Monique Leroux, chairwoman, president and CEO of Lévis, Que.-based Desjardins Group, has been named Quebec’s Financial Person of the Year by Finance et Investissement, the Montreal-based, French-language sister publication of Investment Executive.
The announcement was made in Montreal in early February as part of FI’s annual ranking of the 25 most influential financial services leaders in Quebec.
Leroux says she is honoured to be named to the top spot in the ranking but that the recognition rightfully belongs to all the elected officers, managers and employees of Desjardins, whose combined efforts over the years have resulted in the financial conglomerate’s steady growth
and strong financial standing.
“It’s a shared success,” says Leroux, who has led Desjardins since March 2008 and who was re-elected to a second, four-year term as the group’s chairwoman, president and CEO in January. Desjardins is the largest financial co-operative in Canada and one of the dominant financial services firms in Quebec.
In naming Leroux to the top spot, FI’s selection panel recognizes her leadership in guiding Desjardins through a recent, major internal reorganization, the group’s strong financial performance and Leroux’s involvement in supporting the co-operative movement, both across Canada and internationally.
This October, Desjardins will co-host the 2012 Quebec International Summit of Co-operatives, to be held in Quebec City.
In terms of recent achievements, Leroux says, she is proud Desjardins has received national recognition as one of the best employers in Canada and as one of the top companies to work for in two separate surveys. Desjardins has been successful in maintaining its core, co-operative values, Leroux says, while maintaining growth and establishing itself as one of the most secure financial services firms in Canada.
“We have a solid capital base,” Leroux says. “That’s paramount for institutions around the world now.”
Leroux says Desjardins will continue to invest in its employees, which will help the company bolster its services to members. Desjardins also will continue to direct resources into innovation and technology, as consumers seek more convenient ways to bank and obtain financial advice.
In addition, Leroux intends to keep all Desjardins’ initiatives closely aligned to the group’s core, co-operative values.
Leroux says she will keep partnering with other co-operatives in the rest of Canada and throughout the world on shared interests and goals.
“We have a busy year ahead,” she notes.
Two other Desjardins executives have been recognized in FI’s ranking: Christiane Bergevin, executive vice president of strategic partnerships, is ranked seventh; and Denis Berthiaume, senior vice president and general manager of the firm’s wealth-management and life and health insurance divisions, who is ranked eighth.
Rounding out the top three positions in the ranking are Louis Vachon, president and CEO of Montreal-based National Bank of Canada, who took the second spot; and Jean-Guy Desjardins, chairman and CEO of Montreal-based Fiera Sceptre Inc., who took third place. (Desjardins had been named Quebec’s Financial Person of the Year by FI in 2011.) IE