Following a successful six-year stint as President and CEO of Manitou Group, Michel Denis was unanimously voted in for another spell in charge in 2017. No one else is more adept at keeping the French heavy equipment manufacturer running like a well-oiled machine.
“Based on the strength and leadership of the Group, our goal is to remain faithful to our historic motto – ‘Safe international development based on innovation, performance, quality, and customer satisfaction’ – Michel is the right choice to make sure this happens,” Manitou Group’s former Chairman of the Board Marcel Braud (his sister, Jacqueline Himsworth, is the current Chairman of the Board).
Before Michel took charge, the company was being hampered by sub-par performance and employee restlessness, with many venting their concern over the widening gap between management and shareholders. He wasted no time in stepping in to solve these issues.
Answering the call
Two decades before joining Manitou, Michel was plying his trade as a strategy consultant specialising in industrial and commercial development. He was eventually appointed CEO of the Franklin Group, Europe’s leader in truck rentals, and he spearheaded the company for a decade until Manitou Group came calling.
The year Michel became President & CEO, Manitou Group topped the industrial sector rankings in the Gaïa Index (the ESG rating agency of EthiFinance). Each year, the Gaïa Index lists the 70 best-performing French companies on the basis of around 100 corporate social responsibility (CSR) criteria related to governance, social and environmental policies, and customer/supplier relations. Small and medium-sized businesses are assessed based on the transparency and growth of their CSR policies and how they put these policies into practice as well as how they perform.
“Both the pandemic and economic situations make forecasts very uncertain,” says Michel. “To face up this volatile environment, we will continue to demonstrate great agility within our organisations to deal with this crisis. We will bounce back by seizing the opportunities of the recovery and continue to provide optimal solutions to all of our customers around the world with the lowest total cost of ownership for our customers. The acceleration of our energy transition will also be a springboard for growth over the coming years. As a result, we’ll continue to strengthen our products and services offering thanks to the innovation that has been an integral part of Manitou Group since its inception. Our diversification and presence in several markets allows us to be more resilient in certain sectors compared to an original equipment manufacturer operating in a single market, for example. Our long-term ambition remains unchanged: to become the undisputed leader in all markets while protecting people and the environment.”
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