An Evening in Montreal Celebrating Canadian Visionaries

May 9, 2025

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On Thursday, May 8, we hosted a dinner in Montreal to recognize two distinguished leaders in the Canadian business community, Guy Cormier and Sophie Brochu. The evening included thoughtful remarks, outstanding entertainment and respected guests from across the country. We were honoured to be joined by several community partners connected to the honourees who reflected the strong networks that have supported their leadership.

Guy Cormier, Canadian Business Leader of the Year Honouree

Guy Cormier has been President and CEO of Desjardins Group since 2016. As a champion of the cooperative model, shared prosperity, youth and a greener, more inclusive economy, Guy Cormier makes decisions that are based on the common good. 

Sophie Brochu, Canadian Business Leader Lifetime Achievement Honouree

Sophie Brochu was President and CEO of Hydro-Québec from 2020 to April 2023. She is the first woman to hold this position on a permanent basis in the company’s history. Very active on the social front, she has been involved with Centraide of Greater Montreal and is co-founder of the ruelle de l’avenir, an organization that fights against school drop-out in the Centre-Sud and Hochelaga neighbourhoods of Montreal.

We were honoured to have Déborah Cherenfant as the emcee for the evening, effortlessly guiding attendees through the award presentations, thoughtful tribute videos and a beautiful three course meal. The evening’s entertainment was uniquely provided by a student jazz trio from the Unversity of Montreal’s jazz performance study program. The level of involvement from members of Montreal’s business, social and education community certainly stands out as one of the highlights from the evening.

We would like to extend a special thanks to the St. James Hotel and all of our event sponsors.