The Alphonse and Dorimène Desjardins International Institute for Cooperatives of HEC Montréal is governed by the International Board of Governors. Chaired by Guy Cormier, current President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group, the Board brings together key international influencers in the world of cooperatives, in particular executives of large cooperatives and internationally renowned researchers.
Guy Cormier (Chair)
President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group
Guy Cormier has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group since April 2016. Desjardins is the leading cooperative financial group in Canada and sixth in the world, with assets of over $248 billion. It is one of the 20 largest employers in the country, supported by the skills of its 47,000 employees and the commitment of more than 5,000 elected officers.
Rafael Ziegler
Director of the Alphonse and Dorimène Desjardins International Institute for Cooperatives, HEC Montréal
Rafael Ziegler is a professor at HEC Montréal and the director of the Alphonse and Dorimène Desjardins International Institute for Cooperatives. He holds a BSc. from the London School of Economics and a PhD from McGill University. He is associate editor of the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities and the Journal of Social Entrepreneurship.
Eric Brat
Secretary General of the Board of Governors of the Alphonse and Dorimène Desjardins International Institute for Cooperatives, HEC Montréal
Eric Brat is an Associate Professor and the Secretary General of the Board of Governors of the Alphonse and Dorimène Desjardins International Institute for Cooperatives at HEC Montréal. He is a CFA and member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. During his career, he has worked for Credit Suisse Group, Oliver Wyman and Accenture.
Caroline Aubé
Professor, Department of Management, HEC Montréal
Caroline Aubé is the director of the Research and Transfer Division and a professor in the Department of Management at HEC Montréal.
Bernard Bizimana
Director, HEC Montréal Library
Bernard Bizimana has been Director of the HEC Montréal Library since May 2016.
Marco Aurélio Borges de Almada Abreu
President and CEO, Bancoob within the Sicoob system
Mr. Almada worked with Banco de Crédito Real S.A. (Credireal) between 1982 and 1997 in different positions, among others as Head of the Budget and Management Department. After the sale of Credireal, in which Mr. Almada was involved, he worked at Banco BCN and Bradesco as Budget and Cost Manager.
Giovanni Ferri
Professor of Economics, Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta (LUMSA)
Giovanni Ferri, Ph.D. in Economics from New York University, is a Professor of Economics and Vice-Rector of Teaching and Students’ Rights at LUMSA University. Between 1999 and 2012, he was the Chair of the Department of Economics and Vice-Rector for International Relations at the University of Bari.
Uwe Fröhlich
Co-Chairman of the Board of Management & Co-CEO, DZ Bank
Mr. Uwe Fröhlich has been Co-Chief Executive Officer at DZ BANK AG since January 2019. He has been the Supervisory Board Chairman at DZ PRIVAT BANK SA, since 2018. He serves as the Supervisory Board Chairman at VR-LEASING AG. He is Executive Manager at DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main since November 2018 and is Member of the Board of Managing Directors.
Ghislain Gervais
President and Member of the Executive Committee of Sollio Groupe Coopératif
Ghislain Gervais has been active in numerous organizations over the past 17 years, and was elected President of the Board of Directors of La Coop fédérée’s – now Sollio Groupe Coopératif – in 2016. He brings extensive leadership experience to the organization, along with the ability to clearly articulate and implement a strategic vision that serves members’ interests. His thorough understanding of the environment in which Sollio Groupe Coopératif operates puts him in an excellent position to represent the organization, in cooperation with the CEO.
Carlos Heller
President and CEO, Banco Credicoop
Mr. Heller has been working in the field of credit cooperatives since 1963. Between 1964 and 1974, he acted as Manager of the Caja de Crédito Villa Maipú. In 1974, he works at the Instituto Movilizador de Fondos Cooperativos (Argentine credit unions’ coordinating body), where he becomes Regional Manager of Buenos Aires.
Dominique Lefebvre
President, Fédération Nationale du Crédit Agricole
Dominique Lefebvre is a cereal farmer and has held numerous positions within professional agricultural organizations. He got involved in Crédit Agricole’s working bodies very early on and, in 1995, was elected Chairman of Crédit Agricole de la Beauce et du Perche, now Crédit Agricole Val de France (1997).
Pierre Macé
Chief Executive Officer, Fédération nationale des Caisses d’Epargne
Pierre Macé began his career in 1987 at Crédit du Nord, before joining the Caisse d’Epargne de Bretagne, where he notably held the position of Business Center Director.
Cornelius Riese
Co-Chairman of the Board of Management & Co-CEO, DZ Bank
Dr. Riese has been Co-Chief Executive Officer at DZ BANK AG since January 2019 and serves as Member of Board of Managing Directors. He is a Member of the Supervisory Board at TeamBank AG Nürnberg since January 2019 and has also been its Chairman of the Supervisory Board since March, 2019. Dr. Riese serves as Chairman of the Supervisory Board at R+V Versicherung AG since January 2019.
Franco Taisch
Entrepreneur and Professor
Prof. Dr. Franco Taisch is an entrepreneur and member of various boards of directors. He is the President and Founder of Taischconsulting, specializing in the areas of finance, medicine and technology. As a part-time university professor at the University of Lucerne, he focuses on the design of corporate governance models, as well as the entrepreneurial treatment of opportunities and risks.
Pascal Viné
Director of Institutional Relations and Mutualist Orientations – Groupama Assurances Mutuelles
Pascal Viné is an agronomy engineer AgroParisTech and doctor of the national polytechnic institute of Grenoble. He currently holds the position of Director of Institutional Relations and Mutual Orientations at Groupama Assurances Mutuelles.