Aldo Bensadoun

The son of a shoe merchant and grandson of a shoemaker, Aldo Bensadoun studied at the primary and secondary levels in France and at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He also received a degree in economics from Montréal’s McGill University. He then became involved in commercial research, which led him to complete a project for a local shoe retailer. His knowledge of the shoe market, his passion for creativity and his innovative spirit prompted him to found his own business. The ALDO Group has more than 1,000 stores in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland. It is represented by six banners – ALDO, ALDO Accessories, Locale, Little Burgundy, Spring and Globo – and it has a presence in 60 other countries, operating more than 500 stores.

Aldo Bensadoun is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of his company and continues to lead the ALDO Group’s strategic growth. Convinced that an organization’s development is a function of the professional development of its human resources, he has made his employees a priority and established himself as an industry leader by offering innovative recognition programs.

Aldo Bensadoun also applies this philosophy to his customers. He believes that prosperous, successful businesses are those that stay centred on their values and that offer products and services that deliver a sense of well-being. This perspective has allowed the ALDO Group to stay one step ahead of both trends and the needs of consumers, and it is what has made ALDO so popular. In addition to his role in industry associations, such as the Retail Council of Canada, the International Council of Shopping Centers and the National Retail Federation in the U.S., Aldo Bensadoun is a member of the board of directors of Aritzia, a Canadian name in fashion that is growing in popularity abroad and among celebrities.

A major philanthropist, Aldo Bensadoun has made social responsibility a pillar of his company. Whether in education, social services, medicine or the arts, giving back to the community has always been second nature to him. He often takes part in fundraising activities and gets involved in many community and international causes. A forerunner even in the choice of causes it takes up, the ALDO Group was one of the first companies to help fight AIDS in 1985, when the disease was still taboo. Today, it also supports Hope & Cope, a Montréal non-profit organization that offers a psychosocial approach to the treatment of cancer. In 2011, Aldo Bensadoun was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.

Aldo Bensadoun was inducted into the Academy of Great Montrealers in the Economic category in 2011 and was named a Commander of the Ordre de Montréal in 2016.