A portrait of success: Johanne Berry founding president of Télé-Ressources

Ideas are certainly not in short supply for this business woman who, more than 20 years ago, created an agency specializing in recruiting personnel, Le Groupe Téle-Ressources.

The daughter of a businessman, Johanne Berry started her career at an international company in 1979. Six years later, when her father (a man who had encouraged her to make her mark in the competitive world of business) passed away, she created Téle-Ressources. She remembers only too clearly the first days of her company in 1985, when the phone wouldn't ring and not a single client would appear at the doors of her office.

Twenty-six years later, despite two major crises that shook operator's faith in this type of business, the company has grown considerably. It now posts annual sales of $15 million dollars and employs a team of 26 permanent members. Housed in a building in downtown Montreal, Johanne Berry and her team manage an enterprise that recruits people for large corporations, while interviewing candidates looking for employment.

Structured in twelve divisions, the company posts positions and receives CVs from potential employees, from which it selects the most suited ones for the companies included in their repertory. They fill positions for a variety of administrative, clerical and managerial jobs and Mrs. Berry's company is so well known for its efficiency and the excellence of services offered that it has received the Mercuriades award for the last three years running.