- Academic Life
INRS director general Daniel Coderre is proud to announce the appointment of Mary-Ann Bell as chair of the university’s board of directors.
Senior vice president, Quebec and Ontario, at Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Bell has very broad experience as a manager and administrator of large corporations. She is also very active on the boards and committees of private companies and nonprofit corporations like Proximédia Inc., the Montreal YWCA Foundation, the International Women’s Forum, and Théâtre du Nouveau-Monde.
Bell is a graduate of Collège des administrateurs de sociétés du Québec andhas served on the INRS board since 2002, first as an INRS graduate, then as a community representative. With her vision, influence, and communication skills, she has guided INRS management on issues of governance, risk management, and internal audits. Since 2009 she has chaired the audit committee, which plays a leading role in assuring proper oversight of INRS activities.
A renewed board
The INRS board now has 50% new members since last year. Two-thirds are independent, hailing from government, scientific, cultural, and business backgrounds. The board has equal parts men and women, and counts among its ranks four members with degrees in corporate governance, a significant proportion. With their advanced training in best governance practices, this group is a clear asset to the INRS board.
New members
Carole Boisvert, corporate director; Linda Labbé, vice president foraccounting, standardization, and disclosure at Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec; Monique Laliberté, investment manager at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec;Suzanne Masson, corporate director; Luc Sirois, vice presidentand general manager for Quebec and vice president of consumer health for North America at Nightingale Informatix Corporation; Louis-Philippe Vézina, vice president and chief science officer atMedicago; and Christian-Yves Côté,president and founder of Axis-Photonique were appointed to their first terms on the INRS board, as were professors Claude Boucher of the Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre and Albert Descoteaux of the INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier Research Centre.
In recent years INRS has become a model of university governance in Quebec and Canada with the adoption of innovative and responsible governance and accountability polices, thanks in part to the involvement and dedication of board members. “To meet current and future challenges in university governance, INRS has a considerable advantage—the skills of a thoroughly renewed board with excellent outside members,” stated director general Daniel Coderre.
