The accomplishments of CEOs in the tech industry are sources of inspiration and pride, while contributing greatly to our collective wealth. This is why, since 2003, the Quebec Technology Association (AQT) has been celebrating the role of all these builders with the CEO of the Year Award.
For 2020, the most significant recognition targeting the leaders of techno SMEs in Quebec will be of an unequaled scale. Bringing together winners and finalists nominated for the “CEO of the Year Award” over the past decade, the “Prix PDG émérite Investissement Québec” will, like never before, celebrate prominent figures in the tech industry. Invest Quebec and the AQT are proud to present you the 10 CEOs finalists for this anniversary edition.
How will be named the final winner of the 20th Edition?
True to its tradition, this important recognition will once again be determined by the vote of peers, and this in two stages. First, all the CEOs of tech companies will be invited, from January 9 to 20, 2020, to participate in an electronic vote supervised by the independent firm SOM Accounting for 30% of the score for all CEOs nominated, this first step will serve to designate the 10 finalist CEOs. Then, on February 5, it will be the voice of the 175 tech CEOs registered with to the 20th edition of CEO Vision who will complete the election of the final winner. The voice of the peers will count for 70% of the final grade.
Are you a journalist ?
For an interview request with the AQT or with CEOs in nomination, please contact Gilbert Vallière, at 1 877 874-2667, extension 106, or by email at the following address: gvalliere@aqt.ca
And the Prix PDG émérite Investissement Québec 2020 goes to…
Here are the 10 finalists at the Prix PDG émérite Investissement Québec 2020
Joé Bussière
CEO of Libéo
” Give your business purpose and values, surround yourself with the right people and give back to the entrepreneurial community. “
Achievements
Joé Bussière is president of Libeo, an innovation firm that co-designs and develops digital solutions. In addition, he supports organizations in defining their digital transformation.
Joé is an associate in Happy Geeks Media, the company behind Cinoche.com, Showbizz.net, and Cinéac. He is also an associate in Konek.ai, a startup that developed an innovative technological platform which is revolutionizing the hotel industry.
Finalist in 2018 of the prestigious prize “PDG of the year” awarded by the AQT, and crowned “Young Business Personality 2013” by the Jeune Chambre de Commerce de Québec (JCCQ), Joé is very involved in his community. Since April 2017, he has been a coach at l’École d’Entrepreneurship de Beauce. He co-founded and manages Québec numérique, which organizes successful web events in Quebec: Le Web à Québec and La Semaine numérique de Québec.
Katie Bussières
CEO of Nubik
” Opportunity doesn’t come knocking, you have to create your own. If it was easy, everybody would do it! “
Achievements
Working as a software developer, Katie Bussières had been dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur for several years. That materialized itself in 2015 when she became president/owner of Nubik. With 38 employees at the time, she put together an aggressive strategic plan that led her to quadruple sales in just four years, boosting her exports from 1% to 60%, and has since become one of the largest team of professionals working on the Salesforce platform in North America. All of this with its own cash flow, without any equity investment. Today, Nubik is 127+ committed, dynamic and motivated employees. Beyond its spectacular growth, Nubik is proof that a real work-family balance management style truly works, while maintaining profitability above the industry average. Respect is at the core of everything Nubik does and everyone’s a winner!
François Dion
CEO of Levio
” Let’s live the Fail fast – learn fast culture together. Making mistakes is the way to progress, but let’s learn from them quickly and aim high. “
Achievements
Levio was born in 2013, when François Dion, then an employee of an American multinational, was convinced that there was room in Quebec for a new kind of firm, committed to the results of its clients, to organizational transformation. It is people who make the difference. He was able to surround himself with competent people who believed in Levio’s future, who bring to life the concept he had originally imagined, that is to say business and technology consultants, who adapt to the client’s context and ensure that they deliver value. One thing leading to another, the company has grown and Levio is now close to 750 advisors in 6 locations: Quebec City, Montreal, Sherbrooke, Toronto, Phoenix and Rabat in Morocco, with more than 125 clients. Levio enjoys an enviable position in the market and is on its way to becoming a leader in digital transformation in North America.
David Hervieux
CEO of Devolutions
” The success of any organization relies on its ability to create sustainable long-term value. “
Achievements
David Hervieux’s career began as a software developer and consultant, where he worked for several organizations for 12 years. Drawing on his knowledge and experience, he established Devolutions in 2010, a software company that specializes in creating solutions for IT professionals. Today, Devolutions offers a comprehensive solution for managing remote connections, privileged accesses and passwords. The company is proud to partner with over 400,000 users in 140 countries, with 97% of its revenue coming from outside of Canada. David Hervieux is the recipient of the CEO of the Year award from the Québec Association of Technologies and Investissement Québec. Devolutions as a company has also received a Grande Mention from Prix Performance Quebec awarded by the Mouvement québécois de la qualité; highest distinction awarded annually by the Quebec government to private organizations.
Paul Hamelin
President of the Management Board of GIRO
” A company is the reflection of the people who work there. “
Achievements
In 2004, Paul Hamelin assumed the leadership of GIRO, the company at which he had worked since completing advanced studies at university. As President, he led this SME to solidify its position as world leader in software for planning and optimizing public transit and postal services. His vision set GIRO on its course to become a company with more than 500 employees. Paul places his confidence in a working environment that promotes commitment and accomplishment while giving everyone the opportunity to achieve satisfaction and balance in their work. The level of excellence attained by the company is demonstrated by its client list, which includes the largest transit and postal organizations in the world, such as MTA NYCT – New York, SNCF – Paris, SBS Transit – Singapore, Deutsche Post DHL – Germany, and Royal Mail – United Kingdom.
André d’Orsonnens
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Druide informatique
” Quebec is bursting with talent. I see no limit to what we can achieve together. “
Achievements
André d’Orsonnens is cofounder, chairman of the board and CEO of Druide informatique. In this capacity, he has overseen commercial operations for Antidote, the most important writing assistance software suite in the French-speaking world. He is also responsible for the marketing of Typing Pal, the renowned typing tutorial application, having spearheaded its acquisition in 2012. Together, these products are used by millions of people across the globe. On behalf of Druide, André received the OCTAS prize for commercial success in recognition of Antidote. He also collected a Merit from the “Office québécois de la langue française” honoring Druide’s contribution to the international promotion of the French language. André was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and in 2016, he won the MÉRITIC Honoris Causa Award, becoming a member of the “Cercle des Grands Bâtisseurs québécois des TI”.
Paul Raymond
President and CEO of Alithya
” As leaders, we have a duty to ensure a better future, on all levels, for those who follow in our footsteps. “
Achievements
Paul Raymond, President and CEO of Alithya, is a committed and tireless entrepreneur known for his bold vision. Under Mr. Raymond’s leadership, Alithya has joined the ranks of the top digital technology companies. With over 2,000 professionals in Canada, the US and Europe, it has carved out an impressive foothold in this key sector. Thanks to a series of acquisitions completed since Mr. Raymond took the helm (a total of eight between 2011 and 2019), Alithya is generating annual revenues of some $300 million. Under his leadership, the company’s stock is now trading on both the TSX and NASDAQ exchanges (ticker symbol ALYA) and its revenue streams have become much more diverse, with some 50% attributable to business activities outside Canada. Mr. Raymond and Alithya have won a number of awards for entrepreneurship, social commitment, innovation and high-quality job creation, including two Quebec Grand Prizes for Job Creators (provincial level in 2017, Montreal region in 2019). Mr. Raymond is also actively involved in his community, serving on the boards of the Quebec Technology Association (AQT) and the Metropolitan Montreal Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he is governor of the Quebec Employers Council (CPQ), chair of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Quebec chapter, president of Cybercap’s inaugural fundraising campaign “Sponsor a School”, among many other commitments.
Samer Saab
CEO and Founder of Explorance
” Together as we continue doubling down on being bold, innovative and global, we will make Quebec the next Silicon Valley! “
Achievements
My journey started 15 years ago when I invested my lifetime savings to found Explorance. I setup to build a Quebec based software company that is recognized as a world leader in its segment. Over the last 12 months we have continued our story of evolution, and we were recognized as 4th Best Workplace in Canada by the GPTW institute, we doubled our revenues, and we acquired, dilution free, the US-based company Metrics-That-Matter from Gartner. Today, we continue to grow as a bootstrapped company that counts 250 employees strong operating out of 7 locations globally and serving about 1,000 top-tier organizations in 45 countries, including a third of the Fortune 100, and 25% of the top universities. Furthermore, as a Journey Analytics solution provider that empowers organizations with feedback insights, we impact the lives of 18 million people daily.
