Board of Directors

President

Fadel Chbihna is President of IO Solutions, a leading Canadian Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) provider. Recognized for his leadership skills and extensive experience in brand management, customer service and customer experience, he has held various management positions since 1998, including that of Regional President, Quebec of Rogers. For five years, he was also Senior Vice-President, Customer Care at Rogers, Fido, and Chatr and Executive director at Fido. He firmly believes that customer satisfaction is achieved through the involvement of all employees at all levels of an organization. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and a CTAM certificate from the Harvard Executive Business School.

Vice-President and Acting Treasurer

Éric Gosselin is a partner and national leader of the Business Law Group of the McCarthy Tétrault law firm. He practices corporate and commercial law, including mergers and acquisitions, and corporate financing. He is a member of the Ordre des Agronomes du Québec. Very actively involved in the Montréal community, he sits on various committees for charitable organizations working in the community and cultural spheres. Éric Gosselin presently sits on the board of directors of Culture pour tous (chair of the board), and of the Société de la Place des Arts (Vice-President). Éric Gosselin was one of the three mentors of Go-C.A. when the program was launched in 2011.

Vice-President

Sandra Chartrand is the president of the Sandra and Alain Bouchard Foundation. Over the last 30 years, she has been actively involved in the philanthropic community, being involved in organizing fundraising campaigns and events. She has thus become an important player in the development of philanthropy in Quebec. She currently sits on the board of directors of la Fondation de l’Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, served as chair of the board of directors of the Orchestre symphonique de Laval and sat on many other boards.

Members

Sylvie Chagnon is closely involved with the management of corporate donations at Lallemand Inc. She is a member of the board of directors of the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation. She was formerly associated with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal as a member of the board of directors and chair of Les Amis des Grands Ballets. She sat on the board of the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation and is co-founder of the Serenity Program. She has taken an active part in major fundraising campaigns for these organizations.

Joanne Chevrier has extensive experience in marketing communications, sponsorships, and philanthropy. For 20 years, she was responsible for several activities at Hydro-Québec, including donation and sponsorship management, external customer communications and internal communications. She has been and still is involved with numerous cultural organizations, including the board of directors of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde for 16 years, the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership for 8 years and the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) as vice-president until 2022. She currently sits on the governance committee of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership and on the board of directors of LA SERRE – arts vivants as secretary and is also involved with her municipality in the Club des trois générations.

Annie Derome is Vice-President of Development and Acquisitions at Prével. She is recognized as a multidisciplinary executive manager with over 25 years of experience in the cultural and entertainment spheres. With extensive expertise in managing steering and finance committees, as well as in business development at an international level, she worked for Cirque du Soleil for 12 years and spent 7 years with GSM Project. Her professional career has allowed her to distinguish herself through her creativity, her analytical sensibilities, and her ability to develop and implement new business models in the cultural industry, as well as in the digital realm and in e-trade. Annie currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership. She holds a Bachelor of Actuarial Science degree from Université Laval, as well as a university certification in corporate governance from the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés.

Marie-Josée Desrochers is the President and CEO of the Société de la Place des Arts de Montréal. With twenty years of management experience in arts and culture, she has held executive roles with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, successively leading the Marketing-Communications, Artistic Planning and Operations’ departments, before being appointed CEO from 2015 to 2019. Involved in her community, she is Vice-chair of the board of directors of the Quartier des spectacles Partnership and sits on those of the Conseil des relations internationales de Montréal (CORIM) and Synapse C. She helds a Masters in piano performance from the Université de Montréal as well as an Executive MBA from McGill-HEC Montreal. (Photo: Caroline Bergeron)

Normand Laprise C.M., C.Q., is chef and co-owner of Signé Toqué. Pioneer of Quebec gastronomy, He has received numerous tributes and recognitions: Order of Québec (2009), doctorat honoris causa from the Institut de Tourisme et d’Hôtellerie du Québec (2012), Order of Canada (2014). He is also the only Canadian ambassador of the prestigious International Chef Advisory Board of the Paul Bocuse Institute (2015) and the first Canadian chef to be named in the 100 best chefs in the world ranking (2018). Since 2010, Normand Laprise also serves as one of the judges on Les Chefs! on ICI Radio-Canada Télé. 

