Page 4 - Stephan Fortier

Stephan Fortier is a highly driven and passionate renaissance man who combines his love for lm, fashion, design and hospitality with savvy business acumen and entrepreneurial edge to continuously bring his visions to life. With 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, he launched over 33 start ups in a wide variety of industries; including a magazine (Ocean Drive Canada), a fashion line of custom sandals (Tuccia Di Capri), a line of customizable handbags (Obag Miami), a modeling and talent agency, as well as advertising and promotion agencies (Talent Corp.), and over 21 restaurants, clubs and lounges all over the country from Mahnattan to Miami, Los Angeles, New England and Montreal, Canada.
As an innovative entrepreneur - who attended the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios Hollywood - Fortier sees the world through a camera lens with every new project as a cinematic production of wonder. To each venture he brings his well-rounded nancial scholastics, boasting a Bachelor’s in Accounting from The University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), and also studied the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Fellowship of the Canadian Security Institute (FCSI) courses. However, some might argue that Fortier was a prodigy in business, because at the young age of 19, while still pursuing his Bachelor’s degree, he opened his very rst restaurant; Ocean Drive in prime downtown Montreal, Canada. Fortier’s Ocean Drive restaurant o ered a unique and sophisticated supper club experience geared toward the city’s upper class. While ful lling, Fortier always looked for a challenge. So, it was only tting that the subsequent opening of Altitude 737 created success through the daring concept of a restaurant with 360-degree views of the city and sat atop the 4 top oors of the tallest building in Montreal. A massive club, lounge with outdoor terraces and restaurant, it attracted more than 3,000 guests per day and became one of Canada’s highest grossing food and bevrage operation.
Also dabbling in the world of beauty and fashion, Fortier founded Talent , an all-in-one entertainment group, that comprised modeling and talent agency needs, advertising agency, event planning company; as well as a fashion and lm institute. Almost prescient to his future in the Magic City, Fortier launched the Canadian edition of Miami’s glossy fashion & lifestyle magazine Ocean Drive. Exercising his inner artist, he thoroughly enjoyed the creative freedom of the publishing world.
The inspiring energy of New York City called to Fortier and in the start of the new millennium he opened Pazza Notte, now a Midtown institution. The bustling Italian bistro and lounge was one of the rst restaurant concepts to mix entertainment with a dining experience. With success in the big apple he later launched Loft, a Casbah-inspired bi-level restaurant and lounge hotspot, which attracted a celebrity clientele and organized some of the most memorable soirees for A-listers.