3 May 2023

PRESS RELEASE – Following its recent annual general meeting, Sherbrooke Innopole is pleased to announce Étienne Villeneuve, engineer, has been appointed president of its Board of Directors. Mr. Villeneuve, Vice President of Operations at Tekna Advanced Materials, succeeds Alexandre Nault.

“It was a great privilege to sit on Sherbrooke Innopole’s Board of Directors. During my seven years as a Director, I have had the opportunity to contribute to the growth of our businesses, entrepreneurship, and the creation of collective wealth. My five years as president of the organization were heavily influenced by the social and business challenges driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating incident at the Centre de valorisation de l’aliment (CVA). I would like to thank the Sherbrooke Innopole team, the business people, our partners, and the entire community for their support; such a wonderful example of Sherbrooke’s collaborative spirit. And the best of success to Mr. Villeneuve in the future,” commented Mr. Nault, Vice-President at Les Emballages Poly-Pro inc.

“It is with great pride and humility that I accept the presidency of Sherbrooke Innopole’s 8, on which I have now sat for four years,” said Mr. Villeneuve. “During these years, I have had a front row seat to witness Sherbrooke’s dynamism and resilience in relation to the industrial and technological sectors, but also the growing challenges that companies are facing. I have also observed the Sherbrooke Innopole team’s commitment and proactivity in supporting and equipping Sherbrooke’s entrepreneurs, in consultation with local stakeholders. Putting the pandemic behind us, there will be new business and innovation opportunities for Sherbrooke businesses, which will continue to advance the local economy.”

Four new directors on Sherbrooke Innopole’s Board of Directors:  Jasmin Allard, CPA, M.Sc., partner at MNP LLP and Managing Director of MNP Corporate Finance Inc.; Jean-René Couture, co-founder, Administrator, and President of GolemLabs; Éric Gagné, Director General of Cégep de Sherbrooke; and Nathalie Hébert, General Manager (Sherbrooke) of Charles River Laboratories.

To consult the notices of appointment: https://sherbrooke-innopole.com/en/blog/new-to-our-board-of-directors/https://bit.ly/CA2023-SI

Véronique Sinclair-Desgagnés, LL.B., co-founder and President of Signalisation des Cantons, and Nancy Marcotte, Associate Tax Lawyer at Guertin Avocats, were reappointed as vice-president and secretary, respectively. Pierre Pomerleau, CPA-CMA, Executive Director, Finance and Administration at L.P. ROYER inc., was appointed treasurer.

For an overview of the composition of Sherbrooke Innopole’s Board of Directors: https://sherbrooke-innopole.com/en/board-of-directors/

In addition to the end of Alexandre Nault’s term as president, four other directors have officially parted from Sherbrooke Innopole’s Board: Marie-France Bélanger, former director general of the Cégep de Sherbrooke; Josée Larochelle, partner at MNP; Jean Tremblay, President and CEO at Agrhum groupe conseil; and Francine Turmel, Professor at the William School of Business, Bishop’s University. The organization’s executive director, Sylvain Durocher, wanted to ensure their contribution was acknowledged.

“On behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank the directors who are stepping down for the years they have dedicated to the business community. Their volunteer involvement on our Board of Directors is essential to Sherbrooke Innopole’s operation, as it allows us to remain in touch with the issues of entrepreneurs and to find the appropriate solutions. And thank you to the new directors joining the Board of Directors to contribute to the development of a value-added economy for Sherbrooke and its citizens,” said Sylvain Durocher, Executive Director of Sherbrooke Innopole.

About Sherbrooke Innopole

Sherbrooke Innopole is the paramunicipal economic development organization for the industrial and high-value-added services sector. Its mission is to accelerate the development of companies from the five key sectors – Advanced Manufacturing, Information and Quantum Technologies, Cleantech, Life Sciences and Micro-Nanotechnologies – and ensure that Sherbrooke has an attractive and innovative business environment. It is mainly financed by the City of Sherbrooke through the Bureau de coordination du développement économique. 

Source: Sherbrooke Innopole