The Team

With a master's degree in engineering from the École de technologie supérieure, Frédéric Parent has been interested since his studies in the deployment of a strategy to drive a culture of innovation. He subsequently had many opportunities to put these concepts into practice within various organizations, for which he successfully led large-scale transformations.

Recognized for his collaborative leadership, Frédéric Parent has worked in a variety of national and international organizations. He knows how to unite his teams around common growth and development objectives, while maximizing the benefits for the institution, its partners and customers. His mandate is to pursue CTA's growth and the creation of new partnerships, while implementing the new five-year strategic plan.

A machining process engineer, Serge holds a bachelor's and master's degree in mechanical engineering from the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS). He obtained his bachelor's degree in 1998 and his master's in 2000. He then joined Dassault Systèmes Inc. as a CAD consultant from 2001 to 2004.

From May 2004 to August 2008, he was a lecturer in the mechanical engineering department at ÉTS, specializing in high-rate machining processes. He finally joined the CTA team in September 2008.

His areas of expertise being automated machining, composite materials machining and machine tool inspection, he was appointed team leader of the metal fabrication sector.

In January 2022, he was appointed Director of CTA's new Program Management and Quality Assurance position.

Holding a master's degree in environmental studies (University of Sherbrooke) and two bachelor's degrees in commerce (McGill University) and communications (University of Montreal), MarieFrancineworked for nearly 5 years as a specialized export advisor for Investissement Québec International, where she helped hundreds of Quebec companies develop their defense and aerospace markets, and was responsible for innovation in this sector. Previously, she was Economic Attaché for Wales at the British Consulate in Montreal; Account Manager, North America for a French company in the mining sector; Vice-President Marketing for a Quebec software company; and spent 15 years working under contract in management, the environment, economic development, and teaching and professional training. Long involved in various professional associations, she has counted her hours in the service of SMEs, and believes in the power of collaboration between private and governmental organizations.

Since February 2026, MarieFrancinehas been bringing her expertise and network in defence to the CTA to support the team in developing this market in Canada and outside the country, not only in aerospace, but also in the naval and land sectors.

François has been working at CTA since July 2019. Successively in the role of senior project manager specializing in polymer manufacturing processes and head of the Composites and Advanced Materials sector at CTA, he now holds the position of unit director Materials, Inspection & Processes. He is also an associate professor in the aerospace engineering department of the École de technologie supérieure de Montréal.

In addition to his current professional activities, since 2004 he has been carrying out R&D work on the development of manufacturing processes for polymer-matrix and ceramic-matrix composites, as well as their virtual manufacturing.

François obtained his bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal in 2004. In 2005, he obtained his "Master Recherche", jointly from ENSAM Paris, ÉNS Cachan and Université Paris-VI, in multi-physics modeling of manufacturing processes and advanced numerical computation methods.

In 2012, he obtained his PhD from École Polytechnique de Montréal in control of RTM process in support of polymer-matrix composite manufacturing for automotive (General Motors) and aeronautical (Safran) applications. Before joining CTA, François worked at General Electric's R&D center (GEGRC) in Niskayuna, New York (USA) from 2012 to 2019.

Étienne Gendron is an engineer driven by technological innovation, specializing in robotics and aerospace. He holds a college diploma in Aerospace Engineering Technology from the École nationale d’aérotechnique as well as a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Robotics Engineering from the Université de Sherbrooke. He combines deep expertise in robotics with a forward-looking vision for the future of aerospace and advanced air mobility.

Assistant Business Development Manager for the Business Unit Air Mobility & Systems, he leads multiple research and development projects aimed at integrating cutting-edge robotic solutions into aeronautical processes, while reducing the environmental footprint and enhancing industrial performance.

In parallel, Étienne shares his passion by teaching New Technologies in Robotics in ÉNA’s continuing education program and at the Université de Sherbrooke. A drone pilot and designer, he focuses on the convergence of robotics, artificial intelligence, and aeronautics to imagine and implement the air operations of tomorrow.

Réjean holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the École de technologie supérieure ÉTS. He also holds an M.B.A. from the Université de Sherbrooke.

He acquired solid experience in the fields of mechanical engineering, machining, aerospace, manufacturing processes, numerical controls and numerical modeling while working as an engineer-in-training at Pratt & Whitney Canada and Bridgestone/Firestone, and as a master's-level research assistant in the mechanical engineering department at ÉTS. He joined the CTA team in June 2007 as a development and manufacturing engineer for the metal fabrication sector.

He is currently the coordinator and team leader for the metal fabrication and metrology division. His areas of expertise include automated machining, machine tool inspection, and the processing of data from manufacturing processes.