BLUE CROSS - Key Persons


Andrew Molson

Job Titles:
  • Member since
Andrew Molson, a lawyer, is chairman of Avenir Global. He also sits on the boards of several corporations, including Molson Coors Brewing Company, Groupe Deschênes Inc., Dundee Corporation and the CH Group, owner of Evenko and the Montréal Canadiens. He is also chairman of the Montreal General Hospital Foundation and of the Pointe-à-Callière Montréal Archaeology and History Complex.

Jacques Gagnier

Job Titles:
  • Member since
Jacques Gagnier is a graduate of the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (B.A.A) and McGill University (MBA). He is President of Cafa Financial Corporation (www.Cafa.ca), a private investment bank operating in Canada, Europe and Asia. Over the course of his career, Mr. Gagnier has served on numerous advisory committees and boards of directors of public and private companies, both in Canada and abroad. Mr. Gagnier currently sits on the Board of Directors of Cafa Financial Corporation and LRBG Chemical Group (Canada and the United States), as well as on the Advisory Committee of NGC Aerospace.

Jean Laurin - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Board of Directors
  • President and Chief Executive Officer of Avison Young Québec
Jean Laurin is President and Chief Executive Officer of Avison Young Québec real estate company, formerly known as Devencore. Greatly involved in the community, he is also Chair of the Board of Montréal International, former Chair of the Board of the Société de la Place des Arts, former President and Member of the Board of the Fondation de l'Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont and Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Fondation de l'UQAM.

Michèle Desjardins

Job Titles:
  • Vice - Chair of the Board of Directors
Michèle Desjardins holds a Bachelor of Applied Science, with an option in Forestry Engineering, and a Master in Business Administration. Since 1998, she has been President of Koby Consulting Inc., a management consulting firm. She is also a certified management consultant, a Fellow of the Ordre des administrateurs agréés du Québec and an accredited corporate director. She sits on the boards of Purolator and Fednav.

Paul Émile Cloutier

Job Titles:
  • Member since : 2019
Paul Émile Cloutier, who resides in Ontario, is president and CEO of HealthCareCAN. He holds two master's degrees (in health management and political science) and two undergraduate degrees (in social science and political science). Over the past 25 years he has held leadership roles in a variety of sectors, including health, political and social policy, public affairs, transportation, and international relations. His broad knowledge of the Canadian health care system and his keen analysis of public and institutional trends and related strategic issues has led him be an advisor to government, public, and private bodies. He sits on several boards.

Pierre Moreau

Job Titles:
  • Member since
With a law degree from Université Laval in 1980 and a member of the Barreau du Québec since 1982, Pierre Moreau practiced public and administrative law in private practice, notably with Bélanger Sauvé from 1991 to 2003. He was a professor of public and administrative law at the École de formation professionnelle of the Barreau du Québec from 1996 to 2003. First elected in the provincial riding of Marguerite-D'Youville in 2003 and then in the provincial riding of Ch teauguay in 2008, 2012 and 2014, Mr. Moreau has held the positions of Chief Government Whip, Minister of reform of democratic institutions and Access to Information and Minister responsible for Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs and the Canadian Francophonie, Minister of Transport, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy, Acting Minister of Public Security, Chair of the Conseil du trésor and Minister responsible for Government Administration and Ongoing Program Review and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. Since February 11, 2019, Me Moreau has been Managing Partner of Bélanger Sauvé. He also acts as a political analyst for the program Mordus de politique, on ici RDI since August 2020.

Richard Fortier

Job Titles:
  • Member since
A qualified actuary and certified financial analyst, Richard Fortier has more than 38 years of experience in finance, including 20 years as a senior executive for companies such as Desjardins Financial Security and Royal Trust. Mr. Fortier has also been involved in various organizations and with boards of directors including, among others, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) and the Regroupement des assureurs à charte du Québec (RACQ). He is a graduate of the ICD-Rotman Administrator Development Program.

Roula Zaarour

Job Titles:
  • Global Leader
  • Member since
Roula is a seasoned global leader with over 15 years of experience as a C-suite executive in diverse environments and in different stages of organizations.  She is currently the Managing Director, Americas for Dialectica, a fast-growing global company in the insight services. Prior to this role, she was the Chief Operations & People Officer at Hopper - best known as a travel app using AI algorithms to predict pricing and offering data-driven and risk-based products. Roula also spent close to 10 years leading major restructuring mandates in large organizations. She was Vice-President, People & Culture of CBC / Radio-Canada during very important re-organizations and spent 6 years in South America as Vice-President, Business Transformation at Aerolineas Argentinas, and in Brazil as a Senior Advisor at Matlin Patterson LLC, an American private equity firm specialized in distressed investments. Roula holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the Lebanese American University in Beirut, an MBA from John Molson School of Business in Montreal, and a "Neuroscience for Business" Executive Education certificate from MIT.

Stéphane Rochon

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Board and Chief Digital Strategy Officer of Groupe KO
Stéphane Rochon is Chair of the Board and Chief Digital Strategy Officer of Groupe KO since 2021. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Humania Assurance for several years. He is also a certified corporate director and as such, he has served on several boards and committees, including the Chambre de la sécurité financière, the Institut québécois de la planification financière (IQPF), Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Chair at Université Laval, and SOCODEVI (Société de coopération pour le développement international). Currently, he serves as Chair of the Board of the Véro & Louis Home (Varennes) and as a member of the board of the Véro & Louis Foundation.

Suzanne Landry

Suzanne Landry, who holds a doctorate in business administration and a master's degree in tax, is a member of the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Québec and the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés. She is a full professor at HEC Montréal, and has held professorships at ESG-UQAM and Université Laval. Throughout her university career, she has taken on duties of departmental and academic program policy and management. Prior to that she worked as an auditor and tax expert in a specialized accounting firm. She has sat on several boards, where she was active on committees and presided over audit committees.

Sylvain Charbonneau

Job Titles:
  • Member since
  • President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross Canassurance
Sylvain has 25 years of experience in the insurance industry and had the opportunity to influence the strategic direction of other leading insurers, such as SCOR, SSQ, and AXA, where he spent five years in Europe on various international mandates.   In his current role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross Canassurance, Sylvain is responsible for providing innovative individual health and travel insurance solutions to clients and partners with a team of nearly 700 employees. He is a member of the Blue Cross Life Board of Directors, a leading life and living benefits insurance carrier. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of a Montreal non-profit palliative care organization and serves on the National Board of Directors of Make-A-Wish Canada. Sylvain graduated in Actuarial Science at Université Laval and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA).