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François Beaudoin is a member of corporate boards and provides advisory services to national and international organizations in strategic planning, merger and acquisitions, and financial planning.

Mr. Beaudoin is a career banker who was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Business Development Bank of Canada where he worked from 1990 to 1999. Prior to that, over a 16-year period, Mr. Beaudoin held several executive positions in Quebec and Ontario at Bank of Montreal, including the position of Vice-President in the Quebec Region. From 1999 to 2012, Mr. Beaudoin acted as Senior Advisor with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Montreal.

Mr. Beaudoin is a member of the following boards: Walter Financial (Chairman), Peak Financial Group, and Britton Electric.

Mr. Beaudoin is past Chairman of the Quebec Chapter of the World Presidents Organization. Mr. Beaudoin holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York and a BBA from the HEC in Montreal.

René Fournier is the Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Walter Capital Management. In this role, René leads the executive team and is responsible for the company’s investment strategies, including asset allocation. He is also a member of the Board of Walter Global Asset Management and Walter Capital Partners in addition to being the Head of its Investment Committee. Furthermore, René is a member of the Board of Directors of several portfolio companies.

Before joining Walter Capital Management, René was responsible for the Canadian equities and corporate bonds team at a large Canadian pension fund. His responsibilities included leading the team of analysts in addition to leading the research strategy. Earlier, he worked at EDC as a director of structured project finance and as a project manager at J.D. Irving.

René received an MBA from McGill University. He holds a CFA title and a professional engineer title in addition to a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Moncton University.

Frank Vitale is the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary Treasurer for the Walter Group. In this capacity, Frank is responsible for the development, growth and strategic direction of all international finance, taxation, reporting and treasury-related matters of the Group and its businesses.

Frank launched his career in the accounting and audit field. After seven years, he transitioned to privately held companies, where he occupied progressively senior positions. He acquired a strong financial and operational background in the apparel industry, first as a corporate controller at Baltex Swimwear in Montreal in 1997, and then in the role of Vice President, Finance and Operations of the Corwik Apparel Group. He joined the Walter Group in 2009 as Vice President, Finance of Walter Surface Technologies and transitioned in 2014 to his current role as Chief Financial Officer.

Frank studied in Montreal where he completed a Finance and Accounting Bachelor’s Diploma from Concordia University and subsequently completed the intensive Chartered Accountancy Program at McGill University. He successfully completed the Canadian Institute for Chartered Accountants exam in 1989 to obtain his CA designation.

Stephanie Pellerin joined Walter Capital Management in 2021 as Chief Operating Officer to oversee the firm’s operations as well as information technology and administration. She brings to the team over 20 years of experience in dynamic and continuously changing work environments—experience that she can use to help grow Walter Capital Management and the other investment units.

Ms. Pellerin previously worked at the National Bank of Canada as a Senior Manager, where she managed critical IT assets for the financial markets sector and served as a transformation leader. Furthermore, she was involved in strategic workforce planning for the financial market sector. She excelled in this role at rallying teams behind the recommendations required for continuous improvement. Prior to this, she spent over 13 years in consulting as a Senior Manager at Deloitte with the Strategy and Operations group, focusing on finance function transformation. She began her career in finance at Bombardier Aerospace and Bombardier Inc., where she held a variety of positions, including Transfer Pricing Analyst, Corporate Auditor and Financial Analyst.

She graduated from the Université de Sherbrooke, where she received a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Management Information System certificate. She is a CPA, CMA, holds the Project Management Professional (PMP) designation from the Project Management Institute, and is “Scaled Agile” certified. For several years now, she has also volunteered with the Junior Chamber of commerce of Montreal and Polytechnique Montréal, mentoring the next generation of business leaders.

Mathieu Bernier is the Managing Director & Lead Portfolio Manager at Walter Public Investments (WPI). After joining Walter Group in 2016 as Senior Investment Officer, he was later appointed Portfolio Manager and Head of Research at Walter Group in 2018. In his current role, Mathieu is the lead portfolio manager for the firm’s public equity strategy offered to outside investors and was a key actor behind the creation of WPI. Given his history with the firm, he remains a strategic advisor to the Walter Group and all its investment divisions.

An engineer by training, Mathieu started his career in finance in 2011 in the Investment Banking group of TD Securities and later joined CN Railway’s employee pension fund as a financial analyst on the Canadian Equities team. Mathieu held several positions at CN over five years where he was responsible for large portfolio investments in industrial, energy and utility companies.

Before working in finance, Mathieu held highly technical roles at various industrial organizations. While at Dominion Engineering Inc. (DEI), a US-based consultancy, he helped develop and commercialize Ultrasonic Fuel Cleaning technology at eleven nuclear power plants globally. Prior to DEI, he conducted research at MIT’s Gas Turbine Lab where he participated in the design of micro-rockets for NASA and DARPA. Mathieu began his engineering career at Pratt & Whitney Canada, where he worked on the performance and testing of regional aircraft engines.

Mathieu holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from McGill University in Montréal, and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. Mathieu is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and a CFA charterholder.

