Since graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1984, Michel Laperrière has performed in over thirty television series, including La vie, la vie (winner of the Gémeaux Award for best male performance), Histoires de filles, Une grenade avec ça ?, Toute la vérité, Yamaska, 30 vies, Les jeunes loups, Trauma, L’Appart du 5e, Sé, Madame Lebrun, Ç, Web thérapie, Victor Lessard, District 31 and Marche à l’ombre. More recently, he was featured in 5e Rang, Les Simone, Le Monstre and Lâcher prise.
He also starred in several films, including L’incomparable Mademoiselle C., C.R.A.Z.Y., De père en flic (Father and Guns), Café de Flore, La peur de l’eau, Les mains dans les poches (The Lords of Flatbush) and Miraculum. In 2017, he acted in Sébastien Pilote’s La disparition des lucioles (The Fireflies Are Gone), and in 2018, in Émile Gaudreault’s Mytho.
Michel Laperrière also has an impressive background in theatre, having participated in more than fifty productions. This includes roles in Cherchez le mâle, Pour hommes seulement, L’année du championnat (That Championship Season), Charbonneau et le chef, Les gaffeurs, Des hommes en habits (Men in Suits), Vacances de fous ! (Weekend Comedy), Snack-bar chez Ben, Une maison propre, Un homme, deux patrons (One Man, Two Guvnors), Appelez-moi Stéphane, Ladies Night, Week-end d’enfer and Comment je suis devenu musulman.
He also acted in the web series Les éphémères and Et puis, Amélie est partie.
A versatile artist, Michel Laperrière performed in the musical Napoléon-Lama, was part of the green team in the Ligue nationale d’improvisation (a national improv league) and was the Artistic Director and Co-Owner of Théâtre Les Cascades. He was vice-president of Union des artistes from 2019 to 2023 and has been a member of the board of directors of Caisse de la Culture since 2019.
You’re likely to recognize Sophie Prégent from her various television roles. Since graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1990, she has acted in several television series, including Lance et compte (He Shoots, He Scores), 30 vies, Mensonges and Nouvelle adresse. Her remarkable performances have earned her several nominations, as well as an Artis Award for her 2009 role in Nos étés. In recent years, she has performed in several Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM) plays (including Cyrano de Bergerac), starred in exceptional films and was a host on CKOI’s radio show Tout un retour from 2009 to 2011.
In addition to her continued work in television and film, Sophie Prégent was the President of Union des artistes from 2013 to 2023.
Diane de Champlain has a Bachelor of Science from Université de Montréal and HEC Montréal, and was appointed Director General of the École Polytechnique Alumni Association in 2005. She notably created four international chapters in France, Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon.
In 2010, the president of the Polytechnique’s board asked her to lead the Foundation, whose mandate was to raise $100 million as part of the Campus Montréal campaign. She accepted the challenge as CEO of the Foundation and Executive Director of the Alumni Association and exceeded the target by $11 million. She retired in 2017 to devote herself to other challenges, including supporting the Artists’ Foundation in its mission.
Ghyslain Dufresne is a multifaceted artist who has performed on stage (among other things with the Chick’n Swell tour), on the radio (CKOI and the now-defunct COOL FM with Crampe en masse), on television (both solo and in groups, as a host and a guest), online (such as in the disparus.ca series) and on phonograph (on several albums with Crampe en masse and Chick’n Swell). You can also catch him as a frequent television and radio announcer. Sadly, he never danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (but never say never!).
General Secretary of Union des artistes (UDA), Eloi works as an actor in practically all sectors of activity, in both English and French. Graduate of the National Theatre School and holder of a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Ottawa, his diverse experience as an actor and his involvement on the UDA Board of Directors since 2019 have given him a fine knowledge of the artistic milieu.
It is with great enthusiasm and a desire to give back to the community that he joins the Board of Directors of the Fondation des artistes.
Olivier is a member of the 1996 graduating class of the Option Théâtre program at Collège Lionel-Groulx. With a wide range of experience both on screen (Indéfandable, District 31, Les moments parfaits, L’appart du 5e Les Argonautes) and on stage (Vers Solitaire, Andrei, On t’aime Mickaël Gouin, Beaucoup de bruit pour rien, L’Énéide, Rabelais), Olivier was also co-owner of Théâtre des Cascades from 2010 to 2016.
Elected to the Board of Directors of Union des artistes last March, he was also nominated to the position of Treasurer.
Antoine is the co-founder and CTO of Fiska, a Montreal-based financial technology firm supported by many of the top investors in the retail and fintech industry.
