About us

Donna Kirkwood is an advisor to public and private organizations on strategic positioning, the design and management of science, technology, and innovation programs and policies. Active on both the national and international scenes, she has served on numerous scientific and academic steering committees as well as advisory boards for funding agencies and scientific networks. She currently sits on the boards of the British Geological Survey and ArcticNet as an independent director.

From 2016 to 2019, Donna served as Chief Scientist at Natural Resources Canada, where she strengthened the science–policy interface on natural resources and environmental issues and provided advice on cross-cutting matters such as science capacity and communication. Prior to that, she held executive roles at the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), where she became the first woman to serve as Director General (2010–2015), helping position the GSC as a leading government science organization. Before joining the federal government, Donna was a full professor of geosciences at Université Laval in Quebec, where she developed innovative, collaborative, and inclusive research programs over a 12-year period, earning numerous awards for teaching excellence.

Donna holds a PhD in Geosciences, has received training in leadership, public sector management, and governance, and is a member of the Ordre des Géologues du Québec. She is a strong advocate for women in STEM.

Michel Champagne holds a Master of Science degree from Université Laval (1982) and a BSc from Université de Montréal (1978). From 1978 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1986, he worked in mineral exploration in Quebec for SOQUEM and acquired experience in underground exploration with Louvem. During this time, Mr. Champagne led the team that discovered the main zone of the Chimo mine and the Monique deposit, both of which were developed and mined in the following years. From 1986 to 1995, he worked at the Montréal Exchange as chief geologist and analyst, gaining experience in the securities industry. From 1995 to 2000, he worked first in Corporate development with Freewest Resources Inc. and Murgor Resources Inc., then mainly with Pangea Goldfields Inc. as Exploration Manager for Latin America, where he managed their Peruvian subsidiary. The subsidiary outlined two deposits, one that has been exploited sporadically and the other being at the feasibility stage. In 2001, he helped establish the SIDEX Limited Partnership and continued to lead the institutional fund until his retirement in 2020.

The Fonds de Solidarité FTQ recruited Mr. Champagne in 2020 to sit on its Mining Sector Investment Committee.

Mr. Champagne was a member of the Mining Technical Advisory and Monitoring Committee, a group of professionals representing the Canadian mining industry, responsible for overseeing the application of National Instrument 43-101 and advising Canadian securities regulators on its application. He also sat on advisory committees for the TSX Venture Exchange at the local and national levels and the Mining Advisory Committee of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers. For many years, Mr. Champagne has been involved in various activities related to the mining industry for such organizations as the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association and the Geological Association of Canada.

Ms. Castonguay has more than 20 years of experience in Quebec organizations as a manager and chartered accountant. Graduated in 1999 with the BAA from the École des Hautes études commerciales, she is a member of the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Quebec.

Her professional experience makes her an attentive and creative manager. She joined Investissement Québec in 2014 and holds the position of Senior Director, Accounting and Operations. In addition of the board of directors of SOQUEM and other organizations, she is also President of its audit committee.

Ms. Chénard has over 40 years of experience in the mining sector. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering from Université Laval (1980), and her expertise is grounded in extensive experience in mine geology, technical supervision of advanced projects, auditing of mineral resources and reserves, and participation in technical studies for mining projects in Quebec and internationally.

From 1980 to 2001, she worked in Quebec for various gold and base metal mining operations, where she served for several years as Chief Geologist.

From 2001 to 2005, she worked as a technical advisor on CIDA-funded projects focused on strengthening institutional capacities in the mining sector in Bolivia and Peru. From 2006 to 2013, she worked internationally for Barrick Gold and as an independent consultant on various mining projects.

From 2013 until her retirement in 2021, she held the position of Senior Director of Mine Geology and Principal Technical Advisor at IAMGOLD.

Sylvain Gendron was appointed Senior Vice-President, Legal Affairs and Secretariat at Investissement Québec in April 2021, and Premier, Vice-President and Chief Risk Officer and Chief Legal Officer in 2024.

With more than twenty years of experience, including several as an executive officer, Mr. Gendron worked for fifteen years at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). He also worked for a few years in private practice at McCarthy Tétrault and Ogilvy Renault.

Sylvain Gendron holds a law degree and a diploma in business administration with a concentration in finance from Université Laval and is a member of the Quebec Bar.

Jean-Yves Labbé holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Université Laval (1985), a master’s degree in Geology from Université Laval (1988), and a Ph.D. in Mineral Resources from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (1994).

Specialized in structural geology, he joined the ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec in 1992 as a regional geologist and led geological mapping projects in Abitibi and James Bay regions. From 1998 to 2006, he was regional metallogenist for the Grand Nord project and produced a metallogenic synthesis of the northeastern Superior Province (Minto). He then focused on mineral potential assessment and secondary environment geochemistry. He supervised several lake-bottom sediment geochemical survey projects in the Grenville Province.

Jean-Yves shifted his career to management in 2011, becoming the interim head of the Service de la diffusion et de l’intégration, then Directeur de la Promotion et du soutien aux opérations. He was actively involved in organizing Québec Mines, particularly in charge of the conference program. In 2017, he was appointed Directeur de l’Information géologique du Québec and in charge for developing the SIGÉOM database. He was interim general manager of Géologie Québec in 2020. From 2021 until his retirement in 2023, he was Directeur de l’Information géologique et de la promotion. He played a key role in building an effective team to promote Quebec’s mining potential internationally.

With a bachelor’s degree in geology from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi , Mr. Brisson has held several senior positions with exploration and mining companies in Quebec, Ontario and North Africa.

A member of the Order of Geologists of Quebec, Mr. Brisson has more than 30 years of experience in precious and base metal exploration. He has worked for several companies, notably Goldcorp, Focus Metals, Cogitore Resources, Breakwater Resources and Cambior. In 2009, he was part of a team at Cogitore Resources that was awarded the Prospector of the Year Award from the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association for the Scott Lake Project.

From 2015 to 2021, he has been an exploration consultant for junior and major mining companies in Quebec and Ontario. He is President & CEO at SOQUEM since 2021. Mr. Brisson has served on the boards of Opus One Resources Inc. and Radisson Mining Resources Inc . He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association in 2020, where he also served from 2008 to 2012. He now serve on the Board of Elements08.

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Ms. Jalbert holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Laval University in Québec and is a member of the Order of Geologists of Quebec.

She began her career with InnovExplo, a consulting firm, where she worked mainly in Quebec, but also elsewhere in Canada and Ivory Coast. Then, she worked as the Exploration manager at Radisson Mining Resources.

Ms. Jalbert joined SOQUEM in 2018 as a Senior project manager. She held the position of Exploration Manager of Val-d’Or’s office since May 2021. Ms. Jalbert has been promoted as Vice president in October 2022.

She was an active member of the Board of Directors of the Order of Geologists of Quebec from 2017 to 2020.

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Ms. Rochefort holds a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.

Prior to joining SOQUEM in January 2013, she worked as a geological assistant for the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and GeoNordic Technical Services.

Ms. Rochefort is a member of the Quebec Order of Engineers and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, and is Chair of the Board of Directors of the CIM’s Chapais-Chibougamau branch.

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Member of the Order of Professional Accountants of Quebec since 1997, Ms. Tourangeau holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting sciences from the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

Employed by SOQUEM since April 2019, she first held a position of senior accountant, before being promoted to controller in July 2020.

She previously held jobs in the mining industry, including senior accounting positions for Eldorado Gold, Lamaque division from 2016 to 2019 and for Iamgold (Cambior) from 1996 to 2009.

She has also held various accounting positions as controller, administrative director and accountant in construction companies from 2009 to 2016.