Board of Directors and Managers

The SDBJ is administered by a board of seven members with diverse skills. All members are appointed by the government, and included among them is three representatives of the Cree Nation. The Board shall exercise all the rights and powers that the SDBJ is authorized to perform under its legislation, its regulations or other governing laws..

The Chairman of the Board convenes and chairs meetings, and sees to their proper functioning. Additionally, he exercises other functions assigned to him by the board.

The CEO is responsible for the administration and management of the SDBJ under its regulations and policies.

The ministre des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec, to which the SDBJ reports, can, within the framework of its responsibilities, give the SDBJ guidelines on its objectives and guidelines. These guidelines must be subject to government approval.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE MANAGEMENT TEAM

Gaston Bédard, Chairman of the Board
	Mr. Bédard holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Public Accountancy) and a Master of Science degree in Economy and Organizational Management from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. He also holds a Certificate in Corporate Directorship (ASC) from Université Laval. He is a member of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec (FCPA, FCGA) and the Ordre des administrateurs agréés du Québec (ADM.A). From 1979 to 2009, he served as CEO of Caisses Desjardins in Gentilly, Plessisville, Rocamadour and Limoilou. He was also Consulting and Performance Director from 1988 to 1999. From 2009 to 2011, he served as Vice President – Support for Business Credit Union and Mutual Companies within the Mouvement Desjardins. He has been President and CEO of the Conseil québécois de la coopération et de la mutualité since 2012. Mr. Bédard was nominated to the SDBJ Board of Directors and named Chairman by the Québec Cabinet on September 2, 2015.
Martin Breault, Vice-chairman of the Board
	Martin Breault holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a certificate in Political Studies from Université de Sherbrooke, as well as a Master’s degree in International Relations from Université Laval. He has been Associate Deputy Minister for Governance and Response Coordination at the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts (MERN) since November 2022. From 2018 to 2023, he held the positions of Director General of Hydrocarbons and Biofuels, Director General of Strategic Mandates and Associate Deputy Minister for Regional Operations within the same department. Between 1997 and 2002, Mr. Breault worked at the Department of National Defence in the successive roles of public affairs officer, advisor to the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, parliamentary affairs officer and, finally, corporate communications planner. He joined the Québec public service in 2002 and became a manager at the Ministère des Relations internationales in 2007 as secretary of the department and officer responsible for federal-provincial relations. From 2011 to 2018, he worked at the Ministère des Transports, first as head of rail transport services, then as director general of ground transportation of persons, before joining the MERN. On February 1, 2023, the Québec Cabinet appointed Mr. Martin Breault as a member and Vice-Chairman of the SDBJ Board of Directors.
Davey Bobbish, Director
	Mr. Bobbish holds a Diploma of Collegial Studies (DEC) in administration with a major in finance from Cégep de Saint-Laurent. He began his professional career in 1997 at the Chee-Bee Construction Company Inc., where he worked as Chief Accountant until 2002 before accepting the position of Director General and Treasurer of the Cree Nation of Chisasibi. From 2011 to 2012, he worked as Associate Director General of the Council of the Cree Nation of Chisasibi before being named Chief on March 8, 2012. In addition to his work in the public sector, Mr. Bobbish has acquired a great deal of experience as a Board member on various committees, including the Audit Committee for CREECO, as well as on the Cree Nation Government Board of Compensation. The Québec Cabinet nominated him to the SDBJ Board of Directors on January 30, 2018.
Jonathan Lapointe, Director
	Mr. Lapointe graduated from Université Laval with a Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgy and Materials in 2003 and has been a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec since 2006. Mr. Lapointe stands out for his business profile and his strong dedication to making a difference in terms of his region’s social, economic and environmental development. He began his career in the mining industry in 2003 as a process control and production metallurgist for the Inmet Mining Corporation. He then held the position of Chief Metallurgist and Concentrator Superintendent at Campbell Resources Inc. from 2006 to 2009. As a parallel venture in 2007, he founded Metchib Metallurgical Services Inc., a company specializing in laboratory mineral processing and metallurgical demonstration plant installations, where emphasis is placed on research and development with a view to creating new business opportunities in the region. In 2015, Mr. Lapointe became Founder and Vice-President of Business Development at Minopro Inc., as well as Founder and Vice-President of Training and Operations for Minopro-Cree Resources Inc. The Québec cabinet appointed him as a member of the SDBJ Board of Directors on June 10, 2020 so that he can use his experience and knowledge of the James Bay region to pursue the achievement of the SDBJ’s mission.
Vacant, Director

