Charles Michaud does a bit of everything as regional vice president: He helps open new facilities, investigates acquisition opportunities, attracts top talent while keeping current staff motivated and engaged, and fosters a safety-first work culture — all in the name of expanding Beacon’s Canadian operations.

After he listed all these herculean tasks, I joked that he must have nothing to do with his day. He quickly caught onto my sarcasm.

“Yes, very boring,” he said, laughing, before tacking to a more serious demeanor. “It’s exciting. I wouldn’t have it any other way, to be honest with you. The day you start wondering what you should be doing is the day you should ask yourself if you’re in the right seat.”

For Michaud, 46, the right seat came after spending years in the automotive industry before leaping to construction. He uses the grit and know-how gained by working with the Big 3 to help grow Beacon, one of roofing distribution’s “Big 3,” in the Great White North.

Shifting Gears

A native of France, Michaud immigrated to Canada around 1999. His first experiences working in the Americas occurred when he was pursuing his master’s degree in international purchasing and took on an internship. Initially, the internship was supposed to last for 18 months, but love intervened—he met his wife and the two married, and he has since called Canada home.

Following his internship, he worked at Fauercia, a French global automotive supplier, for nearly 10 years. Of those, he spent three years working in Detroit, AKA the Motor City. From there, though, he followed his advice, questioned whether he was in the right seat, made a change and switched to the construction industry.

He worked for a building company for five years, where he learned the ins and outs of the supply chain. Michaud admits there was a steep learning curve switching from the auto industry to construction. He said most aspects of the automotive world are process-driven and contractual, so when he tried applying those same cost breakdown structures with vendors, they “got a good laugh out of it.”

Even so, the automotive industry shaped him and prepared him for the challenges he would face.

“The discipline from a supply chain standpoint certainly was helpful,” he said. “In many respects, [distribution] is actually even more involved than some of what I witnessed in the auto industry … the manufacturers we partner with are very involved in what we do in distribution, they partner with us to help our contractors grow in their respective markets.”

He joined Beacon in 2014, initially as director of supply chain for five years before becoming the distributor’s regional vice president of Canada. Most recently, he has helped with acquisitions like SSR Roof Supply and opening new branches in New Brunswick and Mississauga, Ontario, the latter serving as his base of operations.

“We have a strong set of values, to be honest with you, and I know you probably hear that quite a lot, but I do believe that we live by a good set of values,” he said. “We do put people first, I do feel that way. I’ve been with Beacon for 10 years and I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the case.”

Cultural Ambassador

Aside from his insights into two major industries, Michaud offered unique perspectives on U.S. and Canadian roofing operations. He says, for example, that in the U.S., there are many more strong distributors, while in Canada, most manufacturers handle their own distribution.

“This vertical integration model that you would find often in Europe, some of that is still prevalent in Canada,” he said.

Since he is involved with acquisitions, Michaud notes that roofing in Canada is still more fragmented than in the U.S. He believes there is room for further consolidation, which he says can only benefit Beacon’s technological endeavors.

One of Michaud’s most recent tasks has been implementing Beacon’s PRO+ platform, which was introduced to the Canadian market a mere three weeks after we spoke. He said they’ve already had more than 50 customers sign up and over 100 orders placed using the app.

Charles Michaud, regional vice president, Canada

“Canadian customers are similar to the Americans, they want the convenience of being able to place their order when it suits them, whether it’s after hours or over the weekend,” he said. “The order flows directly from the portal to our system, so it makes it really error-proof.”

Preparing Beacon PRO+ for Canada was only half the battle — the other was ensuring 40 outside sales reps fully understood the program and could explain how it helps their customers.

“Every customer has different needs, so as long as we really focus on those needs and bring them the features to answer those specific needs, we’ll be fine,” he said.

I asked Michaud if the Canadian roofing market is like the U.S. market regarding technology — slow to adopt it but willing to learn. Michaud couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“You will always have some folks who will prefer to call, or you know, even to put a fax — we still have fax machines, yes we do — and that’s fine, it’s perfectly fine,” he said, glancing behind him toward said machines. “But we also know that, especially as new generations of contractors are joining this industry, they tend to be more connected online than maybe the prior generation. I think it’s inevitable that this trend’s only going to accelerate.”

Looking to the Future

Regarding those new generations, he said when attending the International Roofing Expo, he observes plenty of up-and-coming contractors on the show floor and believes Canada is catching up to its U.S. counterparts. Even so, he said labor shortages have not been as challenging to combat as one might expect. For him, it’s a matter of finding people with the right qualities and teaching them the technical aspects along the way.

“We buy and sell [materials] and deal with heavy equipment … when you think of it, the core is understanding our customers’ needs and bringing the material when they need it, where they need it,” he said. “I’d rather have the right attributes with the candidates in terms of work ethic, willingness to listen, engage, work hard, and we’ll teach the rest.”

Of all the different responsibilities he oversees, Michaud said his favorite part of his role is building up Beacon’s stable.

“Building the talents around you is, for any leader, the most rewarding piece, seeing people grow within your own team and drive the performance and being recognized by competitors, vendors, customers as a leading player in your market is very rewarding,” he said. “I think for the last, certainly five years, we’ve built a strong team all around in Canada.”

When keeping those new recruits engaged, Michaud said his advice to them — and, by extension, to anyone entering the distribution industry — is to stick with it.

“I remember when I started, the first six months, it hits you like a wave,” he said. “To get to that level of ease of where you know the players, you know the products and you can finally make a difference in the business, it takes time.

“For the six months, don’t expect to be able to move mountains. It takes time, but if you stick to it and you take the time, this is a very endearing, rewarding industry to be in.”

For Michaud, it rewarded him with a fulfilling career that has supported his family — including two children ages 16 and 11 — with his pastime of gardening and spending time with loved ones.

“It's a genuine, authentic industry that is very often overlooked,” he said. “Distribution is a business where you get up early in the morning and there are long days, particularly during the season, so you can’t be allergic to long hours and hard work … but if this is within you then there’s great reward in pursuing a career in our industry.”