Speakers

Deschamps, Richard, President, “Montréal, ville apprenante, de savoir et d’innovation”, Associate Advisor for Economic and Sustainable Development, City of Montréal (Montréal)

After obtaining a B.Sc. in Psychology (1981), an M.Sc. in Industrial Relations (1987) from the Université de Montréal and an MBA from HEC Montréal (1996), Richard Deschamps is pursuing a career in management and consulting with various organizations: National Bank, Transat A.T., Cégep Marie-Victorin and Fonds de Solidarité FTQ for the past 20 years.

At the same time, he was a course lecturer in the Faculty of Continuing Education of the Université de Montréal and HEC Montréal (1990-2005). He was elected to LaSalle City Council in November 1999 and reelected in 2001, then in 2005, as a Councillor of the City of Montréal (LaSalle Borough). Appointed Associate Councillor to the Mayor in January 2004, he served on the Strategic Management Committee on Finance and Human Capital in 2004-2005. He was then appointed Associate Councillor for the “Montréal 2025 Imagining – Building” projects, economic development and sustainable development since November 2005.

He has chaired the Commission de la mise en valeur du territoire de la Ville de Montréal (Land Use Planning Commission), including the themes of housing, urban planning and economic development, since 2003 and the Commission de développement économique (Economic Development Commission) of the Montréal Agglomeration since January 2006. While participating actively in many borough committees, Mr. Deschamps is a member of the Executive Committee of the Montréal Regional Council of Elected Officers (CRÉ) and also chairs the Steering Committee of “Montréal, ville apprenante, de savoir et d'innovation”. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Montréal International and of the Commission de l'environnement (Environment Commission) of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal.

The purpose of “Montréal, ville apprenante, de savoir et d’innovation” is to develop concerted and innovative initiatives, through a cross-cutting approach, so that Montréal strengthens its position as a city of learning, knowledge and innovation, and is recognized as such, by relying on concerted action and concretization of networking among players from different sectors. The approach not only seeks to develop an integrated and coherent vision of Montréal’s development, but to undertake concerted collective projects, the two main objectives of which are to increase economic prosperity and improve the quality of life of Montréalers.