New Jayman president eager to learn industry
‘Customer-centric’ Desormeaux brings leadership skills from variety of fields
In the exhaustive process to select the right person for a prominent role within his veteran homebuilding business, Jay Westman says Dave Desormeaux had tools that set him apart.
The 53-year-old Toronto native — who is a chartered professional accountant and has his bachelor of commerce degree from Concordia University — moved into the chair of president and chief operating officer at Jayman Built, single-family.
The company, co-founded in 1980 by Jay Westman and his late father Al Westman, builds frontdrive and laned single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes, and apartment-style condos, and is active in 16 communities in the Calgary area.
“I liked his diverse background, being involved in large companies and leading large companies,” says Westman, chairman and CEO of Jayman, of Desormeaux.
Desormeaux’s most recent position was president of Sysco, Alberta South — a food marketing and distribution giant. This followed roles of executive vice-president, and chief financial officer within the same company. He’s also been a sales and application consultant specializing in performance management for San Franciso-based PeopleSoft, and division controller for Coca-Cola and Canada Dry.
“He’s got a passion for creating high-performance teams,” says Westman, also calling Desormeaux “customer-centric.”
“He’s a communicator and a people person,” he adds. “We’re looking for these types of leaders in the company, where basically the results come through the creation of, obviously the processes and system, but also your ability to handle your team, to create a culture, and embrace your team.
“When you have a passionate team engaged, that flows out to our customers.”
On his move into the homebuilding industry, Desormeaux says he’s eager to be a sponge.
“I love to learn,” he says, adding he’ll glean from everyone. “I’ve been in a variety of different industries, always learned the industry and had success in each of them.”
At Jayman, a prime resource will be Westman, himself.
“Some of the conversations, the passion and energy, it’s been just amazing,” Desormeaux says of Westman.
Before taking the Jayman job, when someone asked him if he’d ever look to move on from his position at Sysco, “I actually painted the exact picture of this opportunity,” Desormeaux says.
“I said, ‘There’s got to be someone out there who has built a successful Alberta-based business ... and they’re looking for someone who can come in that they can trust, that is customer-focused, and they will mentor that person and teach them the business, and that’s exactly what happened. Basically my wish list of the perfect scenario of ever leaving Sysco, who was very good to me, it came in front of me and I literally couldn’t say no.”
Desormeaux — who, inspired by his father, has always had a heart for do-it-yourself projects and is currently a home automation buff — says a lot drew him to the residential industry.
“In Alberta, specifically, the home builders have a very big presence, ” he says. “They’re helping to shape the future of Alberta. It’s a very prominent industry.”
He singles out an interest in innovation, building green, and putting the customer at “the centre of everything.”
On Jayman specifically, he says “I just wanted to work for the best.”
“When I did my homework ... I talked to people in the industry, I kept hearing the same: innovative, industry-leading, customerfocused, and respected by their competitors. Those are the things that drew me into Jayman because that’s the type of organization that you want to be part of.”