E. Noël Spinelli, C.M., C.Q., Chairman

As Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Spinelli Auto Group, Mr. Spinelli has been active on the boards of a number of organizations primarily in the area of culture. Some of his past involvements include the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, the Montreal Arts Council, the National Arts Centre, and the Corporation de la Place des Arts.

Currently, he serves on the board of I Musici Chamber orchestra Board of Directors and Foundation, the Faculty of Music Advisory Council of McGill University, and l'Opéra de Montréal. In his desire to share his love of music by making it more accessible to his fellow citizens, he founded Les Concerts Spinelli, was instrumental in the establishment of L'Atelier des arts lyriques de Lachine and co-founded Les Concerts Lachine.

As President of the Restoration Committee, he successfully led a fundraising effort and restored the Casavant organ at l'Église des Saints-Anges in Lachine. He is also the president of the Foundation that was created to ensure that many generations would enjoy this king of instruments.

Mr. Spinelli has received a number of civic honours and awards including Volunteer of the year for the City of Lachine (1983); Prix Arts Affaire awarded by the Board of Trade of Greater Montreal and the City of Montreal for his continuing support and promotion of the arts (1992), Lescarbot Award presented on behalf of the Government of Canada in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the cultural life in the Montreal area and the commemorative medal for the 125th anniversary of Confederation in acknowledgement of his significant contribution to the well-being of his fellow citizens, his community and Canada (1993); Order of Canada in recognition of his philanthropic activities(2001), Commemorative Medal for the Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth (2002), Award of Distinction from the Faculty of Arts, Concordia University (2004) Mérite Civique from the Borough of Lachine and the Prix Unio from the Southwest Montreal Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Personality of the Year (2006).

Gérard Coulombe Q.C., Vice Chairman

Gérard Coulombe studied at the University of Ottawa, LL.L., 1968 and Certificate, Political Science, 1968. He also went to Oxford University for Post-graduate studies, 1970-1971, Rhodes Scholar from Quebec.

From 1972 to 1977, Mr. Coulombe acted as special advisor to the Minister of Finance of Canada, and was responsible for negotiating agreements to avoid double taxation between Canada and more than forty countries. In addition, he was Canada's representative on Working Party No. 1 of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

Since 1977, Mr. Coulombe has carried on a general practice in business and commercial law with a special focus on files involving financial institutions and Crown corporations, and on setting up financial and industrial conglomerates.

In fulfilling his mandates, Mr. Coulombe contributes the insight and acumen derived from his wide-ranging experience in international taxation. He is particularly sought after for his broad experience in providing consulting services in corporate governance to businesses.

Bertin F. Nadeau

Bertin Nadeau is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GescoLynx Inc., a private holding company. He started his career as a University professor at l'École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal (HEC). In 1976, he bought Casavant Frères, a world renowned pipe organ builder. From 1982 until 1994, he was Chairman and CEO of Unigesco Inc., and from 1989 until 1993, Chairman and CEO of Provigo Inc., one of Unigesco's affiliates.

In 1997, Mr. Nadeau renewed teaching at HEC in Montréal where he is an adjunct professor. In addition to being Chairman of the Board of Casavant Frères S.E.C. and TechnoBev S.E.C., Mr. Nadeau is a member of the Board of Directors of Sun Life Financial Inc., Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada and is Chairman of the Montréal General Hospital Foundation. He completed a doctorate in business administration at Indiana University Business School.

He has also received much recognition for his work including the Academy of Alumni Fellows Award of Indiana University plus Awards of Distinction from the Québec Acadian Federation and the Faculty of Commerce and Administration of Concordia University. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from Queen's University, Moncton University, Sainte-Anne University and Bishop's University.

His artistic interests include serving on the Board of Governors of the Banff Centre from 1996 until 2002 as well as seeking new ways to increase public awareness and interest in the pipe organ.

Bruce D. Bolton

Bruce D. Bolton is a born Montrealer with an avid interest in Music, the Military and Cultural Heritage. A graduate of McGill University (BSc’72), he has played bagpipes since the age of 10 and served with the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada for close to 45 years.

 

He was Director of the Stewart Museum at the Fort Ile Ste-Hélène for more than 25 years before he became Executive Director of the MacDonald Stewart Foundation. As Chairman of the Worship & Music Committee of the Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul, he takes a leading role in the Music program of the Church, with its magnificent Choir and Casavant Organ.

