Quebec Employers Council awards its 2012 Prix de carrière to Transcontinental founder Rémi Marcoux

MONTREAL, April 23, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Quebec Employers Council used the occasion of its 43^rd general meeting in Montréal today to honour Transcontinental founder and board member Rémi Marcoux by awarding him its 2012 Prix de carrière in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Québec society.

After founding the company in 1976, Mr. Marcoux served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2004. He then became the Executive Chairman of the Board before announcing his retirement on February 16 of this year. Combining expertise, innovation and creativity, traditional media and new communication platforms, the company creates marketing products and services that enable businesses to attract, reach and gain the loyalty of their clientele. Transcontinental currently employs some 10,000 people.

This is the 30^th straight year the Prix de carrière has been awarded to an individual of distinction. The outstanding reputation of the honour has been established over the years by the notoriety of its previous recipients, honourees that include Jeannine Guillevin-Wood, Jacques Lamarre, André Chagnon, Jean Coutu, Paul Desmarais Sr., Stephen Jarislowsky, Bernard Lemaire and Guy St-Pierre, to name a few.  

Three new personalities inducted into the Club des entrepreneurs  

As it has done every year since 1986, the Employers Council also took advantage of its annual general meeting to reward the commitment prominent business people have made to Québec's economic development by inducting three new members into its prestigious Club des entrepreneurs:

• Louis Audet, president and CEO of COGECO, an industry leader in telecommunications, cable distribution and media;
• Eve-Lyne Biron, president and CEO of Biron Groupe Santé, a leader in diagnostic services and medical treatments;
• Marc-André Roy, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of R3D Conseil, a rising information technology and management consulting firm.

The objective of the Club des entrepreneurs, which was created in 1986, is to publicly recognize the outstanding contribution that business people have made in Québec's business development. Currently, 78 business personalities have been so honoured by the Quebec Employers Council.

Third edition of the Bourses Ghislain-Dufour bestows bursaries on three recipients

In another ceremony coinciding with the Employers Council's general meeting, former Council president Ghislain Dufour awarded the bursaries that bear his name. Established in 2009 - marking the 40^th anniversary of the Employers Council - the Bourses Ghislain-Dufour honour the excellence of second-cycle industrial relations students.

The third edition of these awards saw bursaries of $2500, $1500 and $1000 respectively handed out to Véronique Dansereau of the Université de Montréal, Laurence Derouin-Dubuc, also of the Université de Montréal, and Philippe James Scrimger, of the Université du Québec en Outaouais.

Newcomers on the Employers Council's board of directors

The Employers Council's annual general meeting also provided the opportunity to announce the composition of its board of directors for 2012. With the mandate of several members ending this year, the board called on several business-community figures to get involved in its activities.

The new board members named this year are:

• Jean Beauchesne, president-director general of the Fédération des cégeps;
• Caroll Carle, vice-president, employees and culture, of Gaz Métro;
• Stéphane Gauthier, president of Groupe TCI;
• Gilbert Grimard, outgoing president of the Association de la construction du Québec;
• Alain Harvey, vice-president, human capital, Kruger Industrial products division;
• John Rosato, outgoing president of the Association des propriétaires et administrateurs d'immeubles / BOMA Québec.

The Quebec Employers Council brings together many of Québec's largest companies and the vast majority of sector-based employers' groups, making it Québec's sole employer federation.

Patrick Lemieux
Consultant - Communications
Cell.: 438 886 9804