New head of business development at Hydro-Québec

Hydro-Québec is pleased to announce the appointment of Pierre Despars as Vice President – Corporate Strategy and Business Development, effective immediately. Mr. Despars takes over the duties of Martin Imbleau, who will become President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Port Authority in January 2021.

As head of corporate strategy and business development, Mr. Despars will be responsible for mapping out and updating corporate strategies, developing electricity export markets and accelerating the company’s growth by seizing business opportunities both in Québec and beyond its borders.

Pierre Despars holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from HEC Montréal and an MBA from Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business. He is a Fellow of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec (FCPA) [Québec order of chartered professional accountants] and was recognized for his achievements by the Québec Chapter of Financial Executives International Canada (FEI Canada), which presented him with the Ace of Finance award in the “Financial executive of a large corporation” category in 2014.

Mr. Despars enjoyed a lengthy career at Énergir where he held several key positions, mainly in finance. As Chief Financial Officer from 2003 to 2017, he implemented the company’s diversification strategy and oversaw a number of acquisitions in the United States. He also managed Énergir’s investments in the Vermont natural gas and power distribution sectors. From 2017 until recently, he served as Chairman of the Board of Standard Solar, an Énergir subsidiary specialized in the development and management of photovoltaic solar facilities in the United States.

Information:

Hydro-Québec
Media Relations
514 289-5005 (Option 2)