Sonepar Asks: Peron Desnoyers

Employee recognition has long been a cornerstone for Sonepar Canada. We are celebrating associates across the organization and highlighting their career growth with the company.  

What position did you have when you started with the company and how did you progress into the position you have now?  

I started my career with Texcan part-time and worked in the Finance department for four months before making the move to Gescan where I have worked for over 18 years. I have seen and been a part of a lot of growth and transformation with the organization and being that young and seeing that transition happen was quite valuable. With Gescan I started as a Buyer and moved up through the organization to my current role as a Branch Supervisor for the past 9 years. Being a part of Texcan before it was acquired by Sonepar and witnessing business growth throughout my career, has provided me with lots of opportunities to learn from my team and our customers.  

Why did you choose to work in the electric wholesale industry, and what do you enjoy about it?  

When I was thinking about this, it makes me wonder if it chose me. There were some great associates and mentors that helped me along my journey with teaching me different approaches to do things. The amount of insight that a lot of these individuals had in all the different levels of the organization were fantastic. And at that time, they were very open with sharing a lot of that acquired knowledge which provided me with a lot of insight about what was going on in the organization.  

What are your key motivators?  

When I was young, the motivation was advancing to what that next level is and understanding how I get there. Currently having progressed in my career and gotten a little bit older and we always say that we got wiser and whether that happens, it’s a belief we have whereas others around us believing that we’re getting wiser is another thing. My biggest motivator currently is being better than my past self. Whether that means hitting higher targets, changing my worldly perspective, and learning something new, if I can look back and see how I grew to better myself that’s what it comes down to for being a key motivator. We put such a large emphasis on leadership and having leadership skills and what that looks like. I truly believe that it’s very hard for us to show up as transparent leaders with integrity if we’re not working on ourselves. 

Why do you think diversity in the workplace is so important? 

I truly think people are amazing. There are so many people here from different cultures, different backgrounds with varying perspectives and journeys that have helped shape these incredible people. We really limit ourselves and our potential growth as an organization and industry to see a few pieces of a massive puzzle if we choose to not incorporate diversity in our workforce. We benefit from all input provided by each person because we can’t live through one another’s experiences and just don’t have enough time in our lifetime to go through it. Without those people surrounding us or at the table with us having any input at that point, it really does us a disservice as a company. My perspective is going to differ from ten other people around the room and we need to be open and listen to one another to find a way to incorporate everyone’s input.  

What is the most important message you want to share with our associates that are new hires and for those in the company who have been thinking about growing their careers?  

To our new hires, welcome! I’m happy you’ve chosen to work with us as Gescan is a great company with fantastic ownership. Your experience here will be incredibly valuable by asking lots of questions and being eager to learn. Everybody working with you have asked all the same initial questions and are continuing to learn as well so stay the course. For associates that are looking to grow their careers and have been with us for a while. You have the opportunity to grow within the organization by putting in hard work, staying dedicated and continuing to persevere. Your teammates, coworkers and family are there to support you through your journey as well. 

About Gescan:

A leader in the distribution of electrical supplies and equipment, Gescan has a unique blend of people, products and partners to fulfill industry professionals’ electrical product and service needs. With over 65 years of experience and 26 branches across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, they offer an improved customer experience in-store and online through our comprehensive e-commerce site and App.  

About Sonepar Canada:

Member of the Sonepar Group, we are Canada’s largest privately-held B-to-B electrical products distributor and supplier of safety, facilities maintenance and MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) products and related services. In Canada, we are represented in nine provinces by Dixon Electric, Gescan, Lumen, MGM Electric, Sesco, Texcan and Vallen. Sonepar Canada has over 2000 employees working out of 114 offices between our distinctive brands.