Three Generations, One Culture

Growing up, Joelle Lalonde knew her dad worked at KGS Group.

She’d visit the office now and then, stopping by before appointments or school breaks. With a sibling allergic to peanuts, she remembers all too well the jar of peanut butter on her dad’s desk, the empty whiteboards she doodled on, and the friendships and camaraderie everywhere she looked.

At the time, Joelle never would have imagined that KGS would become part of her own story one day, joining a family connection that already spanned two generations.

Today, three generations of the Lalonde family work at KGS Group: Memere Frances Lalonde, father Lucien Lalonde, and now Joelle Lalonde. While each arrived at the company through different circumstances and at different stages of life, their stories share a common thread. None joined because they felt obligated to, and each found their own reasons to stay.

For Lucien Lalonde, the journey began in 2008 when he and his young family decided to return to Winnipeg after several years in Vancouver. With experience in consulting engineering and numerous job offers awaiting his response, KGS co-founder Demetrios Kontzamanis ultimately helped Lucien choose KGS. What stood out wasn’t a project or a title. It was the people.

“There was something different about the culture,” he recalls. “The people weren’t all focused on results. They genuinely cared, and still do, about the people behind the work.

A few years later, Lucien’s mother, Frances Lalonde, also joined the company. Looking for a change in her own career, she submitted her résumé and quickly became part of a team that was growing rapidly but still maintained a close-knit atmosphere. Over the years, she watched KGS expand from a small organization into a company with projects and offices across North America. Despite that growth, she believes one thing remained remarkably consistent.

“Everyone wants to do their best work, because everyone wants to be here,” says Frances. “When we know others care about people, it has a ripple effect on how you see things.

For years, KGS was simply part of family life. Conversations about projects, colleagues and office events naturally found their way into family gatherings. Yet neither Lucien nor Frances expected the connection would eventually extend to a third generation.

When Joelle joined KGS, it was meant to be a temporary opportunity before continuing her education. Instead, she discovered something familiar: a workplace where people genuinely enjoyed working together. She became involved in social events, volunteered at company initiatives, joined sports teams and eventually accepted an engineering aide role that exposed her to a side of the business she had never seen before.

Along the way, something else happened.

Working alongside her father gave her a new appreciation for the work he had been doing throughout her childhood. What were once stories about engineering projects became tangible. She saw the respect he had earned from colleagues, the relationships he had built, and the impact of his work. At the same time, Lucien got to see his daughter grow into a capable young professional with a career path all her own. 

 “Seeing what my dad does is very eye-opening, especially as I start my own engineering education,” says Joelle. “It’s also nice having my Memere hugs first thing in the morning,” she jokes. 

While all three generations experienced very different versions of KGS, their descriptions of the company are strikingly similar. 

Lucien remembers a smaller firm where founders were directly involved in day-to-day operations, and relationships drove decision-making. Frances recalls the excitement of watching the company grow while maintaining its supportive culture. Joelle sees an organization that invests in its people, encourages involvement, and creates opportunities to learn and grow. 

Over the past 40 years, KGS Group has evolved dramatically. Offices have expanded. Technology has advanced. Projects have become larger and more complex. 

Yet for three generations of the Lalonde family, the reason for staying has remained remarkably simple. As simple as three words.  

It’s the people. 

That’s not something that can be built through strategy alone. It develops over years of shared experiences, trusted relationships and a culture that makes employees feel they belong. And perhaps there is no stronger testament to that culture than seeing three generations of the same family independently choose to make KGS part of their story. 

Forty years after KGS was founded, the company continues to grow and evolve. For the Lalonde family, however, one thing has stayed the same across every generation: KGS has never just been a workplace. It has been a community.