Germain Lamonde on translating innovation into market share

"It's great to have an innovative idea, but it doesn't mean anything if you don't translate it into market share—and quickly."

EXFO's founder and Executive Chairman is known for his passion for business strategy and innovation, which he shared today during a conference on digital innovation organized by Quebec City's chamber of commerce (CCIQ).

Germain Lamonde was the guest of honor for the event, and spoke to the crowd of business leaders about the EXFO approach to innovation and growth, as well as answering questions about his path to EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2018 national winner.

"EXFO's model for innovation is about taking ideas that really have an impact, and they have transformed how fiber optics are used in the telecom industry," said Mr. Lamonde. "And today we have 50% global market share in many sectors. You get there through innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. You can't be afraid to transform industries by developing truly different technologies."

EXFO was founded in 1985 by Mr. Lamonde with $100 and the objective of becoming the global leader in fiber optic testing. Today, the company's test, monitoring and analytics solutions allow telecom operators and Internet giants around the world to deploy better, faster and more reliable networks and services—critical communications infrastructures ranging from fiber optics to 5G.

Mr. Lamonde's appointments include chairman of the Québec Digital Transformation Council and of the $400 million Canada-Ontario-Québec ENCQOR 5G innovation initiative.

On June 9, he will represent Canada and compete with entrepreneurs from 50 countries at EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019, held in Monaco.