Board of directors
Our Board of Directors is made up of experienced corporate administrators, real estate specialists and financing industry experts.
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Fournier has held many major real estate and business positions throughout his 30-year career. He has worked at several Canadian real estate companies.
Mr. Fournier holds a Bachelor of History from Princeton University in the U.S. and a Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence from Oxford University in the U.K., where he was the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship.
President and Chief Executive Officer
With a career spanning some 30 years in commercial real estate debt, Ross Brennan has acquired solid expertise holding various senior positions in Canada and the United States. His responsibilities have included management of the loan restructuring group at Toronto Dominion Bank as well as management of the Canadian assets of GE Capital. He is also a pioneer of the Canadian CMBS market, having overseen the start-up of Toronto Dominion Bank’s and Colliers International’s operations in this area.
Ross Brennan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of London, England.
Chief Investment Officer
François Girouard joined the Desjardins Group Pension Plan in July 1999 as a traditional investment manager. For over four years, he has been its Chief Investment Officer and, as such, he is ultimately responsible for all of the pension fund’s asset-allocation decisions. He previously worked with Mouvement Desjardins as a unit head in custody services for four years and as a financial analyst for ten.
François holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Sherbrooke and has successfully completed courses on securities exchange and investment financing for Canada.
Jean-Louis Hamel has a wealth of experience as a corporate administrator. He took up a challenging career as a corporate banker specializing in real estate and has held a number of related senior management positions, notably for Colliers International and CIBC World Markets Inc.
Mr. Hamel holds diplomas from the HEC Montréal Business School (L.Sc.Com.), McGill University’s Faculty of Law (B.C.L.) and the Harvard Business School (AMP). He currently sits on several corporate boards
Ghislaine Laberge has over 40 years of experience in placement and administration of mortgage portfolios, in investment and in real estate management. Before devoting herself to her new role as Corporate Director, she was the vice-president of mortgage investment for Desjardins Life Insurance. Ms. Laberge also sits on the Board of Trustees of the Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust.
She holds a university certificate in corporate governance from the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés (college of corporate directors).
Michel Labonté gained his wide-ranging expertise during a fruitful career with, among other institutions, the National Bank of Canada, where he successively held the positions of Senior Vice-President, Finance and Control, Senior Vice-President, Finance and Technology, Senior Vice-President, Finance, Technology and Corporate Affairs, and Executive Advisor. He had previously spent 10 years with Hydro-Québec senior management. From 1975 to 1983, he held various positions with the Government of Québec, including the Treasury Board and the Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Labonté has a bachelor’s degree in arts from Université de Montréal, a bachelor’s degree in architecture from McGill University, and a master’s degree in urban planning from Université de Montréal. He is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Senior Vice-president, Real Estate
Karen Laflamme was promoted to Senior Vice-President, Real Estate, in August 2009. In this role, she supports the Executive Vice-President, Real Estate, and President of the Caisse’s Real Estate group in the integrated management of the group’s activities. Karen Laflamme joined the Caisse in 1993. Prior to her recent appointment, she had been Vice-President, Real Estate Portfolio, with the Caisse’s Real Estate group since January 2005.
Ms. Laflamme began her career in 1984 at Clarkson Gordon (Ernst & Young), first as an Auditor and subsequently as an Audit Team Leader. She remained at the firm until 1989. She then worked for four years at CN Real Estate as a Senior Accountant.
Ms. Laflamme is a chartered accountant with over two decades of experience in the auditing and real estate sectors.
Fernand Perreault was Strategic Adviser to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s President, up to his retirement in December 2009. In this capacity, he shared his expertise on strategic business objectives, contributed to defining the actions to be taken to deal with the new financial market reality and assisted the President and members of the Executive Committee with the implementation of the Caisse’s main priorities. Mr. Perreault was the Caisse President and CEO by interim from January to March 2009. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Perreault had served as Executive Vice-President, Real Estate, for the Caisse since 1995. From 1987 to 1995, he was President and CEO of SITQ, a member of the Real Estate Group.
A law graduate from the University of Ottawa, he began his career with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), holding several positions including that of Vice-President, Mortgage Insurance.
Daniel Fournier
Chairman of the Board
Executive Vice-President, Real Estate and
President of the Real Estate Group
Mr. Fournier has held many major real estate and business positions throughout his 30-year career. He has worked at several Canadian real estate companies.
