34 PL & P
In Focus
By Selina Setrakian
Julie Legault
Julie Legault is the type of person who gives everything and more to support others , dedicating her entire career to it , in fact . Even as the current president and owner of Techni + Contact Canada , an audio and video equipment and accessories distributor , Legault ’ s focus continues to be on helping others .
“ I love the arts and I want to encourage and foster that in others . I love technology ’ s ability to amplify a message and enhance communication . But what really means the most to me are those private moments and connections with others ,” explains Legault .
Before purchasing her father ’ s company , Techni + Contact , in 2015 and becoming the sole owner , Legault was born in the West Island of Montreal . Quickly she grew to become a socially-engaged teen , advocating for saving the rainforest and animal rights , while also participating in letter campaigns for Amnesty International and against the use of nuclear bombs .
“ I think that actually led me to my first career as a social worker in my twenties where I very quickly got experience internationally working in France with refugees ,” Legault reflects . “ Then I worked in Montreal , mostly in healthcare and mental health . Looking to grow after hitting the limitations of my profession , I got an MBA and ended up working in responsible finance for almost two years , meshing social responsibility with my business background .”
It wasn ’ t until 2009 that Legault decided to return to the family business full-time .
“ It wasn ’ t a big step for me to circle back and to return to audio as a full-time career , as I had never gone very far in my heart ,” says Legault .
Upon returning , she noticed consumer sales were shifting online and that the company had been doing well in commercial video with AMX . However , Techni + Contact didn ’ t have the strong commercial audio lines to complement its video offering and required a relaunch .
“ We needed to begin strategically shifting the business to address market needs that had evolved , and update how we operated ,” explains Legault . “ It was a big deal to shift the business from a consumer electronics focus to commercial audio , and it ’ s been really good for us . Before that , in terms of commercial audio , Techni + Contact wasn ’ t really on the map and though people saw that initiative , few saw all the work that went in before and after .”
This remains critical to Legault – that it was never one big event that led to her and Techni + Contact ’ s success , but rather , the hard work of daily decisions , actions , and conversations , which allowed her to face so many changes confidently .
Of course , changes and challenges continue to follow us in life . Like many now , Legault ’ s had her fair share of dealing with the pandemic , which has left her acknowledging high levels of uncertainty , while simultaneously learning to live with the stress of an unstable situation .
“ The pandemic changed the market and the way we sell . The reality is , the way people are working right now has been very demanding and adapting to that has kept me very busy ,” explains Legault . “ We ’ re definitely seeing some issues with raw material shortages and price increases . When our manufacturers and our suppliers are increasing their price in significant ways , it ’ s preoccupying because we want to make sure that we can stay
competitive . There ’ s also been some delays with containers being shipped from overseas .”
Still , despite the struggles , Legault ’ s optimism and intelligence continue to shine bright , as she takes every obstacle and turns it into a learning experience for both herself and Techni + Contact .
“ I think overall , we ’ re coming out stronger , as the pandemic really forced us to ask ourselves some tough questions and look at how we do things ,” says Legault . This reflection in particular resulted in the new rebrand initiative and website , which Legault launched this July .
“ It ’ ll be nice to show an updated face and transactional website that will serve our customers better . We ’ ve been working on this since the beginning of the pandemic and it ’ s been really fun reflecting on who we are and communicating that in the best way possible ,” says Legault . “ As the company goes into its 43 rd year , we want to continue to add value , both to the product lines we distribute and for our partners . We will never stop questioning ourselves , so we can continue to be relevant to our market and meet customers ’ needs .”
Outside of work , Legault enjoys refreshing and re-energizing by hiking , meditating , reading , rock climbing , and playing ringette . What ’ s important to Legault is that each activity allows her to be present-focused , a skill she is building into her daily life .
Looking forward , Legault plans to develop her team ’ s capacity to challenge themselves and reconnect with industry partners and friends as travelling globally becomes more viable . Most importantly , she remains , as always , prepared to support others and hopeful of what comes next .
“ I don ’ t know what the future holds - nobody does , but it ’ s important we continue to accept responsibility for it and never let our passion die out ,” says Legault .
Selina Setrakian is a freelance writer and former Editorial Assistant at Professional Lighting & Production .