Meet our Management Team

Charles Boulanger

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

A serial entrepreneur who has successfully raised over $625M in financing and completed several acquisitions and sales transactions, including two IPOs and one management leverage buyout (LMBO). Mr. Boulanger has over 35 years of experience in senior management positions in several sectors, especially in the high-tech sector, with public and private companies. He has been a key player in carrying out complex financial deals as well as international marketing and commercialization strategies, and joint ventures. Mr. Boulanger had lead profitable international businesses with over $250M in sales.

Mr. Boulanger became LeddarTech’s CEO in 2014 after being acting CEO for two years. Since 2008, he has also been President of Moody Management Inc., a private investment firm. Prior to LeddarTech, he was the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Unipex SAS as of 2008. He was President of the Active Ingredients and Specialty Chemicals Division of Atrium Innovations (TSX: ATB) from 2004 to 2008. Before joining Atrium, he was the Founder and President of Québec International following a partnership with Phénix Capital.

Frantz Saintellemy

President and Chief Operating Officer

Engineer, innovator and internationally recognized expert in advanced technologies, Mr. Saintellemy has over 21 years of experience in the electronics and automotive sector, with specialized knowledge in automotive, autonomous driving, AI, IoT and automation applications, in addition to business and product development, applications engineering, global sales and marketing. A dedicated entrepreneur and philanthropist, he is also Co-founder of Groupe 3737, an incubator and innovation center that houses more than 30 companies and start-ups, in addition to offering a framework for ideation to revenue generation.

Frantz Saintellemy joined LeddarTech in September 2017, having previously served as VP and General Manager of the Automotive and Industrial Division of Integrated Device Technology (Nasdaq: IDTI), a California-based company specializing in a broad array of complete mixed-signal solutions. Prior to IDT, Mr. Saintellemy was President and Executive VP of Global Sales and Marketing at ZMDI AG, a global supplier of MEMs-based sensor solutions for automotive and industrial applications, which was acquired by IDT in December 2015. Prior to ZMDI, Mr. Saintellemy was CTO and Corporate VP of Technical Marketing and Advanced Engineering Group at Future Electronics, a global distributor of semiconductors and passive, interconnect and electromechanical components.

Throughout his career, Mr. Saintellemy has produced numerous patents and technical innovations. He also founded and co-founded many successful start-ups and corporations, the likes of which include SMGT Inc., Q-Links Home Automation, Groupe Reno-Metrix, Capital Plus and OMNI Global, and sits on several boards and advisory committees.

Mr. Saintellemy holds degrees in electrical engineering, business and marketing, and is also a graduate of the MIT Sloan Engineering Fellows Program on Innovations and Global Leadership.

Dino Rambidis, CPA, CA

Chief Financial Officer

Dino Rambidis has more than 30 years of experience in financial leadership roles with public and private companies across multiple industries, notably in the financial sector. Before joining LeddarTech, Dino served as Chief Financial Officer at Stornoway Diamond Corporation and as Senior Vice-President, Corporate Finance at Fiera Capital and Vice-President, Finance and Operations at PSP Investments.

As LeddarTech’s Chief Financial Officer, Dino is involved with the leadership team on financial strategy and oversees the corporate finance, financial planning, risk management, and audit functions. As well, he manages investor relations, treasury, and taxation matters.

Dino is a Chartered Public Accountant. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University and a Graduate Diploma in Public Accountancy from McGill University.

Pierre Olivier, Eng.

Chief Technology Officer

Recognized for his technical expertise as well as his vision, Pierre has numerous years’ experience in the development of high-tech products.

Upon graduating from university in 1991, he joined CML Technologies, where very early on, his ability to manage projects in a pragmatic and efficient manner became clear. He quickly moved up the corporate ladder, while developing his management skills. Pierre has also designed a number of innovative, adaptable, practical and robust products that are used worldwide in strategic applications such as emergency dispatch and air traffic control, and he holds several patents for his work. He then continued his career at Adept Technology Canada and at DAP Technologies before joining the LeddarTech team in 2010.

Pierre Olivier holds a degree in electrical engineering from Université Laval and is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (Québec’s order of professional engineers).

