Our Mentors

François enjoys supporting entrepreneurs who want to structure their ideas, take action, and gain perspective on their business vision. He enjoys working with committed individuals who strive to grow their business and strengthen their market position. For him, mentoring is a meaningful way to give back — through active listening, thoughtful insight, and the sharing of real-world experience. 

With over 36 years as a business leader, François has led the growth and transformation of several subsidiaries across Canada in the B2B distribution sector. He has built expertise in sales development, logistics, talent management, digital innovation, and growth through acquisition. He has also supported many executives in navigating both strategic and human challenges. 

Today, he brings this rich experience to entrepreneurs, with the goal of offering guidance that is both relevant and grounded in the day-to-day reality of business. 

Throughout his career, Guy has derived great satisfaction and motivation from being in contact with entrepreneurs. As such, it was only natural for him to take up coaching upon retirement, which led to his keen interest in mentoring in a structured, recognized organization. That’s how he came to join the SADC mentoring team. 

He is at ease with businesses of all sizes. His respectful and empathetic approach allows him to understand the issues faced by the people he meets. Logical and organized, it is important for Guy to approach situations with flexibility and good humour, which allows him to play down even the most complex situations. He has facilitated several succession transactions, particularly in cases of family succession, which required finesse and good communication if all parties were to be satisfied.

He sees mentoring as a long-term collaboration to ensure the entrepreneur enjoys lasting success. 

As an young active retiree, she is involved in the entrepreneurial community with the goal of helping the people she works with to grow and develop.

Nathalie is someone who enjoys a challenge and who dives right in. As a businesswoman, she had to prove herself when the family business came under her responsibility following the tragic death of her brother. She wishes she had had access to a mentoring service at that time.

She is not afraid to ask the real questions and broach frank discussions with the people she coaches. She is an open-minded and attentive listener who does not judge and knows how to adapt to the personalities and needs of her mentees. Between trips and ski outings, she wants to help entrepreneurs accomplish their objectives.

One of the questions that Daniel Drolet is asked when talking about his experience as an entrepreneur is how he went about starting his own business after a career in journalism.

Through his involvement as a mentor, he hopes to guide people who are experiencing this challenge. Although he had close collaborators with whom he could talk while in business, he is convinced that a mentor could have saved him from stumbling along at certain points of his career.

As a consultant, he has had the privilege of following the evolution of a few companies from start-up to growth. He has gained a deep understanding of the difficulties that entrepreneurs may encounter during the different phases of their journey.

This disciplined and dedicated man hopes to stimulate the thinking of people ready to commit to their business project.

With more than 40 years of experience in the family business, France has experienced great successes and encountered major challenges, such as the forestry crisis that affected an entire section of the company. A daring woman, she sees the difficulties she has encountered as opportunities to learn and to grow.

Now that she is self-employed, she continues to develop projects that take her out of her comfort zone and put her creativity to good use.

Altruistic by nature, it is essential for her to contribute to the well-being of her community, which she has done throughout her career by supporting as many causes as possible. It is with this desire to contribute that she joins the business mentoring team. She wishes to encourage her mentors to surpass themselves.

After spending 10 years as an intrapreneur within large corporations and another 10 years running her own business, Marie-Pierre is now ready to pay it forward. Having benefited from the guidance of mentors during her years at the helm of her company, she found their support to be extraordinary.

Today, as a mentor, Marie-Pierre views this role as an opportunity to continue evolving, to be intellectually stimulated, and to share the valuable lessons she has learned throughout her career. Her diverse professional background, including significant experience in accounting and the fashion industry, makes her analytical, curious, and creative.

Marie-Pierre stands out for her commitment and empathy. She is passionate about motivating entrepreneurs to take action and explore the numerous opportunities available to them. For her, mentorship is a unique chance to vent, structure her thoughts, and grow as an entrepreneur.

With an engineering background and an MBA and practical experience in large, medium, small (and tiny!) companies, mentor Louis Lapointe wants to share his toolbox with entrepreneurs in the region.

He compares himself to an X-ray machine, which can scan companies to find out what’s wrong and act on the real cause of the problem. And what about success? According to Louis Lapointe, success can be seen in the pride you take in accomplishing your projects every day.

And success with a capital “S” is the achievement of inner balance.

Louise Lapointe defines herself as a mentor you can trust: a confidant who is not too complacent, who gives the right information to the mentee, who treats them with respect.

Her motivation? Knowing that she can make a difference for an entrepreneur at a time when they may need a helping hand, empathy and an outsider’s point of view. Louise has the skills to motivate entrepreneurs to act on the things they can control, to clarify their feelings and make them recognize their strengths.

For this dedicated woman, success means giving 100% and being fulfilled in everything that is important to us in life.

Viviane is a mentor who understands both numbers and people, thanks to her extensive and diverse experience. She spent 20 years in the financial services industry as a tax partner, followed by 10 years running a business she founded—a private daycare.

She offers deeply human and grounded support to those who want to build a business that reflects who they are and aligns with their values. Viviane enjoys helping entrepreneurs who are just starting out, who are working with business partners, or who have aspirations that go beyond performance alone.

With clarity and compassion, she creates a space for listening and thoughtful reflection—one where people can think differently, while always staying rooted and resilient.

Coming from a computer technology background, it wasn’t long before Jean-Pierre transitioned into a management role. He developed his management style in order to help his teams to become efficient and agile in a creative and complex environment. He admits that he was not overbearing or domineering with his employees, preferring instead to listen to their ideas and promote employee engagement when it came to problem solving.  He takes the same approach with his mentees. He is a mentor so as to give back to the entrepreneurial community, but also to meet other entrepreneurs and continue to learn from his peers. Having lived through different phases as an entrepreneur, he knows he can support people who are going through challenges by helping them develop their management skills and let go, even in the most difficult of times.

Benoit is a mentor driven by a desire to pass on his knowledge and experience. With a degree in computer engineering, he has strong expertise in information technology, enriched by a background in finance and the banking sector. For 25 years, he led a company through steady growth, developing a comprehensive and practical vision of business. A generalist and project-oriented leader, he understands the many realities of an organization and prefers to move forward in a structured way. Analytical and thoughtful, he takes the time to listen, assess situations, and help ideas mature. He particularly supports family business successors and entrepreneurs who want to better structure and grow their organizations.

“Success is an art, it’s about believing”. And Martine Paiement is a Grand Master! This energetic mentor has the strength to accompany ambitious, innovative and passionate entrepreneurs focussed on growing their company.

By listening attentively and grasping the essentials, she leads the mentee to discover the big picture of opportunities, threats and barriers in the internal and external environment of the company.

A serial entrepreneur, Claude draws on wide-ranging experience with many business models across different industries. He knows how to ask the right questions and is ready to dig to find the right answers.

He has a great respect for people who start their own business and wants to contribute to the success of projects that could have an impact on the region. An advocate of participatory management, he describes his approach as “scientific and logical”. He likes to challenge the ideas of the entrepreneurs he accompanies and, at the same time, respects their decisions.

Claude is in his element when important decisions need to be made, when action is required, in situations where the status quo is not an option. He is known for his outspokenness, his ability to find practical solutions and his ability to meet challenges head on.

The man who describes himself as a stubborn go-getter explains that pitfalls motivate him more than they discourage him. Being functionally blind has never prevented him from achieving his goals and he even believes that it has helped him not to be afraid of taking risks.

He joins the mentoring cell to contribute to the business community in his area and continue to have a positive impact. He knows how to take the time to listen and can spur those around him to action. He is at ease in situations that require him to surpass himself, in moments when he must innovate and push the limits.

Michel wishes to accompany his mentees in their overall growth by helping them clarify their vision and put their priorities in order.

With over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience under his belt, Christian has met many people, young and old, who were starting their own business. It is during these exchanges that he quickly realized that he could put his experience to good use.

Entrepreneurship can be challenging and for him, it is a privilege to make a difference in the lives of people in business. Christian likes to be in the thick of things and particularly appreciates people who are not afraid to take certain risks, while remaining grounded.

As he thrives on challenges and likes to be on the move, he is an ideal mentor for seasoned entrepreneurs looking to push the envelope.