Raoul Verret

He received a Bachelor of Engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montréal, then served four years as an executive with Dominion Textile in Canada. In 1956, he joined Werner International, a leading textile manufacturing consulting firm. He became President of Werner International in 1971, President and Chief Executive Officer of Werner Group in 1984, and Vice-Chairman of Werner in 1991. In 2000, he became a director with the Jassin-O’Rourke Group, a management consulting firm.

His work as a textile consultant took him around the world; at various times, he was based in Brazil, Europe (including two decades in Brussels, Belgium) and New York City, where he lived since 1988. A Fellow of the Textile Institute (Manchester, United Kingdom), he was the author of numerous trade articles and a frequent speaker at textile and apparel conferences.

Raoul had a lifelong love of swimming and, in his youth, won racing and diving titles with the Montréal Swimming Club. He also developed a keen appreciation of the arts, particularly the visual arts. He was a connoisseur of fine wine and gourmet food. As a husband, father and friend, he was loving, generous and witty.

Raoul was predeceased by his parents and siblings in Montréal. He is survived by his wife Christina; his son Chris Pitre (Deborah Gutierrez) and grandson Matthew of Ottawa, Ontario; and his daughter Valerie (Nick Hosn) of Houston, Texas.

He passed away peacefully at his home in Manhattan on August 24, 2020.