Richard LaRue

Chief Legal Officer

Since early in his career, Richard LaRue has been involved with new technologies, their development, protection and commercialization. He has worked extensively with software and biotech companies, as well as start-ups, in all aspects of their business, including their constitution, the negotiation and drafting of international agreements and their equity and debt financing. Richard also has proven experience in corporate law, financing and equity transactions and mergers and acquisitions. He has practiced in these areas across Canada, Europe, and the U.S. Richard joined LeddarTech as Chief Legal Officer in January 2019 to support their growth across several global markets. Richard began his practice in Montreal, Canada with a top-tier Canadian law firm. He then traveled to Brussels in 1992 to reinforce another reputable Canadian firm’s workforce heading into the European Single Market. Since then, he has been active in his preferred areas of law on both sides of the Atlantic.

Richard holds Bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration (B.A.A.) with a specialization in Finance and in Civil Law (LL.B.) from Université Laval and was called to the Quebec Bar (Montreal Chapter) in 1983. He also became a professional chartered administrator in 1992. Richard joined the Brussels Bar (Francophone Section) in 1994 after having obtained his Belgian Law diploma equivalency from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Richard is a member of the Canadian and International Bar Associations, an associate member of the American Bar Association, as well as a member of the North American Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. He has been recognized as a Fellow in the Practice of International Law by the International Bar Association jointly with the College of Law of England and Wales (now known as the University of Law, London, U.K.).

Antonio Polo

Vice-President, Engineering

With a passion for building great teams that build great products, Antonio Polo joined LeddarTech as Vice President, Engineering in June 2018, working closely with the entire engineering team to support LeddarTech’s growth and accelerate product development.Antonio brings a solid engineering career spanning over 25 years to his new position at LeddarTech. With more than 10 years’ experience in key leadership positions, he has served as Head of Systems Engineering, VP of Engineering, and Head of Software Engineering, a position he held for more than eight years during an 18-year career at EXFO, where he played a key role in positioning EXFO as the worldwide optical test solutions market leader in the Telecom industry.

In addition to his leadership positions, Antonio has held various engineering-related management positions, including Project Manager, Engineering Project Lead, and Lead Software Engineer, a role he held for over six years at Cubanacan S.A.

Antonio holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Software Engineering and a Master of Business Administration (Executive MBA) from Laval University. He also undertook studies in the Executive Entrepreneurship Program at Babson College.

Daniel C Aitken

Vice-President, Global Marketing and Product Line Management

With more than 20 years’ experience in the technology industry which includes strategic business development and marketing, Daniel Aitken is responsible for development and execution of the corporate marketing and communications plan and sustaining corporate brand and strategic initiatives. As part of this mandate, he oversees public relations, the corporate brand, strategic planning and partnerships.

Daniel began his marketing career in 1994 and transitioned into the technology industry in 1996 eventually becoming the Director of the Strategic Business Development Unit of Future Electronics. As president of his own marketing agency Daniel re-located to Los Angeles in 2008 where he provided consultancy services to various corporations. In 2012 he joined the German based tech company ZMDI where he successfully held the position of Director of Global Marketing and Communications. He later relocated in 2016 to Silicon Valley to lead the marketing efforts of Integrated Device Technology as Senior Director of the division.

Daniel joined LeddarTech in August 2018 as Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

Michael Poulin, Eng.

Vice-President, Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Development

Michael Poulin began with LeddarTech since 2010 and is responsible for the leadership of the product management division, which also includes applications engineers and system specialists. This team is devoted to delivering a LiDAR platform that enables our customers to develop their own optimized LiDAR solutions that satisfy their mobility application requirements while maximizing value for them and their end-customers.

Over the course of his career, Michael has acquired extensive experience managing teams that have successfully delivered a wide range of LiDAR and other advanced technological products such as implantable neurosensing and neurostimulation medical devices and motorized prosthetics

Stéphane Rousseau

Vice-President, Global Operations

With 25 years of experience as manufacturing vice-president and multi-site manager across North America, Mr. Rousseau has proven project management abilities having led small to major scopes of CapEx and continuous improvement initiatives. He worked early in his career in process automation related to biotechnology and pharmaceutical and spent his last 15 years at two major North American paper companies (Kruger and Cascades).