Mr. Fournier holds a Bachelor of History from Princeton University in the U.S. and a Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence from Oxford University in the U.K., where he was the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship.
Ross Brennan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Otéra Capital
With a career spanning some 30 years in commercial real estate debt, Ross Brennan has acquired solid expertise holding various senior positions in Canada and the United States. His responsibilities have included management of the loan restructuring group at Toronto Dominion Bank as well as management of the Canadian assets of GE Capital. He is also a pioneer of the Canadian CMBS market, having overseen the start-up of Toronto Dominion Bank’s and Colliers International’s operations in this area.
Ross Brennan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of London, England.
François Girouard
Chief Investment Officer
Desjardins Group Pension Fund
François Girouard joined the Desjardins Group Pension Plan in July 1999 as a traditional investment manager. For over four years, he has been its Chief Investment Officer and, as such, he is ultimately responsible for all of the pension fund’s asset-allocation decisions. He previously worked with Mouvement Desjardins as a unit head in custody services for four years and as a financial analyst for ten.
François holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Sherbrooke and has successfully completed courses on securities exchange and investment financing for Canada.
Jean-Louis Hamel
Corporate Director
Jean-Louis Hamel has a wealth of experience as a corporate administrator. He took up a challenging career as a corporate banker specializing in real estate and has held a number of related senior management positions, notably for Colliers International and CIBC World Markets Inc.
Mr. Hamel holds diplomas from the HEC Montréal Business School (L.Sc.Com.), McGill University’s Faculty of Law (B.C.L.) and the Harvard Business School (AMP). He currently sits on several corporate boards
Ghislaine Laberge, ASC
Corporate Director
Ghislaine Laberge has over 40 years of experience in placement and administration of mortgage portfolios, in investment and in real estate management. Before devoting herself to her new role as Corporate Director, she was the vice-president of mortgage investment for Desjardins Life Insurance. Ms. Laberge also sits on the Board of Trustees of the Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust.
She holds a university certificate in corporate governance from the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés (college of corporate directors).
Michel Labonté
Corporate Director
Michel Labonté gained his wide-ranging expertise during a fruitful career with, among other institutions, the National Bank of Canada, where he successively held the positions of Senior Vice-President, Finance and Control, Senior Vice-President, Finance and Technology, Senior Vice-President, Finance, Technology and Corporate Affairs, and Executive Advisor. He had previously spent 10 years with Hydro-Québec senior management. From 1975 to 1983, he held various positions with the Government of Québec, including the Treasury Board and the Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Labonté has a bachelor’s degree in arts from Université de Montréal, a bachelor’s degree in architecture from McGill University, and a master’s degree in urban planning from Université de Montréal. He is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Karen Laflamme
Senior Vice-president, Real Estate
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
Karen Laflamme was promoted to Senior Vice-President, Real Estate, in August 2009. In this role, she supports the Executive Vice-President, Real Estate, and President of the Caisse’s Real Estate group in the integrated management of the group’s activities. Karen Laflamme joined the Caisse in 1993. Prior to her recent appointment, she had been Vice-President, Real Estate Portfolio, with the Caisse’s Real Estate group since January 2005.
Ms. Laflamme began her career in 1984 at Clarkson Gordon (Ernst & Young), first as an Auditor and subsequently as an Audit Team Leader. She remained at the firm until 1989. She then worked for four years at CN Real Estate as a Senior Accountant.
Ms. Laflamme is a chartered accountant with over two decades of experience in the auditing and real estate sectors.
Fernand Perreault
Corporate Director
Fernand Perreault was Strategic Adviser to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s President, up to his retirement in December 2009. In this capacity, he shared his expertise on strategic business objectives, contributed to defining the actions to be taken to deal with the new financial market reality and assisted the President and members of the Executive Committee with the implementation of the Caisse’s main priorities. Mr. Perreault was the Caisse President and CEO by interim from January to March 2009. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Perreault had served as Executive Vice-President, Real Estate, for the Caisse since 1995. From 1987 to 1995, he was President and CEO of SITQ, a member of the Real Estate Group.
A law graduate from the University of Ottawa, he began his career with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), holding several positions including that of Vice-President, Mortgage Insurance.
