MONTRÉAL, Dec. 2, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Soirée Montréal Inc., which celebrates entrepreneurship, took place on Wednesday evening at the Marché Bonsecours. A tribute was paid to the Desjardins Group in recognition of the positive impact the institution has had on entrepreneurship, in the presence of Honorary Chairman, Guy Cormier, President and CEO of Desjardins Group. The 2016 Prix Montréal Inc. was awarded to Phazon, while the Mayor's Prize for Volunteer Engagement, was presented to Pierre Rodrigue, Vice President, Industry Relations, BCE & Bell. The Soirée Montréal Inc., is an annual fundraising event for Fondation Montréal Inc. which invests in the creation, growth and ongoing support of young companies.
Phazon, winner of the 2016 Prix Montréal Inc.
Following the presentations of the three Finalists, over 400 invited guests from the Montréal business community participated in the selection of the winner of the Prix Montréal Inc.. The award, presented by Desjardins Enterprises, is given to showcase the most outstanding young entrepreneurs from among all Fondation Laureates selected over the past 12 months.
Phazon, represented by Martin Roldan, took home the honours because of the outstanding entrepreneurial team, the innovative nature of the project, the potential to create employment and make Montréal shine. Phazon (phazon.com) has created the first wireless earbuds for active people, which never fall off, are submersible and sweat and shock proof.
The two runner-up Finalists:
Sharethebus (sharethebus.com) to instantly book buses for team or organization anywhere in North America and recreates experience of booking, payment, and passenger management.
Wilder and Harrier (wilderharrier.com) make and sell healthy food for dogs, made from innovative and eco-friendly proteins.
Desjardins Group honoured in recognition of its positive impact on entrepreneurship
Guy Cormier, President and CEO stated: "Entrepreneurs are leaders. The hallmarks of a great leaders are: creativity, passion and perseverance. It is of paramount importance that the youth of today take on this important role. We face major challenges ahead. It is thus crucial to help youth establish themselves, and give them a helping hand they need because it can make all the difference. We need to work together and make this our collective goal"
Pierre Rodrigue, Vice President, Industry Relations, BCE & Bell, receives an award in recognition of his volunteer work
Lucien Bouchard, Chairman of the Fondation's Board of Directors, spoke about the important contributions made by the Fondation over the past 20 years and the active engagement of 400 professionals, high level executives and entrepreneurs who volunteer for the Fondation Montréal Inc. and drive the organisation.
Denis Coderrre, Mayor of Montréal, then presented the Prix du Maire Award to Pierre Rodrigue, in recognition of his volunteer work on the Board of Fondation Montréal Inc. and his outstanding ability for building networks, both through the recruitment of great talent and by spearheading summit meetings for young entrepreneurs to help them grow their business networks and open doors
A special thank you to the businesses which contributed to the Soirée Montréal Inc.:
Honorary tables: Bell Media, CGI, LG2, Divco, Québecor Media.
Montréal Inc. tables.: Allied Properties REIT, BDC, National Bank, BCF, Blake Cassels & Graydon, BMO, CDPQ, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg, Desjardins Regional Business Capital, Diebold Nixdorf, EY, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Manulife, McCarthy Tétrault, Pomerleau Inc., Stikeman Elliott, Telus and TransForce.
The proceeds of the Soirée Montréal Inc. will be invested in the form of grants and consulting services to young Montréal entrepreneurs.
About Fondation Montréal Inc.
Fondation Montréal Inc. invests in the creation, expansion and ongoing support of promising businesses who contribute to the economic development of Montréal. Since 1996, the Fondation has awarded more than $7 million in grants to help start more than 900 companies in Montréal and to create jobs in all sectors. The Fondation has contributed to the creation of over $75 million in investments for Montréal.
About the Prix Montréal Inc. presented by Desjardins Business
Since 2011, at the Soirée Montréal Inc., the business community selects from among the most recent Fondation Laureates the winner of the Prix Montréal Inc. as a way of showcasing the year's most outstanding entrepreneur. The 3 finalists will share multiple prizes including subscriptions or credits from the following organizations: Agence Tank, C2 Montréal, Metropolitan Montréal Chamber of Commerce, École d'Entrepreneurship de Beauce, Fasken Martineau and KPMG.
SOURCE Fondation Montréal inc.
Image with caption: "Wolf Kohlberg, ShartheBus - Winners of Prix Montréal inc. 2016 : Martin Roldan, Phazon - Philippe Poirier, Wilder & Harrier - Guy Cormier, President and CEO of Desjardins Group (CNW Group/Fondation Montréal inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161202_C2750_PHOTO_EN_830106.jpg
Valérie Danger - Director of Communications - Tel. (514) 872-5768 - [email protected]
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