Legal team size: 40

What projects are you most proud to have worked on over the past 12 months?

Over the past 12 months, I am particularly proud of implementing the Flywheel concept as a strategic approach and management tool. After carefully screening available publications, we believe we are the first to have implemented this concept to an internal legal affairs department. In a time of massive disruptions and budget constraints, this approach has revolutionised our efficiency, enhancing productivity, and ensuring that all members of the team are contributing in a coherent and structured manner in achieving the organisation’s objectives. The Flywheel concept, inspired by Jim Collins (“From Good to Great”), is based on the idea that a series of consistent and sustained actions creates cumulative momentum that leads to excellence. Within our legal team, this strategic wheel is structured around five interconnected prongs: value-added legal services based on risk (this point is further elaborated below), internal and external visibility of the legal team, a motivated and competent team, a stimulating collaborative climate, and adequate and well-allocated resources.

Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting?

My career path has been diverse, allowing me to gain a wide range of experiences that have contributed significantly to my growth as a business oriented general counsel. I’ve worked with various key players in the financial markets, including a major private law firm (Ogilvy Renault, now Norton Rose Fulbright), a regulatory authority (Autorité des marchés financiers), and several financial institutions (Laurentian Bank, Desjardins Group, and now Fonds de solidarité FTQ). The following experiences stand out: – I served as lead counsel in managing Desjardins’ major data breach. My responsibilities included negotiating a US$10bn class action litigation, overseeing numerous investigations by privacy and financial regulators at both the provincial and federal levels, and working closely with law enforcement on criminal investigations. – I also led negotiations with the Quebec government, specifically the Ministry of Finance, to modernise the enabling legislation of both Desjardins and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ. These initiatives required strategic vision and close collaboration with government representatives to ensure the legal framework remains robust and adaptable in the face of evolving financial, economic and regulatory challenges.

How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company?

To ensure our team’s contribution to the company’s overall business strategy, we have developed a risk-based approach focused on value creation. Each task carried out by our team has been assessed and mapped on a heat map to evaluate its risk level and its potential for value creation, in alignment with the organisation’s strategic priorities. Based on the positioning of tasks on this map, the team adjusts its level of service to ensure that high-risk, high-value tasks receive the attention they require. Conversely, tasks with low risk and low value creation are reviewed to determine whether tools such as AI, client guides, or process optimisation can help reduce the pressure they exert on the team.

Additionally, my participation on the Executive Committee, the Strategic Committee, and the Investment Management Committee, along with my role as Corporate Secretary, enable me to contribute directly to the organisation’s strategic planning and to integrate this vision into our team’s daily operations. This is especially relevant given the significant business and IT transformations currently underway across both of our business units. Finally, it is important to highlight that corporate sustainability lies at the heart of our organisation’s mission. The courses I have completed at Harvard, my involvement as Vice Chair of Nature Conservancy Canada, and my role on the Steering Committee of the Sommet Climat Montréal provide our team with the credibility and influence to act beyond our legal mandate.