Dear members of the McGill community,
We are delighted to announce that the McGill University Board of Governors has approved the nomination of Pierre Boivin as the University’s 21st Chancellor. He will begin his three-year term on July 1, 2024.
Selected for his longstanding leadership in Quebec’s charitable and business sectors, as well as his exceptional ability to represent McGill with eloquent passion and grace, Mr. Boivin is currently the Vice-Chair of the Board of Claridge Inc., after having completed a twelve-year mandate as the president and CEO of the private investment firm, headquartered in Montreal. He is also well known to hockey fans as the president of the Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club, a post he held from 1999 to 2011. He also chairs the board of Metro Inc. and Solotech, and is a member of the boards of the National Bank of Canada and Groupe CH.
Since 2017, Mr. Boivin has made an outstanding contribution to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystems in Quebec and Canada. In May 2017, he was appointed by the Government of Quebec as co-chair of the Quebec AI Ecosystem Development Steering Committee. In 2018, he became the founding chair of the Board of Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, a partnership between McGill University and Université de Montréal, whose community features the world’s largest concentration of deep learning academic researchers globally. He oversaw the setup of the organization, as well as the financing and development of the new campus on a site that combines all of the fundamental elements, from basic research to applied research and commercialization, with the objective of fostering collaboration and the acceleration of innovation.
Mr. Boivin has chaired or co-chaired several foundations and fundraising initiatives in support of children and youth – notably as founder of the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation in 2000. He also chaired the board of the Fondation CHU Sainte-Justine from 2006 to 2012 and co-chaired the $255 million “Plus mieux guérir” campaign from 2013 to 2018.
In recognition of his many contributions to society, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2009, named “most socially committed top executive” by Les Affaires in 2015, and appointed a knight of the Ordre national du Québec in 2017.
Mr. Boivin will succeed Chancellor John McCall MacBain, whose term will end on June 30, 2024. In welcoming Mr. Boivin, we also take this opportunity to express our profound gratitude to Chancellor McCall MacBain for his three years of exemplary service. Throughout his term, he has been an extraordinary McGill ambassador, representing and serving the University with great dedication on our campuses and around the world.
Sincerely,
Maryse Bertrand, Chair, Board of Governors
Deep Saini, President and Vice-Chancellor