Greg Houston
President
Greg Houston is President and Chief Executive Officer of Lakeside – a market leader in the Process Automation industry and a member of the Emerson Impact Partner Network for Central Canada. Greg started his career at Lakeside as an Application Engineer in 1991. Having been with the company for more than 25 years, he has held several sales and management roles, including Vice President and General Manager prior to assuming the role of President and CEO in 2009. Greg’s leadership and profound understanding of Lakeside, its customers and the industry has consolidated the organization’s position as a market leader and led to Lakeside’s consistent growth.
Throughout his tenure, Greg’s approach to organizational and sales development has been integral in expanding Lakeside’s portfolio and capabilities from what once started as a small control valves sales representative in Toronto, to what is now a central-Canada-wide organization providing complete automation solutions from its eight facilities in Ontario and Manitoba. Under his leadership, Greg has led several mergers and acquisitions including Lakeside’s acquisition of Arctic Combustion Ltd. in 2010 – a provider of engineering services related to industrial boiler, combustion and energy optimization solutions, the merger of Controltech into Lakeside’s organization, and the creation of Lakeside Industrial Services Ltd. (today known as Asset Reliability Services). Further strengthening Lakeside’s continuous growth, Greg led the 2014 relocation and opening of Lakeside’s new head office in Mississauga, which doubled in size to 80,000 square feet of office and warehouse space.
Greg is a firm believer in the importance of employee engagement and its inherent link to organizational productivity and success. His initiatives have led to Lakeside’s consistent recognition as a platinum member of Canada’s Best Managed Companies since 2002 and earned the distinction for Best Workplaces in Canada for 10 consecutive years.
Greg currently sits on the Executive Advisory Board of FIRST Robotics Canada. He has been an avid runner for most of his life and has competed in numerous marathons, half marathons and 10 km races. In the summer, Greg spends time at his cottage where he often goes boating with his family, including his dog Carly.
Greg is a Professional Engineer in Ontario and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University.