Hubert Bolduc

VP, Communications and  Public Affairs

Cascades Inc.   website

Hubert Bolduc holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Universté du Québec à Montréal, a Master’s degree in Communications from Stirling University in Scotland and an M.B.A. from l’École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal

Before joining Cascades in 2004 as Vice-President of Communications and Public Affairs, he worked as Press Secretary to the Prime Minister of Québec.  Hubert Bolduc also worked as an advisor for the public relations firm, NATIONAL, as spokesperson for the CHUM and as a Communications lecturer at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Mr. Bolduc is Chairman of the Board of Jour de la Terre and Chairman of the Board of Les Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec’s.  He also serves on the Boards of Montreal Chamber of Commerce, the Fondation de l’École Buissonnière, of the Fondation de l’Entrepreuneurship du Québec, of the Fondation de l’UQAM, of Forces Avenir and of Tél-Jeunes.  In 2005, he was awarded the Prix Relève Excellence by the Réseau HEC Montréal, Large Company category and was on the shortlist of the 30’s to Watch Under 30 in the competition of Marketing Magazine in 2001 .

Erik Ryan

Senior Vice President, Communications and External Relations

Rio Tinto Alcan   website

Erik Ryan holds a B. Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University (1987) and an MBA from the Harvard Business School (1995). Mr. Ryan joins Alcan Inc. in September 2002 as Director, Strategic Management Support.

He is part of the Pechiney acquisition team, and is later co-leader of the Alcan-Pechiney Integration Leadership Team in Paris. In the fall of 2004, he becomes Vice-President, Strategy and Business Development, for Alcan Packaging Global Beauty sector.

In January 2005, Mr. Ryan is appointed Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Communications, for Alcan Primary Metal Group. In 2007, Regional Industrial Diversification and an aerospace and nuclear alloys casting plant are added to his responsibilities, as he becomes Vice-President, Stakeholder Relations and Communications. Erik Ryan first became involved with the Board of Trade in 2002 through the strategic analysis committee on economic development before joining the board of directors and then, its executive committee.

Prior to joining Rio Tinto Alcan, Mr. Ryan was Secretary General of the Sommet de Montréal 2002, in charge of designing and conducting this foundational event created to identify the strategic priorities and initiatives critical to the new City of Montréal. Between 1995 and 2001, following his studies in Boston, Mr. Ryan worked as a consultant for Monitor Company, a Boston consultancy. Between 1995 and 1997, he headed its Paris office. Between 1989 and 1993, he was political advisor to Gérald Tremblay, then Minister of Industry, Trade, and Technology. At that time, Mr. Ryan contributed to the design and deployment of the industrial cluster strategy, and to negotiating the social contract.

Carol Montreuil

VP, Eastern Canada Division

Canadian Petroleum Products Institute   website

Engaged in the petroleum industry for nearly 30 years, Carol Montreuil is currently Vice-President, Eastern Canada Division of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (CPPI).

Before taking up his present position, he was Director, Governmental Affairs, and  occupied a number of management positions at Shell Canada, including over ten years in the refining sector.

Carol Montreuil holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Ottawa, and a Master’s in Chemical Engineering from Université de Montréal.

Furthermore, Carol Montreuil is Chairman of the Board of Directors of SOGHU - the Quebec used oil management association,  member of the Board of Directors of the Conseil Patronal de l’Environnement du Québec (CPEQ) and member of the Governors’ Council of Association Pipeline (APL).

The Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (CPPI) is an association of Canadian companies involved in the refining, distribution and/or marketing of petroleum products for transportation, home energy and industrial uses. Its member companies operate 16 refineries and supply some 8,000 retail outlets throughout Canada, representing more than 80 percent of the Canadian petroleum products market.

Anna Walkowiak

Manager, Sustainability and Climate Change

Deloitte   website

Anna Walkowiak is a Manager in Sustainability & Climate Change Practice at Deloitte in Montreal.

Anna Walkowiak has over ten years of experience in management consulting and corporate strategy, including close to 5 years specifically in sustainability strategy development and implementation in the public and private sectors.

