BFL CANADA

BFL CANADA

Type	Private company
ISIN	🆔
Industry	Financial Services
Founded 📆	1987
Founder 👔	Barry F. Lorenzetti
Headquarters 🏙️	2001 McGill College (Suite 2200) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Area served 🗺️	Worldwide
Key people	Barry F. Lorenzetti, CEO John Wright, EVP Jacques Dufresne, EVP Bertrand Lauzon, CFO Daniel Binette Penny Dyte Jeff Roth Bradley Potter
Products 📟	Insurance Risk Management
Members
Number of employees	550+ (2016)
🌐 Website	http://www.bflcanada.ca
📇 Address
📞 telephone

BFL CANADA is the largest employee-owned and operated commercial insurance broker and consulting services firm in Canada. BFL CANADA has offices in 27 cities and 1,450 employees.

History

BFL CANADA (which takes its name from its founder Barry F. Lorenzetti's initials) was founded on December 14, 1987 when Barry Lorenzetti and his colleagues, Joseph Paré and Tom Sleeper as well as Besso (a London based brokerage firm) signed an agreement to officially create the Montreal based firm. Howard Green, was a partner at J. Besso and Co. Ltd. in London and he introduced Mr. Lorenzetti to the founder of Besso and after several meetings, Besso agreed to take a 70% interest in the start-up, Joe Paré, Tom Sleeper and Barry F. Lorenzetti taking up the balance of 30%.

The foundation

The first BFL office on 1801 McGill College Avenue, in downtown Montreal, was located above the largest underground business and shopping complex in the world, Montreal’s “RÉSO” the same building as Mr. Lorenzetti's former employer and new competitor, Sedgwick.

• Ed Gathercole and four of his co-workers joined BFL in December 1988. Their specialty was in the Film and Entertainment Business in Canada.
• Frank Howden and his marine insurance team was another early addition to the firm in 1989
• In 1991, René St-Onge joined the team, establishing a municipalities practice group.
• In 1994, Bob Nicholls joined BFL Montreal.
• In 1997, Daniel Binette joined BFL from Dale Parizeau. Today, Daniel is Managing Vice-President, Quebec/Maritimes Region.

BFL CANADA independence

In the spring of 1991, due to some serious financial problems of specific Insurers with whom Besso had placed significant shares of their business within the London Market, Jardine, an international broker, bought the London Besso. On May 17, 1991, BFL concluded an agreement to buy back the Besso shares over the following five years making BFL CANADA a truly independent, 100% Canadian-owned broker.

TSW Management Services

In 1995, BFL developed a plan to consolidate smaller brokers' volumes into a wholesale operation in response to a corporate policy that was forcing the local manager of a large international carrier to reduce the number of brokers his company worked with in Quebec. The company was named TSW Management Services.

Expansion across the country

• In 1999, BFL CANADA opened up an office in Québec City, followed in March 2001 by a one-man operation in Halifax
• In 2003, BFL CANADA opened an office in Ottawa
• in 2025, BFL CANADA has expanded its services across the country with 27 offices

Origins of the “BFL Lion”

A lion first appeared in the BFL company letterhead when Besso had their 70% interest in the firm, at the beginning of its operation. The letterhead featured a lion sitting atop the world. When Besso was acquired by Jardine in 1991, BFL requested permission to continue using the same logo. They were turned down. BFL took the lion and changed its position, placing it not atop, but instead, in front of the globe. This was the lion’s first move, and BFL promptly had it trademarked by its corporate lawyer, Stan Selinger. The BFL lion has evolved a great deal over the past 20 years, but it is still dominant in the company emblem.

Current Head Office and Senior Management

The Head Office in Montreal moved into the 2001 McGill College Avenue building in 1998. In 2023, Lisa Giannone was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of BFL CANADA while Barry F. Lorenzetti continues to serve as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of Directors. They rely on the support of Frédérik Pelaez, who is responsible for the Eastern Region, Tom DeCoteau, who manages the Western Region and Sean Hurley and Steve Moreau, who oversee the Central Region.

Philanthropy

BFL CANADA proudly supports various charitable organizations, including:

• Hockey Canada and the Hockey Canada Foundation
• Skate Canada
• The Canadian Cancer Society and other cancer charities
• City Reach Care Society
• The Alzheimer Society
• Toronto General Hospital and The Alexander Family Foundation
• Shriners Hospital for Children
• The CHU Ste-Justine
• Welcome Hall Mission
• The Kidney Foundation of Canada
• Le Centre de l'Épanouissement de l'enfant Pinocchios (C.E.E.P.)
• Road Hockey To Conquer Cancer

Recent years

BFL CANADA Consulting Services Inc.

BFL acquired a Benefits consulting division, BFL CANADA Consulting Services Inc. (CSI) in 2008.

CSI opened in 2011 a new Quebec City office. In addition, a new President, Mr. David Vanasse, took the helm in 2012. BFL CSI operates in Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, and, through partnerships, in Alberta and BC.

Local International Office Network (LION)

Thanks to its Local International Office Netwok of independent brokers (LION) launched in 2025, BFL CANADA provides its clients with an access to insurance partners in over 140 countries.

Awards

Barry F. Lorenzetti was a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 and BFL was recognized as one of the 50 Best Managed private companies in Canada on two occasions, 2000 and 2001. In 2012, Mr. Lorenzetti won the Established Leader National Award from the Insurance Institute of Canada. Over the years, he has received many other honours and awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from Insurance Business Canada (2018), the Canadian Chamber of Commerce International Business Leader of the Year Award (2021), the title of Knight for the Ordre de Montréal (2022), the King Charles III Coronation Medal (2024).

Bibliography

A first historical book called BFL - The first 20 years was written in 2007 by Barry F. Lorenzetti with the support of Michael Sarazen. The book was published internally and has no ISBN.

External links

• BFL CANADA website

This article "BFL CANADA" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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