Martin Thériault
President and CEO of Eddyfi
” It’s not what you have. It’s what you do with what you have. “
Achievements
10 years ago, disillusioned by the corporate world, Martin Theriault founded Eddyfi in Quebec City. The company has today 475 employees, sales of $ 100M, 10 global offices, and clients in 110 countries. The ride has been filled with emotions: the stress of the start-up phase, a “lifestyle” period, considering selling everything, to finally become a super predator. You elected me in Feb 2018 (then at $ 42M sales) as CEO of the year and I grateful for the prestigious award. For its 10 years and with the objective to create a Quebec flagship, Eddyfi pushes its limits and adopts a new transformational strategic plan. The company has closed on a very ambitious financing and will announce 2 major acquisitions by February. The new Eddyfi will be at $300M of sales and 1100 employees. Our ambition: become the next Quebec technology company with a $ 1B valuation! More than ever, Eddyfi is proud to conquer the planet by leveraging the expertise and resources from here.
Chantal Trépanier
President & CSO of SIM/Cognibox
” Building a business means creating a constantly evolving human, economic and social ecosystem, which has its own reality even outside of us. “
Achievements
Chantal Trépanier has been President of SIM Cognibox since 1999, when the company was repurchased. At the head of the organization for nearly 20 years, she orchestrated the transition from a service firm to a software company with a recurring revenue model. Ms. Trépanier stands out for her leadership and creativity, and places innovation and development at the heart of her priorities. Holding a master’s degree in training management from the Université du Québec, she initiated and carried out the project of standardization and recognition of OSH training with a hundred or so hiring organizations. Her forward-thinking ideas led her to propel SIM Inc. internationally by imagining Cognibox, an outsourcing compliance management software suite used by leading corporations, across 30 countries. Involved in the entrepreneurial community, she sits on several boards of directors. In 2015, she won the prestigious Investissement Québec CEO of the Year Award giving by companies’ executive leaders in the technology field.
Congratulations to all nominated CEOs
Nominated CEOs
- Joé Bussière, Président, Libéo
- Katie Bussières, Présidente, Nubik
- Jean Champagne, Président et Chef de la direction, XMedius
- Éric Bergeron, Fondateur et PDG, FlyScan Systems
- François Dion, PDG, Levio
- David Hervieux, Président, Devolutions
- Paul Hamelin, Président du CA, GIRO
- Renaud Lavoie, Président, Embrionix Design
- Claude McMaster, PDG, D-BOX Technologies
- Martin McNicoll, Président, GURUS Solutions
- André d’Orsonnens, Président du conseil et chef de la direction, Druide informatique
- Paul Raymond, Président et Chef de la direction, Alithya
- Samer Saab, PDG et fondateur, Explorance
- Martin Thériault, Président et chef de la direction, Eddyfi
- Chantal Trépanier, Présidente, SIM/Cognibox
- Sébastien Vachon, Président, Korem Géospatial
Past editions’ winners
Discover our past winners
François Dion
Levio
2019
Martin Thériault
Eddyfi
2018
Louis Roy
Groupe Optel
2017
David Hervieux
Devolutions
2016
Chantal Trépanier
SIM/Cognibox
2015
Benjamin Desmarais
Fibrenoire
2014
Daniel Handfield
MédiaMed Technologies
2013
Éric Bergeron
Optosecurity, inc.
2012
Claude McMaster
Technologies D-BOX
2011
André d'Orsonnens
Druide informatique
2010
Pascal Pilon
Averna Technologies
2009
Alain Paquin
Komunik
2008
Didier Gombert
Objectif Lune
2007
David Gellerman
Advantech
2006
Jean Mignault
20-20 Technologies
2005
Karol Brassard
Nexxlink Technologie
2004