Tuesday, July 26, 2011 Michel Brulé, true to his roots
 "I was born in Ottawa during the Second World War and my grandfather, who was in the quarry business, lost everything. That had a big impact on me", confides Michel Brulé. Later, his father opens a garage in Thurso, Guy Lafleur’s hometown. This is where Michel learns the mechanic trade and the basics of the tire market.
He becomes the manager of a Firestone service station in St-Jérôme. At that time, a manager’s role included helping out employees when it came to installing tires. As Michel points out, "That’s when I realized how much I owed to my father and grandfather. First to my grandfather, for his passion for business and to my father for providing the certainty that I wanted to make a career in the tire field".
Firestone entrusted him with management positions in several Ontario branches and then asked him to take care of a branch in Quebec, which is where he discovered a new passion: "I realized at this moment that the tire industry is where I belonged, especially with anything related to OTR tires".
He was made responsible for covering northwestern Quebec, just at the time when the Baie James area was being developed. He also managed to convince the decision-makers at Firestone to take responsibility for the territory from his Montreal base rather than running it from Toronto - a major victory for Michel Brulé.
After a 40-year career Michel has realized the tire business has global implications. And in his own way, he’s been a big contributor, making a world of difference.
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