He saw the birth of Quebec inc. as an economic journalist at To have to in the 1970s. He made Quebec’s flagships flourish in the 1980s as director of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. At the end of his life, he oversaw the grain of local businesses as Director General of the Institute on Governance (IGOPP). The great pioneer of entrepreneurship in Quebec, Michel Nadeau, died of cancer late Tuesday afternoon.
Michel Nadeau himself conceded having been “present at every stage” in the history of Quebec inc.
It is behind a typewriter of the To have to that he made his debut in the economic world, in 1973. He then worked to publicize the successes of local entrepreneurs, his pen giving credibility to Quebec industrialists. “I created a business star system inspired by sports and artistic circles, ”he said in a final interview with his former employer last month. In the space of a decade, he rose from the status of journalist to that of columnist and director of economic pages.
His lucid outlook on the business world caught the eye of Jean Campeau, at the time president of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), who hired him. “Quebecers’ woolen socks” then began to invest outside the country. Thanks to Michel Nadeau, the Caisse is opening offices around the world. “We wanted young Quebecers to develop and shine abroad,” he explained. “He did not see a wall around Quebec,” adds his brother, Jacques Nadeau. “We had to make ourselves known to the world, Quebeckers. “
Michel Nadeau also exerts all his weight so that the Caisse not only is profitable, but benefits the local economic fabric as much as possible. “When we negotiated a transaction, we had to seek the best possible return and, at the cost of an additional effort, obtain spinoffs for the Quebec economy,” he explained. The CDPQ also vibrated in these years to the sound of the slogan “Let’s make Quebecers a people of owners”. Jacques Nadeau assures us that “strengthening Quebec companies” was his brother’s top priority and that “we shouldn’t just invest in multinational companies and stocks”.
When he left the Caisse in 2002 and at the same time the management of the CDP Capital branch, this company had more than $ 100 billion in assets. The new management of the CDPQ then closed the offices that Michel Nadeau had opened abroad. “Michel was furious,” says Jacques Nadeau.
” Very brave “
The third major function of the economist will be exercised at the head of the Institute on the governance of private and public organizations (IGOPP). In this institute that he helped to found, he devoted himself to the success of companies of all sizes. His qualities as a mediator allow him to resolve dead ends as much with SMEs, non-profit organizations as in large parastatal institutions. Jacques Nadeau remembers his brother as “the sweetest human being I have ever known in my life. With Michel, [l’essentiel], it was always talking to other people to help businesses. “
“Michel Nadeau was an interesting matchmaker who knew how to join businesses and put people in touch with each other. He was well acquainted with the economic fabric. It had ramifications all over the place. He always knew who to call, ”says the current CEO of IGOPP, François Dauphin. “He knew how to pass on his passion to the administrators he worked with. He was a motivator, a mobilizer, an extraordinary popularizer. “
(Re) read our interview with Michel Nadeau
Michel Nadeau has never ceased to intervene in the media – both French and English – to democratize the economy. “If there was one truth to be told, there was no hesitation. He was very courageous, ”comments Mr. Dauphin.
“In some areas he was going against the grain. Michel liked to be different, ”adds Jacques Nadeau. “He didn’t want to become a CEO. He could have become a CEO and become a millionaire, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to offer something to Quebec society. “
Michel Nadeau has never declared himself openly in favor of the political independence of Quebec. It is above all the vision of a “financially autonomous” Quebec that articulated its thinking from its first steps in the world of entrepreneurship. “I made it my duty to work for Quebec,” he summed up again, a few weeks before his death.