VENTURES

Staff Profile
Philip Legrand
BY JONATHAN HAMELIN
Philip Legrand has truly become a world traveller. As a Market
Intelligence Specialist for STEP, he never knows which destination
he’ll be visiting next through his research.
“Since we have a wide variety of members involved in different
markets, every day is different,” said Legrand. “One day you
might be researching Alberta and Manitoba, and the next day
you could be looking into a market in the Middle East or Africa,
so it kind of takes you all over the globe.”
Legrand began working for STEP in June 2015. Part of the
research arm of STEP, he helps STEP members assess markets of
interest and identify potential market opportunities. This also
includes competitive intelligence. If a Saskatchewan company
is interested in entering a market, Legrand can look at their potential
competitors and what the business environment looks
like, providing the customer with some trade leads or putting
together a list of distributors.
“It’s been a great year, and I’ve learned some valuable skills,”
said Legrand. “Through this job, you get to learn about what
and where Saskatchewan companies are exporting. You also get
to learn about other overseas markets, and what’s going on in
other countries during the course the research we do on a daily
basis.”
As a Market Intelligence Specialist, Legrand collects economic,
trade and industry data from a variety of sources and synthesizes
that information into trade/export strategies, while identifying
business opportunities for members. The customized
reports are well-received from the membership base, which
consistently rank the tailored service with high marks through
STEP’s annual membership survey.
Legrand noted that the number one challenge with his job
involves locating data and information in some of the emerging
markets.
“In Canada and the United States, there seems to be a wealth
of publicly available information that we can lean on and use
during the course of our research. However, if we’re researching
a new or emerging market, that information isn’t necessarily
available, so we have to get a little creative sometimes and
try to work around a problem,” he said. “We can leverage other
resources outside of our organization, like the Trade Commissioner
Service, to try and help us achieve our objective. “
However, Legrand said
the challenges are worth it
to help a company achieve
its goal.
“The most rewarding
part of this job
is hearing back
from a STEP
member we’ve
done work
for and learning
how much
they appreciate
the work
that we’ve done and how they were able to transform that data
into results,” said Legrand. “We’re trying to help them reach a
business decision, so any information that we give them should
assist them in making that decision.”
Prior to working for STEP, Legrand studied economics at the
University of Regina. He previously worked for SaskEnergy in
their corporate affairs department and Business Infosource (a
predecessor to Square One in Saskatoon).
Outside of work, he’s heavily involved in the Regina music
scene. He often plays at The Capitol, which is just down the
street from STEP’s office at 1801 Hamilton Street. Legrand said
his hobby keeps him busy, since during any given week he’s
either practicing at home or playing a gig.
In fact, his jazz group – the Aaron Burnett Quartet – is going
to be playing at STEP’s Annual General Meeting and Trade
Conference on October 18-19 in Regina, which marks the company’s
20 th anniversary and will include an opening reception
highlighting the efforts of current and former staff, Board of
Directors and the founding members of STEP.
“A big reason I’m passionate about music is I like working
with other people,” said Legrand. “You’re working together
with three or four other individuals trying to create something
that’s larger than each individual person. You’re working toward
a common goal, which is just like anything in business.”
42 GLOBALVENTURES • SUMMER 2016