Jacques DeLarochelliere is the CEO and cofounder of ISAAC Instruments, and Chair of the Board of Directors. His business journey began on a racetrack. One morning in 1990, Jacques tried to understand his poor performance as a pilot, which he initially blamed his race car’s tuning. Santo, his mechanic, then pretended to make adjustments, as he was convinced that everything was fine.

When he got back on the track, Jacques made the best time. Proud of his performance, he was sure the adjustments he had asked for had done the trick. He was then told nothing had changed. This lesson in humility helped Jacques realize that people couldn’t feel, record and explain actions and reactions as well as technology. This triggered his need to develop a tool to quantify the behavior of pilots and their vehicles.

The family home’s garden shed then became ISAAC’s first laboratory. With his childhood friend David Brillon, he spent his free time working on his telemetry system. At the time, the Internet, GPS, cellular communication and accelerometers were brand new tech!

In the early 2000s, his telemetry system piqued the interest of leading automakers, like Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda and Toyota. His entrepreneurial vision enabled him to build a successful business, which today brings its unique expertise to the transportation industry.

Jacques’s entrepreneurial leadership led to his nomination as a finalist in the Ernst & Young and Desjardins entrepreneurship awards. Jacques holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a flight theory and practice certification from the Kansas University School of Engineering, and specialized training in aircraft certification from Transport Canada.

Jacques is a sportsman at heart. He particularly enjoys speed and extreme sports. If he so enjoys riding his longboard to the office, it’s because the slopes along the way help get him there really fast!