Alexandre Taillefer

Alexandre Taillefer is a Canadian entrepreneur from Quebec. He is the founder and managing partner of XPND Capital, a private equity firm.[1]

Alexandre Taillefer
NationalityCanadian
OccupationEntrepreneur

Early career

At 21, Taillefer became an entrepreneur, founding, in 1993, Intellia, an e-commerce service provider later bought by Quebecor, the largest media conglomerate in Quebec.[2]

Taillefer worked at Quebecor for five years (until 2000), where he led the online division. He completed a number of mergers, including the merger of Informission with Intellia to create Nurun, now owned by Publicis.[3]

Stingray Digital and Later Ventures

In 2007, he co-founded Stingray Digital, a provider of musical products and services, now one of the largest publicly traded companies headquartered in Quebec.[4]

In 2012, Taillefer became chairman of the board of the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal.[5]

From 2013 to 2016, he was a "dragon" on the TV show Dans l'œil du dragon, the Quebec version of Dragon's Den.[6]

Taillefer is managing partner of XPND Capital, a private equity firm. The firm manages some 40 million dollars across several venture capital funds.[7] While the firm initially partnered with Stephen Bronfman and his private equity firm Claridge, all of the capital in latter funds has come from the Quebec government. Taillefer was criticized for sub-par returns in funds which consist solely of public money.[8] In 2015, the firm acquired Voir, a major Quebec publisher.[9] Also in 2015, the firm created Taxelco, a holding company which controls over 40% of the taxi market in Montreal, through controlling investments in Téo Taxi, Taxi Diamond, and Taxi Hochelaga.

Taillefer has, from time to time, voiced his political positions. In 2015, he voiced his support for a $15 minimum wage.[10] In May 2017, he encouraged the Quebec government to invest in subsidized childcare.[11]

Political career

Alexandre Taillefer served as the campaign chair for the Quebec Liberal Party in the 2018 Quebec general election. He did not run for a seat in the National Assembly. His position as campaign chair for the party in power and as a major shareholder of Quebec media companies generated concerns regarding his potential use of the media to promote the Liberal Party. Similar concerns resulted from the election of Pierre Karl Péladeau as Parti Québecois leader.[12] In an effort to respond to these concerns, Taillefer transitioned out of his managerial responsibilities.[13]

L'actualité, a Quebec media outlet announced on May 10, 2018 that Taillefer had been a registered lobbyist to seek subsidies for his taxi companies.[14]

References
  1. "Alexandre Taillefer, PDG de XPND Capital - La Presse+". La Presse+ (in French). 2015-05-02. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  2. "Alexandre Taillefer, PDG de XPND Capital - La Presse+". La Presse+ (in French). 2015-05-02. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  3. "Alexandre Taillefer - Le Lien MULTIMÉDIA :: le portail des professionnels du numérique au Québec". www.lienmultimedia.com (in French). Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  4. "Stingray : un géant musical montréalais | Émilie Côté | Musique". La Presse (in French). 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  5. "Alexandre Taillefer : accro à l'art contemporain | Nathalie Petrowski | Arts visuels". La Presse (in French). 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  6. "Le dernier souffle d'Alexandre Taillefer | Hugo Dumas | Hugo Dumas". La Presse (in French). 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  7. "XPND Capital". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. "Un petit empire financé par l'État". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Économie -. "Alexandre Taillefer met la main sur le Voir". Radio-Canada.ca (in French). Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  10. Lia Lévesque (12 August 2016). "FSM: Alexandre Taillefer réclame un salaire minimum à 15$". La Presse.
  11. Marie-Ève Morasse (4 May 2017). "Alexandre Taillefer plaide pour un investissement dans les CPE". La Presse.
  12. lapresse.ca, Zone Politique -. "Taillefer: "Si je suis membre du PQ, c'est malgré moi"". lapresse.ca (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  13. ici.radio-canada.ca, Zone Politique -. "Alexandre Taillefer prend ses distances avec Voir et L'actualité". ici.radio-canada.ca (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  14. lactualite.com, Zone Actualités-. "Alexandre Taillefer, président de la campagne du PLQ et péquiste". lactualite.com (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-10.
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