CGI history

CGI through the years

Our decades of continuous growth is a testament to the confidence our clients place in us, to the commitment of our consultants, and to the sustaining principles and resilient business model on which we were founded.

1976 to 1986

Serge Godin founded CGI in Québec City, Canada, in June 1976. A few months later, André Imbeau joined him to build a company based upon a shared dream: "To create an environment in which we enjoy working together and, as owners, contribute to building a company we can be proud of."

The name "CGI" is the French acronym for "Conseillers en gestion et informatique," which means information systems and management consultants. In English, the acronym stands for "Consultants to Government and Industry."

In CGI’s first 10 years, the growing team of CGI Partners helped craft the CGI Constitution, which encompasses our Dream, Mission, Vision and Values. (We refer to our professionals and consultants as CGI Partners given all who join CGI are invited to be company owners, and this ownership mentality is woven into all aspects of our management approach. To learn more, visit the CGI Culture page.)

During this period, CGI evolved to a consulting and systems integration company. Near the end of this decade, our targeted clientele began to consider and, in many cases, chose to outsource their IT functions.

CGI responded by preparing a strategy to enter the emerging outsourcing market.

1986 to 1996

1986: CGI’s annual revenue was $25 million, and the first merged company (BST) had annual revenue of $8 million. To finance the transaction, CGI became a public company, issuing 800,000 Class A subordinate voting shares at an opening price of $6.50.

With this acquisition, CGI was able to offer the full continuum of IT services—technology and management consulting, systems integration and IT outsourcing.

A few years later, client consultations with CEOs, CFOs and operation leaders identified two key trends: business processes services (BPS) and globalization. CGI responded by expanding into geographies where clients’ operations were located and by developing strategies to grow BPS operations.

1992: The initial version of the CGI Management Foundation was created to serve as the backbone for all management frameworks, policies and guidelines. It ensures the alignment of management principles and decision making to achieve balance between the interests of CGI’s stakeholders.

Throughout our evolution, CGI has maintained a steadfast focus on delivering quality services to our clients. To demonstrate this commitment, we sought external recognition of our quality assurance efforts.

1994: CGI became the first IT consulting firm in North America to comply with the internationally recognized ISO quality standard. CGI earned ISO 9001 certification for our project management framework. This certification has since evolved to include all management frameworks pertaining to CGI’s partnership with key stakeholders.

Management attention was concentrated on growing and consolidating the capabilities of the company while remaining financially healthy. By the end of fiscal 1996, CGI’s annual revenue had grown to $122 million.

1996 to 2006

By this period, our target clientele was comprised of the world leaders of their respective industries. With the IT industry rapidly maturing, globalization and consolidation were key.

Executing on CGI’s “Build and Buy” growth strategy became the focus during this period of expansion. That strategy, which continues today, aims to meet client requirements and achieve growth targets through the following:

• Build: Growth through new business generated from existing and new clients
• Buy: Growth through acquisitions that are strictly contingent on strategic fit, synergies and a positive financial contribution

The following are the major acquisitions that significantly changed CGI’s size and presence in key geographies:

• 1998: Merger with Bell Sygma led to the signing of the largest Canadian outsourcing contract of that time, nearly doubling the size of the company
• 2001: Merged with IMRGlobal to add Indian operations to our portfolio, providing clients with expanded global delivery options
• 2004: Merger with American Management System (AMS) doubled the size of CGI in the United States and tripled the size of our presence in Europe

Anchored on ethical and sound business principles and values, CGI continued to grow steadily and profitably throughout the “Y2K bug” and the “Internet bubble” events, and more importantly in their aftermath.

By the end of fiscal 2006, CGI’s annual revenue reached $3.5 billion.

2006 to 2016

This decade marks a continued commitment to help CGI’s stakeholders succeed and fulfill our strategic objective of doubling the size of the company.

2010: Merged with Stanley Inc., including Stanley’s subsidiary operations Oberon and Techrizon. The acquisition nearly doubled the size of CGI’s U.S. operations. In addition, further opportunity for growth became available in the key U.S. federal market, particularly in the defense and intelligence sector.

2012: Our largest acquisition to date was made with our merger with the Anglo-Dutch business and technology services company, Logica. The size of our staff increased from 31,000 to 68,000 CGI Partners and offered greater presence, service capabilities and expertise for our clients across the Americas, Europe and Asia. With this acquisition, we became the world’s fifth-largest independent IT and business consulting services firm in the world.

By the end of fiscal 2016, CGI’s annual revenue reached $10.7 billion.