Heather Clark

Heather Clark is the Director of Marketing and Development for The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall of Toronto, where she is responsible for marketing, development, and corporate communications. Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall stage over 300 events a year. Heather directed the capital campaign for the $20 million Roy Thomson Hall Enhancement Project in 2002.

Prior to joining Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall as Director of Marketing in 1996, Heather was, for ten years, the Director of Marketing and Development for Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and from 1983 to 1986 the Manager of Individual Fundraising for the Canadian Opera Company. A music graduate of McGill University, she holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the State University of New York.

In 2002, she was appointed Sessional Lecturer for the MBA Arts and Media Program at Schulich School of Business, York University. She has served on the Boards of the Glenn Gould Foundation, the Alan Howard Waldorf School, and currently on the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA). When she isn’t managing the arts or teaching how to manage the arts, she enjoys playing on her Yves Beaupre German double manual harpsichord.

Ron Collett

Ronald Collett is President of the Montreal General Hospital Foundation since 2009 and sits on the Board of the Foundation since 1990.

Louis P. Desmarais

Louis P. Desmarais is General Partner & Managing Director at St-Lawrence Capital. He has considerable first-hand experience as an investor and a venture capitalist and brings an extensive level of professional, financial and operational experience to the Fund. Prior to founding St-Lawrence Capital, Mr. Desmarais was General Partner & CEO of Garage Technology Ventures Canada. Before this, he was a General Partner at Skypoint Capital Corporation in Ottawa where he ran the fund’s Quebec operation out of its Montreal office.

Previously, he was a Partner of Wynnchurch Capital, a $200 million private equity firm, following 12 years managing Desmarais Capital Corporation, a family-owned financial advisory firm that assists early-stage technology ventures. In addition to a vast network of global, executive-level contacts, his early career as a chartered accountant and a distinguished lawyer, followed by twenty years in the financial services and early stage venture capital industry, provide a deep level of strategic and business acumen into the dynamics of early stage company development, working with entrepreneurs and sustainable value creation.

Joan Fraser-Ivory

Joan Fraser-Ivory is born in Montreal in1933. She studied at The Study in Montreal, at Netherwood, Rothesay N. B. and came back to Montreal to get her B.A. at McGill University in 1954.

Always active in various Community Associations, Mrs Fraser-Ivory is a member of the Junior League of Montreal since 1951. At the Montreal Museum of Fines Arts, she has been quite involved over the years: president (1962-1963), member of the Volunteer Association since 1965, President of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee (1981-1986), member of Les Amis du Musée since 1981, President of the 19th Century Acquisitions Committee since 2003 and member of the Decorative Arts Acquisitions Committee since 2004. She also serves on the Schulich School of Music Dean's Advisory Board since 1999. Between 1989 and 1996, she was a member of the Board of Directors at the National Ballet of Canada.

Joan Fraser-Ivory serves with many Health organisations such as: Montreal Chest Hospital on the Board of Directors (1975-1989), Montreal Chest Institute Foundation since 1980, Royal Victoria Hospital (1990-1998), McGill University Health Centre since 1991 and finally the McGill University Health Centre Foundation Board of Directors since 1999.

Michel Labonté

Since retiring from National Bank of Canada in 2006, Mr. Labonté has been involved progressively, as a board member, with many private and public companies. He is presently a member of the board, as well as serving as chairman of the audit committee, of the following Canadian companies:

1. Manac Inc. Private Corp. involved in the manufacturing of trailers both in the US and Canada (Annual revenue circa $CAN 250Million).
2. Metro Inc. Public Corp., a large Canadian food retailer involved in both the conventional and discount grocery distribution.(Annual revenue of circa 11.5 Billions CAN$).
3. Otéra, a subsidiary of Caisse de Dépots et Plaeement du Québec managing a real estate debt portfolio (circa 11 Billion $CDN)

He is also a member of the board and of the risk committee of Laurentian Bank of Canada.


OTHER ACTIVITIES:

Mr. Labonté is also involved with various social and cultural organizations. Presently, he acts as chairman of the Audit Committee on the board of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal where he has been involved since 1991.He is also Chairman of the Board of L’orchestre de la francophonie canadienne.


EDUCATION:

Michel Labonté has a Bachelor of Arts from the Université de Montréal (Collège de Montréal), a Bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Faculty of Engineering of McGill University, and a Master’s degree in urban planning from the Université de Montréal. Mr. Labonté is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors of Canada.

