Approach
A Collaborative Strategy to Operating Sustainably
Our multi-disciplinary team is dedicated to sustainably developing and operating our renewable power portfolio, contributing to the country’s low-carbon economy. Building trust is key to our approach, doing right by our employees and our stakeholders by appropriately considering them throughout our decision-making process. Our strong health and safety culture, which promotes our team’s and the public’s safe interaction with the environment around our facilities, is core to how we manage our business.
Operating Sustainably
Growing our renewable power portfolio while also having a positive environmental, social and economic impact on the communities where we live and work.
How we operate is just as important as the clean power we produce.
Partnering Locally
Creating a modern, low-carbon future starts locally.
Our relationships with the communities where we own and develop assets is key to the success of all and is predicated upon building trust through open dialogue and shared knowledge.
Developing Collaboratively
Striving to be a trusted partner of choice for governments, organizations and Indigenous peoples looking to sustainably develop Canada’s renewable power resources.
We’re dedicated to designing and developing renewable power solutions that reflect our clients and communities needs and contribute to long-term value.
LEADERSHIP
The Team at the Forefront of Our Commitments
Evolugen’s collaborative culture starts with our leadership. After working together for several years, our executive team is a close-knit group of individuals who effectively and enthusiastically collaborate on strategies and initiatives that advance our company’s ambitions.
Josée Guibord
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Our solid history and expertise put us in a unique position to contribute to our country’s goals for a low-carbon economy. It is natural for us to envision our growth in collaboration with our communities and Indigenous partners.”
Josée Guibord
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Named CEO in 2018, Josée is accountable for leading Evolugen and advancing its strategic growth within Canada. She draws on her extensive experience as General Counsel and Senior Vice-President (SVP), Legal Services for Brookfield Renewable’s North American platform. Since joining in 2011, she has acted in a strategic advisory role during periods of significant expansion and transformation, contributing to the success of several large-scale organizational transitions, such as the creation of Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. in 2011.
Becoming SVP in 2015, she led her legal team on all aspects of the business, including financing, litigation and acquisition among other corporate and commercial matters. Josée is the Vice-Chair of the board of directors of the Electricity Canada Association, Canada’s national forum and voice of the evolving electricity business in Canada. She is also Vice-Chair of WaterPower Canada, providing direction in the promotion and advocacy of sustainable hydropower in Canada.
In addition, as an active member of her local community, she has volunteered on a number of boards of directors for charitable organizations and is currently Vice-Chair of Dress for Success National Capital Region, empowering women and gender non-conforming individuals to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and development tools to help them thrive.
Prior to joining the Brookfield Renewable family, Josée acted as an in-house lawyer for a multi-national mining company, advising on regulatory, operational and corporate matters. She began her career in a prominent Toronto law firm, where she provided counsel on corporate and public securities matters.
Micheline Pion, CPA
Chief financial officer (CFO)
Named CFO in 2018, Micheline draws on over a decade of experience at Evolugen, developing her financial and leadership skills throughout her tenure. In her current role as CFO, her responsibilities include strategic direction of the company’s business development, energy trading, finance, risk management and overseeing information technology and office management. She has held several management positions, including Vice-President, Accounting & Reporting; and Vice-President, Finance. Over the years, Micheline has contributed to advancing the business during key periods of growth, including multiple acquisitions, and shaping the company in stages of expansion and transformation, including the creation of publicly traded entities.
Prior to joining the Brookfield Renewable family, Micheline worked at a large accounting firm, leading her team in delivering accounting and auditing projects to her clients.
Normand Perreault, P.ENG
Chief operating officer (COO)
Normand is accountable for the operation and development of all Evolugen facilities and projects across the country. With 35 years of experience in hydro and wind facilities, he leads maintenance and large capital expenditure projects, including facility upgrades and new constructions, in addition to overseeing our System Control Center. Normand also manages our Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSS&E) program, a cornerstone of our strong safety culture.
Prior to joining the Brookfield Renewable family in the early ‘90s, Normand specialized in industrial engineering and construction project management for large-scale hydro projects in James Bay, QC with prominent engineering firms.
Marie-Hélène Labbé
Senior vice-president (SVP), legal services and general counsel
Holding a Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from McGill University, as well as an MBA from the University of Ottawa, Marie-Hélène brings over 15 years of experience. In her current role at Evolugen, she leads all legal services, including matters relating to acquisitions, project development and financing.
Since joining the company in 2011, she has held a variety of roles in the legal team in which she has contributed to advancing the organization’s business goals during various periods of growth and transformation.
Prior to joining the Brookfield Renewable family, Marie-Hélène practiced corporate and commercial law at a large Canadian law firm, acting for many international clients, including state-owned entities and governments.
