The Board of Directors is comprised of six (6) members from the media, entertainment and communications industry. The number of board members from the broadcasting distribution undertaking, Videotron, is limited to a maximum of one third of the total number of directors. The Board of Directors makes all decisions regarding the Quebecor Fund, including its general policy, and in doing so, takes into account the guidelines specified on its website. The Board of Directors bears sole responsibility for its decisions regarding financing. The Quebecor Fund’s day-to-day business activities are managed by one of the directors, who is designated by the Board.
Member and Independent Administrator
Serge Thibaudeau is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Quebecor, which he founded in 1999.
He is also currently President of MTI Groupe conseil Inc., his own company, and of Eastman Domain. In 2015, he co-founded the Let Me Play Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps Syrian child refugees.
In addition, Serge Thibaudeau was on the Board of Directors of the Centre d’Études sur les medias from 1995 to 2014, and was a member of the steering committee for SODEC’s project, Option culture, virage numérique from 2010 to 2011.
He has worked in several functions for the Government of Quebec in the past, notably as Director General for the Ministry of Communications from 1985 to 1995, Secretary General for the Commission d’étude sur le cinéma et l’audiovisuel from 1981 to 1982, Cabinet Chief and Political Attaché for the Ministry of Communications from 1978 to 1980 and for the Ministry of Cultural Affairs from 1976 to 1977. For the Ministry of Education, he was head of computerization for Cégeps from 1973 to 1974, and head of the computer pedagogy laboratory from 1970 to 1972. Prior to that, he was a computer analyst from 1968 to 1970.
Mr. Thibaudeau graduated with a Master’s Degree in Public Adminstration from the École nationale d’administration publique à Québec in 1975, and a Master’s Degree in Educational Sciences from Université Laval in 1971. Serge Thibaudeau also studied Programs for Public Executives at Queen’s Univeristy in Kingston, Ontario in 1991, and, in 1968, graduated from the Université de Montreal with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry.
Member and Independent Administrator
Monique Simard joined the Quebecor Fund team in April 2018 as Chairwoman of the Board, Vice-President of the corporation, and member and independent administrator.
She was previously President and Chief Executive of SODEC (Société de développement des enterprises culturelles) from 2014 to 2018.
From 2008 to 2013, Monique Simard was Executive Director of the French Program for the National Film Board of Canada. In that capacity, she supported the creation and programming of distinctive, innovative and relevant documentaries, animated and fiction films, and interactive works destined for multiple platforms.
From 1998 to 2008, she was a member of the team at Productions Virage, which specialized in the production of documentaries about social and international issues. During her time there, Monique Simard produced more than 60 documentary films and series for television.
Monique Simard has previously acted in the capacity of Chairwoman of the Board of the Cinémathèque Québécoise, was a founding member of the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), and was a member of the Board for the former Association des producteurs de films et de television du Québec (APFTQ, now the AQPM) as a representative for documentaries.
She has participated in all major documentary film festivals around the world. Monique Simard was named Honorary President of Sunny Side of the Doc in 2016, and in 2017, was named “Doc Mogul” at the Toronto’s Hot Docs festival. What’s more, in 2017, she was named Commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
In all of her work, Monique Simard has always been actively involved in ensuring that women have their rightful place in society.
Member and Independent Administrator
François Champagne has sat as Secretary-Treasurer on the Quebecor Fund’s Board of Directors since its foundation, in 2000. After studying at HEC Montréal and McGill University, he joined consulting-engineering firm Lalonde, Valois, Lamarre, Valois & Associates as the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel was being built. After the bridge-tunnel’s inauguration, Mr. Champagne was hired in 1967 by production company Omega, which changed its name to SDA Productions in 1971.
President and primary shareholder of SDA Productions for close to 30 years, he was also producer and executive producer on several documentaries (Maître de l’Ungava, Écologie, etc.), training documents, youth programs (Les débrouillards, À plein temps, Robin et Stella, Télé-Pirate, etc.), and drama series (Bonjour Docteur, Rock, Scoop and Omerta). SDA Productions is credited for over 4,500 programs and audiovisual documents, excluding advertising films. Many of these productions have won international festival awards and Gemini awards.
For many years, François Champagne sat as Vice President on the Board of
Directors for the Association québécoise de la production médiatique (APFTQ, now AQPM), as well as industry representative for the Montreal Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors.
In 1994, Groupe Coscient acquired SDA Productions, and Mr. Champagne was a member of the Board of Directors until 1996.
Since then he has lived in Sutton and is actively involved in his community, particularly in the arts, environment and urban planning. He sat on the Board of Directors of his town council between 2005 and 2009.
Jocelyn Poirier has been Senior Vice-President, Corporate Development of Quebecor since June 2019. He is responsible for the Corporate & Institutional Affairs and Public Affairs & Communications departments.
Mr. Poirier was with Quebecor from 2005 to 2013, first as Vice-President, Corporate & Legal Affairs of TVA Group, then Vice-President, Strategic Development of TVA Publications, and finally President of TVA Publications and TVA Boutiques, with responsibility for the Argent franchise.
In the course of his career, Jocelyn Poirier has brought his wide-ranging skills and deep operational and strategic expertise to various executive positions at major corporations, notably in the media industry. Until recently, he was Executive Director of the Stikeman Elliott law firm, where he practised law from 1986 to 1995.
Jocelyn Poirier sits on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Fondation de l’Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne and Kidney Cancer Canada.
Jean B. Péladeau has worked for Quebecor since 2014, where he acquired significant expertise in telecommunications.
Currently holds the position of Director of Digital Business Intelligence at Vidéotron.
In addition to his Videotron responsibilities, Jean B. Péladeau is part of numerous Quebecor corporate committees. He was previously Senior Advisor for customer data management, strategy & customer data at Videotron and Senior Analyst for regulatory affairs, telecommunications at Quebecor.
Jean B. Péladeau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies, Media Industries and Institutions from Carleton University.
Involved in his community, he is also a board member of the Fondation Jean Neveu and the Pavillon Pierre-Peladeau, organizations that support people with alcoholism and drug consumption problems.
Jean B. Péladeau is the youngest son of Pierre Péladeau, founder of Quebecor.