Jamie Laidlaw

Jamie Laidlaw grew up in a family with a strong and durable commitment to the well-being of society and the natural world but especially of children. Some of this was expressed through the formation of Laidlaw Foundation in 1949, where Mr. Laidlaw volunteered in various roles from 1974 till 2005 being particularly involved with natural world aspect of grant making.

During his early involvement with the Laidlaw Foundation, he successfully advocated a grant that enabled Tafelmusik to purchase their first organ.   M.r Laidlaw worked as a stockbroker at St. Lawrence Securities and then owned and operated his own boat manufacturing business, Kavalk.

Mr. Laidlaw currently sits on many boards including The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy of Canada, The Advisory Board of the National Ballet of Canada and most recently the Canadian International Organ Competition.

Sabine Pletat

Sabine Pletat studied at the University of Hamburg and graduated in 1988 with a Master's Degree in Law. In addition, in 1986, Mrs. Pletat spent four months in Canada as a visiting student at the University of Toronto. Following the completion of her studies in 1988, Mrs. Pletat began a general law practice in Germany, specializing in commercial law, civil law, divorce law, guardianship for people with mental disabilities and the law of succession.

From 1989 until 2003, in addition to her law practice, Mrs. Pletat was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hamburg Symphony Choir. With a history and tradition of more than 100 years, the Hamburg Symphony Choir is one of the most renowned choirs in the northern part of Germany.

During her fourteen-year mandate, the choir established its reputation for inventive programs with rarely performed gems of the choir music literature.

In 2003, Mrs. Pletat moved to Montreal, becoming the General Manager of the Bach-Académie de Montréal and organizing the first international Bach Festival in 2005. Currently, she is overseeing preparations for the next Bach Festive, which will be held in December 2007.

Stéphane Rochette

François Roy

Dominic J Taddeo

Mr. Dominic J. Taddeo was born in Montréal where he obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Loyola College majoring in finance and economics. He began his career in the shipping industry in 1971 when he joined McLean Kennedy Inc., steamship agents, brokers and terminal operators where he held the positions of Assistant Treasurer and Controller. In 1974, Mr. Taddeo joined the Montreal Port Authority as Director of Finance, and was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in 1984.

Throughout his career, Mr. Taddeo has taken an active role in the advancement and promotion of the maritime industry in Canada and abroad. In 1983 and 2006 he was elected Chairman of the Board of the Association of the Canadian Port Authorities. He was an active member of various committees of the American Association of Port Authorities, serving as Chairman of that Association in 1989-90. Mr. Taddeo has been a member of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) since 1985 and served as its President from 1999 to 2001. During his tenure he served as Chairman of the Board of Electronic Data Interchange for Commerce, EDICOM, a Montréal-based EDI project of strategic importance to Canada’s transportation and trade community.

In 1998 he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Laurentian Bank of Canada and was a member of the board’s Audit Committee and also Chairman of that committee for three years. He was also a Director of the Société du Havre de Montréal, a harbour-front development agency created in 2002. In the community Mr. Taddeo has most enthusiastically and productively served many good causes. He was Honorary Chairman of the 350th anniversary celebrations of Marguerite Bourgeoys’ arrival in Ville-Marie in 2004, Co-Chairman of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra fundraising campaign for 1996-97, and Co-Chairman of the Church of Montreal Annual Collection in 1992 and 1993. Of significance for CIOC, he was the Honorary Chairman in 2005 of the fund-raising campaign for the organ at the Saints-Anges Church, Lachine.

Yvonne Zacios

Born in Scotland of Polish parents, Yvonne Zacios arrived in Montreal in 1954. Having completed studies in Arts and Sciences at McGill University, she began a career in human resources management. She held Director of Human Resources positions with major manufacturing firms as well as with a national financial institution.

In 1991, she began a new phase of her career taking on human resources management consulting mandates for expanding small and medium size businesses. In 1998 Yvonne Zacios started devoting her time to volunteering. Since 2005 she is the Co-president of the Volunteer Association of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and has recently renewed her mandate to 2009.

Every year the Volunteer Association organizes various activities to raise funds for the Museum. Recent donations have contributed to the restoration of the Erskine and American Church acquired by the Museum to house a new Canadian Art Pavilion.