Jean-Marc Myette: from Ty-Rap to Robotics, an insider’s Look at the Electrical Industry

Sept 30, 2018

By Line Goyette

Meeting people in our industry often comes with surprises. This was the case with Jean-Marc Myette, Business Development Manager of ABB’s Electrification Products Division and chair of the Board of Electro-Federation Canada’s Quebec section. Not only does he know the electrical industry down to the most minute product and technological innovations, he is also a professional car racer on sabbatical, and someone very involved in his business community and personal life.

The electrical industry has always been present in Jean-Marc’s life. His father worked at Thomas & Betts, and Jean-Marc followed him across Canada. As a child he played with Ty-Raps (T&B’s flagship product). “On Saturday mornings, I went with my father and sister to T&B to draw.” Throughout high school he worked at electrical distributors, and after post-secondary studies in electrical engineering he began his professional career at an electrical distributor while the country was in the midst of a recession. This was just the first of many challenges, including succeeding at inside and external sales, the most common career path in the industry, and then seeing his income fall by half after a major manufacturer moved to another distributor. He then reached out to people he knew from earlier days and two months later began his long and flourishing career at T&B, now ABB. Back to the obligatory customer service, where he says he took one step back to jump onto an opportunity he could not miss.

“What I have learned from my career is that when thinking about making what could be a mistake, don’t be fooled by appearances. People told me not to go from a job at a distributor to a manufacturer. I did what I thought was best, but I didn’t really have a choice, I started living with my wife. I left the responsibilities I had to get back to taking orders on a notepad. I now have 35 years of experience in this industry, and if you count the high school years I could say that at 55 years of age I have more than 40 years of experience in the industry.”

The future of the electrical industry

Jean-Marc has seen the industry progress from Ty-Raps to robotics. He is a privileged witness to the future of the industry. “For me, it’s a changing industry. It can even be said that it can be overwhelming for Baby Boomers, but stimulating for all the other generations. These are two different paradigms.” He continues, “The electrification of transportation is a mandatory turn ahead of us. Miniaturization is another aspect of our industry’s development. Emergency lighting is now a glass plate, everything changes. New techniques are developing at the product level, we are heading in some segments toward contactless electricity induction. Renewable energy is making radical demands on us. Generational change will bring about a revolution for all players in the industry: distributors, manufacturers and agents. All will find a way to revolutionize their market and position themselves in new markets.

What industry changes do you see as inevitable?

“We are a changing industry and at the heart of change. For me, the electrification of transportation will be a tremendous source of growth and innovation for our industry — vehicles that recharge alone, transport on rails, electric buses. A lot of infrastructure will be required to support these changes, moving from AC to DC. I wish we could already be where other countries are now.”

If you could change something in the industry, what would it be?

“I am fortunate to have always had women around me in life, at home and at work.” (Jean-Marc has two daughters and for years he has worked for and with women at T&B/ABB, women who have entrusted him with important professional challenges.) “I think our industry should be more open to women.”

How to reconcile work and personal life

Jean-Marc spent his childhood and adolescence in the electric industry, and his wife works at ABB. How can he manage to reconcile work and personal life? “For me family and career are related even if I have exclusive time for each. I am a keeper of memories — a gatekeeper — at work and at home, and I have found very beautiful challenges in these two spheres of my life. When my boss at the time, Nathalie Pilon, sent me to do an MBA on the job by assuming the management of a factory of lamp posts and aluminum structures, I dedicated many unbillable hours to it, but what a training school!

“During those years in our industry, I took on a personal challenge to become a professional racing driver. My wife offered me a professional driving course for Father’s Day in 1996. From 1997 to 2009, I had my professional racing licence — Formula FF2000, Formula Ford, Cascar, Touring Car…” From the Mont-Tremblant Circuit to Mosport… through the Grand Prix of Montreal, Trois-Rivières and the Molson Indy of Toronto, he tried everything except rallying… and that’s why he says he drives a Subaru. “I like to plan, organize and succeed.”
In conclusion

“Our industry is tightly woven, our competitors can be our best friends in life. I hope that the new generation will join us in meeting the exciting challenges ahead.” Without doubt, Jean-Marc has not finished confronting challenges!

Line Goyette is Managing Editor of EIN.