Management Team

Frédéric Boulanger

CEO

Frédéric Boulanger is passionate about beautiful design and is an out-of-the-closet technology geek. His vision is of a world where software enables the full potential of ideas, enriches lives and is a joy to use. Mr. Boulanger’s company, Macadamian Technologies, fuses design and technology to create and inspire superb software products with unparalleled user experiences.

Under his leadership as CEO and co-founder, Macadamian has become one of the most respected user experience design and software development firms in the industry. With a global staff of over 200 employees, the company serves clients ranging from start-ups to some of the world’s biggest and most innovative brands.

Frédéric started his career at Corel Corporation in the software engineering department, becoming the Senior Development Manager of Paradox, the company’s flagship database product. At Corel he also managed the Corel Family Tree Suite, which received the ZDNet Editor’s Choice award. Having learned the ins and outs of creating successful software he began his entrepreneurial journey by starting Macadamian in 1997 with 3 other founders.

Frédéric is an active leader in the Ontario and Quebec business communities. He is a board member of the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), the advocacy group for the ICT industry in Canada and is active in a number of ITAC committees, including Small and Medium Enterprises and Canada's competitive positioning. He is President of Export Outaouais, as well as being a member of Anges Québec, and participates at the Outaouais Entrepreneur Round Table to support entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in the region.  He believes strongly in the economic development and prosperity of the Outaouais and is on the board of the Gatineau Chamber of Commerce. He is also a mentor in the FounderFuel start-up accelerator program in Montreal. 

Frédéric believes that to remain innovative, a nation must invest in education and foster industry cooperation. He is one of the founders of the Ottawa High School Technology program (TechU.me), which seeks to reverse declining university science enrollment by nurturing student interest in science and technology. Recently he co-founded the Ottawa chapter of Mobile Mondays - a global networking organization for business people in the mobile technology space. He is also a long-term supporter of the Ottawa economic development agency, Invest Ottawa.

Frédéric was born in Rimouski, Quebec and graduated from Université de Sherbrooke in 1993. He resides in Gatineau, Quebec with his wife and 3 children where he enjoys mountain biking, cross country and downhill skiing. He also loves to cook for family and friends. He blogs regularly on a wide variety of topics.

Twitter: @fredboulanger

Dan Arra

Managing Director, Macadamian's Silicon Valley Innovation Lab

Dan leads Macadamian’s Silicon Valley Innovation Lab. His extensive experience in technology and software innovation spans product management, engineering and business development. Dan’s executive leadership was instrumental in the success of multiple technology companies – two of which went public on the NASDAQ. Overseeing an $80-million product line for Novell as well as sales and operations at the 450-person professional services firm, BrightStar, are among his many career highlights.

Dan specializes in defining and delivering professional services in the areas of new product development and product line enhancement and extension. He is skilled at scoping, defining, initiating and successfully completing product development projects. Dan’s technical background and business savvy equip him to work well with a wide range of stakeholders, including executives, software engineers, product managers and business line managers. Dan attended the University of Southern California where he majored in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.  He has been an IEEE member since 1987.

Stephane Lussier

Vice President of Engineering

One of the original founders of Macadamian, Stephane oversees all project operations, and is responsible for leading a diverse team of project managers, user researchers, development leads, UX designers, developers, quality assurance specialists, and technical writers.

Stephane has more than 10 years’ experience in the management, design, analysis, and development of software projects and has led many of Macadamian’s groundbreaking projects.

Prior to joining Macadamian, Stephane was a software engineer developing software and firmware for Eicon Networks and holds a Baccalaureate in Computer Science from Université de Sherbrooke.

Scott Plewes

Vice President of User Experience Design

Scott brings more than 20 years of experience in understanding customers and how to incorporate their needs into software product design. He's put his skills to work on overseeing the design of dozens of desktop, Web, and mobile applications, including the user experience design of multiple smartphones and tablets. For nearly a decade Scott worked as part of Nortel's Usability Design Group and he holds a Master's degree in Science from Queen's University.

Francois Boisvert

Vice President of Consulting Services

Francois joined Macadamian in 1999 as a software engineer and has worked on hundreds of projects with customers.

He now oversees all project operations and is leading a team of PMP-certified project managers that helps him build win-win partnerships and successfully deliver a World Class customer experience.

Francois has a Baccalaureate in Electrical Engineering from Université de Sherbrooke.

Sylvain St-Germain

Director of Process Improvement and IT

Sylvain joined Macadamian in 1998 and prior to his role as Director of Process Improvement, Sylvain led a wide range of projects, including the Living Dictionary project (www.livingdictionary.com), a Web application that won the Technology in Government Week Distinction Gold Medal and the 2001 SCOAP award for Best IT Initiative Resulting in Positive Social or Community Advancement.

Sylvain works closely with Computers for Communities, an Ottawa-based non-profit that collects computers from technology companies, refurbishes them, and puts them in the hands of community groups like the Boys and Girls club.

Sylvain has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Université de Sherbrooke, Québec.

James Stanish

Chief Financial Officer

Jim brings more than 25 years of financial leadership within technology-based organizations. He joined Macadamian in 2007 as Chief Financial Officer. Since then, Jim has played a key strategic role in guiding the company’s revenue growth from $8-million to $17-million. Raising more than $15-million in financing for multiple technology companies is another one of Jim’s career highlights. Part of this success involved leading multiple rounds of financing and integrations for several tech start-ups – working with many government agencies and programs to secure funding. Jim delivers a distinct blend of practical commercial experience and financial acumen. He is a chartered accountant (Canada) who has held financial roles with other innovators including Anixter, Nortel and Solectron. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Dinesh Kandanchatha

Vice President of Sales

Dinesh Kandanchatha is a serial entrepreneur with a significant background in start-up and early stage companies. Focusing in sales and marketing, Mr. Kandanchatha has over 15 years of experience in C-level sales, product marketing, and sales management.

Presently employed as VP of Sales for Macadamian Technologies, driving revenue in the leading software design consultancy in the healthcare market, Mr. Kandanchatha has stewarded 40%+ annual growth rates for the firm. Previously Mr. Kandanchatha was the Global Director and GM, Corporate and Enterprise markets for Protus IP Solutions leading a $30M+ team in business messaging services and Fax over IP licenses. Protus was acquired in 2010 for $213M by J2 Global communications.

Mr. Kandanchatha is a Top 40 under 40 winner, board member of a variety of not for profits such as Oneprosper.org, and has been featured in the Canadian Business Journal's entrepreneur spotlight. Mr. Kandanchatha holds a Bachelors of Arts from University of Ottawa, and a MBA from the same institution.

Didier Thizy

Vice President of Consulting Services

Didier Thizy has been a software professional for 13 years, holding a variety of positions in Software R&D and Product Management. At Macadamian, Didier is Macadamian's VP Consulting and Healthcare practice leader, responsible for a cross-functional unit of design and development consultants. His focus areas include healthcare and EHR software, usability of complex systems, and modern mobile and web technologies. Didier is an active member of HIMSS, the Toronto Product Management Association, Silicon Valley Product Management Association, and the Ottawa OCRI association for technology.