Aldo Bensadoun can add another honor to his many career accolades.
The founder of Montreal-based Aldo Group, who in 2016 received FN’s Manolo Blahnik Lifetime Achievement Award, was recognized on April 20 at the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards, taking home the coveted Outstanding Achievement Award.
The charismatic — and humble — Bensadoun was presented with the award by ET Canada host Cheryl Hickey. In his speech to the crowd, Bensadoun highlighted his longtime goal to foster a strong set of corporate values. “After 45 years, the proudest moment that I have is to see our values of love, respect and integrity being lived every day in our stores all around the world,” said the executive chairman of Aldo Group.
The CAFA award recognizes Bensadoun’s incredible business accomplishments as well as his contributions to the country’s fashion industry.
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In addition to building a global footwear powerhouse operating in more than 100 countries, the Aldo founder generously funded the formation of a retail school at McGill University. In May 2017, he announced a $25 million donation to his alma mater to create the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, an interdisciplinary facility offering degrees in the undergraduate to the Ph.D. level.
At the time, Bensadoun shared with FN the reasons behind his McGill gift: “As you are very aware, retail is in a major transformation phase, and I felt the need to have the right institution, on a worldwide basis, help retailers face the new challenges in the industry. … [If we take] all those disciplines that are already taught but in different schools, if we could put them together and form a strong school of retail, it would give us a chance to come up with a solution.”
Other CAFA honorees included Céline Dion, who received the International Style Icon Award; Nadja Swarovski, who took home the Global Fashion Business Leader Award; and Stylist of the Year Karla Welch.
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