Over the years, she has developed an important expertise in internal and external trends analysis, benchmarking studies, identification of material issues, stakeholders’ engagement, extra-financial performance management according to Global Reporting Initiative standards and CR governance. In particular, Anna has developed sustainability positioning strategies and implementation approaches in seven distinct areas for various clients: environmental footprint, products’ stewardship, customer care, sourcing, employment practices and impact on communities, governance and communication.

Anna has also acquired an important experience in developing innovative sustainability decision-making tools such as the Deloitte Sustainable Enterprise Value Map and the Planning and Evaluation Model for sustainability investments in extractive industries (in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation).

Anouk Bertner

Emerging Leaders Manager

The Natural Step Canada   website

As Emerging Leaders Manager for The Natural Step Canada, Anouk is works with young adults to help them gain the experience, learning and mentorship required to transition from sustainability education to sustainability careers. Recognizing that young people are one of the most passionate and driven groups in society, The Natural Step is proud to be supporting this vital group. 

Anouk works with university students across Canada to embed sustainability into organizations through their coop placements, youth conferences and training young people to be sustainability ambassadors in their communities, schools and workplaces. 

Anouk also works with The Natural Step International to communicate their mission, vision and scientifically-based approach to sustainability in an engaging and accessible way.  She lead the development of an international website, has connected all eleven Natural Step country offices and ensures that their sustainability stories are being captured and shared. 

Anouk has an affinity for new technologies and is helping The Natural Step use emerging tools such as blogging, tweeting, YouTube and others to share a more personal, casual and holistic story behind sustainability.

Anouk holds a BSc in Physiology from McGill University and an MBA with a specialization in sustainable business from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. 

Alexandre Fortier

Environment and Public Affairs Manager

Lafarge Canada | Usine de Saint-Constant   website

Alexandre Fortier currently holds the position of Environmental and Public Affairs Manager at Lafarge, world leader in building materials, with top ranking positions in all of its businesses: Cement, Aggregate & Concrete, and Gypsum.

Mr. Fortier previously held a similar position at a major North American quicklime producer. He is a chemical engineer, with both a bachelor's and a master's degrees from Université de Sherbrooke and brings 8 years of experience in the environmental and stakeholder relations fields.

Luc Gagnon

Senior Manager, Climate Change

Hydro-Québec   website

Luc Gagnon holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and a PhD in Political Science. From 1984 to 1990, he was a part-time University lecturer and worked for a number of environmental groups in Quebec. 

Since 1992, he is working at Hydro-Québec as Senior advisor, Climate change.  He has published numerous articles on energy, transportation and the environment.

He provided  technical support on life-cycle assessments for initiatives of the  International Energy Agency (2000) and the World Energy Council (2004). He was Expert reviewer for documents produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2002, 2007 and 2010).

Dominic D’Amours

Sustainable Development Coordinator

Liberté Brand Products Inc.   website

Dominic D’Amours joined Liberté Brand Products Inc. in January 2008. He is responsible for reducing Liberté's environmental impact by implementing sustainable development business practices and a sustainability strategy plan based on life cycle assessment.

Since January 2009, Mr D’Amours is also responsible for the implementation of a sustainable development strategic plan at Gourmet Baker Inc., a manufacturer and marketer of baked and unbaked desserts and breakfast pastries for the in-store bakery and foodservice business segments, and Oakrun Farm Bakery, a manufacturer of fresh and frozen baked goods to the retail, foodservice, private label and co-pack business segments. Liberté, Gourmet Baker Inc. and Oakrun Farm are owned by the Pineridge Foods group.

Mr. D'Amours is convinced that sustainable development is an opportunity for companies to maintain their competitiveness through the establishment of sustainable business practices.

Mr. D'Amours has over 8 years of consulting experience in the field of sustainable development, environmental management and remediation of contaminated sites. He has conducted various consulting mandates in the areas of agro-business, renewable energy, manufacturing and public utilities.

