Board of directors

Career

Mario Albert held the position of Executive Vice President and was responsible for modernizing systems in the group insurance sector at La Capitale from 2017 until his retirement in 2020. Prior to that, he held several management positions in private, public and parapublic organizations in Quebec. In particular, he was General Manager of Finance Montréal, a not-for-profit corporation formed by financial institutions doing business in Quebec and aimed at the development and influence of the Quebec financial sector. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Investissement Québec and worked at the Autorité des marchés financiers, where he served as Superintendent, Distribution and, subsequently, as President and Chief Executive Officer. As part of this role, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and Chair of its Audit Committee. Before joining the Autorité des marchés financiers, Mr. Albert was Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for fiscal policy and the economy at the Quebec Ministry of Finance. He currently serves on the Board of the Institut de gouvernance numérique, a non-profit organization which offers information management and digital transformation coaching services, and is a member of the funding committee of diaMentis, a company that develops solutions for the diagnosis of mental health disorders.

Mr. Albert began his career at the Department of Finance Canada in 1982. After holding positions of increasing responsibility, he was Chief, Canadian Economic Forecasting.

Mr. Albert studied at Université Laval where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1979. He also completed the Master’s degree program in Economics at Université Laval in 1982.

Career

Mario Albert held the position of Executive Vice President and was responsible for modernizing systems in the group insurance sector at La Capitale from 2017 until his retirement in 2020. Prior to that, he held several management positions in private, public and parapublic organizations in Quebec. In particular, he was General Manager of Finance Montréal, a not-for-profit corporation formed by financial institutions doing business in Quebec and aimed at the development and influence of the Quebec financial sector. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Investissement Québec and worked at the Autorité des marchés financiers, where he served as Superintendent, Distribution and, subsequently, as President and Chief Executive Officer. As part of this role, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and Chair of its Audit Committee. Before joining the Autorité des marchés financiers, Mr. Albert was Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for fiscal policy and the economy at the Quebec Ministry of Finance. He currently serves on the Board of the Institut de gouvernance numérique, a non-profit organization which offers information management and digital transformation coaching services, and is a member of the funding committee of diaMentis, a company that develops solutions for the diagnosis of mental health disorders.

Mr. Albert began his career at the Department of Finance Canada in 1982. After holding positions of increasing responsibility, he was Chief, Canadian Economic Forecasting.

Mr. Albert studied at Université Laval where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1979. He also completed the Master’s degree program in Economics at Université Laval in 1982.

Career

William F. Chinery is a corporate director. Until early 2013, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock Asset Management Canada. During his 13 years with BlackRock and its predecessor, Barclays Global Investors, Mr. Chinery was a Managing Director in both the Toronto and San Francisco offices with various responsibilities including heading the Latin America and the Americas Institutional Business. Prior to BlackRock, he spent 6 years as Senior Vice President Quantitative Products at YMG Capital Management Inc. where he was responsible for managing Tactical Asset Allocation products for pension plans and mutual funds. He started his career at Mercer where he had account responsibility for some of the largest pension plans in Canada. He also started the Mercer Investment Consulting practice.

Mr. Chinery is currently on the Board of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and is Chair of their Investment Committee. He is also a member of the Investment Committee of GreenSky Capital Inc.

Mr. Chinery is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. He holds a B.Math. with honours from the University of Waterloo and has his ICD.D title from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Career

Benoit Daignault is a corporate director. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of EDC between February 2014 and February 2019. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Daignault served as Senior Vice President, Financing and Investments, after having served as Senior Vice President, Business Development. Prior to joining EDC in 2004, Mr. Daignault worked for more than 10 years at General Electric Capital, where he held increasingly senior positions in both Canada and the United States. Mr. Daignault holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montréal and is a designated Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He completed the Proteus Programme at the London Business School and the Senior Executive Program at Columbia University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Conference Board of Canada and also on the Advisory Committee of COPAP Inc., a corporation offering international trade finance and supply chain solutions.

Career

Nicolas Darveau-Garneau is Chief Growth and Strategy Officer of Coveo Solutions Inc. (TSX: CVO), a leading applied artificial intelligence software company providing digital solutions for companies. Prior to that, Mr. Darveau-Garneau was Chief Strategist at Google Search. He started with Google as Manager of the Montreal Office and then was Director of Sales in charge of a $1.2 billion division. Prior to Google, Mr. Darveau-Garneau was an Internet entrepreneur, consultant and investor. Since 1995, he has co-founded many Internet companies, including Imix.com, BigDeal and Liquor.com. Mr. Darveau-Garneau is also an angel investor in Silicon Valley, California. He worked as a business analyst at McKinsey & Co. in Montreal and senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC in New York. He specializes in marketing and Internet product development. He holds an MBA with honours from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from University of Waterloo. Since 2012, he has been a director of several not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Darveau-Garneau currently serves on the Board of Directors of the TMX Group Limited and of Alida Inc., a customer experience software company.

