New On Board Powers Innovation

Vancouver, BC Mitacs is pleased to welcome Marie-Hélène Labrie to its board of directors. Ms. Labrie brings a breadth and depth of experience to the Mitacs board, with an extensive background in Canadian government relations, as well as in public communications and marketing in technology companies. Ms. Labrie joins the Board of Directors to oversee Mitacs’s mandate to foster innovation through partnerships with Canadian companies and post-secondary institutions.

Marie-Hélène Labrie, MSc, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications at Cogeco since 2018, has more than 20 years of broad experience in government relations, public communications, and marketing. Prior to joining Cogeco, she served as Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Communications at Enerkem, a green technology company. There, she built the company’s corporate image and reputation, positioning the organization as a global leader in the field of biofuels. In addition to extensive communications consulting, Ms. Labrie has also held roles at the Government of Canada and CAE, including Director, Strategic Planning and Marketing. Ms. Labrie earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master’s in International Business from Université Laval in Québec City.

Ms. Labrie joins the current Mitacs Board of Directors:

• Diane Gray (Chair)— Founding President and CEO, CentrePort Canada
• Jacques Beauvais — Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa
• Sarah Bevan — Managing Director, President and CEO of UBS Bank (Canada), a wholly owned subsidiary of UBS AG
• Karen Chad — Vice-President Research, University of Saskatchewan
• Amiee Chan — President and CEO, Norsat International Inc.
• Patrick Deane — President, McMaster University
• Philippe Gervais — Principal, Navigator
• Iain Klugman — CEO, Communitech
• Bruce MacDougall — Principal, Burcot Park Holdings Inc.
• John Milloy — Former Minister of Research and Innovation and former Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities; Government of Ontario
• Doug Mitchell — National Co-chair, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Quote:

Diane Gray; Chair, Board of Directors, Mitacs; and Founding President and CEO, CentrePort Canada

“Marie-Hélène brings unique, highly valued experience and knowledge of the Canadian innovation ecosystem to the Mitacs Board, and we are extremely pleased to welcome her. Her expertise in communications, public policies, and the stewardship of innovation will be critical to our path forward.”

Learn more:

For information about Mitacs and our programs, see www.mitacs.ca/newsroom.
To read other Board of Directors bios, visit: www.mitacs.ca/en/about-mitacs/leadership.

About Mitacs:

• Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from the best academic institutions at home and around the world.
• Working with more than 100 post-secondary institutions, Mitacs builds partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada. Open to all disciplines and all industry sectors, projects can span a wide range of areas, including manufacturing, business processes, IT, social sciences, design, and more.
• Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada and every province, as well as academic and industry partners.

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