Mr. Rousseau holds degrees from École Polytechnique de Montréal in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in process control and is a graduate from Queen’s University management program. He also sat on multiple boards including Liquid Air process control division (Aliment), PRIMA a nanotechnology/nanomaterials consortium, and is presently on board of BELT, an environmentally friendly bio-energy project.

Marie-Pier Fortier

Vice-President, Human Resources

Marie-Pier is a leader in human resource management with experience in fast-growth global companies. She spent the first years of her HR career in London, England, prior to joining a leading American videogame publishing company headquartered in California. In 2017 she transitioned to the role of Director of Human Resources at LeddarTech. Since joining the company, Marie-Pier has contributed significantly, an example of this is when LeddarTech expanded within Canada and entered the U.S., Europe, and Asia markets beginning in 2019. During this rapid expansion, Marie-Pier launched a successful global employee recruitment strategy that led within two years to a 400+% staffing, resulting in an impressive augmentation of LeddarTech’s wealth of technical expertise.

Marie-Pier holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Industrial Relations and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Management with a major in Human Resources and has expertise in team development and process management, including the implementation of effective recruitment, resource management, and human capital program development.

Marie-Pier plays a vital role in the successful growth of the organization and possesses a proven record of commitment to employees, customers, and shareholders.

Board of Directors

Michel Brûlé
Chairman of the Board

For nearly 20 years, Michel Brûlé has pursued two careers, in part concurrently: first, at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) as a professor, researcher and dean, and secondly in business, as an entrepreneur and the founder of six technology companies. He sold two of his companies in 2000, including Inno Media Logic (IML) Inc., a transaction that was described as the “Best VC Deal in Canada for 2000.” Around the same time, he began a career as an angel investor with the creation of Investissements M&M. He also had a hand in starting up the FIER Longueuil regional economic intervention fund. In recognition of his contribution, the National Angel Capital Organization named him “Canadian Angel of the Year” in 2010.

Michel Brûlé sits on the Board of Directors of Investissement Québec, the Anges Québec network, Cogiscan Inc., Octasic Inc. and Varitron Technologies Inc. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Ontario-based OMERS Venture Capital.

Mr. Brûlé holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Ottawa and is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec. He also received an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa in 2012.

 

Charles Boulanger
Board member

A graduate in engineering from Laval University in 1981 with senior management training from the International Center for Research and Studies in Management (CIREM), Charles Boulanger is recognized for his decision-making ability in complex and dynamic environments.

Over the past 30 years, his leadership allowed him to occupy senior management positions both nationally and internationally in several industrial sectors with companies such as Shell Canada, Irving Oil, GSI Environment and Prolab Technologies. He has been involved in several IPO’s, LBO’s, mergers and acquisitions and complex financings as well as in international joint ventures.

Allergic to the status quo, he carries a vision and a business strategy focused on development and growth. He is known for being a creative leader with a strong capacity for analysis and synthesis and an excellent understanding of markets and marketing.

 

Fabio Gambacorta
Board member

Fabio Gambacorta is Vice President, Sales and Business Development of Octasic, a global provider of media and wireless baseband processing silicon and software solutions for the converged carrier, enterprise and end-point communication equipment markets.

Prior to joining Octasic, Mr. Gambacorta served as Director of Business Development, New Network Access at NMS Communications and Director of Sales at InnoMedialogic. He draws upon his extensive experience in the telecommunications and electronics industries to guide corporate strategies, sales and business development initiatives. He holds a BSEE from the Polytechnique University of Montreal and an MBA from Cornell/Queens.