Career

Emma K. Griffin is a corporate director. Since November 2017, she acts as director of Claridge Inc., a private investment company. She is also a director at Solotech, an organization that offers audiovisual and entertainment technology services and St. James’s Place PLC, an FTSE 100 wealth manager. In October 2020, Ms. Griffin joined the Board of Directors of SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust PLC, an investor in the energy efficiency sector and, in December 2020, of ED&F Man Holdings Limited, a marketer of agricultural products. From December 2015 to November 2018, she was a director and strategic advisor for Golder Associates, a global organization offering environmental services.

From January 2016 to June 2019, Ms. Griffin was also a director of Aimia Inc. From January 2014 to June 2015, she was managing director and co-founder of Refined Selection Limited, a holding company created to invest in the professional services and recruitment industries. From 2002 to 2013, Ms. Griffin was a founding partner of Oriel Securities, a core brokerage firm recognized for its independence and for providing trusted advice, which was sold to Stifel Financial Corp. in the summer of 2014.

Until November 2016, Ms. Griffin was also Chair of the board of Cancer Research UK’s Catalyst Club, a pioneering venture that raises money for personalized medicine research. She holds an MA from Oxford University.

Career

Ginette Maillé has been Vice President, Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Aéroports de Montréal since April 2017. Ms. Maillé has more than 30 years of financial, operational and strategic experience in startups and large companies, both private and publicly listed (TSX and NASDAQ), operating nationally and internationally. In particular, she was with Yellow Pages Ltd. for 14 years, where she held the position of Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer to later be promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. She has also held several management positions in the field of information technology, particularly in the area of digital transformation.

A Chartered Professional Accountant, Ms. Maillé holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science from Université du Québec à Montréal. She sat on the board of Financial Executives International Canada (Quebec chapter) from 2014 to 2017. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of La Fondation Le Chaînon.

Career

Monique Mercier is a corporate director. During her career, she has held various executive roles in the telecommunications and technology industry. From 2014 until she retired in December 2018, she held the position of Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Legal and Governance Officer at TELUS. She oversaw legal and regulatory affairs, government relations, media, real estate and sustainable development. She began her career at Stikeman Elliott as a tax lawyer in 1984. She then worked at BCE and Bell Canada International before joining Emergis in 1999, which was acquired by TELUS in 2008. Ms. Mercier holds a degree from the Faculty of Law at Université de Montréal and a master’s degree in political science from Oxford University, where she was awarded the prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship. In June 2018, Ms. Mercier received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Canadian General Counsel Awards. In 2016, she was honoured as Woman of the Year by the organization Women in Communications and Technology (WCT). In 2015, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Women’s Executive Network Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. Ms. Mercier sits on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. and Alamos Gold Inc. She gives back to the community through her involvement on the Board of Directors of the Thoracic Surgery Research Foundation of Montreal.

Career

Danielle G. Morin has extensive experience in finance, including more than 35 years of experience in various sectors of the financial services industry. She worked for Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada from 1977 until 1990 and for the Laurentian Imperial Company from 1990 until 1994, where she was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. She then worked for Desjardins Group in the group pensions and pooled investment funds areas, before joining Canagex Inc., a Desjardins Group investment subsidiary, as Vice President, Finance and Operations, in 1999.

In 2001, she joined the Public Sector Pension Investment Board as Senior Vice President of Financial Operations. Ms. Morin then worked as Senior Vice President, Distribution and Client Services, at Standard Life Investments Inc., from 2006 until 2013. Ms. Morin has also been on the boards of ASSURIS, Standard Life Investments Inc., Université Laval and the Fondation de l’Université Laval.

She graduated from the Institute of Corporate Directors and obtained her bachelor’s degree in actuarial science from Université Laval. She was a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries from 1980 to 2019.

Career

Marc Poulin currently serves as a corporate director. Mr. Poulin was a senior-level manager in the food industry in Canada. Over the last 19 years he was at Sobeys Inc., he held, successively, the roles of Vice President, Purchasing and Merchandising, Executive Vice President and Assistant General Manager (Quebec), Head of Operations for Quebec and, from 2012 to 2016, President and Chief Executive Officer. He also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Empire Company Limited from 2012 to 2016. Prior thereto, Mr. Poulin had held the strategic positions of Vice President at Groupe Vie Desjardins-Laurentienne and at Culinar. He is a director and member of the Human Resources Committee of Richelieu Hardware Ltd. He holds a bachelor’s degree in actuarial science from Université Laval and an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Evanston (Illinois).

