He is one of the most famous entrepreneurs of Quebec history. There is no doubt that he achieved a lot during his life time and there is no doubt that a lot of it was good. He was and is still an icon of Canadian business world. For instance, he was known for donating millions to charities and even visiting dying strangers in Montreal hospitals. However, nothing is perfect and there is always a dark side that, for many people, is unrevealed and unknown. This paper demonstrates that Pierre Peladeau is not a good role model for business students because the bad things he did overshadow the good ones.

First of all, to be able to prove that Peladeau is not a good role-model for business students, we have to understand what a role-model is. The meaning of role-model refers to person who serves as an example, whose behavior is emulated by others. True role models are those who possess the qualities that we would like to have and those who have affected us in a way that makes us want to be better people. A person who serves as an example of the values, attitudes, and behaviors associated with a role. For example, a father is a role model for his sons. Role models can also be persons who distinguish themselves in such a way that others admire and want to emulate them. A role model is an inspiration.

Pierre Peladeau was involved in several controversies, the most famous being the anti-Semitic remarks made against the Jewish community, his bouts with alcoholism and his well deserved reputation as a womanizer. There were also some sexist comments about business women.

All his life, he was often accused of anti-Semitism. He said that Jews people take up too much space in Quebec economy, those comment offended Montreal’s Jewish community who branded him a racist. He was a very proud man and some of his words sounded very arrogant when in an occasion he said “I say exactly what I want to say, and I do not apologize to anybody”. About the Jews accusation he never offered a full apologize, he justified himself saying all he said was that Jews take up a lot of room , which he found French Canadians should be doing do since its their own economy and not Jews’.

The shadow of alcoholism followed him all his life. He was always questioned and criticized about his personal habit to what he replied “I stopped drinking long time ago.” Peladeau’s lifestyle included the Laurentians spread he used to fly in and out by Helicopter; a M-16 rifle he kept under his bed and other many innumerable luxuries. He was a womanizer by all means. Once he said “One must love women because they are beautiful to love”. In fact, Peladeau married twice to Raymond Chopin and Lynne Parisian, and had a long-term relationship with Manon Blanchette; and he also had affairs with many other women. He actually was caught cheating with the female chauffeur while he was married.

Respect is the most important thing, not only in business but in everyday life. Respect means tolerance. Peladeau had all the money in the world, he built a whole empire and he became one of the greatest French-Canadian businessmen ever, but he lost all of his respect by saying and doing some silly and foolish things. Especially nowadays, where our society is multicultural, we have to respect and learn to accept differences. People can not be judged by their skin color, nationality, sex or religion. Everybody has rights and dignity.

Of course nobody can deny that what Pierre Peladeau did was very impressive and outstanding. All his achievement and his successful empire are the proofs that demonstrate his ambitious and determination. But his eccentric life, extravagant vices and controversies overshadowed his business accomplishment making of Peladeau not a good example of what an entrepreneur should be like. Peladeau is not a good role model for business students because, after all, to be a person worthy of admiration in any area you must be, firstly, an integrate and respectable person with principle and values.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ARTICLES

-Newman, Peter C.MACLEAN’S MAGAZINE. Toronto 1997

-Wells, Jennifer. MACLEAN’S MAGAZINE. Toronto, 1996.

-Wilson-Smith, Anthony. “Tales of The Titans”, MACLEAN’S MAGAZINE. Toronto, 1997.

– The Canadian Encyclopedia: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com