The European Union Chamber of Commerce in Canada (EUCCAN) is continuing its growth and its implementation of the new strategy with a new leader at the helm. Adrian Thomas, Country President of Schneider Electric has been elected President of EUCCAN.
The election took place during the organization’s annual AGM on June 28 2021. It follows the organization’s new strategy to strengthen its advocacy work for EU companies in Canada and to open to corporate membership.
About Adrian Thomas
Adrian Thomas is currently the Canada Country President at Schneider Electric. Adrian joined Schneider Electric in 2016, as the leader of the Building segment, and has since held multiple leadership roles including VP of Digital Energy, Low Voltage Power Systems, and most recently, VP of Home and Distribution, Power Products and Channel. Adrian has been instrumental in bringing Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure to life in Canada, helping partners and businesses alike achieve their sustainability ambitions, thus accelerating the company’s digitization journey and sustainable growth.
Adrian is a seasoned leader, with over 20 years of experience in the electrical and automation industry. He is passionate about using his work and platform to create positive impact with customers, employees and the community and strives to leverage his deep expertise in technology to enable sustainable transformations.
Adrian is a champion of diversity and inclusion as a key driver of inclusive growth and believes it plays a critical role in ensuring that sustainable transformation is beneficial to all including customers, individuals, communities, and businesses. Through active participation in boards like Coalition of Innovation Against Racism (CILAR), Adrian is working towards creating a more equitable work environment across the industry, thus creating the conditions for empowered individuals to lead change. Adrian is an advocate for supporting and developing the leaders of tomorrow, with mentorships and is active in Canadian industry through his work on the board of CAN/IEC, Electro-Federation Canada, and as the Vice-Chair of the National Electricity Roundtable.
Prior to joining Schneider Electric, Adrian held sales and leadership roles at General Electric and TMEIC Corporation. He holds an electrical engineering degree from McMaster University and a post-graduate certificate in finance for executives from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
“As the unifying voice of EU interests in Canada, EUCCAN continues its growth with an important milestone for the organization. To support its new strategy and to enhance representation of EU businesses in Canada, EUCCAN members and its board of directors have elected a new President representing an EU company in Canada.
The election of a new president at the head of an organization is always a crucial stage in its life and development, for its members, for its objective and vision. It is for us, the board directors, to work for the future of EUCCAN and its members, building on the foundations of a work carried out with vision and rigor in recent years.
I am deeply honored to be elected and entrusted with continuing the growth of the organization and onboarding companies to better represent EU interests at the highest government level on both sides of the Atlantic.
At the recent EU-Canada summit, our leaders have reiterated the strong partnership, bounded by common interests, democratic values and strong people-to-people ties. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on businesses, EU and Canada can work together on the path of recovery. Sustainability and innovation are driving forces and are at the forehead of this recovery. By sharing common values, the EU and Canada both have a very strong role to play on the international scene and are uniquely positioned to drive this change. European and Canadian expertise on sustainability and innovation are immense. Multilateral cooperation is needed to address the global challenges and to implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
To this objective of reinforcing transatlantic cooperation, and to support our role of facilitator and bridge between the European and Canadian business communities as well as governments and authorities, the Sustainability committee will be one the first EUCCAN industry committee. Its creation will help identify opportunities for companies and tackle challenges.
As I begin my mandate as President of EUCCAN alongside the Board directors and the Executive Director, I would like to thank the members and the entire Board of Directors for their trust support, and collaboration
Adrian Thomas
EUCCAN President”
