After having held a number of key positions in Quebec society, former senior civil servant Louis Roquet died overnight from Thursday to Friday, at the age of 80.
During his long career, he was the first CEO of Investissement Québec, which he helped to found, and Chairman of its Board of Directors, CEO of the Société des Alcools du Québec ( SAQ), General Manager of the City of Montreal and President of the Desjardins investment division, Desjardins Venture Capital.
“He was an exceptional person,” says Christian Yaccarini, president and CEO of Société de Développement Angus (SDA) and long-time friend of Mr. Roquet, with emotion. “He always had remarkable integrity. He was a very humble, highly intelligent person who was always available to help. »
The two men met in the mid-1990s, during the process of creating the SDA, of which Mr. Roquet had agreed to occupy the presidency of the board of directors. “He was in all the fights, all the efforts, remembers Mr. Yaccarini. Angus was made thanks to Louis Roquet. »
After university studies which led him to obtain a doctorate in administration at Harvard University, Louis Roquet taught at HEC Montréal. He then embarked on a successful career in the public sector.
Twice hired as director general of the City of Montreal, first in 1994, then in 2010, he was mandated, during his second term, to restore order at city hall. His appointment came after the water meter scandal that had plagued the administration of Mayor Gérald Tremblay. He had left three years before the scheduled end of his term for personal reasons.
He continued his career at Investissement Québec (1998-2002), the SAQ (2002-2004) and Desjardins Venture Capital (2004-2009).
In 2018, Mr. Roquet was appointed Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of the University of Montreal.
He is survived by his wife, three children and four grandchildren.