Hélène Desmarais
Chairman of the Board
Hélène Desmarais is an important and influential figure in the Canadian business community. For decades, she has led major Canadian institutions as well as several public and private companies in the industrial sector, either as Chairman of the Board or Chief Executive Officer.
She founded and is overseeing the rapid growth of IVADO Labs as Executive Chairman, now positioned as a leader in its field in North America. This commercialization lab for supply chain AI research develops customized AI solutions that help large companies compete on a global scale. IVADO labs also managed a provincial government program, Invest AI, to support new AI product startups.
Mrs. Desmarais is the founder and Co-Chairman of SCALE AI, Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster, which accelerates the integration of AI across business sectors by investing in collaborative projects. It is funded by the Canadian federal government under the Canadian Supercluster Program.
Her passion for supporting start-ups is also evident from her involvement as President of Next AI and CDL AI in Montreal, two of Canada’s leading AI entrepreneurship development programs.
For more than 25 years, she has been the Founding Chairman and CEO of CEIM, the largest technology incubator in Canada, which has supported more than five hundred start-ups.
She serves on the Board of LVMH’s parent company, DIOR SE, and presides over its Remuneration and Compensation Committee. She serves on the Board of Garda World and in its Audit and Governance committees. She has been Chairman of HEC Montreal for the past twenty years.
Mrs. Desmarais holds honorary doctorates from Polytechnique Montreal, St. Francis Xavier, Lumière Lyon 2, and McMaster universities. She has been awarded the Medal of Honour by the Faculty of Medicine and the Order of Merit from the University of Montreal, in addition to being a member of the Order of Canada, an Officer of the National Order of Quebec, and a Commander of the Order of Montreal. She is the recipient of the Légion d’Honneur in France.