MONTREAL -- The Horatio Alger Association of Canada has chosen Alain Bouchard, founder and chairman of convenience-store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and one of Canada’s most accomplished business figures, to receive the International Horatio Alger Award for 2017.
The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Inc. presents the International Horatio Alger Award each year to an individual who has persevered through challenges to become a successful entrepreneur and community leader. Recipients of the award become lifelong members of the Horatio Alger Association of Canada and its American affiliate and serve as role models for its young scholarship recipients.
The organization will honor Bouchard during the 70th annual Horatio Alger Awards Induction Ceremonies, which will be March 30 to April 1, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
“If anyone represents the idea of pulling oneself up by their bootstraps, it is Alain Bouchard,” said Prem Watsa, president of the Horatio Alger Association of Canada. “Alain beat the odds time and again to become one of this country’s greatest business leaders. His remarkable success story and achievements make him an ideal member of the Horatio Alger Association of Canada as we continue to expand and promote Canadian achievement.”
Bouchard was born in Chicoutimi, Quebec. His early years were marked by a typical middle-class lifestyle, but that all changed when his father’s business collapsed. The family relocated further northeast where Bouchard’s father could find work. The family of eight lived in a humble home. Bouchard learned about business watching his father struggle, and at the same time vowed to eventually build his own business that would be so strong, he would never fall back into poverty—a promise he ultimately kept. After acquiring his first convenience store in 1980, he never stopped expanding the business, turning Couche-Tard into a global empire with more than 12,000 locations.
- For more insights into Bouchard’s career, click here for an exclusive Q&A.
“I am honored and humbled to be joining the Horatio Alger Association and all of its esteemed members,” said Bouchard. “I am inspired by the association’s work helping hard-working students across Canada gain a higher education. I can’t wait to get involved and help these young people achieve their dreams.”
Bouchard is a dedicated philanthropist and a recognized leader in Canadian and Quebec society. He is an Officer of the National Order of Quebec, was named Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year in 2012, a Great Economic Builder of Quebec by the Institute for Governance (IGOPP), was the recipient of the NACS Insight International Convenience Leader of the Year award and the Fraser Institute’s T. Patrick Boyle Founder’s award in 2014.
CSP named Bouchard its Retail Leader of the Year in 2005.
He has served on the boards of multiple companies and foundations. His induction into the Horatio Alger Association will allow him to continue serving as role model and a mentor to young Canadians across the country.
Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard’s global retail network includes more than 12,300 locations, primarily under the Circle K brand. In North America, its network consists of approximately 8,000 c-stores, including more than 6,600 stores selling fuel. It has 15 business units, including 11 in the United States covering 41 states and four in Canada covering all 10 provinces. In Europe, Couche-Tard operates a retail network across Scandinavia, Ireland, Poland, the Baltics States and Russia through 10 business units. Of the more than 2,750 stores, most sell motor fuel and c-store products, while the others are unmanned automated fueling sites.
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