Board of Directors

Jean-Guy Desjardins is the Founder and Executive Chair of the Board of Fiera Capital. He previously served as Global Chief Executive Officer for over two decades, during which he built the firm into a globally recognized investment management platform. In his current role, he provides strategic oversight, shapes the firm’s investment philosophy and leads global asset allocation across public markets and multi-asset strategies.

Mr. Desjardins began his career as a financial analyst and portfolio manager in the insurance sector before co-founding TAL Global Asset Management in 1972. He served as principal shareholder and CEO until its acquisition by a major financial institution in 2001.

He currently serves on the boards of the Société de Services Financiers Fonds FMOQ, HEC Montréal, DJM Capital Inc. and the SPACQ Foundation. He is a former member and lead director of the Board of the Bank of Canada and has held numerous directorships across the corporate and financial sectors.

Deeply committed to cultural and community initiatives, Mr. Desjardins is a member of the Council of Governors of Centraide of Greater Montréal and sits on the Investment Committee of the Canadian Centre for Architecture.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Collège Mont-Saint-Louis and a to Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from HEC Montréal. Mr. Desjardins is a CFA Charterholder, a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the CFA Institute Award for Excellence—the Institute’s highest honour.

Beverly M. Bearden was Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Natixis Investment Managers, where she was responsible for overseeing Natixis Investment Managers’ U.S. affiliates as well as the global legal, compliance and public relations functions. Ms. Bearden also served on the Executive Committee, Strategic Committee and Management Committee of Natixis Investment Managers. Prior to this role, she was the Global Head of Human Resources at the same firm. She notably chaired the compensation committees of the board of directors of the U.S. affiliates of Natixis Investment Managers globally.

Ms. Bearden has more than 30 years of experience in the financial industry, including several years at New England Financial and Citicorp Information Resources.

Mr. Braive started his career as a Fixed Income Analyst at Royal Trust in Montreal before being promoted to Senior Vice President of Fixed Income in Toronto. His strong track record led him to join Timmins and Associates (“TAL”) as a partner in 1983 to manage the firm's fixed income portfolios. Mr. Braive was one of the founding partners, acquiring all of the minority interest in TAL Investment Counsel in 1987 from Timminco.

Mr. Braive started the active management of fixed income portfolios at TAL and, with strong performance and an exceptional team, attracted institutional clients from across Canada and the U.S. He introduced new fixed income products for clients and his leadership helped build TAL into one of the pre-eminent investment management firms in Canada. He was Chairman and CEO of the institutional division from 1998 to 2001, when TAL was purchased by CIBC.

Mr. Braive became Vice Chairman of CIBC Asset Management in 2001, where as part of his role, he was responsible for the fixed income team that managed $65 billion in assets in multiple strategies. He was active in the asset allocation process and equity research, and also supported relationship managers with clients. In addition, he was on the Board of Directors of CIBC Asset Management. Mr. Braive retired from CIBC Asset Management in March 2018.

Mr. Braive is currently Chair of the Investment Committee of the North York General Foundation and serves on its Research and Innovation Committee. Mr. Braive is also a Director of The National Ballet of Canada's Endowment Foundation and sits on its investment committee.

Annick Charbonneau is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Accelia Capital, a $60-million venture capital fund whose mission is to propel innovative companies, owned or led by women. An entrepreneur who has founded and managed two technology companies, she has more than 20 years of experience in management and technology. A fervent promoter of the presence of women in entrepreneurship, Annick contributes to promoting female leadership in technology in numerous forums. She is actively involved in her community, notably with the McGill Dobson Center for Entrepreneurship, the McCall MacBain scholarships and as a director of Enactus Canada. In 2023, Annick was awarded the Femmes d'Affaires du Québec Award in digital technology and innovation by the Réseau des Femmes d'affaires du Québec (RFAQ), a provincial association of women in business.

A graduate in international business from Pepperdine University in California, Annick Charbonneau also holds a certificate in Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Gary Collins is a seasoned corporate director with a diversified professional background, including leadership roles within multiple industry sectors and senior government positions. He has served as a corporate director for 18 years. Mr. Collins is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors at DRI Healthcare Trust and a director and Chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee at Rogers Sugar Inc. Mr. Collins has previously served as a director on the boards of Catalyst Paper Corporation, Chorus Aviation Inc., D-Box Technologies Inc., Liquor Stores N. A. and Stuart Olson Inc. Moreover, he has served on numerous audit committees in the past 18 years.

Mr. Collins was a Senior Adviser at Lazard Canada Inc., a premier independent financial advisory and asset management firm, from September 2016 to May 2023. In addition, he performed top management duties including as the President of Coastal Contacts Inc. and prior to that, as the President of Clearly, as Senior Vice President Corporate Development of Belkorp Industries Inc. and as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Harmony Airways.

He has also been a member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly and served as Minister of Finance of British Columbia from June 2001 to December 2004.

Lucie Martel is a corporate director. She is a member of the Board, a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and Chair of the Human Capital and Compensation Committee of Alithya Group Inc.