Valérie Bouchard

Director of Operations and Partnerships

Biotechnology for Sustainable Development in Africa Foundation (BDA) website

Since February 2008, Valérie Bouchard is acting as Director of operations and partnerships at the Biotechnology for Sustainable Development in Africa Foundation (BDA), a young not-for-profit organization whose mission is to support scientific cooperation and implement pilot-projects focusing on the development of the medicinal-plant production and processing sub-sector in Africa. A first pilot-project is being implemented in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congolese ecopreneurs are currently trained to cultivate, harvest, condition and market medicinal plants according to strict quality-control standards.  This type of agriculture implies the sustainable use of forest environments and their safeguard. Valérie has carried out no less than 7 missions in DRC in the last year.

More generally, she helps to develop and maintain partnerships at different levels both in the DRC and internationally, including with the private sector in the framework of their CSR strategy. BDA’s trade-not-aid approach encourages the development of Africa by the African population while opening new opportunities for non-profit / for-profit collaborations.

Prior to her involvement at BDA, Valérie has conducted research, managed international projects and organized international events at McGill’s Centre for Developing-areas Studies and at the Institut québécois des hautes études internationales (Université de Laval). She worked closely with the Right Honorable Joe Clark while at McGill and then with the BDA Foundation.

Valérie holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and a Master’s degree in Political Science / International Relations from the Université Laval. She had worked for more than three years in Latin America.

Stephen Cookson

Development Manager

Renewable Energy Systems Canada

Stephen Cookson has worked in project management and business development for over seven years.  He joined Renewable Energy Systems (RES) in 2006 as a Project Developer and now holds the position of Development Manager for RES Canada.

He is responsible for the development of RES Canada’s utility-scale wind energy projects in Ontario and Quebec including land acquisition, stakeholder relations, and environmental permitting. 

Mr Cookson manages all aspects of project development - from site selection, through the competitive tendering process, and up to project financial close and commissioning.  He is highly involved in front-end feasibility analyses, regulatory dealings with government agencies, and project consultation work, as well as joint-venture, real property, and contractual negotiations.

Originally from Montreal, he holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts from Dalhousie University in Halifax and is a registered professional engineer in Quebec.

Stéphane Brunet

General Manager

Natural Gas Technologies Centre   website

Stéphane Brunet is a chemical engineer with more than 15 years of experience in the natural gas industry.  He is currently the General Manager of the Natural Gas Technologies Centre (NGTC), a non-profit private technology centre dedicated towards promoting the intelligent and sustainable use of natural gas, from the gas distribution network to end-user applications.  NGTC’s mission is to promote the use of natural gas as a means to facilitate the transition from a fossil-based economy to a low-carbon energy economy.

During his professional career, Mr. Brunet has developed a strong technical and business background in the energy industry.   Recent projects at NGTC include the development of integration strategies to optimize the combination of renewable energy sources, such as solar thermal and geothermal energy, with natural gas technologies.  These projects have illustrated that there is a need to define new business models to assist in the commercialization of renewable energy.

Christopher Roth

Managing Director

Challenge Your World   website

Chris Roth is currently the Managing Director at Challenge Your World. Chris has spent the past two decades working with startups, SMB’s and Fortune 100 organizations across North America, Europe and Asia.

Diverse engagements in sales and marketing have enabled Chris to develop a unique perspective in client behavior and value creation.

At Challenge Your World, he combines his expertise in business with his passion for sustainability to assist young entrepreneurs in transforming their ideas into sustainable businesses.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Business & Finance from the University of San Diego.

Lisa Torjman

Assosiate, Social Entrpreneurship

MaRS   website

Lisa Torjman, Manager of Social Innovation Projects, helps run the program SiG@MaRS. The program provides social entrepreneurs access to resources that help them combine economic profit with social purpose.

As part of SiG@MaRS, Lisa launched Net Change, a weeklong event, co-created with several partners, which explores the intersection of social tech and social change.

