Monique F. Leroux

Monique Leroux has always been a trailblazer. As CEO of the Desjardins Group (2008-2016), she was the first woman to head a major Canadian financial-services organization — having already been among the first female partners at what is now Ernst and Young.

She credits her success to the people she surrounds herself with. “It’s a lot about people — having the opportunity to work with people, learn with people and help people. I define myself as a real people person. This is a fundamental part of who I am,” she says, adding “I’ve had the privilege of working with outstanding professionals who believed in their respective teams and were passionate about training and developing talented young people.”

While maintaining her busy professional life as Chair of the Board of Investissement Québec and Vice-Chairman of Fiera Holdings Inc., Ms. Leroux lends her time and support to a host of not-for-profit organizations, with a particular focus on education and youth. “I hope to leverage some of my experience as a mentor and contribute to society, to the development of people and our communities.”

She remains very active in business and professional circles as well. For instance, Ms. Leroux was appointed to the Canada-United States Council for the Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders by the Prime Minister of Canada in 2017, and served as co-chair of the 2018 ‘B7’ Summit in Quebec City.

Monique’s contributions and achievements have been recognized with numerous honours and awards, which include being named 2014 CEO of the Year by Les Affaires and a recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Award for Contribution to Canadian Society. She is a Member of the Order of Canada, an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec, a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur (France), and holds honorary doctorates from eight Canadian universities. 

Now Ms. Leroux adds the Canadian Business Hall of Fame to her list of achievements.