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.

François has been with 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 the CTA, he now holds the position of director of technology and innovation. 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.

As Robotics and Automation Sector Lead at the Centre technologique en aérospatiale (CTA), he leads multiple research and development projects integrating cutting-edge robotic solutions into aerospace manufacturing processes, reducing environmental impact while 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.

Jawad graduated as an electronics engineer from École Polytech' Nice-Sophia Antipolis (France) in 2010. He began his career at CEA Grenoble (France) as an R&D engineer in electronics and signal processing, where for two years he contributed to innovative projects in the medical and automotive fields. He then joined a CNRS team in Grenoble as a design engineer, participating in the development of a prototype for the detection and acoustic localization of electric arcs in photovoltaic panels.

D. from the École de Technologie Supérieure de Montréal, his research focused on the design of advanced algorithms for ultrasound image processing.

Since 2019, he has been a member of CTA's non-destructive testing team, where he leads projects in ultrasonic NDT and infrared thermography applied to the aerospace, energy and nuclear sectors.

Its main areas of expertise cover non-destructive testing, signal and image processing, and ultrasonic technologies.

Thierry holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in aerospace engineering, both from Polytechnique Montréal. He joined the Aerospace Technology Center in 2018 as a researcher in structures and testing, before being promoted to head of the Aeronautical Systems Development and Integration sector in 2020. He has expertise in shot peening, modeling, as well as fatigue of metallic materials. His background also includes university teaching experience, gained as a lecturer at Polytechnique Montréal.

At the CTA, in addition to his management role, Thierry actively contributes to the fields of aeronautical systems integration and mechanical engineering, by conducting applied research, notably on the measurement and calculation of aircraft wing deformations using fiber optic sensors.

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 team leader in the metal fabrication and metrology sector. His areas of expertise are automated machining, machine tool inspection and data processing of manufacturing processes.

Mario Sévigny is a well-known entrepreneur in the aeronautics sector, renowned for his ability to transform an idea into a group of international stature. Co-founder of MSB in 2005, he has built a company specialized in the design and manufacture of components for aircraft interiors, which in less than 15 years has become a global reference.

Under his leadership, MSB achieved a number of milestones: successful incubation at the Centre technologique en aérospatiale, launch of the MSB Ressources Globales division in 2011, and strategic integration into Sogeclair SA in 2014. In 2020, the company posted sales of over $50 million and employed more than 500 people worldwide, contributing directly to the growth of the Sogeclair Group, which then had more than 1,300 employees and sales of €123 million.

Above and beyond the success of MSB, Mario's commitment to the business community is well known. Administrator of the Centre d'aide aux entreprises de la Rive-Sud, he also offers coaching and mentoring to young entrepreneurs. From 2016 to 2021, he was also an active member of the Montréal International Attractiveness Council.

A graduate of the École nationale d'aéronautique de Saint-Hubert with nearly 30 years' experience, Mario combines technical expertise, strategic vision and entrepreneurial spirit. His achievements testify to a constant desire to build, grow and contribute to the Quebec and international aeronautics ecosystem.