Coaches

Dominic provides entrepreneurs with a well-structured strategic vision of commercialization so each dollar is invested in the right place, at the right time. He also has a person-centred vision of entrepreneurship that emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Professional experience

• Commercialization Strategist at Belhumeur Stratégies d’affaires (since 2010)
• Executive Sales Director at GFI Solutions inc. (2 years)
• Executive Sales Director at Bell Business Solutions inc. (3 years)

Education

• B.A.A. in Information and Systems Management, Université de Sherbrooke

Benoît shares his background with young entrepreneurs. For 25 years, he has worked with many of the most creative minds in Québec, which convinced him that the best solutions are those that appeal to both hemispheres of the brain.

Professional experiences

• Lavergne Group | Member of the advisory committee
• CAA-Québec | Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director
• Agence de mobilité durable Montréal | Member of the Board of Directors
• Sollio Agriculture | Vice-President, Marketing, Communication and Strategy
• Camso | Vice President, Global Marketing and Communications
• Cossette | Vice President and Client Leader

Studies

• MBA at the University of Sherbrooke
• Sc. Economics at the University of Montreal

Jean-Sébastien leverages a practical approach based on many years of intellectual property (IP) experience to help develop business projects and products, as well as commercialize and transfer companies’ IP assets.

Professional experience

• Legal Counsel and Patent Agent, BCF Business Law
• Lecturer in Intellectual Property and Patents, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke
• Lawyer and Patent Agent for the firms Norton Rose, Osler Hoskin Harcourt, and Smart & Biggar
• Commercialization Agent (technology transfer), Université de Sherbrooke

Education

• Doctorate in Law, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (in progress)
• D.E.S.S. in North American Common Law, Université de Montréal
• Patent Agent (Canada) (2002)
• Trademark Agent (Canada) (2001–2013)
• Quebec Bar (1999)
• Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Law, Université Laval (1998)

Guy brings solid management skills to the table and is an expert at spotting business opportunities, as well as how to innovate and stand out from the competition.

Professional experience

• President and CEO of Canevabec inc. (13 years)
• Industry Commissioner for the Société de développement économique de Sherbrooke (8 years)
• Regional Director of the Centre canadien d’innovation industrielle (3 years)

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke
• MBA, HEC Montréal

Jean-François Giguère has an extensive background working for top advertising agencies including Cossette, PALM, Lg2 and Draftfcb. For more than 20 years, he put in place solutions for major clients such as Air Canada, Bell, Molson, Labatt, Sobeys Québec, Videotron, Hydro-Québec, Volkswagen, Ultramar, A. Lassonde and many others. Recently, he has forayed into entrepreneurship by creating Quebec’s first organic microbrewery, for which he is head of marketing.

Professional Experience

• Partner and Marketing and Commercialization Officer at Brasserie New Deal Brewing Co. (past 2 years)
• Vice President, Marketing and Communications at Via Capitale (1 year)
• Vice President Managing Director at DRAFTFCB (7 years)

Education

B.A.A. in Public Communication, Université Laval

Pierre provides new businesses with an affordable and focused export strategy, an exceptional network of contacts in the United States, and a down-to-earth approach in order to help penetrate markets as quickly as possible.

Professional experience

• Owner and President and CEO of Harvey International
• Teacher of BD ethics and governance for the Centre Laurent Beaudoin at Université de Sherbrooke
• Export Commissioner for the Bas Saint-Laurent region
• M.Sc. (International Relations), Long Island University, New York

Thanks to his experience with big businesses, Jonathan is able to effectively introduce young entrepreneurs to concepts that have a real impact and that will empower them to reach their goals via digital approaches.

Professional experience

• Technology Commentator for TVA and LCN
• Speaker on Digital Strategy
• Author on Digital Strategy for Forbes
• Business Development Director for Reptile
• Digital Strategy Consulting for many SMEs

Michel Gagnon worked as a tax advisor, comptroller and business advisor at the firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton for 17 years. He went on to pursue a career in industry. He held the position of Vice President, Finance for a software company before becoming Senior Vice President of Shermag inc. He then became Vice President, Finance and Administration for the H H Brown Canada shoe factory. Michel continues to share his experience and expertise with businesses as President and Chief Advisor of his company AMG Conseils en Gestion inc.

He is also dedicated to helping emerging technological businesses succeed by leveraging his knowledge and experience to assist budding entrepreneurs.

For Martin, HRM is more than a job. He came to the world of consulting later in his career, after holding positions as a strategic manager at the helm of human resources for renowned companies. Martin is known for his complete dedication to the causes and projects he undertakes, and is able to provide your organization with the right solution by always putting people first in decision-making. In addition to being a team player, he maintains a global vision so that his very person-focused approach is always in alignment with the strategic objectives of the companies in which he operates—thus enabling them to truly progress.

Work Experience

President of DUBÉ RH Inc.

