Careers at Bombardier
MISSION
Bombardier Inc (“Bombardier”) seeks to provide innovative, cutting-edge technology solutions to a range of aerospace and transportation clients around the world.
FOUNDING STORY
Bombardier was founded in 1942 by Canadian inventor Joseph-Armand Bombardier. The Company was initially incorporated under the name L’Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée (Bombardier Snow Car Limited) and functioned principally as a vehicle through which the inventor could produce and sell his first snowmobile.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier began developing his snowmobiles in the 1930s, and by 1937 had sold 12 of the specialised vehicles.
Bombardier grew significantly throughout the twentieth century, diversifying its operations into the transportation, aerospace, and financial services sectors.
In the 1970s, the Company entered the railway passenger car business, completing contracts to develop commuter and subway systems and mass transit systems.
In 1986, the Company acquired notably government-owned airline company Canadair, which was absorbed into its aerospace division.
Today, Bombardier is one of the largest aerospace and transportation companies in the world.
The Company employs more than 69,500 workers around the world, operates 73 production and engineering sites in 28 countries and a worldwide network of service centres, and has a market capitalization of USD 5.31 billion.
Business model of Bombardier
Customer Segments
Bombardier provides products and services to a wide range of industrial, commercial, and institutional clients.
The Company’s core customers include the following:
- Aviation Companies, including airline operators, aerostructure companies, and aircraft manufacturers to which the Company provides aircraft and aviation components;
- Transportation and Transit Companies, including rail operators and rail engineering companies, to which the Company provides train cars and specialist train parts;
- Commercial Entities, comprising companies across a wide range of sectors to which the Company provides business aircraft and engineering services; and
- Government Bodies and Public Institutions, comprising state-run transportation organisations and other public bodies.
Bombardier provides services to an international client base, comprising customers across north America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the rest of the world.
The Company includes among its clients a number of high-profile commercial passenger airlines, such as Air Canada, Korean Air, Lufthansa Group, Delta Air Lines, and Gulf Air.
Value Propositions
Bombardier provides value to its customers in the following ways:
- Industry Standing and Reputation – Bombardier is one of the largest and most well-regarded aerospace and transportation companies in the world, with a reputation within the industry for providing high-quality and reliable products and services;
- Broad Range of Services – Bombardier provides engineering services to a broad range of customers spanning the aviation, transportation, government, and other industries;
- Technology and Innovation – Bombardier dedicates a significant portion of its resources to the development of new technologies and innovative products, ensuring that it is able to offer its customers cutting edge products;
- Expertise and Experience – Bombardier employs highly-skilled and well-trained employees across its operating divisions, ensuring it is able to produce efficient and effective products, supported by experienced industry executives; and
- International Reach – Bombardier has an extensive sales and service reach spanning markets across the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, including production facilities and offices, that ensure it can serve a wide customer base quickly and efficiently.
Channels
Bombardier sells its products and services to clients directly through its in-house sales and service teams.
These sales personnel operate out of the Company’s network of offices, which includes locations across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
The Company’s products are delivered via its network of production facilities, and through the Company’s own distribution channels and its commercial partners.
Customer Relationships
Bombardier seeks to establish long-standing relationships with its clients by providing reliable, high-quality products and services. The Company works closely with clients to deliver products that meet their specific needs.
The Company also employs client management personnel that provide customers with a point of contact to manage their orders.
Bombardier operates a website at www.bombardier.com, through which it provides customers with a broad range of information, including in relation to its services, its operating locations, its target industries, and its leadership.
The Company additionally operates separate local or regional website that enable it to interact more effectively with its international clientele, including sites developed for the Russia, Chinese, Australian, and British markets.
Bombardier is additionally able to communicate directly with customers through its various social media accounts, including with LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Key Activities
Bombardier is a Canada-based manufacturer of planes and trains.
It organises its operations into four reportable business segments: Business Aircraft, through which the Company is engaged in the design, manufacture and aftermarket support for three families of business jets – Learjet, Challenger and Global; Commercial Aircraft, through which the Company is engaged in the design and manufacture of commercial aircraft in the 60 to 150-seat categories; Aerostructures and Engineering Services, through which the Company is engaged in the design and manufacture of aircraft structural components, such as engine nacelles, fuselages and wings; and Transportation, through which the Company offers a portfolio of products and services in the rail industry, covering the full spectrum of rail solutions, ranging from trains to sub-systems, services, system integration, signalling and e-mobility solutions.
