2024 Star Women in Convenience winner: Isabelle Lafortune

General manager    

Énergies Lafortune

How did you get into this business? 

With over 15 years in human resources, I decided to challenge myself by joining the family businesses as an entrepreneur. I started under two specific business segments at Énergies Lafortune: fuel distribution and gas stations with convenience stores.

What are you most proud of during the last 12-18 months?

In the last 18 months, we raised our income by 46% by adding five new convenience stores to our group.

What do you like most about your job?

The people on our team. With them, the future is bright. Two of my favorite humans are my siblings, and I’m lucky they also are my associates. I am extremely proud to be part of a loving family that never gives up when life throws us challenges. Together, we make a very successful management team.  

What was the biggest challenge of your career?

In 2023, we had a fatal accident at work that strongly affected my team and me. Two days later, my husband, who was also an associate in our business, had major health issues and stayed at the hospital and palliative centre for the rest of the year. This great man—associate, husband, dad, son and friend—passed away at the end of 2023.

Despite these dramatic circumstances, I chose myself. I was a workaholic, and I established healthy habits such as exercising, eating well, reading books, consulting a psychologist, disconnecting from the business world in the evenings and on weekends. I also empowered key players in my team. Thanks to these survival initiatives, I managed to preserve my energy to support my partner and family throughout the year.

Our passionate team united to carry the torch in our company. We have great consideration for our crew, these talented and team-spirited staff members, without whom we would never have been able to preserve our mental health and continue the company’s operations and evolution during this period.

What's the best advice you ever received? 

It comes from the late John-Stephen McVeay: Give your time to the humans around you, bring them warmth through your presence. They will repay you a thousand times. 

Career highlight/biggest achievement?

Selecting our crew. This not only involves attracting the right players to our organization but also generating commitment to retain them. It means building trust by empowering them, recognizing their successes, having the courage to address unspoken issues, and, most importantly, freeing ourselves from anyone who undermines the team’s success and energy. When the team is engaged and competent, there are no obstacles—only solutions and a proactive approach to new challenges.

What excites you most about the future of this channel? 

Having taken a health-oriented turn in the past year, I am convinced that I need to offer healthier lifestyle options to my employees, clients, suppliers and community. I intend to establish a well-being program within my company for our employees and in the communities where our local businesses are located. Additionally, I plan to implement concrete actions to offer less processed products in our stores, appealing to a clientele that seeks convenient alternatives for healthy and nutritive products.

What will shape the business in the next 5 years?

We must stand out by being THE local business in our village. We need to connect with our community to be truly present in the hearts of the citizens.

How do you define yourself as a leader?

I generate trust around me. I genuinely care about the feelings of each person at Énergies Lafortune. I am grateful for all the challenges they overcome daily, and I celebrate their successes. Also, I can handle adversity skillfully.