Montréal, October 24, 2017 – Following its annual meeting held today, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Finn, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer for CN, as Chair of the Board of Directors for 2017-2018. Mr. Finn, who was a member of the executive committee during the year, succeeds Pierre Pomerleau, President and CEO of Pomerleau Inc. The Chamber is also pleased to announce that its 2017-2018 board has achieved gender parity, with 12 women out of 23 members.
“I am honoured by the trust members of the nominating committee and the board of directors have placed in me,” said Sean Finn, the new Chair of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. “I am proud to accept the chairmanship of the Chamber for 2017-2018. During the past year, I have been impressed and enthused by all that the Chamber does. As former chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec and a current board member for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, my intimate knowledge of the culture of chambers of commerce will allow me to offer a different perspective.”
“I believe that the economy does not know any physical boundaries and that we need to support governments in their NAFTA negotiations, an issue I care deeply about and a challenge for our economy,” Sean Finn said. “By leveraging innovation and the Chamber’s talent, we will advance the economic and cultural interests of our members and our city. This is why I want to focus my energy into meeting your expectations and accomplishing the mandates entrusted to me.”
As chair of the board for 2017-2018, and then as retiring chair of the board the following year, Mr. Finn will help make the Chamber a North American example by increasing its vitality and will be a constant presence at events. He will also sit on the Chamber’s executive committee this year.
Sean Finn has been Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer for CN since December 2000. He is responsible for legal, regulatory and public affairs, risk mitigation and security for CN. He is also corporate secretary for CN’s board of directors. He joined CN in 1994. Mr. Finn previously practiced tax law with the Montréal law firm Lavery, de Billy, where he headed up the taxation group. In 2017, CN’s legal department was named Corporate Legal Department of the Year by the Montreal Lawyer.
A member of the Barreau du Québec since 1983, Sean Finn was chair of the board of directors of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (2006-2007), the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (2002-2003) and the Railway Association of Canada (2005-2006). He was also a councillor for the City of Saint-Lambert for twelve years, going on to become its mayor (2005-2009). He has been a member of a number of boards of directors, including for the Canam Group, the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, and Swimming Canada. In addition to being a member of the board of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, he is also a board member for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tree Canada and the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown.
As an experienced director, his leadership with respect to governance and stakeholder relations is well known across the country, and even the continent. As corporate secretary of CN, he worked on a variety of governance issues. Today, CN is considered a leader in governance among Canadian institutions of a similar size.
He successfully completed the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Directors Education Program in April 2008 (IAS.A) and the Excellence in the Boardroom program (Spotlight on Effective Leadership) at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management in 2011.
In 2012, Mr. Finn was honorary chair of the annual fundraising campaign for the Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean, an open water swimming competition held in Roberval every summer since 1955, and he is chair of the fundraising campaign for the Zoo sauvage de Saint-Félicien.
The following members make up the board of directors for 2017-2018:
Chair of the board
Sean Finn*
Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer
CN
First vice-chair of the board
Sophie Brochu*
President and Chief Executive Officer
Gaz Métro
Treasurer
Nathalie Bernier, FCPA, FCA*
Senior Vice President, Strategic and Business Planning and Chief Financial Officer
PSP Investments
Retiring chair of the board
Pierre Pomerleau, Eng., MBA*
President and CEO
Pomerleau Inc.
Marie-Claude Boisvert
Executive Vice-President, Business Services
Desjardins Group
Michèle Boisvert
Executive Vice-President, Business Outreach
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
Nathalie Bondil
Director General and Chief Curator
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Guy Breton
Rector
Université de Montréal
Mélanie Dunn*
President and CEO, Cossette
Chairman, Vision7 in Quebec
Nicolas Duvernois
Founder and President, PUR Vodka and Romeo's Gin
President, Junior Chamber of Commerce of Montreal (JCCM)
Suzanne Fortier
Principal and Vice-Chancellor
McGill University
Éric Fournier
Partner and Executive Producer
Moment Factory
Shahir Guindi
Managing Partner, Montréal
Osler
Anne-Marie Hubert, FCPA, FCA
Managing Partner, Quebec
EY
Vickie Joseph
Co-founder, Groupe 3737
President, V Kosmetik
Pierre Laporte CPA, CA
President, Quebec and Vice-Chair, Canada
Deloitte
Michel Leblanc*
President and CEO
Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
Tony Loffreda*
Vice-Chairman
RBC Wealth Management
Domenica Maciocia
Senior Vice President, Client Services and Sales Operations
Bell Business Markets
Bell Canada
Estelle Métayer
CEO
Competia
Simon Olivier
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Innovation
Agropur
Élise Proulx
Vice President – Communications and Government Affairs
Hydro-Québec
Richard Speer*
President
Attraction
* Members of the executive committee
Biographical notes and photos of members of the board of directors are available on the Chamber’s website.
About the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM)
With a network of over 7,000 members, the CCMM is active on two fronts: being the voice of the Montréal business community and delivering specialized services to businesses and their representatives. With its finger on the pulse of current events, it acts on issues that are decisive for the prosperity of the city’s businesses. With the support of the Acclr experts, the CCMM’s goal is to accelerate the creation and growth of businesses of all sizes, at home and around the world.
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Source :
Julie Serero
Advisor, Media Relations
Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4042
jserero@ccmm.ca
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