Jean-Claude Sensemat, (born 1951) is a businessman in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Sensemat was born in Fleurance

Fleurance

Fleurance is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

 in the Gers

Gers

The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...

, and from 1970 to 2000, he founded and directed an import/export group of hand and power tool companies that bears his name. The Groupe Sensemat became the largest private employer of the Gers with over 500 collaborators in 1999 and sales totaling 800 million French francs (1 220 M Euros).

The company’s growth is owed to the globalization of trade. As early as 1975, import-export operations were organized with India, Red China, Romania, Albania and other countries of the Eastern bloc, sometimes using barter and compensation. The Groupe Sensemat became a privileged supplier of the European major hypermarket retailers.

Through his tool-manufacturing group, he then acquired many brownfields

Brownfield land

Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...

 in the department of the Gers (the Grundig Factory, the Seita buildings, etc.).

As a major player in the department’s economic life, he was a counselor with the Gers’ Bank of France for 6 years. He was Vice President of the Gers’ Employers' Union in 1989, and he founded the Gers’ UNICEF committee in 1988. He also founded a local newspaper: "La Gascogne".

In 1990, he purchased LIP

LIP (clockwork company)

LIP is a French watch and clock company whose turmoil became emblematic of the conflicts between workers and management in France.The LIP factory, based in Besançon in eastern France, was having financial problems in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and management decided to try to close it...

, the renowned watchmaking company that was then in difficulty, and relaunched it. Then, in 1992 he acquired other brands: Achille Zavatta, Teppaz, Luis Ocana. In 2000, his strongly coveted hand and power tool group faced problems leading to the lifetime dismissal of a court administrator who was found guilty and imprisoned. The Sensemat Group disappeared.

In 2002, he transferred the LIP brand international license to the Gersoise company MGH of Lectoure. That same year, he was named Honorary Consul of the Republic of Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

for thirty-three French departments. He conducted his business from his company based in Toulouse

Toulouse

Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

.

In 2007, he immigrated to Canada with his family. He was received by the Canadian government as a Business Immigrant (Investor). It was in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

that he founded Gestion Geneen Inc., a business and wealth management company.

His Gersoise origins, his professional successes and vexations are the inspiration for the writing of his four works.

Publications

• La Patronade, éditions Olivier Orban, 1988.
• Un Moment de Gascogne, éditions La Gascogne, 1997.
• Le Délit d'Entreprendre, éditions de la Mezzanine, 2004.
• Comment j'ai sauvé LIP, éditions Entreprendre Robert Lafont, 2005.