Alain Coulombe, CEO and Director
	Mr. Coulombe holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Athabasca University in Alberta, and a Masters in Business Administration from the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. His professional career began in 1988 when he became an administrative assistant to the SDBJ. Mr. Coulombe developed a keen interest in the field of economic development. In 1993, the SDBJ awarded him the position of Corporate Development Officer and, in 2000, that of economic development agent. He held that position until 2002, when he was promoted to Director of Economic Development. In March 2010, he was appointed Assistant General Manager of Economic Development. In November 2018, he was appointed Acting Vice-President, Operations and then CEO and Director on Mai 2^nd, 2019.
Josée Roy, Vice-President of Operations
	Ms. Roy holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an advanced graduate diploma in accounting from the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. In addition, she has been a member of the Québec Order of Chartered Accountants since 2001. Her professional career began in 1999 in the audit department of the KPMG accounting firm of Rouyn-Noranda. In 2002, she accepted a post as a financial analyst for the Conférence régionale des élus de la Baie-James and the Centre local de développement de la Baie-James in Matagami. In 2004, she began at the SDBJ as Director of Administration and Secretary-Treasurer. She was then appointed Vice-President of Operations and Secretary-Treasurer on June 16, 2020.
Emil Tagho, Vice-President of Infrastructure
	Mr. Tagho holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from École de technologie supérieure de Montréal. He has been a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec as a Junior Engineer since 2019. His professional career began in 2006, when he received a Diploma in Civil Engineering from École nationale supérieure de travaux publics in Yaoundé. He then held the position of Research Engineer for Road Infrastructure Design in Égis for five years before coming to Canada. From 2011 to 2015, he completed a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering to ensure his successful integration into the Canadian job market. Between 2012 and 2016, he completed respective professional internships as a Lab Technician and Assistant Road Project Coordinator with Eurovia, as well as a third internship as a Structural Engineer with ASP Expert conseil. Mr. Tagho joined SDBJ as Project Manager in December 2016 and was promoted to Project Director less than a year later. He was then appointed Vice-President of Infrastructure on June 16, 2020.
Simon T. Hébert, Mining Portfolio Director
	Mr. Hébert holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Université Laval. He has been a member of the Ordre des géologues du Québec [Québec’s professional order of geologists] since 2012. His professional career began when he joined Virginia Mines Inc. in 2011, working first as a geology intern and then as a geologist. In 2014, he accepted the position of Project Geologist at Exploration Osisko Baie-James, latterly Osisko Mining Inc. Mr. Hébert has worked on a number of metallogenic projects and in various environments relating to orogenic gold and VMS deposits, mainly in the Baie-James territory, Nunavik and the Northwest Territories. SDBJ welcomed him to its Chibougamau office as Mining Director in April 2019.
Éric Therrien, Economic Development Director
	Mr. Therrien holds a master’s degree in organizational management from bUniversité du Québec à Chicoutimi and is a member of the Ordre des Administrateurs Agrées du Québec. He began his professional career in 2003 as a teacher and content expert for the Commission scolaire de la Capitale. In 2008, he took on the role of Business Services Advisor and Regional Project Manager for the recognition of prior learning and competencies in vocational and technical training for the James Bay School Board. In 2009, he was hired as Production Manager at Les Chantiers Chibougamau ltée. In 2012, he started his own company, Services metallurgiques Taïga-Métal-Urgences, specializing in change management, psychological contract, asset management and management leadership. He then joined AFS Canada as Director of Operations in 2018. In 2021, he accepted a position as Advisor in Entrepreneurship and Development Projects at the Entrepreneurship and Spin-off Centre at l’Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. It was in 2022 that he started with the SDBJ as Senior Economic Development Advisor in 2022, and was appointed Director of Economic Development on March 13, 2023.
