The Shift: A Journey to Courageous Leadership and Current Economic Realities

Chairman of the Board, UNI Financial Cooperation and faculty member, Université de Moncton

Pierre-Marcel Desjardins was elected vice chair of the Fédération des caisses populaires acadiennes’ Board of Directors in 2010. Two years later, he was named chair of the board, a position he still holds at UNI Financial Cooperation.

As a Université de Moncton faculty member, he has been a sessional lecturer (1990–1993), assistant professor (1993–1998), and chairholder of the Chaire des caisses populaires acadiennes en études coopératives of the Université de Moncton from 1996 to 2001. In 1998, he became an associate professor of the Department of Economics and was later named full professor of the same department in 2007. Mr. Desjardins was also a research associate at the Université de Moncton’s Canadian Institute for Research on Regional Development from 1990 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2003. In 2005, he became a research associate at the Université de Moncton Canadian Institute for Research on Public Policies and Administrations. Pierre-Marcel Desjardins has been Director of the Université de Moncton’s École des hautes études publiques since 2016.

Mr. Desjardins holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences (Economics) and a master’s degree in Economics from the Université de Moncton. He presided over the Atlantic Canada Premiers’ Panel on the Employment-Insurance Reform Impact and was part of the New Brunswick’s Pension task force. He also served as chair of the Pays de la Sagouine’s Board of Directors from 2001 to 2012.

Founder and CEO of O Strategies, Coach, teacher, holistic leadership trainer, and complex system facilitator

If anyone understands what it takes to create an engaging and productive workplace culture, it’s Myriane Ouellette.

Myriane is the founder and CEO of O Strategies, a Canadian management consulting firm. Coach, teacher, holistic leadership trainer, and complex system facilitator, she is an expert in human-centered and holistic leadership. Always leading with purpose and humanity, Myriane’s main purpose is to transform the way our society values the contribution of individuals to the workplace.

She speaks and writes about constant change and the power of adaptability and resilience. Having worked for organizations and institutions where she felt undervalued, she knew that she had to take charge and shift the dialogue surrounding workplace culture by launching her own business. With a growing sensitivity towards others and the societal problems that organizations and institutions face, Myriane developed her social enterprise model that puts collective wisdom at the forefront of her business while prioritizing people, the planet, and prosperity equally.