MONTREAL — BCE’s chief legal officer Michel Lalande is leaving the company to join institutional investor and fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) as its new executive vice-president of legal affairs and secretariat, effective January 2021, CDPQ announced today.
Lalande has 30 years of experience as a lawyer and executive, including 20 years at BCE and Bell Canada where he is currently chief legal officer and corporate secretary. He began his legal career in corporate mergers and acquisitions and securities at Fasken Martineau. After serving for almost four years as legal affairs director at Teleglobe, Lalande joined BCE/Bell Canada in 2000 as assistant general counsel, following which he became responsible for the company’s legal and secretariat department.
In his new position, he will manage all of CDPQ’s legal and regulatory activities, and he will play a key role in supporting CDPQ and its subsidiaries on legal, regulatory, ethical and compliance matters related to investments and operations in Quebec, Canada and around the world, says the CDPQ press release.
He will also manage CDPQ’s secretariat department, which oversees the application of best governance practices and advises the board of directors and its committees as well as CDPQ’s various internal committees.
Lalande will be a member of the executive committee and will report to Charles Emond, president and CEO of CDPQ.
“Michel Lalande is known for his great leadership and his ability to steer complex projects involving multiple stakeholders,” said Emond, in the press release. “His vast transactional experience, both in Canada and abroad, and his detailed understanding of regulatory issues give him a broad and complete overview of the key role Legal Affairs plays for a global, long-term investor like CDPQ.”
“I am very proud and pleased to join such a talented team at CDPQ, an organization serving Quebecers that is present around the world,” said Lalande. “I look forward to taking on this important challenge and to contributing to CDPQ’s success alongside the Legal Affairs team.”
Lalande has received many professional awards throughout his career, including Lexpert’s Top 40 under 40. He was also named Quebec Chief Legal Counsel of the Year and was a finalist for the Canadian General Counsel Awards many times, in addition to winning governance awards in Canada and the United States.
(Photo borrowed from Lalande’s LinkedIn profile.)