Previously, Antoine was founder and CEO of Mobilogie, acquired by Logient in 2015. Mobilogie is an international award-winning mobile and interactive technology firm.
A respected leader in digital innovations, Antoine is a member of the Forbes Technology Council, an international speaker and mentor and judge at numerous startup events. He also sits on the board of the Fondation de Polytechnique.
Antoine holds a master’s degree in computer and biomedical engineering from the Université de Nice, as well as a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal. Antoine has held engineering positions at firms such as Mozilla, Siemens and MIT University.
The Quebec public was first introduced to the remarkably talented Micheline Bernard in the late 1970s. A frequent collaborator at Théâtre du Trident, she appeared in 13 of its productions. In 1985, she won the Prix Paul-Hébert for best actor in the Capitale region. Her stunning performance in Willy Russell’s L’éducation de Rita (Educating Rita) earned her the 1986–1987 Trident Member Award. In 1989, she inaugurated the brand new Théâtre de La Licorne on Papineau avenue in a production of Marie Laberge’s play Jocelyne Trudelle trouvée morte dans ses larmes. She returned in 2001 in Martin McDonagh’s La reine de beauté de Leenane (The Beauty Queen of Leenane), then Stacey Gregg’s Pervers (Perve, 2013), Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman’s Scratch (2014) and François Archambault’s Une mort accidentelle (ma dernière enquête) (2017). Micheline Bernard also gave spectacular performances in other Montreal productions, including in Les Palmes de M. Schutz, Souvenirs, Le dindon, L’avare (The Miser), Charlotte, ma sœur, and most notably, La Cerisaie (The Cherry Orchard), which earned her a prize at the Soirée des Masques in 2000. In 1999, she played a role in Denis Bernard’s production of George F. Walker’s La fin de la civilisation (The End of Civilization) at the Quat’Sous, and later reprised that same role in 2019 at La Licorne.
In 2017, she participated in the production of Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au Bon Dieu ? (Serial (Bad) Weddings), staged by Denise Filiatrault and presented at the Théâtre du Rideau Vert and on tour. In television, her name is often associated with the popular youth series Tactik and Radio Enfer (the latter granting her the status of “Immortelle des Gémeaux,” a title bestowed on artists who won three or more Gémeaux Awards). She is also recognized for her work in the television series Vice caché (2005 Gémeaux Award for best supporting role), Destinées, Aveux and of course Histoires de filles, which she directed for many years. In 2013, her role in Simon Galiero’s film La mise à l’aveugle (Small Blind) earned her a Prix Iris nomination for best actor.
More recently, she performed in the film adaptation of the theatrical hit King Dave, written by Alexandre Goyette and directed by Podz. In 2019, she was featured in Xavier Dolan’s latest film, Matthias et Maxime (Matthias & Maxime), and in Monia Chokri’s La femme de mon frère (A Brother’s Love). In 2017, Micheline Bernard won the Critics’ Prize awarded to the best female performer in Montreal for her portrayal of Miss Brodie in Des promesses, des promesses (Promises Promises), from the Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre.
A graduate engineer from École Polytechnique de Montréal, Normand Brais, P.Eng., PhD, also holds a master’s degree in aerothermal engineering and a doctorate in nuclear engineering. He began his professional career as a professor at École Polytechnique, and then became a tech entrepreneur. Over the years, he’s founded six companies in fields as varied as combustion, air pollution, bio-sterilization of air and water treatment.
He also volunteers as President of the École Polytechnique Foundation, sits on the board of directors at Univalor, is a member of the advisory committee of École Polytechnique and holds the position of treasurer at the United Nations Association of Canada of Greater Montreal.
Michel Brunet practices corporate and commercial law from Dentons’ Montreal office. His practice focuses on the sale and acquisition of business corporations and on their financing needs.
Michel advises many public, state-owned and private corporations in various sectors, including institutional fund management, energy, manufacturing, commercial, financial services and brokerage. He also advises foreign companies on their establishment or acquisition projects in Canada. He has developed special expertise in regulatory compliance, advising corporate executives and directors, take-over bids, underwritings, private placements, stock exchange listings, offering memoranda, broker registration, debt financings, syndications, corporate reorganizations, joint ventures and shareholder agreements.
Over the years, Michel contributed to the senior management of Dentons Canada LLP. He has held the position of Managing Partner of the Montreal office of Fraser Milner Casgrain (FMC) and is a former member of the National Board of the Firm. He also was the Chief Executive Officer of FMC, one of Dentons’ three founding firms from 2006 to 2010. Michel was the Chair of Dentons Canada LLP, a function he held from 2005 to 2017. Michel devotes much of his practice to providing strategic legal advice to a number of the firm’s major clients.
