Team Member

Michelle Courchesne

Over the course of her career, Michelle has had various professional experiences, which have given her strong leadership skills and now help her effectively coach executives. She has led many, often multidisciplinary, management teams in both the private and public sectors, that are in the midst of major organizational changes. Having a practical and strategic understanding of the world in which leaders are evolving, she coaches managers with determination and compassion. Michelle provides leaders with powerful tools and approaches, including courage and creativity, which help them in making difficult decisions and playing a unifying leadership role.

Michelle began her career as an urban planning consultant with many municipalities in the Province of Quebec and was elected to the City Council of Laval in 1981. In 1985, she worked in the financial sector at Lévesque Beaubien, now National Bank Financial. From 1988 to October 1995, Michelle worked at the Ministry of Culture and Communications as a Deputy Minister, providing efficient administrative management linked to strategic issues and government policy direction.

From 1995 to 2000, as Executive Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, she established herself as an agent of change amongst members of the Board of Directors, employees, musicians and the artistic director. In 2001, she held the position of Executive Vice-President, Human Resources, Marketing and Communications at Cognicase, a public company in the IT sector.

In April 2003, Michelle started her extensive political career in the Liberal government, where she held many important positions, including Minister of Immigration, Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity, Minister of Education, President of the Treasury Board and Deputy Premier of Quebec. She demonstrated her leadership and the ability to manage political issues combined with administrative management and change management, often in high profile crises.

Michelle was also a member of several boards of directors, including the National Bank of Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce of Montreal, Montreal Tourism and the National Theatre School of Canada. She currently sits on the boards of the Mental Illness Foundation and the “Fondation de l’Institut du Tourisme et de l’Hôtellerie du Québec”. Michelle has attained the Associate Certified Coach (ACC) designation and is a member of the International Coach Federation and ICF–Quebec.