Lisa's work at MaRS ranges from strategy development to speaking engagements, most recently for CP24 and O'Reilly's Ignite series.
Previously, Lisa worked as an account executive at Toronto-based social marketing agency Manifest Communications, and as an associate at the Montreal-based J.W. McConnell Family Foundation.  She holds a B.A in English from McGill University with a concentration in Cultural Studies.

Lisa is actively involved in the arts and the broader Toronto community, most recently with the Luminato Festival and Drawn to Develop, a fundraiser for Street Kids International.  She has been on the planning committees for the Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs and the Emerging Leaders Network Studio. 

She counts among her accomplishments; membership with the Toronto City Summit Alliance’s Emerging Leaders Network, the Golden Key International Honour Society and recipient of a Canada Millennium Scholarship.

Judy Servay

Founder

Robin de Bois

Ravi Sharma

Head of Implementation, Technical Support and Outreach Programs

Convention on Biological Diversity   website

Mr. Ravi Sharma is Head of Implementation, Technical Support and Outreach Programs at the United Nations Convention for Biological Diversity in Montreal, Canada.

He is an Economist by education and has 30 years experience in environmental policy and programs at both international and national levels.

Previously he worked at the World Bank and United Nations Environment Programme managing complex multi-country programs. In his current assignment, engagement with the business sector is one of his priority activities.

Melissa Shin

Managing Director

Corporate Knights   website

Melissa Shin is the Managing Editor of Corporate Knights, the world's largest circulation responsible business magazine.

At Corporate Knights, Melissa leads multiple nationally referenced surveys that shine a light on the sustainability of large organizations. She launched the Corporate Knights Leadership Diversity Index and manages the Corporate Knights Sustainable Cities Ranking, Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada, Responsible Investing Guide, Aboriginal Relations Ranking, and Knight School Report.

Melissa has interviewed many current and former government, environmental group, and corporate leaders, including Preston Manning, Ralph Klein, David Suzuki, Anne McLellan, Paul Martin, BMO Chair David Galloway, Canada Post CEO Moya Greene, and The Natural Step founder Karl-Henrik Robèrt.
 
Melissa makes regular appearances in English and French on the CBC and other national print, radio, and television media. She is a graduate of the Schulich School of Business at York University.
 
In 2009, Melissa traveled to Stockholm, Sweden to undertake a major investigative report on Swedish environmental and energy policy and the implications for Canada.

Paul Lapensée

President

Alta Vista Consultants Inc.

Paul is currently President of Alta Vista Consultants inc., a consulting firm focused on business development, strategy formulation and corporate acquisitions. He was until recently a Director and Partner of Halifax based Bluewave Energy L.P., Canada’s largest independent distributor of petroleum products with a nationwide footprint (acquired by Parkland Income Fund in 2010).

Prior to joining Bluewave Energy L.P., Paul held several senior management positions with Shell Canada Limited (acquired by Royal Dutch Shell in 2007).

Over the course of his last ten years at Shell, Paul held the positions of Director of Corporate Strategy, General Manager of the Montréal-East Refinery and Vice-President, Marketing and Sales for the Québec and Maritimes region. These various roles enabled him to acquire wide-ranging, in-depth experience in the strategic planning, manufacturing and sales and marketing sectors of the petroleum industry.

Paul also had the opportunity to serve as the President of the Board of CPPI’s  Québec Division (Canadian Petroleum Products Institute), as the CPPI representative on the Executive Committee of the CPQ (Conseil du Patronat du Québec) as well as a member of several committees within the ADA (Association des Détaillants en Alimentation du Québec).

Paul holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Ottawa, a Graduate Studies Degree in Oil Company Management from HEC-Montréal, has completed the Royal Dutch Shell Leadership Development Program at Wharton Business School in Philadelphia and is currently completing his MBA at HEC-Montréal (expected June 2010). 

Margaret Graham

Associate Professor

McGill Desautels Faculty of Management   website

Dr. Margaret Graham joined McGill's Faculty of Management in 2000. She is also a founding director of the Winthrop Group Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her research and writing center on managing innovation.

