MaxSys Senior Management Annual Awards Dinner, Ottawa, 2018
By Scott Taylor
It is not a stretch to state that Bryan Brulotte was born into a career affiliation with the Canadian Armed Forces. His father served in the regular army as a non-commissioned officer, rising to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer.
Following in his father’s combat boots, Brulotte joined the Army Cadets at the impressionable age of 13. From his first parade night as a member of the Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal) Brulotte was hooked on the notion of a lifetime in uniform.
Four years later in 1982, Brulotte enrolled in the prestigious College Miltiare Royal in St. Jean sur Richelieu, Quebec.
Brulotte participates in Number 1 Rifle Company, GGFG annual winter exercise CFB Farnham, Que, 2012
He thrived within the military structure of this academic institution, topping the grueling phase-three infantry training component and graduating as the Cadet Wing Commander.
In 1987, this 22 year old newly minted Second Lieutenant was offered his choice of posting and Brulotte jumped at the opportunity to command a platoon with the 1st Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment (Vandoos).
This unit was stationed in Lahr, West Germany at the time and this posting allowed Brulotte to successfully complete the French Army Commando course as well as conduct airborne operations with both the British and German armies.
It also offered Brulotte a front row seat to history when the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989, effectively signaling the end of the Cold War.
From 1990-1992 Brulotte served as an aide-de-camp for the Governor-General at Rideau Hall. This high profile posting meant Brulotte was almost constantly travelling both domestically and internationally and of course circling within the same orbit as heads of state and world leaders.
When his two-year tour at Rideau Hall ended, Brulotte returned to the Vandoos at CFB Val Cartier. As officer commanding the third battalion’s reconnaissance platoon, Brulotte completed a seven-month deployment to Cyprus as a U.N peacekeeper.
In April 1993, Brulotte concluded his regular force career when he accepted the position as Deputy Chief of Staff for Paul Dick who was then Cabinet-Minister for Public Works and Government Services.
Honorary Co-Chair Bryan Brulotte presents a cheque at the Royal 22eme Regiment Fundraising Ball, Quebec City, 2018
Although he was now stepping into the arena of Canadian federal politics, Brulotte did not hang up his commission scroll for good. He remained on what was then known as the Supplementary Reserve list. While this lofty title might sound good, it actually required little more than showing up in uniform once annually to collect a token payment. Nonetheless, while it might have only been one day a year – Brulotte was still technically a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
The lessons that Brulotte had learned during his military training had set him up well for the transition to his civvy job on Parliament Hill, but he soon learned a powerful lesson about Canadian politics. In October 1993, the Progressive Conversative Party under the leadership of Prime-Minister Kim Campbell were completely destroyed at the polls.
Paul Dick lost his seat and Brulotte lost his job.
At that juncture Brulotte made the decision to become an entrepreneur and he founded a company – Human Resources International (HRI) to help other people find jobs. It was a humble origin with Brulotte working a one man operation out of the basement in his Orleans home.
The internet was in its infancy in 1993 and HRI relied on an old tape recorded answering machine and a thermal paper fax machine. The prime source of research for Brulotte was the old government listing phone book and he would literally make 100 cold calls a day soliciting employees and potential employers alike as he worked his way alphabetically from the ‘A’s’ to the ‘Z’s’ of that directory.
To cut out the expense of parking Brulotte found a free spot near the Museum of Nature from where he could walk into the downtown core. He possessed two suits – one blue, one grey – which he took care to alternate. Nevertheless, in the course of walking the streets of Ottawa, pounding on doors Brulotte not only wore the soles off his military issued dress shoes; he also wore out the crotches of his two suit pants.
In 1997, Brulotte incorporated the company and changed the name to MaxSys. Four years later he moved into the 3500 square-foot office which still serves as his national headquarters located just outside Ottawa’s Byward market. There are now a total of 14 MaxSys offices nationwide and they currently place approximately 14,000 personnel into jobs every year, The modest first year billing of $2 million has since ballooned into annual sales of over $100 million. Across Canada Brulotte now has 88 full-time MaxSys employees with around 30 of those based in the national capital.
To manage this empire Brulotte is travelling at least two days every week, which allows him to site visit his far flung regional offices on average every 4-5 weeks.
: Gunner Murphy, First Field Artillery (RCA)
receives the MaxSys Academic Bursary Presentation
Halifax Nova Scotia, 2019
Still, the path to MaxSys current success was not without a few bumps along the way. From 2005 to 2008 Brulotte tried to organically grow his company by expanding into Toronto, Montreal and Ogdensburg, New York. These expansion operations struggled initially and then were dealt a mortal blow when the world economic crisis hit in 2008.
The decision was taken in 2009 to close all three offices, but a vital lesson had been learned. Since that stumble, Brulotte has conducted his expansion through the acquisition of existing companies rather than trying to establish a presence from scratch. It is a strategy that has paid off handsomely.
Another reminder that federal politics is a blood sport came in 2000 when Brulotte ran unsuccessfully for parliament as a member of Joe Clark’s Progressive Conservatives.
Far more successful was Brulotte’s second foray into the Canadian military, this time as a serving member of the Primary Reserve. In 2007, at the height of Canada’s involvement in the war of Afghanistan there was a pressing need for trained reservists. Despite the fact that he was now 43 years old, Brulotte enlisted in the Ottawa based Governor General’s Foot Guards at the rank of Captain.
Somehow in the midst of growing a multi-million dollar corporation across Canada, Brulotte still managed to find the time to command a rifle company of militia.
When his role in the primary reserve came to an end, Brulotte seamlessly rerolled into yet another Canadian Armed Forces uniform – that of Honorary Colonel of his very own Governor General Foot Guards.
The close association between Brulotte and the military extends deeply into the fabric of MaxSys as well. Of the 14,000 personnel that MaxSys places every year, it is estimated that more than 1,000 are ex-military veterans.
Brulotte receives award as Top Graduate, Infantry Phase 3 Canadian Infantry Association Trophy CFB Gagetown, 1985
As a good corporate citizen, Brulotte directs MaxSys philanthropic efforts – an estimated $450,000 a year – back into the military community. For instance, MaxSys contributes over $200,000 a year to military community advocacy, which intends to inform national employers as to the benefits of hiring veterans.
In terms of direct event sponsorship MaxSys takes a lead role in the annual legacy RMC Dinner, the Toronto Garrison Dinner, True Patriot Love Dinner and the Vimy Dinner. Past events sponsored by MaxSys also include the Victory Ball and the Army Ball.
MaxSys also makes an annual donation of $20,000 to assist homeless veterans in Toronto and Ottawa through the Sheperd’s of Good Hope. There are currently eight academic bursaries funded by MaxSys, earmarked for deserving reservists wishing to advance their academic studies.
For all of his success and growth to date, Brulotte still has some big plans to build his empire even larger. For motivation Brulotte has a plaque mounted on his office wall, which clearly states his personal goal: “MaxSys will become Canada’s Largest Staffing and Consulting firm.”
While currently the largest Canadian owned agency in Canada, MaxSys aspires to be the third largest job placement firm operating in Canada. To achieve the top spot, Brulotte has a 10-year plan to grow MaxSys sales to over $700 million.
While his term as Honorary Colonel will terminate in January 2020 it is not expected that Brulotte will be cutting ties with the Canadian military any time soon. Which is good news for the defence community in Canada because Brulotte has consistently been true to his military roots through his meteoritic rise through the corporate sector.
“Frankly, I embraced the military way of life, the culture, the camaraderie and the physical and mental challenges” said Brulotte “I loved it then and still love it today.”
