A senior editor from the Transcontinental Media IT Business Group has been singled out as an IT pioneer by a Quebec IT association.
As a way of celebrating its 25th anniversary the Fédération de l’Informatique du Quebec
(FIQ) has chosen to honour 25 individuals seen as pioneers in information and communication technologies in Quebec. Among those honoured at the May 24th Montreal gala will be Patrice-Guy Martin, the editor in chief of Transcontinental’s own Direction Informatique.
Martin, who has headed the Quebec IT publication since 1994, said he is thrilled and surprised to be included a group of industry giants who include CGI’s Serge Godin and Matrox graphic chips and card developer Lorne Trottier. He also said he was surprised to see an industry give recognition to journalists who cover it, a very rare occurrence.
He’s reported on the industry he describes as his passion since 1988 and has seen a number of drastic changes to what IT means.
“”When I first started in this industry we were on DOS, probably 3.2. No Windows. The big software of the time was Lotus 123,”” he said. “”Actually, the year I started people were complaining because we were still on version 2 of Lotus 123 and we were waiting for version 3 which was delayed and delayed and delayed.””
Martin said the past 15 years have been quite the professional ride, particularly the dot-com explosion which he said experienced members of the industry knew couldn’t last. Having arrived at a more mature stage the IT industry is no less exciting, he added.
He is no stranger to awards. Just before joining Direction Informatique, Martin was awarded a prize for best specialized reporting for a piece he wrote on the newly competitive Canadian telecom market. He was given that award by the Quebec Association of Magazine Publishers.
The FIQ event is an annual happening and so Martin said he’s looking forward to running into people he usually sees at the gala. Getting to talk to the industry’s leaders will be a thrill, receiving the award will be an honour, but he’s looking most forward to something altogether different.
“” Probably the most fun will be the bottle of champagne that I will drink when I get home,”” he laughs.
The FIQ is Quebec’s largest information and communication technology association. It works to further the interests of the IT industry in the province.
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