Daniel Lavoie is Portfolio Manager and Chief Compliance Officer at Walter Public Investments (WPI). Daniel joined Walter Group in January 2021 and was a key element in the creation of WPI. In his current role, he is responsible for securities selection, portfolio construction, elaboration and optimization of investment strategies. He also oversees the compliance and regulatory needs of the firm.

Daniel brings extensive investment experience of over 17 years in various roles, ranging from financial analyst to portfolio manager in multiple sectors.

Previously, Daniel was Vice President at State Street Global Advisors (formerly GE Asset Management), where he was the Lead Analyst and Portfolio Manager for the Global Energy sector within the Fundamental Growth and Core Equity team. Prior to joining GE Asset Management in 2013, he was Assistant Portfolio Manager at Fiera Capital for the Alternative and Canadian Growth Funds strategies. Before Fiera, Daniel held various roles at Montrusco Bolton, including Assistant Portfolio Manager for the Equity Dividend Income Fund and Small Caps strategies. He began his career in investment in 2005 as a Special Situations Financial Analyst at a Canadian brokerage firm.

Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration (finance specialization) from Université de Sherbrooke and is a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM).

Emilie Biron-Esbérard has been a part of Walter Group’s finance team since 2017. She began as Corporate Accountant before being promoted to Director, Finance and Administration in 2020. She now holds the position of Director, Financial and Corporate Projects at Walter Capital Management. Emilie is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of software systems as well as for the process of external investor onboarding. She provides structural support on all business projects and serves as the primary liaison between WCM’s business units and its accounting/reporting functions.

Before joining the Walter Group, Emilie served as an accounting technician and administrative coordinator at Physiothérapie Universelle for seven years, where she oversaw the full accounting cycle and handled multi-company accounting. She also prepared and analyzed financial statements and budgets, in addition to managing sales, IT services and repairs and the planning of company events.

Emilie holds a Diploma of Vocational Studies (DEP) from the École des métiers de l’informatique, du commerce et de l’administration (EMICA) and is currently working toward a Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting from HEC Montréal.

Claudie Leal-Boléa joined Walter Public Investments in 2023 as Senior Analyst, Middle Office Operations. In this role, she is responsible for managing several operational aspects related to transactions, analyzing investment portfolio performance, as well as ensuring the smooth flow of various financial activities.

Prior to her current position, Claudie worked for six years at Van Berkom and Associates, where she began her career as an administrative assistant. Through exposure to the financial industry, she demonstrated her ability to improve various processes with her attention to detail and commitment to quality, which led to her promotion to Senior Portfolio Administrator. Before that, Claudie worked in the tourism industry where she was responsible for the management of several hotels, including those of the Hilton group. She also managed different teams to ensure strict quality control of the services provided.

Claudie graduated from HEC Montréal with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance (B.Gest.). In addition, she holds a Canadian Securities Course (CSC) certificate as well as a technique in Tourism Management from the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ).

Louis-Émile Gaudette joined the Walter Public Investments team as a Financial Analyst in 2021. He was then promoted to Senior Investment Analyst in 2024 In his role, he is responsible for conducting financial analysis of publicly traded securities across various sectors and geographies. Additionally, he is highly involved in the fund’s operations, as well as the development of portfolio management and quantitative tools.

Prior to his current role, Louis-Emile completed an extended internship at Walter Financial, where he was responsible for conducting research projects that led to sizeable investments in cybersecurity and renewable power producers. He was also in charge of developing a quantitative momentum tool using the Bloomberg database. While at university, Louis-Emile conducted various extracurricular research projects, was an active member of multiple investment clubs, and completed the Bloomberg Market Concepts certification.

Louis-Emile holds a Dean’s Honour Bachelor of Commerce (Finance & Data Intelligence) from Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business. He is currently a level 2 Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) candidate.

Ophélie Bonifas joined Walter Capital Management in 2021, first as Administrative Officer and then as Office Manager. In her role, she assists the various teams, in addition to putting her organizational and communication skills to good use by ensuring the administrative management of the office.

Since her arrival in Quebec, Ophélie has held similar positions in various fields such as optometry and new technologies. In the various roles she has held, she has been able to demonstrate her skills in project management, event planning, process improvement and also quality control system.

Fluent in French, English and Spanish, Ophélie also holds a bachelor’s degree in human sciences and a master’s degree in archaeology from the University of Toulouse II le Mirail, France.

Jeremy Moses joined the Walter Public Investments team as an Investment Analyst in September 2024. In this role, he is responsible for conducting research and analysis on publicly traded securities across various sectors globally, as well as monitoring current portfolio holdings.

Before this role, Jeremy successfully completed two consecutive internships with WPI during the summers of 2023 and 2024, where he worked on research projects across multiple industries, focusing on both existing and prospective holdings. As part of his undergraduate studies in McGill’s Honours in Investment Management program, he also served as an Investment Analyst at Desautels Capital Management, Canada’s student-run registered investment fund.

Jeremy holds a First Class Honours degree in Investment Management (B.Com.) from McGill University and is currently a CFA Level 1 candidate.