She has been a Director and Chair of the Human Resources Committee of the Fondation de l’Institut de Cardiologie de Montréal and a member of the Board and Chair of the Human Resources Committee of the SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec).

She retired from Intact Financial Corporation in December 2021, where she was the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer since September 2011. Previously, Mrs. Martel was a Senior Vice President at AXA Canada, which was acquired by Intact Financial Corporation in September 2011. She has also been an executive at the Laurentian Bank, where she acted as Vice President, Human Resources Management and Development, and has experience with roles in manufacturing and retail companies such as Direct Film and Uniroyal.

She has more than 30 years of experience in strategic management of human resources, executive compensation, ESG (environmental, social and governance) and labour relations.

Mrs. Martel holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial relations from Université de Montréal and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Guy Masson retired from Stikeman Elliott LLP in March 2021, where he practiced law for over 40 years, including as Head of the Tax Group from 2000 to 2010. Mr. Masson was a senior counsel and retired partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP at the time of his retirement.

Mr. Masson is also the founder and President of RGM Legal Inc., where he has been practicing law since retiring from Stikeman Elliott LLP. Mr. Masson’s main practice areas continue to be corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, tax structuring, domestic and international tax and estate planning and tax dispute resolutions for corporate, institutional and private clients.

Mr. Masson is a member and former President of the Association de planification fiscale et financière, a former founding member of the Tax Symposium Committee for Québec senior tax practitioners, a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation and a Gouverneur de la Fondation du Barreau du Québec.

Mr. Masson holds a law degree from Université de Montréal and he is a member of the Québec Bar.

Jean C. Monty began his career at Bell Canada in 1974 and held numerous positions within the BCE group. He joined Nortel Networks Corporation in October 1992 as President and Chief Operating Officer before being nominated President and Chief Executive Officer in March 1993. On April 24, 2002, Mr. Monty, then Chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE Inc.), retired after a 28-year career. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Bombardier Inc. from 1998 until 2017 and Alcatel-Lucent S.A. from December 2008 until January 2016, as well as its Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee. From January 2016 to June 2018, Mr. Monty served on the Board of Directors of Nokia Corporation and he was also a member of its Personnel Committee. Mr. Monty is a member of the Board of Directors of DJM Capital. He is also a member of the International Advisory Board of HEC Montréal. He was appointed a member of the Order of Canada for his contribution to business, public interests and community affairs. In recognition of these achievements, he was elected Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year for 1997. In addition, he was inducted into the Académie des Grands Montréalais.

Mr. Monty holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Collège Sainte-Marie of Montréal, a Master’s degree of Arts in Economics from the University of Western Ontario, and a Master’s degree of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

François Olivier is a corporate director. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Transcontinental Inc. from 2008 to December 2021. After joining the Printing Sector of TC Transcontinental in 1993, he rose through the ranks to ultimately take on the role of President of the Information Products Printing Sector and became Chief Operating Officer in 2007. Through the years, Mr. Olivier consolidated the Canadian printing industry and transformed the company by diversifying its assets into flexible packaging with strategic acquisitions. Under his leadership, TC Transcontinental has become Canada’s largest printer, a leader in flexible packaging in North America and a Canadian leader in its specialty media segments. Prior to joining TC Transcontinental, François Olivier worked as General Manager of Canada Packers. Mr. Olivier is a member of the board of directors of Pomerleau and serves as a member on its audit committee. He additionally serves on the board of directors of Behaviour Interactive and as a governor of Portage, a Canadian non-profit organization helping people suffering from substance abuse-related problems overcome their dependencies.

Mr. Olivier holds a B.Sc. from McGill University and is a graduate of the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.

Norman M. Steinberg is Vice-Chair of BFL Canada, where he also sits on the Board of Directors and chairs the Governance Committee.​

From April 2017 to July 2019, Mr. Steinberg was Chair Emeritus of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada. Previously, Mr. Steinberg was Co-Chair and then Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada and its predecessor firm, Ogilvy Renault. He was also Global Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright, one of the largest law firms in the world with 4000 lawyers in 60 offices. At Norton Rose Fulbright Canada and its predecessor firms, Mr. Steinberg focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, privatization and corporate governance.

Mr. Steinberg is also Co-Chair of Dorel Industries, where he chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee and a Director of Fiera Capital, where he chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee. He is also a Director of ATCO, where he chairs the Audit and Risk Committee and a member of the Corporate Governance – Nomination, Compensation and Succession Committee. He is a Senior Advisor of Persistence Capital Partners (private equity), Chair of the Board of Governors of The McGill University Health Centre Foundation (former Chair of the Foundation). In addition, he is a director and member of the Organizing Committee as well as former Canadian Co-Chair of the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum, Senior Advisor of Teneo and Vice-Chair of the Board of Advisors of Alexa Translations.​

He served as a director of numerous other boards, including Gildan Activewear, Canadian Marconi Company, Centraide of Montreal and the Foundation of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He was former Vice-Chair and Executive Committee member of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, former President of the Canadian Club of Montreal, former Chairman of the Mount Royal Club of Montreal and former Co-Chair of Women in Governance.​

Mr. Steinberg holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.