Angelin Dossou, Project Director
	Mr. Dossou holds a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Benin (1998) and a Master’s degree in advanced studies (DESS) in water resources planning from Burkina Faso and Switzerland (2004). He also holds a Master’s degree in development studies from Geneva, which he completed in 2009. He has been a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec since 2017. Mr. Dossou’s career began in Benin in 1998, when he joined Tecsult International Limited as a Site Supervision Engineer. In 2001, he joined Bathys Consult as Engineer and Project Manager of Urban Infrastructure and remained there until 2006. From 2006 to 2008, he worked for global humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger as the Engineer in charge of Water and Sanitation Programs in Côte d’Ivoire before moving to Canada. He began his professional career in Québec in 2010 as a Technical Officer – Municipal Engineering for the city of Montréal. Nine years later, he accepted a position as Technical Engineer for Municipal Infrastructure with the city of Laval and then joined WSP Canada inc. as a Municipal Infrastructure Engineer. Mr. Dossou joined SDBJ as Project Director in 2020.
Serge Manguele, Finance and administration Director and Secretary-Treasurer
	Mr. Manguele completed a bachelor’s degree in business administration with specialization in accounting sciences at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières in 2013, and a graduate diploma in public accounting at Université de Sherbrooke in 2014. He is also a member of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec. From 2007 to 2019, he held the position of Controller for various organizations such as ERG, Oaklins and the Tawich Development Corporation. He was named Financial Director of the Rotalec group in July 2019 and joined SDBJ as Director of Finance and Administration on February 1, 2021.
Gérard Djakou, Director of Infrastructure
	Gérard Djakou holds a civil engineering degree from Cameroon (2008) and a graduate degree in construction engineering with a major in infrastructure design and rehabilitation from the École de technologie supérieure in Montréal (2014). Mr. Djakou began his career in Cameroon in 1999 as a Road Design Technician with the firm Razel Cameroun. In 2002, he joined Égis Cameroun and remained with the company for the next 17 years, rising through the ranks to eventually become Development Officer. Following a trip to Canada in 2012, he settled here permanently in 2020. He started his professional career in Québec in 2021 when he joined SCI GLOBALE INC. as a Professional Engineer. Mr. Djakou became SDBJ’s Director of Infrastructure in June 2021.
Sarah Pier Dubois-Ouellet, Director of Human Resources and Communications
	Ms. Dubois-Ouellet holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in industrial relations from Université Laval. She has been a member of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés (Quebec’s professional order of certified human resources specialists) since 2014. She began her professional career in 2013 as a Human Resources Assistant with Adecco and took on the role of Regional Recruiter for the La Source (The Source) retail chain in 2016. Ms. Dubois-Ouellet joined SDBJ as Human Resources and Communications Coordinator in 2017 and was promoted to the position of Senior Human Resources and Communications Advisor in June 2020. She was named Director of Human Resources and Communications in July 2021.
Willy Nzouatoum, Director of information technology
	Mr. Nzouatoum holds a Master’s degree in system and network Administration from the University of Dschang in Cameroon (2020), and a Senior Technologist’s Certificate in Management Information from Cameroon’s Siantou University Institute (2004). He began his professional career as a programmer-analyst with MicroWorks Ltd. in 2004. In 2007, he accepted the position of Director of Information Systems at Providence Groupe in Cameroon. In 2010, he joined Cameroon’s National Financial Credit Bank as a Business Intelligence Programmer-Analyst and was named Head of the Data Centres and Infrastructure Department at the same institution in 2016. After arriving in Canada in 2022, he pursued his career, first as Bank Advisor and then, as Director of Customer Service for the National Bank of Canada. Mr. Nzouatoum joined SDBJ as Director of Information Technology in 2023.