In addition to several multi-year consulting engagements with research-based firms in the specialty materials, automotive, and pharmaceutical industries, she spent four years in R&D management as an executive at Xerox PARC, Xerox's advanced research center in Palo Alto, CA.

Dr. Graham has been a member of the faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and the Boston University School of Management. While at B.U. as Professor, Operations Management and Management of Technology, she served as Associate Dean and Dean of the Faculty.

Dr. Graham is a leading scholar of the history of industrial research. Her books include The Business of Research: RCA and the VideoDisc, and R&D for Industry: A Century of Technical Research at Alcoa, coauthored by Bettye Pruitt, both published by Cambridge University Press. Her latest book on innovation, Corning and the Craft of Innovation, coauthored by Alec Shuldiner, was published by Oxford University Press in 2001.

Her articles include writings on the history of the information age, and on the evolution of information technology. A chapter entitled "The Threshold of the Information Age: Radio, Television and Motion Pictures Mobilize the Nation," appears in Alfred Chandler and James Cortada (eds.), A Nation Transformed by Information, published this year by Oxford University Press.

Prof. David Lank

Director Emeritus 

Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies, McGill University   website

Professor Lank, Director Emeritus of the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies at McGill University, received his degree from Princeton University (AB ‘60), and attended Université de Grenoble in France prior to a career with Du Pont International in Geneva. He returned to Canada as Deputy Head of Operations for Expo ‘67, before starting his career as Senior Partner in Canada’s oldest investment management firm.

In 1968 he co-founded Helix Investments, one of Canada’s pioneering venture capital firms, being personally involved in the founding and funding of 150 corporations. He is currently Chair of Helix.

Former Chairman of the McCord Museum of Canadian History, he was also involved in numerous pro bono activities as a Board member. He was formerly an adjunct professor at Concordia University in Art History, serving on the Fine Arts Advisory Board. Past President of the McGill Associates, ex-governor of Lower Canada College and Bishop’s University, and chairman of the Friends of the Library of Concordia University, he served on the inaugural board of the Friends of the McGill Library to which he donated the symbolic two millionth volume. He has been directly or indirectly involved in raising tens of millions of dollars for educational and cultural purposes, both as a donor and as a solicitor in the United States and Canada. He serves on the Advisory Board for Continuing Education at McGill.

Author of more than 30 books, hundreds of articles and museum catalogues, he was the curator of the touring exhibition Audubon’s Wilderness Palette - The Birds of Canada. He is a Fellow of the Explorer’s Club of New York, the Royal Society of Arts in London, formerly a Fellow of the Grolier Club, the American Antiquarian Society and the Angler’s Club. He was Chairman of the Atlantic Salmon Association for 10 years and was recently inducted into the Atlantic Salmon Hall of Fame. He has sat on the boards of Wildlife Habitat Canada and the Zoological Societies of Canada and Montreal, and was an Adjunct Curator of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He is currently a director of Muséums de l’Histoire Naturelle de Montréal. He has starred in three major productions at Centaur Theatre and has been featured in numerous TV programs and films, most recently as host of Mini-Biz for Canal Savoir, and on 8 episodes of Robert Scully’s Dobson Entrepreneurs on PBS in the States.

In 2006, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in the Graduate Program at McGill. In 1996 he was awarded the Order of Canada.

Pierre-Oliver Pineau

Associate Professor

Department of Management Sciences, HEC Montréal   website

Pierre-Oliver Pineau (PhD, HEC Montréal, 2000) is an associate professor at the Department of Management Sciences of HEC Montréal. He is an energy policy and management specialist, with a focus on electricity reforms. His publications cover strategic investment, pricing, privatization and energy market integration.

He worked in Canada, Africa, Latin America and the Nordic countries and has published papers on all these regions.

He is Associate Editor of the Energy Studies Review and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Energy Sector Management. He is also the Associate Director for HEC Montréal of the Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG).

He held positions in Canada at the University of Victoria (School of Public Administration, 2001-2006) and at Concordia University (Economics Department, 2000-2001). He sits on the Board of directors of the Canadian Association for Energy Economics.