News > 2011 > Louis R. Chênevert and C. R. Hinings Awarded Honorary PhDs

Louis R. Chênevert and C. R. Hinings Awarded Honorary PhDs

May 26, 2011

At the annual undergraduate convocation ceremony held on May 22 in the Wilfrid-Pelletier theatre at Place des Arts, HEC Montréal paid tribute to Louis R. Chênevert, Chair of the Board and CEO of United Technologies Corporation (UTC), awarding him an honorary PhD conferred by the Université de Montréal at the School's recommendation.

The honorary degree was presented to Mr. Chênevert before the convocation ceremony for regular and trilingual Business Administration (BBA), Management (BGest) and Science (BSc) graduates. This year, HEC Montréal awarded some 700 undergraduate degrees.

Louis R. Chênevert

After earning his BBA from HEC Montréal in 1979, Louis R. Chênevert went to work at the General Motors assembly plant in Sainte-Thérèse, where he rose to General Production Manager. In 1993, he joined Pratt & Whitney Canada as Vice-President, Operations, and served as President until 2006. His success at the head of Pratt & Whitney Canada took him to United Technologies Corporation, where he was appointed Chief Operating Officer.

A world-class organizational leader, Mr. Chênevert quickly became a key executive at UTC. In 2008, he was promoted to President and CEO, and then Chair of the Board in January 2010. This latter appointment came as confirmation of both his talent and his vision with this prestigious firm. In addition to Pratt & Whitney Canada, UTC subsidiaries include helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky, aerospace system designer Hamilton Sundstrand, elevator manufacturer Otis and air-conditioning system manufacturer Carrier.

Mr. Chênevert is a founding member and current director of the Friends of HEC Montréal foundation in the United States and Chair of the HEC Montréal International Advisory Board.

He is a man of action. “His leadership, his outstanding dedication and his constant drive to increase productivity and product quality all contributed to this exceptional manager’s meteoric rise through the professional ranks,” emphasized HEC Montréal Director Michel Patry.

C. R. (Bob) Hinings, a world-renowned reference

On May 27, at the Université de Montréal postgraduate convocation ceremony, HEC Montréal  paid tribute to C.R. (Bob) Hinings, known worldwide for his work on organizational theory.

Bob Hinings, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta, began his brilliant career at Aston University, in England. His work in the 60s and 70s with many leading researchers won him worldwide recognition in the fields of organizational structure, power and change. His indisputably influential work, published in Administrative Science Quarterly, even led to an “Aston School” in organizational theory. Although he officially retired in 2002, Mr. Hinings remains a keen researcher and is working on reforms in the healthcare sector and on organizational change in general, among other projects.

This eminent researcher’s contribution has been recognized by many institutions. To mention only a few key distinctions, he is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the US Academy of Management and an honorary member of the European Group for Organizational Studies. “Professor Hinings’ highly relevant research and his rigorous analyses have done much to advance organizational theory,” noted Mr. Patry.