Marc Larente is a Senior Investment Advisor and a founding member of Larente Baksh & Associates. Over the past 25 years, he has built a solid reputation in the financial field. Larente Baksh & Associates, part of TD Wealth Private Investment Advice, is one of the few to have passed the 1 billion under management threshold within Canada. Marc Larente has served on the Board of Directors of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation. He is also very involved in fundraising initiatives for many organizations in Montreal.

Nadine Proulx is an organizational transformation consultant and has a strong experience in management and human resources. Previously, she worked at Laurentian Bank as Vice President, Human Resources and Employee Relations, and for nearly 30 years at the National Bank of Canada where she held the position of Vice President, Employee Experience among others. Renowned for her strategic vision and leadership, her background has been varied: sales and operations management, project management, strategic planning and organizational development. She holds an MBA from McGill-HEC and a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Relations from the Université de Montréal.

Catherine Samson is Senior Director, Communications and Outreach Quebec, at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). In this capacity, she is responsible for planning strategies and implementing structuring initiatives fostering entrepreneurship and economic development as well as the development of philanthropic partnerships and the spread of the Caisse activities in Quebec. Working at the CDPQ since 2013, she previously used her expertise as a marketing manager at the Banque Laurentienne and within L’Équipe Spectra. Passionate about drama and involved in the cultural community, she is on the board of directors of the Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui. She holds a bachelor's degree in French literature and an MBA from Université de Laval, as well as a DESS in management of cultural institutions from Université Paris-Dauphine.

Marla Scattolin is Integrated Communications Leader at Skinceuticals, L'Oréal Canada. A graduate of the John Molson School of Business, she joined the L'Oréal Canada group in 2019. She also manages the ideation and content creation for the Formula 1 – Canadian Grand Prix and has been a collaborator at C2 Montreal. Marla Scattolin is the co-founder of the Concordia Fashion Business Association at Concordia University, an organization that aims to connect students as well as professionals in the fashion industry.

Barbara Seal, C.M., is a former citizenship judge, municipal councillor for the City of Hampstead and administrator of Place des Arts, the Arts Council of the Montreal Urban Community, and the National Forum on climate change. She is actively involved in public and community spheres and presently sits on the board of the National Arts Centre Foundation, the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, the Advisory Board at the McGill School of Continuing Studies and the Advisory Council of the Azrieli Music Project. She received numerous awards and distinctions for her dedication to the community, such as the Canadian Cancer Society Award, the Canadian Parks and Recreational Association Award, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the National Assembly Award as well as the Order of Canada in 1993. She established the Barbara Seal Scholarship for Newcomers to Canada at McGill University in 2012, and participated in 2018 to the creation of a scholarship for Quebec female students in science to conduct internships at Tel Aviv University.

Louise Sicuro, C.M., C.Q. founded and directed Culture pour tous, a non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing arts and culture as essential dimensions of individual and collective development by promoting cultural participation of citizens. In 1997, she participated in the founding of the Journées de la culture and was its guiding spirit for 26 years. Certified corporate director, she has put her governance expertise to the benefit of several cultural institutions. She is still active on the boards of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and the Musée d'art de Joliette. For her commitment to the cause of the democratization of culture, she received the insignia of a member of the Order of Canada in 2011 and the rank of Chevalière de l’Ordre national du Québec in 2019. In October 2022, HEC Montréal and the school's Alumni Association awarded her the honorary title of Distinguished Alumna for her remarkable career path.

Louise St-Pierre is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Société de la Place des Arts, as well as an administrator of Vins Arterra Canada, and an angel investor at Anges Québec and Accelia Capital. She has sat on several boards, including Transat and the Domaine Forget de Charlevoix as President. She made her career in the field of information technologies at IBM, then at DMR, before joining Cogeco Connexion where she held, over a period of 17 years, several executive positions and that of President and Chief Executive Officer. She was recognized as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women's Executive Network (2015 and 2016) and received the Mercure Germaine-Gibara Leadership award from the Quebec’s Federation of Chambers of Commerce (2014). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Marketing from McGill University. She sponsored the 2018 cohort of the McGill-HEC EMBA program, received an honorary doctorate from Loyalist College of Ontario (2016) and obtained her ICD.D certification from Institute of Corporate Directors (2020).