Bertrand Laferriere has been appointed to the position of president and COO of the Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec, effective July 1, 2001.

Laferriere is replacing Renald Boucher, who is retiring after a 32-year career in the Mouvement Desjardins. Boucher successfully carried out the project to merge the 11 federations of caisses and the Confederation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec into a new enterprise, the Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec, which has been officially operational since July 1, 2001.

Prior to his appointment, Laferriere was senior executive VP of the former Confederation des caisses populaires et d’economie Desjardins du Quebec, a position that enabled him to become familiar with the major issues of the Mouvement Desjardins before succeeding Boucher. He had previously held the position of General Manager of the Federation des caisses populaires Desjardins de Lanaudiere, based in Joliette, Quebec.

Laferriere will head the Management Committee of the Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec, and will be a member of the Mouvement Desjardins strategic planning and development committee. He will also be on the Management Committee of Desjardins-Laurentian Financial Corporation.

Laferriere has a B.A. in economy from the Universite de Montreal. He is also a graduate of the Canadian Securities Institute Fellowship Program.