# Germain Lamonde

> Germain Lamonde is the Canadian engineer and entrepreneur who co-founded EXFO in Quebec City in 1985. Educated at Polytechnique Montréal and Université Laval, he led the company as CEO for more than 30 years, remained executive chairman after its 2017 leadership transition, and led its return to private ownership in 2021. EXFO now identifies him as founder, CEO and executive chairman. He won Canada’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2018 and supports science, engineering and student entrepreneurship at Laval.

- **Role:** Founder, CEO and Executive Chairman at EXFO
- **Organizations:** EXFO, Conseil de l’innovation du Québec, Université Laval, Polytechnique Montréal, Canadian Academy of Engineering, QG100, ENCQOR
- **Nationality:** Canadian
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in engineering physics, Polytechnique Montréal, Master’s degree in optics, Université Laval, Ivey Executive Program, Ivey Business School, Western University
- **Known for:** Built EXFO from a $100 start in 1985 into an international network test, monitoring and analytics business., EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 Canada and Quebec winner., Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

## Career timeline

- **1985** — Co-founded EXFO with Robert Tremblay in a Quebec City apartment; the company was incorporated on September 18.
- **2000** — EXFO became publicly traded on Nasdaq and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
- **2017** — Philippe Morin became CEO on April 1; Lamonde became executive chairman, retaining responsibility for acquisitions and involvement in growth and governance.
- **2017** — Laval announced a $1 million personal gift from Lamonde and $200,000 from EXFO for science and engineering.
- **2018** — Won EY Entrepreneur Of The Year for Quebec and Canada.
- **2019** — Represented Canada at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year competition in Monaco.
- **2020** — Named Grand Québécois in the economic sector.
- **2021** — A company controlled by Lamonde completed EXFO’s going-private transaction on August 27 at US$6.25 per subordinate voting share.
- **2022** — Received his Grand Québécois trophy at an October CCIQ event and discussed innovation, market share and collective wealth.
- **2025** — Marked EXFO’s 40th anniversary and discussed export revenues, Quebec employment and keeping the company locally owned.
- **2026** — EXFO publicly announced that Lamonde would assume the CEO role as Philippe Morin transitioned out.

## Achievements

- Built EXFO from a $100 start in 1985 into an international network test, monitoring and analytics business.
- EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 Canada and Quebec winner.
- Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
- Grand Québécois 2020, economic sector.
- Donated $1 million personally to Université Laval’s Faculty of Science and Engineering in 2017; EXFO added $200,000.
- Led EXFO’s completed 2021 return to private ownership.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — EXFO’s privacy notice, updated in May 2026, lists Lamonde as executive chairman and CEO.
- **2026-01** — EXFO announced a leadership transition in which Lamonde would assume the CEO role, with Étienne Gagnon appointed general manager of the Test & Measurement business and AI data centers identified as a focus.
- **2025-09** — At EXFO’s 40th anniversary, Lamonde reported nearly 1,800 employees worldwide, including 750 in Quebec, and emphasized exports and local ownership.

## Links

- Website: https://www.exfo.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germain-lamonde-exfo/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/germain-lamonde
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-20