Our Mentors

François enjoys supporting entrepreneurs who want to structure their ideas, take action, and gain perspective on their business vision. He enjoys working with committed individuals who strive to grow their business and strengthen their market position. For him, mentoring is a meaningful way to give back — through active listening, thoughtful insight, and the sharing of real-world experience. 

With over 36 years as a business leader, François has led the growth and transformation of several subsidiaries across Canada in the B2B distribution sector. He has built expertise in sales development, logistics, talent management, digital innovation, and growth through acquisition. He has also supported many executives in navigating both strategic and human challenges. 

Today, he brings this rich experience to entrepreneurs, with the goal of offering guidance that is both relevant and grounded in the day-to-day reality of business. 

As an young active retiree, she is involved in the entrepreneurial community with the goal of helping the people she works with to grow and develop.

Nathalie is someone who enjoys a challenge and who dives right in. As a businesswoman, she had to prove herself when the family business came under her responsibility following the tragic death of her brother. She wishes she had had access to a mentoring service at that time.

She is not afraid to ask the real questions and broach frank discussions with the people she coaches. She is an open-minded and attentive listener who does not judge and knows how to adapt to the personalities and needs of her mentees. Between trips and ski outings, she wants to help entrepreneurs accomplish their objectives.

She has been immersed in entrepreneurship since the age of 6. Sylvie Florent, a chartered accountant, equates success with a sense of accomplishment, which she finds in the satisfaction and achievement of her clients’ objectives/results.
Her contribution as a mentor is motivated by the influence she can have on her mentees to help them maintain their business and ensure economic vitality in the region.

Sylvie Florent is an open-minded and attentive person who wants to help entrepreneurs find balance.

With more than 40 years of experience in the family business, France has experienced great successes and encountered major challenges, such as the forestry crisis that affected an entire section of the company. A daring woman, she sees the difficulties she has encountered as opportunities to learn and to grow.

Now that she is self-employed, she continues to develop projects that take her out of her comfort zone and put her creativity to good use.

Altruistic by nature, it is essential for her to contribute to the well-being of her community, which she has done throughout her career by supporting as many causes as possible. It is with this desire to contribute that she joins the business mentoring team. She wishes to encourage her mentors to surpass themselves.

Is she a passionate woman? Absolutely! Sylvie has a vision of excellence that means, among other things, trusting oneself as an individual and believing in one’s own success.

“For me, success is not only the achievement of a result, it also implies – and above all – the personal and collective process to get there,” she emphasizes.

In her role as a mentor, this governance specialist wishes to contribute to the well-being of entrepreneurs and continue to learn, with humility, from their strength and courage. Her sensitive and rational approach allows her to quickly grasp what is wrong and to say it like it is.

With an engineering background and an MBA and practical experience in large, medium, small (and tiny!) companies, mentor Louis Lapointe wants to share his toolbox with entrepreneurs in the region.

He compares himself to an X-ray machine, which can scan companies to find out what’s wrong and act on the real cause of the problem. And what about success? According to Louis Lapointe, success can be seen in the pride you take in accomplishing your projects every day.

And success with a capital “S” is the achievement of inner balance.

Coming soon

Louis-Martin sees mentoring as an opportunity to share his experience with entrepreneurs and business owners in the region. His calm and people-focused approach encourages openness, active listening and strategic thinking.

As Director of Economic Development, he brings over 25 years of experience in municipal management. On a daily basis, he supports economic stakeholders with their growth and innovation projects.

Louis-Martin is committed to giving back to the community by guiding entrepreneurs who are open to change, eager to develop their strengths, and ready to take on new challenges.

Coming from a computer technology background, it wasn’t long before Jean-Pierre transitioned into a management role. He developed his management style in order to help his teams to become efficient and agile in a creative and complex environment. He admits that he was not overbearing or domineering with his employees, preferring instead to listen to their ideas and promote employee engagement when it came to problem solving.  He takes the same approach with his mentees. He is a mentor so as to give back to the entrepreneurial community, but also to meet other entrepreneurs and continue to learn from his peers. Having lived through different phases as an entrepreneur, he knows he can support people who are going through challenges by helping them develop their management skills and let go, even in the most difficult of times.

Consultant and seasoned entrepreneur, André has spent the last decade developing the business he started, which has enjoyed very strong growth in the Quebec and Canadian markets. Although he has managed all facets of the company, he has learned the most about human relations. André has a knack to quickly understand the challenges and opportunities of different business models.

His aim is to equip the people he accompanies to live entrepreneurship to the fullest by helping them to maintain a balance between their professional and personal lives. For André, it’s important that the company serves to create value and benefit the people around it, always with a human touch. For him, mentoring is a way of continuing to grow and to use the experience he has acquired to help entrepreneurs navigate through their growth phase and all the other challenges presented by business development.

“Success is an art, it’s about believing”. And Martine Paiement is a Grand Master! This energetic mentor has the strength to accompany ambitious, innovative and passionate entrepreneurs focussed on growing their company.

By listening attentively and grasping the essentials, she leads the mentee to discover the big picture of opportunities, threats and barriers in the internal and external environment of the company.

Pierre is a committed and deeply human mentor. With over 20 years of experience in financial services and digital business development, he now gives back by mentoring others. He combines active listening, genuine curiosity, and a proactive approach. Pierre supports entrepreneurs who want to grow, face their challenges, and push their limits. He’s especially drawn to those who aim high and know how to build a strong support network. What sets him apart: his contagious energy, his ability to build strong connections, and his genuine desire to see others succeed. For Pierre, being a mentor means making a concrete difference in an entrepreneur’s journey. And if he can help someone avoid a few detours along the way, he considers his mission accomplished!

The man who describes himself as a stubborn go-getter explains that pitfalls motivate him more than they discourage him. Being functionally blind has never prevented him from achieving his goals and he even believes that it has helped him not to be afraid of taking risks.

He joins the mentoring cell to contribute to the business community in his area and continue to have a positive impact. He knows how to take the time to listen and can spur those around him to action. He is at ease in situations that require him to surpass himself, in moments when he must innovate and push the limits.

Michel wishes to accompany his mentees in their overall growth by helping them clarify their vision and put their priorities in order.

Geneviève set out in business in her twenties. Armed with boundless energy and determination, she put her heart and soul into her company, which grew rapidly. Over time, she surrounded herself with the right people and sought out tools to help her make informed decisions. She also learned how to mitigate delicate situations between associates. With hindsight, she now sees entrepreneurship as a journey, rather than a destination. She believes in a model of entrepreneurship that takes into account the well-being of the entrepreneur.

Geneviève describes herself as a “hands-on entrepreneur” and looks back fondly to her early days as a young entrepreneur. She wants to support those who need clarity and rigor and who aspire to develop their business while maintaining a balance.