Co-founder and VP of the company GO RH

Lecturer at the School of Management of Université de Sherbrooke since 2005

Lecturer at the Faculty of Science and Administration of Université Laval since 2013

Vice President, HR at Industries Fontaine (a subsidiary of Rexnord)

HR Director – Camoplast

Education

• Master of Education (MA), Université de Sherbrooke
• Graduate Degree in Adult Education, Université de Sherbrooke
• Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, Université de Sherbrooke
• Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Relations (BA), Université Laval

During her career in the pharmaceutical industry, Ms. Proulx developed expertise in product development, from basic research up to product marketing. She now sits, among others, on several boards of directors and committees mandated with facilitating the commercialization of university research.

Professional experience 

Researcher at Université Laval

17 years in major pharmaceutical companies

Vice-Principal, Research at McGill University (3 years)

Senior management positions (VP and research centre management) in various biotech companies

Partner in the Sanderling Ventures investment fund specializing in life sciences

Member of several boards of directors for public and private companies

Education

Postdoctoral studies at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden

Doctorate from Université Laval

Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Université de Sherbrooke

Diploma from the Institute of Corporate Directors

A graduate of the UdeS School of Management with a concentration in marketing, Denis-Robert Elias is an entrepreneur and manager with more than 40 years of experience. Mr. Elias began his career as Administrative Director of the School of Management before joining the private sector as President and CEO of Sisca inc., an information technology firm boasting more than 175 IT specialists. After more than 20 years at the helm of Sisca, he became Senior Vice-President at Cognicase, a major IT player with more than 4,000 employees, then President and CEO of Alliance Novare and finally Director General of Internships and Professional Development (SSDP) at Université de Sherbrooke.

Concurrently, Mr. Elias cofounded many companies such as Gexcel Telecom International in the call centre industry, the Trelpo Conseil firm created for takeover operations, and the Réserve du Cafetier roastery firm, which was sold to a major Quebec group in the field.

The holder of a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a former master’s level lecturer in engineering management, Philippe Racette held several leadership positions for manufacturing companies from 1993 to 2005, including Director of Technical Services, Quality Director and Director of Operations.   He then had the opportunity to transform a business supported by former Kaizen masters from Toyota Gosei. Leveraging his experience, he launched a consulting and coaching firm focused on business transformation from the traditional model to a management model comparable to the Toyota system, called Lean Management. Today, his company counts a team of 5 senior expert advisers in Lean transformation.

Since 2006, he has coached more than 50 companies in making this shift and carried out a number of corporate financial recovery projects in the manufacturing and service sectors.

Mr. Lemieux is a business coach specializing in helping high-tech company CEOs and management teams, especially in telecommunications, electronics and information technology. He began his career with Bell Canada, first in technical services related to transmission, switching and computer communications. He then held positions in marketing and IT before assuming management of national sales for Northern Telecom. He went on to become President of Bell Mobility Radio, a voice and data services provider in Canadian emergency telecommunications. Subsequently, he became CEO of Nertec Design (remote-reading meter manufacturer) and of LTRIM Technologies (precision analog semiconductors manufacturer). He has served on the boards of directors of InterTrade (e-commerce), Vizimax Inc (electrical network automation), iMetrik Global (M2M network and solutions provider) as chairman of the board, NoviFlow (advanced high speed data-switching systems), Aligo Innovation and Valeo (commercialization and financing for university technologies) as well as Usito (the electronic dictionary). He holds a Licence in Business Administration (concentration in finance) from Université Laval and occasionally acts as an advisor on technology investment funds.

In 25 years of career in financing innovation, Line has supported more than 500 clients in almost all fields, including industrial mechanics, IT, pulp and paper, elastomers, food and agriculture industry and many others.

She was able to use her great creative sense, her scientific knowledge and her rigor in the scientific and accounting defenses of requests for grants and tax credits against government authorities and at the tax court to thus succeed in obtaining more than 97% of the $ 170 million claimed on the 2,300 projects submitted.

His skills in management, business development and budget forecasting have enabled him to create 4 profitable businesses which have been recognized by his peers.

Professional experiences

• Founder and President of Munger Innovation inc. (6 month)
• Partner at BDO Canada LLP (4 years)
• Founder, Vice-President and Director Sherbrooke Division of Deveaux Brault Munger & associés inc. (3 years)
• Founder and CEO of Munger & associés inc. (15 years old)
• Director of the R&D department at Thermo-concept inc. (3 years)
• Founder and Vice-President of Technique Design de l’Estrie inc. (4 years)
• Interim director (6 months) and member of the board of directors (5 years) of the Regional Center for Entrepreneurship (Incubator of technological start-up companies)
• Designer and experimenter of electronic, micro-electronic, mechanical, optical, laser, ultra-sonic and refrigeration prototypes (15 years)

Education

• DCS in Physical Engineering Technology
• ACS in Start-up companies

Maxim offers guidance to innovation entrepreneurs regarding the strategic financing of their activities. His consultation cabinet (Maglio), serves start-ups, SMEs, and large businesses of all technology sectors. From a client’s viewpoint, Maxim is a part-time CFO specialized in innovation. He can rapidly diagnose and guide the entrepreneurs in the right financing path for their reality and ambition.

Maxim is an electrical engineer, he completed a master’s degree with Hydro-Québec and began a Ph.D with Alstom within their global technology center in hydroelectricity. He has more than 10 years of experience with the SR&ED tax credit. He is also the founder of a clean-tech start-up and is sensitive to the reality of entrepreneurs.