Career

Suzanne Rancourt is a corporate director with more than 30 years of experience in consulting and management in finance and information technology. From 2006 to 2016, she was Vice President Enterprise Risks and Internal Audit at CGI. Since her arrival at CGI in 1985, she held increasingly senior positions in consulting, strategy and information technology, business development, project management and corporate functions in a multinational environment. Prior to her arrival at CGI, Ms. Rancourt began her career as an auditor and worked in operations, finance and accounting in distribution, retail and financial industries.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Université du Québec à Montréal and an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA). Ms. Rancourt also sits on the Boards of Directors of WSP and the Institute of Corporate Directors (Quebec).

Career

Denis Ricard has been President and Chief Executive Officer of iA Financial Group since September 2018. He is an engaged leader who values employee development in a learning, socially responsible organization.

He began his career at iA Financial Group in 1985, after completing his actuarial studies at Université Laval. Over the years, he has assumed positions of increasing responsibility in sectors ranging from actuarial to business development to corporate management. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) and of the Society of Actuaries (FSA).

Mr. Ricard has been involved in the community for many years. He currently serves on the campaign cabinet of the Fondation CERVO, which supports care for mental health issues and research in neuroscience. He is also a member of the campaign cabinet for the Fondation IUCPQ, whose primary mission is the health of people with cardiovascular, respiratory and obesity-related diseases. He also serves as honorary chair for various charitable events and campaigns, including for the Musée des sciences and the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City.

Career

Ouma Sananikone serves as a corporate director. She has extensive experience in finance, particularly investment management and ESG, covering all asset classes, including private equity, infrastructure, real estate, renewable energy and real assets, having spent over 30 years in the industry at both executive and board levels. She was CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management (Australia), CEO of the EquitiLink Group (Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and UK) as well as founding Managing Director of BNP Investment Management (Australia).

Ms. Sananikone currently serves on the boards of directors of Hafnia Ltd. (member of the BW group), Innergex Renewable Energy (Canada, TSX: INE), Ivanhoe Cambridge (Canada), Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings, LLC (USA, NYSE: MIC), and Xebec Adsorption Inc. (Canada, TSX: XBC). She has also served on the boards of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (Canada), Smarte Carte (USA), Air-Serve Holdings (USA), Moto Hospitality Ltd (UK), and State Super Corporation of NSW (Australia). She also acted as an honorary Australian Financial Services fellow for the USA on behalf of the Australian government.

Ms. Sananikone has always been committed to the community, serving as director of a number of arts, education and charitable organizations, among them, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. She holds a BA (economics and political sciences) from the Australian National University and a Master of Commerce (economics) from the University of New South Wales. She is a recipient of the Centenary Medal from the Australian Government for services to the Australian finance industry.

Career

Rebecca Schechter is an executive at Optum, a leading information and technology-enabled health services business. She served as the Chief Executive Officer of United Behavioral Health where she drove transformation and improved total health outcomes across coverage, care delivery and digital capabilities. She holds a track record of profitably growing and transforming businesses in group benefits, retirement, financial technology and healthcare.

Prior to Optum, Ms. Schechter served as Executive Vice President, Commercial Insurance and President of Liberty Mutual Benefits where she led a division focused on group, individual life & annuities and voluntary benefits. Before joining Liberty Mutual, Ms. Schechter worked for State Street Corporation as Senior Vice President, Asset Servicing for corporations, nonprofits and mid-market employers. She also held executive roles as Chief Risk Officer, Asset Servicing and Senior Managing Director, Electronic Trading. Prior to State Street, she held leadership roles at Thompson Financial, as well as a consulting role at McKinsey.

Ms. Schechter holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University and a Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Ms. Schechter serves on a nonprofit board at Jumpstart. In addition, she is a member of the McGill University Desautels Global Experts Panel and of The Boston Club’s Executive Advisory Committee.

Career

Ludwig W. Willisch is an accomplished senior executive and corporate director with 40 years of success spanning automotive, finance and economics. Mr. Willisch has spent over 20 years holding positions of increasing responsibility with BMW, including Head of BMW Japan, Head of Sales Region Europe of BMW Group, President and CEO of BMW of North America LLC, and Head of BMW Group Region Americas. In that capacity, he was responsible for all sales, marketing, after-sales and distribution activities of BMW Group in the Americas (North and South America plus Caribbean).

Mr. Willisch holds a Diplom-Volkswirt (equivalent to a master’s degree) in economics from the University of Cologne. He has held board positions with BMW (US) Holding Corp., BMW NA, and Designworks/USA, Inc. In addition, he has served as Vice Chair of the German American Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Manufacturing Council to the United States Secretary of Commerce. He currently serves on the Board of HYDAC Corp. Bethlehem PA. He is a member of the Automotive Advisory Board of Roechling SE, Mannheim, Germany. Furthermore, Mr. Willisch serves on the board of the American Council on Germany, New York. He is also a business advisor to the consulting company Accenture.

In addition, Mr. Willisch also serves on the boards of certain U.S. subsidiaries of iA Financial Group.