 

Simon C. Morris
Board member

Simon Morris is a serial technology entrepreneur and business leader with over 25 years of experience, leading 3 three technology start-ups focused on the development of innovative signal processing technologies, in particular for automotive applications. Most recently he was founder CEO for IRYStec Software from January 2016, and in that role raised both Seed seed and Seriesseries-A financing while securing multiple automotive tier-1 and OEM design wins and a production win with a major German OEM. IRYStec was acquired by automotive tier-1 Faurecia-Clarion in March 2020. Simon was also CEO of CogniVue Corporation, launched in 2010, which developed a patented low low-power computer vision and neural net processor technology, tools, and embedded vision libraries deployed in automotive camera systems and consumer smart camera products. With its computer vision processor in production vehicles, CogniVue was then acquired by Freescale Semiconductor (later NXP Semiconductor) in September 2015, delivering one of the highest ROIs for its venture investors. Prior to launching CogniVue, Mr. Morris was Director at BDC Venture Capital. From 1995 to 2006, he held various senior and executive leadership positions at Atsana Semiconductor, which was his first start-up, and held a number of senior management positions at Texas Instruments (TI) in Dallas, Texas and Nice, France, including leading the definition and development of TI’s first 3G wireless base station chipsets based on the first C64X DSP core.

Mr. Morris also provides business coaching to several tech entrepreneurs, including Nuport Robotics, a Toronto Toronto-based start-up focused on autonomous vehicle market, and InventionShare, where he is leading its Sensors -in- Motion affiliate to develop a plan to license its breakthrough transistor technology in the mobility market. Mr. Morris holds an M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering and a B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada. He is also, a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario and was an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2014.

 

Robert Baumann
Board member

Mr. Robert Baumann has been serving as a member of the LeddarTech supervisory board since 2018. He is the CFO for the Automotive and Special Lighting Business Unit of Osram AG, in Germany. From 2001 to 2018, he held several leading finance positions in the US, Asia and Europe, and has a strong experience in implementing new business models. Mr. Baumann holds two Master’s degrees, one in business administration and the other in law.
He is described as an energetic and communicative finance executive with more than 20 years’ global finance experience in B2C and B2B within various industries (automotive, consumer electronics and lighting), is results- and improvement-driven and acting as a strong business partner to the CEO/Management team. He combines strong leadership skills with a focus on people and team development through empowerment and coaching, and has worked and lived in Austria, Denmark, the USA, Singapore, Netherlands and Germany.

 

Peter Marks
Board member

Peter Marks joined the LeddarTech Board of Directors in October of 2018. He is the owner of Executive Consulting Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Mr. Marks has extensive experience serving as a member on several Board of Directors. He is presently a board member at Broadcom Inc. and Executive Advisor at Gryphon Investors. He has decades of automotive industry experience, most notably in his past position as Chairman, President and CEO of Robert Bosch LLC, where his responsibilities included the Americas, as well as the global coordination of manufacturing worldwide.

Mr. Marks has 35 years’ experience in industries such as automotive, technology, consumer goods and building technology, as well as in businesses serving different sales channels worldwide, including in North America, South America, Germany, Hungry, Russia, France, Netherlands, Belgian, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Korea, India, China, Australia and South Africa. He has a keen interest in organizational development for leadership, strategic planning, production systems (LEAN manufacturing), engineering systems, project management and global business unit organization. Mr. Marks holds a master’s degree in engineering from the Fachhochschule University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

 

Dominique Bélanger
Board member

Dominique Bélanger is Managing Partner, Co-Investments with BDC Capital. He is also Managing Partner of Diversified Portfolio and GO Capital.

Dominique joined BDC in 2010 as a Director, Strategic Investments for BDC Venture Capital. He was promoted to Vice President and managed the Strategic Investments & Partnerships fund. Dominique also worked as Managing Director, Fund Investments before heading the Co-Investment Steam in 2017.

Before joining BDC, Dominique was co-founder and President of Gamerizon Studio, Inc. Previously, he was Chief Financial Officer of the venture-backed Quazal Technologies, Inc. (acquired by Ubisoft). He also advised various technology companies and private investors on investments, financing, start-ups and restarts.

Dominique began his professional career as a communications officer for the Canadian Armed Forces in 1994. Then, as a senior consultant with Deloitte Consulting, he went on to carry out several IT strategy operationalization mandates for multiple Fortune 500 companies. In 2003, he joined the venture capital firm Innovatech Montreal as Investment Manager, IT and Telecom, and then continued to manage the assets once Coller Capital acquired Innovatech’s portfolio.

Dominique holds an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada, an MBA from HEC Montréal, Université de Montréal’s business school, as well as a certificate in entrepreneurship from MIT.