A governance for growth
Two additions to the Board of Directors, a new Investment Committee, and added expertise on the Development and Outreach Committee
The INRS Foundation’s governing bodies met on Tuesday to renew the leaders who help strengthen the strategy, oversight, and scope of the Foundation’s activities. Among other decisions, the general meeting of members elected two new directors to complete its Board. Tax lawyer Marc Lesage and public relations specialist Éloïse Richard-Choquette have joined the Board.
The Chair of the Board of Directors, Mylany David, a lawyer, mediator, corporate director and partner at Langlois, said the two new directors were part of the natural evolution of the Foundation, which growth since 2020 is now clearly visible and generating tangible benefits for the scientific, student and alumni community of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS).
“INRS and its four research and training centres are a jewel in the crown of Quebec’s economic, social, and cultural development. These new additions to the Foundation’s Board will help further strengthen the relationships between the business community and the members of INRS’s scientific community.”
– Mylany David, partner, Langlois Avocats
“By joining the Audit and Finance Committee and taking part in the Foundation's activities over the past year, I have discovered an organisation that does essential and stimulating work, and I am looking forward to getting more involved.”
– Marc Lesage, partner, Business tax services, EY Law
“The noble mission of the INRS Foundation is to promote and support the expertise of the INRS community. I feel privileged to have an opportunity to get involved in this institution, which helps us to better understand and act on concrete issues that are crucial to our society.”
– Éloïse Richard-Choquette, director, Community relations, Port de Québec
A new Investment Committee
In April 2023, INRS announced its intention to transfer its endowment funds to the Foundation in order to further benefit the student and scientific community. Accordingly, the Board of Directors of the INRS Foundation has created a new standing committee. The new Investment Committee will be responsible for implementing and monitoring the application of the endowment investment policy.
The first members of the Investment Committee, drawn from the Foundation Board, are: Caroline Montminy, Vice-President at Burgundy Asset Management, Marc Lesage, Partner at EY Law, Martine Vanasse, Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer at PSP Investments, and Olivier Joyal, Executive Vice-President, Earth Sciences and Environment, Strategy and Execution, at WSP in Canada. Following a call for applications closing on 31 March, external institutional investment experts will join the committee.
In addition, observer members will be invited to attend each of the committee’s meetings: the Chair of the Board, the Treasurer and Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee and the Executive Director of the Foundation, as well as three representatives of the INRS administration, faculty and student community.
Additions to the Development and Outreach Committee
In order to expand the Foundation’s outreach network in the healthcare sector, the Board has added an external member to its Development and Outreach Committee. Annie Montmarquette has joined the committee. Recently appointed head of the Virology and Established Products business unit at AbbVie, Ms Montmarquette is a high-level manager in the pharmaceutical industry. For more than 20 years, she has worked in Canada and abroad in various therapeutic sectors.
This committee supports management by providing strategic advice and developing and implementing activities aimed at increasing the Foundation's outreach and revenue from donations, sponsorships and partnerships, in line with the objectives set out in the Foundation’ strategic orientations to support the INRS scientific, student, and alumni community.
The committee is chaired by Catherine Thibault, Vice-President, Executive and Corporate Communications at CGI. Ms Montmarquette joins Luc-Alain Giraldeau, Director General of INRS, Marie-Pierre Habas-Gerard, Director General of Confiance IA, Olivier Joyal, Executive Vice-President, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Strategy and Execution, at WSP in Canada, and Éloïse Richard-Choquette, Director of Community Relations at the Port of Québec.
“I’m delighted to be involved with the INRS Foundation and to contribute to its development by putting my marketing skills and professional health network to good use. Throughout my career and studies, I have seen first-hand the incredible work accomplished by researchers in the basic and applied sciences, and I look forward to supporting the Foundation and helping students and researchers achieve their mission.”
– Annie Montmarquette, Head, Virology and Established Products Business Unit, AbbVie Canada
Biographies
Marc Lesage, Partner, Business Tax Services, EY Law
Mr. Lesage is a partner running the Business tax services group of EY Law’s Montréal office. A seasoned tax litigator with more than 25 years of experience, he specializes in complex income and commodity tax matters, audits, compliance reviews and tax planning strategies.
Prior to joining EY Law, Mr. Lesage was a partner in the tax group at Dentons after being a senior tax litigator with the Agence du revenu du Québec for almost a decade. Prior to that, he was National Director, Taxation, for a public company.
He holds a master’s degree in taxation from HEC Montréal and a bachelor’s degree in legal sciences from the Université du Québec à Montréal, after completing minors in arts, political science, history and law at the Université de Montréal.
Éloïse Richard-Choquette, Director, Community Relations, Port de Québec
Ms Richard-Choquette has been Director of Community Relations at the Port of Quebec since 2022. She has developed expertise in social innovation through the implementation of innovative citizen participation mechanisms focused on listening to the needs of the various stakeholders. With a master’s degree in people management in the workplace and a bachelor’s degree in public communications, she previously worked for the Communauté métropolitaine de Québec (CMQuébec) and the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU).
Annie Montmarquette, Head, Virology and Established Products, AbbVie
Ms. Montmarquette is a proven transformational leader with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in both Canadian and international markets and across multiple therapeutic areas.
She began her career at Novartis as a sales representative and quickly moved into training, account management and marketing roles before holding leadership positions, both in the Canadian subsidiary and internationally, in neuroscience and oncology-hematology. Her last two years at Novartis were spent as Global Head (VP), Hematology/Oncology International, based in the US. In 2024, she returned to the Canadian market and joined AbbVie, Canada's second largest pharmaceutical company, as Head, Virology and Established Products Business Unit.
Ms Montmarquette holds a Bachelor of Science from the Université de Montréal, a Graduate Diploma in Management from HEC Montréal and has completed various executive education programs at the Wharton Business School in Philadelphia and a Certificate in Business Behavioural Sciences from Columbia Business School in New York.
About the INRS Foundation
Established in 2020, the INRS Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing and supporting the vital work of the scientific, student and graduate community of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS). Managed by an agile team and governed by a strong Board of Directors, the Foundation is a dynamic and innovative partner that aims to affirm the relevance of INRS and strengthen its significant contribution to the economic, social and cultural development of Quebec. We bring together people who aspire to change the world through research.
[updated 17 April 2024]