Michel is a Director of Azimut Exploration Inc. and Fondation Arbour. He is a Member of the Board of Advisors of Peak Financial Group and a Member of the Hearing Committee of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
Vice President, Community Involvement and Public Affairs at Fondaction since March 2020, Daniel Charron has a vast experience in public relations, finance and the manufacturing industry. A team player and empathetic leader, this strategist at heart chose Fondaction to position the Fund as a leader in sustainable finance in North America. With an extensive network within the business community and government bodies, Daniel felt the time was right to bring his deeply held values to the table.
Early in his career, he was President and CEO of Manufacturiers et exportateurs du Québec, a position he held until 2006. That same year, he was recruited by Octane Stratégies, a public affairs firm distinguished by its innovative practices in key sectors such as social acceptability, transportation and urban mobility. For 12 years, he helped build the firm’s reputation, notably as President and Managing Partner. After overseeing the sale and transfer to National in 2018, he stayed on as Senior Vice-President and Director of the Corporate Communications Group for about a year. He then became President and CEO of Réseau Capital, the Quebec investment industry association. During his short time with the organization, he brought about a major change in the way it interacts with its stakeholders.
Daniel holds a doctorate in international political economy from the Institut d’études politiques de Paris, a master’s degree from Université de Montréal and a bachelor’s degree from HEC Montréal. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Canadian Club of Montreal and a member of the YMCA Springboard for Life Campaign Cabinet.
Mylène Cyr is Executive Director of the Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ). She represents the professional, economic, cultural, social and moral interests of all Quebec directors working primarily in French in film, television and the web. She was also General Manager of the Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec (GMMQ) for 10 years. She holds a master’s degree in administration (MBA) and a law degree (LLB).
Involved in the cultural community, she currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Coalition pour la diversité des expressions culturelles (CDEC), on the Board of Directors of Québec Cinéma and is President of the Comité consultatif sur le cinéma, l’audiovisuel et la radiodiffusion of the Institut de la statistique du Québec. She has also sat on several boards, including the Fonds d’investissement de la Culture et des communications (FICC), Fonds Capital Culture du Québec (FCCQ), Bureau du Cinéma et de la Télévision (BCTQ) and the Musicians’ Rights Organisation of Canada (MROC). She was also a founding member of the Fonds Jean Carignan and of the Coopérative de solidarité des musiciens professionnels du Québec, lagamme.mu.
Native of the Eastern Townships, Jean-Luc Gagnon won first prize in trumpet and chamber music at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, and has been a trumpeter with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal since 1985. First as 4th trumpet, then as second trumpet until his retirement on April 23, 2023. He also held the position of principal trumpet of the Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine in France in 1994. He has been a professor at most of Montreal’s major institutions, including McGill University, the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal and the Université de Montréal for many years.
He has chaired various boards of directors, including that of the Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec, the OSM as musicians’ representative, Buzz Cuivres as president, the Fondation des Artistes and the Fonds Jean-Carignan from 2011 to 2021 and again in 2023. The Fonds Jean-Carignan of the Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec is dedicated to helping musicians in difficulty, and he is now its ambassador.
Since graduating from the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec in 2008, Jean-Michel has appeared in over forty theatrical productions in Quebec City, Montreal, France and on tour. Most recently, he played Napoléon Plouffe in the stage adaptation of Roger Lemelin’s cult novel Les Plouffe. He won the Prix Janine-Angers from the Prix de théâtre de la ville de Québec for this outstanding performance in a supporting role. Jean-Michel also plays Yannick, Cindy’s handicapped brother, in all four seasons of Fabien Cloutier’s popular Léo series.
With over 24 years’ experience in improvisation, he performs with the Ligue d’improvisation montréalaise (LIM), the Ligue d’improvisation de Québec (LIQ), in the show Vox Populi, and the LNI.
Since spring 2019, Jean-Michel has been involved in the artistic community as Québec vice-president of Union des artistes.
Lucie Leclerc has been managing BIP Recherche since 1988 with the thoroughness of a conductor, no coincidence given her musical studies at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, Université Laval in Québec City and Université de Montréal. Her training also includes studies in law, communications and marketing.
Driven by a passion for culture, she was President of the Board of Directors of the Fondation du Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec. Previously, she was Chairman of the Board of Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Théâtre Debout, the Faculty of Music’s fundraising cabinet for the major Campus Montréal campaign, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui and the Arion Ensemble. As a member of the fundraising committee for benefit evenings at the Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, she took to the stage and donned the actor’s habit for 10 seasons.
