The CPQ announces that Yves-Thomas Dorval will become Executive Chairman of the Board and that the position of President and CEO will be passed to a successor as part of the organization's governance and management transition plan Français
MONTRÉAL, June 2, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - The Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ) announces today a progressive management transition plan for the succession of outgoing President and CEO Yves-Thomas Dorval. This transition plan will also guide the succession of outgoing CPQ board chairman Marc-André Roy and vice-chairman Stéphane Leduc, whose mandates will end following the CPQ annual general meeting (AGM) to be held virtually on June 19.
After more than eleven years as CPQ President and CEO, the longest term at the helm of the organization since its founding, Yves-Thomas Dorval will progressively turn things over to his successor as to ensure a smooth transition for the leadership and governance of the organization.
The transition plan adopted by the CPQ board on December 13 of last year was to be announced in March 2020 but was postponed following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CPQ makes this plan public today in view of the upcoming AGM.
The plan adopted by the CPQ board last December appoints Mr. Dorval as its executive chairman for a term of at least two years. This board decision will come into effect following the AGM on June 19, subject to the adoption of the slate of nominees to the CPQ board. Importantly, Mr. Dorval will throughout his new mandate (or until otherwise decided) continue to represent the CPQ on various partnership bodies and other organizations.
The board has also recently approved, following the recommendations of a special recruitment committee, the appointment of Mr. Dorval's successor whose term is set to begin later this month on June 29. A separate announcement will follow.
The CPQ's outgoing board chairman explicitly praised Mr. Dorval's invaluable contributions to the organization: "The CPQ has grown considerably during Mr. Dorval's term as President. By promoting social dialogue, he has helped increase ties with various important stakeholders. His efforts have also helped further raise the relevance and influence of the CPQ as the leading voice of employers in the province, notably in the context of an ever-changing landscape," explained Marc-André Roy. "His positive and communicative leadership style, his great sense of discernment and understanding of the issues of importance to employers and more widely across all sectors, his passion and profound commitment to fostering an inclusive prosperity, and his remarkable presence and work ethic remain the hallmarks of my time collaborating with Mr. Dorval."
Bridging two recessions (2009 and 2020)
Taking the helm as CPQ President and CEO back on March 20, 2009, Yves-Thomas Dorval faced undue challenge before the 2008-2009 recession then in full swing and whose impacts were profoundly felt by employers. He led the organization through the long and sustained recovery period that was punctuated with a number of changes in provincial leadership, from Jean Charest's Liberal government, followed by Pauline Marois' PQ government, Philippe Couillard's Liberal government, and more recently François Legault's CAQ government, not to mention the turnover of seven different ministers from the Labour Ministry and Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity as well as four CPQ board chairmen.
Collaborating closely with different partnership bodies in an effort to put forward and implement various measures to support Quebec businesses, Yves-Thomas Dorval immediately began his mandate with a focus on further raising the CPQ's credibility and influence among government leadership at both the provincial and federal level as well as among many provincial and national stakeholders. With the support of the organization's board members and his CPQ colleagues, Mr. Dorval quickly positioned the CPQ as an ambassador for an inclusive prosperity within the province under the banner "Allied for Prosperity," or as it now reads "Prospering Together."
His many accomplishments as CPQ President and CEO include the creation of the Report Card on Prosperity, an exercise designed to identify economic strengths and weaknesses at the national and provincial level, as well as a wider campaign promoting prosperity in response to a time characterized by austerity. Mr. Dorval also successfully rallied individuals from many different fields and established entirely new partnerships with social and environmental groups which fostered participation and engagement in a diversity of matters and initiatives of concern to various provincial employers. The adoption in 2018 of the provincial labour force strategy by the Quebec government remains one of his greatest accomplishments thanks to the support of employer, union and community organizations as well as the education community and its ministries and bodies.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dorval also made notable contributions to change initiatives and actions undertaken by various partnership bodies on which he served as CPQ representative, including the CNESST and the IRSST (the province's occupational health and safety standards commission and an associated private non-profit institute) and the CCTM and CPMT (provincial advisory bodies on labour market partnerships). He also served on a number of governmental advisory committees addressing questions relating to, among others, the economy, regulatory matters, education, immigration, early childhood care and education, energy, transportation and the environment, and also served on a number of civil society organizations, such as SWITCH – Alliance pour une économie verte which works to enable the transition towards a greener economy.
As his term neared its end and in preparing the transition for his successor — and in the wake of a new major recessionary period — Yves-Thomas Dorval added another important initiative to his leadership scorecard by developing, with the help of his collaborators and a number of CPQ members, a compelling roadmap towards a safe and sustainable economic recovery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Published on April 20, this roadmap document offers itself as a bona fide guide for relaunching business activity and the economy, a process in which Mr. Dorval will actively continue to play a leadership role.
Click here to view Mr. Yves-Thomas Dorval's bio sketch.
About the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ)
Founded in 1969, the CPQ (Quebec Employers Council) is an alliance representing nearly 100 sectoral associations and many business, organizational and corporate members. As such, it represents the interests of over 70,000 employers of all sizes from both the private and parapublic sectors.
SOURCE Conseil du patronat du Québec
Nadine Légaré, Senior Consultant - Communications and Media Relations, Conseil du patronat du Québec, [email protected], Cell.: 514-265-5471
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