Canada finally has its first university-level sales program – something that Mariner Chairman Gerry Pond has been advocating in Atlantic Canada for several years.

HEC Montréal, a French-language business college in Montreal, announced last week the creation of the Sales Institute, the first university-level centre in Canada in this field.

The HEC Institute will bring together professors and researchers from the school along with six partners from the private and co-operative sectors. Its goal is to create advanced expertise and foster a “sales culture” in Quebec and throughout Canada.

Pond, best known as an investor in tech startups, has long argued that the lack of sales talent is holding back Atlantic Canadian companies. He has offered $500,000 to any institution that launches a bona fide sales program on the East Coast, but so far there has not been a college or university that has taken up the challenge.  On Friday, he emailed news of the Montreal centre to academics in New Brunswick, adding that something similar is needed in Atlantic Canada.

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“HEC Montréal is acting as a pioneer by creating the first university body devoted to knowledge transfer, training and research in sales,” said HEC Montréal Director Michel Patry in a statement. “Sales is a misunderstood field that is nonetheless an integral part of the manager’s role. What’s more, there is a clear need for this kind of institute. On the website of the School’s Career Management Service, close to half of job offers for our BBA students are related to sales and business development.”

The new Institute will be headed by Jean-Luc Geha, a guest professor in the marketing department) and the academic supervisor of the marketing option in the BBA program.

“By bringing together professors, researchers and practitioners, we are looking to encourage advanced research and sharing cutting-edge knowledge adapted to the business world in Quebec and across Canada,” said Geha. “This will give organizations access to graduates with training in sales and the top experts in the field.”

In that connection, the school now has a new mandatory course in business development in the BBA program, and will be offering various training opportunities for executives and organizations.