Geoff Wright
Senior Vice-President (SVP), Head of Development
Geoff is the Head of Development at Brookfield Renewable where he leads the business team that is responsible for all renewable and transition development investments in Canada. Prior to this role, Geoff helped to coordinate global commercial and business development strategies across a portfolio of decarbonization solutions in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
Geoff is keenly focused on understanding how a business can transition its operations in an increasingly carbon constrained world and drive value for all parties to a transaction. Geoff has been with Brookfield since 2013 in progressively senior roles in research, business development and management and has helped to deploy multiple billions of dollars across Renewable, Infrastructure and Private Equity transactions. With both public and private sector experience, Geoff brings a pragmatic, systems perspective to the challenges and opportunities associated with the energy transition.
Geoff is a volunteer director with QUEST, a national non-profit that supports communities in Canada on their pathway to net-zero and holds a Masters Degree in Economics from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and a BA from the University of Manitoba.
Frédéric Verlez, CFA
Senior vice-president (SVP), Business Development and Strategy
Frédéric was appointed to Evolugen’s leadership team in 2020 and oversees the business strategies related to Evolugen’s assets as well as the organization’s growth through acquisitions, development or investment in new technologies.
Prior to joining Brookfield Renewable in 2015, Frédéric held several senior positions in financial risk management at Hydro-Québec, particularly in relation with the U.S. Northeast wholesale power markets. In addition, he was responsible for managing the risks of the public corporation’s pension plan and treasury operations. Frédéric was also for many years a consultant and partner at Solutions Modex (now Direxyon), specializing in financial modelling and computerized risk management system development in the power and finance sectors. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA Institute) designation, and he holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and an M. Sc. in Finance from Sherbrooke University.
Simon Laroche
Vice-president (VP), Trading and Marketing
Being recently appointed to the Evolugen leadership team, Simon is responsible for commercial initiatives, including trading, origination, long-term contracting and regulatory affairs in Canada as well as supporting business development, strategy and growth initiatives for the company.
Simon joined the Brookfield Renewable family in 2004 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master’s in Finance, with honours, from Laval University in Quebec City. Simon has vast experience in the field, creating value through trading, marketing and structured transactions, coupled by leading the front office team, comprised of more than 30 traders and energy professionals responsible for physical and financial revenue management for a portfolio of 10 gigawatts of installed capacity with revenues north of $1.5 billion per year. With more than 18 years of expertise, he has become a seasoned energy markets professional in physical and financial North American markets.
Jonathan Lee
Vice-president (VP), human resources
In his role, Jonathan leads the human resource function with the objective of providing a world-class employment experience to Evolugen’s growing business. Under his leadership, he, and his team work to promote and support the organization’s collaborative learning culture by creating flexible, high-performing teams of passionate professionals.
Since joining the company in 2013, Jonathan has progressively taken on more senior management positions, becoming VP, Human Resources in 2018. Throughout his tenure, he has led large-scale change management initiatives to support the evolving needs of our expanding business, including organizational transitions during mergers and acquisitions.
Prior to joining the Brookfield Renewable family, Jonathan worked at a major engineering consulting firm, where he oversaw all human resources functions for Eastern and Northern Ontario.
Rémi Moreau
Vice-President (VP), Government and External Relations
Rémi was appointed to the Evolugen leadership team in 2020 and is responsible for non-market strategy, including government and external relations, reputation and brand management to strategically position Evolugen in the evolving Canadian marketplace. Rémi holds an Executive MBA from Smith School of Business at Queen’s University
Prior to joining Brookfield Renewable in 2017, Rémi held several senior roles within the Federal Government, working for the Prime Minister of Canada and various Ministers. Rémi also has a deep understanding of the inner workings of government, having worked as a Political Advisor, on election campaigns and as a Departmental Official. Additionally, he held roles in public affairs, including a Senior Advisor position for a leading Public Affairs agency in Montreal, QC. Through these roles, he advised senior private and government officials on government relations, communications and issues management.
Broader team
The People Bringing Our Vision to Life
Kelly Withers
Compliance & Licensing – Sault Ste. Marie, ON
In managing operational compliance for Ontario and Quebec, I have the opportunity to support local projects that protect the environment. Through some of these initiatives, I work with researchers, scientists and regulators to better understand how our operations interact with the environment, enabling us to mitigate or eliminate our environmental impact through well-informed decisions.
Harvin Narayan
Operations – Powell River, BC
As part of the Operations team, I oversee all operations and maintenance work on our hydro stations in British Columbia, promoting our strong health and safety culture in every aspect of our work. In our daily management, my team and I look to protect and enhance the biodiversity of the lakes and river systems affected by our operations, and take pride in caring for facilities that have been part of the local community for almost a century.
Éric Dulude
Operations – Lièvre River, QC
As Senior Manager of Operations in Quebec, I have the pleasure of working with a fantastic team. Together, we ensure the efficient operation of our Lièvre hydro stations through upgrade and maintenance projects. In doing so, we continuously emphasize the health and safety of our employees and the public, as well as the protection of the environment.
