Quebec Employers Council awards its 2014 Prix de carrière to Hervé Pomerleau, the founder and director of Pomerleau

MONTRÉAL, April 8, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - The Quebec Employers Council took the opportunity during its 45^th annual general meeting held in Montréal today to honour Hervé Pomerleau, the founder and director of the Pomerleau company, by awarding him its 2014 Prix de carrière in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Québec society.

Founded in 1964, Mr. Pomerleau's company is synonymous with excellence and expertise in project and construction management in the commercial, institutional and industrial sector, as well as in the field of infrastructure work and civil engineering. A pioneer of green building and a champion in the area of occupational health and safety, the Pomerleau company has enjoyed tremendous growth since its inception. It is currently an industry leader in the province of Québec and one of Canada's largest building contractors.

This is the 32^nd 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 high-profile of its previous recipients, honourees that include André Chagnon, Jean Coutu, Paul Desmarais Sr., Jeannine Guillevin-Wood, Stephen Jarislowsky, Jacques Lamarre, Bernard Lemaire and Guy St‑Pierre, to name a few.

This year, a special Prix de carrière was also awarded, posthumously, to Luc Beauregard, the founding chairman of the RES PUBLICA Consulting Group, a Montreal-based holding and management company of leading professional services firms offering strategic public relations, which notably owns the NATIONAL Public Relations firm, Cohn & Wolfe | Canada and Sonic Boom. Under Mr. Beauregard's leadership, the company became the largest public relations consultancy in Canada and one of the industry's leading independent public relations firms worldwide.

Three new personalities inducted into the Club des entrepreneurs           

As it has done annually for more than 25 years, the Employers Council also used the occasion 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:

• Johanne Berry, the president of Télé-Ressources, the largest independent recruitment, placement and employment agency in Québec.
• Andrew and Geoff Molson, respectively the chairman of the RES PUBLICA Consulting Group and president and CEO of the Montreal Canadiens hockey club, whose involvement in and family contribution to Québec society is intrinsically linked to the province's history and development.

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, 84 business personalities have been so honoured by the Quebec Employers Council.

Fifth edition of Bourses Ghislain-Dufour awards bursaries to three recipients

The Employers Council's general meeting also provided the opportunity to award the Bourses Ghislain-Dufour, a series of bursaries bearing the name of the former Employers Council president. The Bourses Ghislain-Dufour, which were established in 2009 - marking the 40^th anniversary of the Employers Council - honour the excellence of second-cycle industrial relations students.

Three bursaries of $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 were respectively awarded to Marie-Michelle Audet-Tremblay, of Université Laval, Marc-André Fournelle, of Université de Montréal, and Dorra Annabi, of Université du Québec en Outaouais.

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.

SOURCE: Conseil du patronat du Québec

Patrick Lemieux, Conseiller principal - Communications, Cell. : 438 886 9804