Key Partners
Bombardier works closely with a network of partner companies around the world to ensure that it is able to provide its clients with the highest quality of service.
These partners can be organised broadly into the following categories:
- Supplier and Vendor Partners, comprising suppliers of materials, equipment, and tools used by the Company in the production and development of aerospace and transport products and components, as well as providers of third-party services that support the Company’s operations more broadly;
- Joint Venture and Consortium Partners, comprising a range of other engineering and manufacturing companies with which the Company develops and produces products jointly and through mutually owned entities;
- Engineering and Service Partners, comprising engineering and contracting companies that support the Company’s design, development, and production and installations operations; and
- Strategic and Alliance Partners, comprising various commercial partners with which the Company collaborates on various other projects, including business development, marketing, and branding.
Bombardier has a number of partnerships in place. This includes tie-ups with Peugeot Design Labs, Investissement Québec, and Airbus.
Key Resources
Bombardier’s business model is dependent on its ability to develop and produce high quality, reliable, and effective products and components for its clients around the world.
As such, the Company’s key resources are its intellectual properties, materials and equipment, its suppliers and supply chain infrastructure, its research and development facilities, its production facilities, its partnerships, and its personnel.
Bombardier notably owns and or leases a network of production facilities around the world, that are key to its ability to manufacture and supply products to clients quickly and efficiently.
The Company also has a number of patents and patent applications filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, which are key to its ability to differentiate itself from its competitors.
Cost Structure
Bombardier incurs costs in relation to the acquisition of equipment and materials, the procurement of external services, the operation of its production facilities, the development of new products and technologies, the operation of its offices – including occupancy and utility costs, the management of its partnerships, and the payment of salaries and benefits to its personnel.
In 2017, Bombardier notably recorded research and development costs totalling USD 1.24 billion.
Revenue Streams
Bombardier generates revenue through the development, production, and sale of aerospace and transportations products and components and the provision of related services.
The Company derives its revenue primarily under sales and service contracts agreed directly with customers.
In 2017, Bombardier recorded revenue for the year in the amount of USD 16.22 billion, down on the USD 16.34 billion recorded by the Company the previous year.
More than half of this revenue was derived by the Company’s Transportation segment, which alone recorded annual revenue of USD 8.53 billion.
This was followed by the Business Aircraft segment which recorded revenue for the year totalling USD 4.96 billion.
Our team
info: Alain Bellemare (“Bellemare”) has served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Bombardier since joining the Company in 2015. He has also served as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since 2015. Bellemare is responsible for leading Bombardier’s overall strategic direction and coordinating the members of the Company’s board. Bellemare began his career in the 1980s at Kraft Canada and later Crown Cork and Seal Canada. In 1996, he joined UTC Propulsion and Aerospace Systems, where he held a number of leadership positions over a period of almost 20 years. This included spells as Vice President of Manufacturing at subsidiary Pratt and Whitney Canada, President of Pratt and Whitney Canada, President of Hamilton Sundstrand, and Chief Operating Officer of UTC Propulsion and Aerospace Systems.
info: John Di Bert (“Bert”) has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Bombardier since 2015. He is responsible for overseeing the Company’s financial management operations, including the activities of the Company’s accounting, tax, internal audit, and investor relations departments. Bert began his career at KPMG, where he served as a senior auditor from 1997 to 1999. He went on to serve for two years as a manager at Rolls-Royce Canada in its Financial Accounting and Reporting department. Prior to joining Bombardier, Bert spent 14 years at Pratt and Whitney Canada, initially serving as a manager in its Financial Accounting and Reporting department, before being promoted to positions of increasing responsibility, including spells as Director of Finance for WSK PZL, a former state-owned aerospace manufacturer based in Poland, and Corporate Controller of Pratt and Whitney Canada.
info: Sam Abdelmalek (“Abdelmalek”) has served as Chief Transformation and Supply Chain Officer at bombardier since joining the Company in 2018. He leads the Company’s supply chain activities and is responsible for leading the development of the Company’s operations. Abdelmalek began his career at Bell Helicopter and Turbocor Inc, where he held positions of increasing responsibility related to engineering, manufacturing, supply chain and operations. Before joining Bombardier, he served as Vice President, Global Supply Chain at Pratt and Whitney, prior to which he served in a number of senior leadership roles at United Technologies Corporation, including spells as Vice President of Supply Chain Management at the Aerospace Systems division of UTC and Vice President of Global Supply Management and Supply Chain Integration for UTC Operations.