Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin joined CIRANO in 2000 as a postdoctoral researcher and was appointed President and CEO in 2016, after serving as Vice-President from 2008 to 2016. Since 2011, she has led the CIRANO Barometer project on risk perception in Quebec, which annually collects data on Quebecers’ concerns regarding 47 major societal issues. She is also Head of the CIRANO Research Pole on the Socioeconomic Impacts of Digital Intelligence and Principal Investigator of the Innovation and Digital Transformation research theme.

She is a Full Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, where she also serves as Academic Director of PolyFinances. In addition, she is a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Associate Researcher at the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO).

She holds a PhD in Management Science (specializing in risk management and insurance) from the École normale supérieure de Cachan. Her research focuses on risk management and decision-making in contexts of risk and uncertainty, as well as the design and evaluation of public policies. Her work combines economic analysis, cost-benefit analysis, survey data analysis, and more recently, large-scale unstructured data analytics.

In 2008, she founded the RISQH network, a knowledge-sharing and awareness network dedicated to risk management, patient safety, and quality of care in healthcare institutions. She contributed to the development of the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence.

She serves as Scientific Director of the Measurement Tools, Monitoring and Surveys Division at the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technologies (OBVIA). She is also co-founder of the International Francophone Network on Scientific Advice (RFICS).

At CIRANO, she leads and contributes to several large-scale research initiatives, notably the creation of an economic digital twin of the St. Lawrence–Great Lakes region (GVCdtLab), developed in collaboration with the federal government.

She has published numerous scientific articles, several books, and more than 40 reports for government and other organizations. She has delivered over one hundred conferences and is regularly invited to speak in the media.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Garneau was President of Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd. since 2016, where she led an integrated strategy to keep operations competitive and viable in an ever-changing global market.

Possessing over 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry, she has experience leading complex teams and projects in a number of areas of operation, including Supply Chain Management, Corporate Affairs and Government Relations.

Prior to Bell Helicopter, she held various technical and leadership roles at Bombardier Aerospace, where she helped launch several major aircraft program initiatives as part of the Strategic Sourcing group and key negotiations for the Business Aircraft group.

Cynthia Garneau has served on various boards, including the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, where she served as Chair in 2017-2018, and Aéro Montréal Aerospace Cluster in Quebec. She has also been a Board member of the Fondation de l'Hôpital Regional de St-Jérôme.

In addition, Ms. Garneau was a member of the Economic Strategies Table on Advanced Manufacturing, an initiative launched by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development as part of the Government of Canada’s Innovation & Skills Plan, which is made up of industry leaders. Their mandate is to set ambitious growth goals, identify sector-specific challenges lay out an actionable roadmap to achieve their goals.

Possessing a Bachelor of Specialized Education as well as a Bachelor of Law, both from Sherbrooke University, she has been a member of the Québec Bar since 1994.

A corporate director and international consultant, Louise Roy is currently Chair of the Board and a Visiting Fellow at CIRANO.

Louise Roy has held́ senior management positions in the urban transportation, air transportation and communications industries. She waś CEO of the Société de transport de Montréal (1985-1992), Executive Vice President for the Americas of Air France at its Paris headquarters (1994-1997), CEO of Telemedia Communications Inc. (1997-2000) and Executive Vice President of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) (2000-2003).

Since September 2003, Ms. Roy has been a Visiting Fellow at CIRANO and, since 2012, she has chaired the Board of Directors of this Center for Applied Research in Public Policy. She was Chancellor and Chair of the Board of the University of Montreal from 2008 to 2018 and was named Chancellor Emeritus.

During her career, she has also served as a director of Power Financial Corporation and Intact Financial Corporation, the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), Montreal International, Provigo Inc, Laurentian Bank of Canada, Videotron Ltd. and Domtar Corporation. She has chaired the Board of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, a cultural granting organization. Ms. Roy is currently a director of the Opéra de Montréal, the Montreal International Music Competition Foundation (MIMC) and the Montreal Airport.