Press release
Marie-Claude Lalande appointed chairwoman
of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Montreal, October 11, 2005 At the Annual Meeting of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, held today, its members elected the 2005-2006 board of directors, which then appointed Marie-Claude Lalande to serve as chairwoman of the board for a one-year term. She succeeds Mr. Claude Michaud, managing director, TD Securities Inc. who, under the rules in force, is now the retiring chairman of the board.
Me Marie-Claude Lalande is assistant vice-president and senior counsel, Sun Life Financial. She joined the Clarica life insurance company in 1999 where she oversaw the creation and growth of their Quebec legal department. In May 2002, she joined Sun Life of Canada after the company acquired Clarica. Since joining the Sun Life legal department, Ms. Lalande's primary responsibility has been for distribution channels for financial products and services, and the development of retail insurance and investment products.
There is no doubt the coming year will be full of challenges, calling for fair and rigorous interventions from the Board of Trade. Whether they involve major projects such as the university teaching hospitals or the Peel Basin entertainment complex, the planning of significant developments such as the Société du Havre or the arts and entertainment district, sound metropolitan governance, sustainable public financing, the private funding of culture, or the on-going challenge of corporate innovation, there will be many opportunities to reflect on and propose concrete measures for the future of Montreal, declared Marie-Claude Lalande, new chair of the Board of Trade.
An issue that will continue to command the Board of Trade's full attention throughout my mandate will, of course, be that of attracting and retaining talent. The results outlined in the latest Montreal Health Report are clear in this regard. The Board of Trade will therefore continue to focus on raising the awareness of both public and private stakeholders regarding the need to be much more proactive in giving Montreal the means to attract even more budding talents, she added.
The chairwoman is called upon to be actively involved in the Board of Trade's activities for a two-year period the first as chairwoman of the board and the second as retiring chairwoman. During these two years, Me Lalande will sit on both the executive committee and the human resource committee. The position of permanent president has been occupied by Ms. Isabelle Hudon, who thus serves as the Board of Trade's CEO and official spokesperson.
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal also took advantage of this opportunity to express its gratitude to Mr. Jean Laurin, who is leaving the Board of Trade's board of directors. Mr. Laurin, president and chief executive officer, GVA Devencore, served on the board of directors for five years.
The 2005-2006 board of directors is composed of the following members:
Chairwoman
Marie-Claude Lalande
Assistant vice-president and senior counsel
Sun Life Financial
Retiring chairman
Claude Michaud
Managing director
TD Securities Inc.
President and chief executive officer
Isabelle Hudon
President and CEO
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
First vice-president
Elliot Lifson
Vice-chairman
Vêtements Peerless Clothing inc.
Vice-presidents
Hélène Desmarais
Chairman and chief executive officer
Montreal enterprises and innovation centre
Johanne Lépine
President and chief executive officer
Aon Parizeau Inc.
John Parisella
President
BCP ltée
Robert Racine
Partner
Kenniff & Racine, Executive Search
Treasurer
Pierre Laflamme
Lawyer
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Members
Pierre Anctil
Executive vice-president
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
Raymond Bachand
Partner and chairman
SECOR Consulting
Roch Denis
Rector
Université du Québec à Montréal
Pierre Laflamme
Lawyer
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Dominique Levesque
Vice-president, Operations, Eastern Canada
Protectron Inc.
Heather Munroe-Blum
Principal and vice-chancellor
McGill University
Lorraine Pintal
Artistic and general director
Théâtre du Nouveau Monde
Roger Plamondon
Regional vice-president, Canada East
Home Depot Canada
Jan-Fryderyk Pleszczynski
President
Jeune Chambre de commerce de Montréal
Marc Poulin
President
Sobeys Québec Inc.
Erik Ryan
Vice-president, Corporate Affairs and Communications
Alcan Primary Metal Group
Danielle Sauvage
Executive director and secretary
Conseil des arts de Montréal
Larry Smith
President and chief executive officer
Montreal Alouettes
Martin Spalding
General manager
Grand Prix F1 du Canada Inc.
Martin Tremblay
President and chief executive officer
Ubisoft
Pierre Turcotte
Senior vice-president and general manager, Québec
CGI
Helen Tyros
Associate vice-president, Sales, service and human resources
TD Canada Trust- Quebec Region
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has some 7,000 members. Its mission is to represent the interests of the business community for the greater Montreal area and to offer a full range of specialized services to individuals, merchants and companies of all sizes so as to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is the largest private organization in Quebec dedicated to economic development.
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Source:
Sylvie Paquette
Coordinator, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: (514) 871-4000, ext. 4015
sylvie.paquette@ccmm.qc.ca