Board of Directors
Derek Aberle
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Derek Aberle’s experience includes senior executive roles in large, global technology companies, early-stage technology companies as well as the investment community. Mr. Aberle spent 17 years at Qualcomm Incorporated, a global leader in mobile and related technologies and products, in a variety of senior executive roles.
From 2014 to 2018, he served as President of Qualcomm with responsibility for all business units, including its licensing and semiconductor businesses, as well as its marketing organization and regional offices worldwide. Prior to that, Mr. Aberle served as EVP and Group President and as EVP and President of Qualcomm Technology Licensing. He was a member of Qualcomm’s executive committee for over a decade, helping to drive the company’s overall strategy. He led many of Qualcomm’s global growth initiatives, including in markets beyond smartphones as well as its expansion in China. During his tenure at Qualcomm, he also led Qualcomm’s technology and IP licensing business, established its 4G and 5G licensing programs, and structured and negotiated Qualcomm’s major license and other strategic agreements. Since leaving Qualcomm, Mr. Aberle co-founded Virewirx, Inc. (formerly XCOM Labs), a company focused on developing and commercializing advanced wireless technologies, where he presently serves as Executive Vice Chairperson. Mr. Aberle holds a B.A. in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. In addition to LeddarTech, he is a board member for InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC), Virewirx, Inc. and EvoNexus (a Southern California incubator).
Charles Boulanger
Board Member
Mr. Charles Boulanger is a seasoned board member with over 25 years of CEO experience who has served on over 15 boards with public and private companies having international operations in various industries such as deep tech (AI, software, microelectronics), automotive, life sciences, energy and environmental industries.
Since 2008, he has served as President of Moody Management Inc., a private investment firm. Before LeddarTech, Mr. Boulanger was the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Unipex SAS as of 2008. He was President of the Active Ingredients and Specialty Chemicals Division of Atrium Innovations (TSE: ATB) from 2004 to 2008. Before joining Atrium, Mr. Boulanger was the Founder and President of Quebec International following a partnership with Phénix Capital. Mr. Boulanger is a long-time active investor, with a direct investment portfolio of about 15 companies and his participation as a sponsor/limited investor in five separate investment funds. He currently serves on the boards of Pieridae Energy (TSE: PEA), Averna Technologies and LeddarTech, as well as on the Fonds Innovexport Limited Partners committee. Mr. Boulanger is a graduate of Université Laval in mechanical engineering and holds a degree from the International Centre for Research and Studies in Management (CIREM).
Frantz Saintellemy, C.M.
Board Member
Mr. Frantz Saintellemy, C.M., is an internationally recognized expert in deep technologies in automotive, IoT, sensing, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. He is the 14th Chancellor and Chair of the Board of the University of Montreal.
Mr. Saintellemy is also the co-founder and chair of the board at Groupe 3737, a non-profit organization and entrepreneurial innovation hub across Canada. Groupe 3737 helps entrepreneurs and tech founders start, grow, accelerate and succeed, with the strategic objective of developing more entrepreneurs, creating more successful companies, more jobs and sustainable financial independence across Canada.
Prior to joining LeddarTech in 2017, Mr. Saintellemy founded and co-founded several start-ups with multiple exits and has several published patents and papers to his credit. Mr. Saintellemy is also a founder member of the Quebec Innovation Council and served as vice-president of the board for the past four years.
Mr. Saintellemy is a member of the Order of Canada, awarded Québec Innovation Prize (2024), received the Medals of the National Assembly of Quebec and the Canadian Senate, named as Top 6 Canadian Innovators by the Canadian Senate, Top 15 Real Influencers (2023 – La Presse), Global Top 50 Exec. MBAs (2020 – Poets & Quants), MBA of the Year (2021 – AMBAQ), Canadians to Watch (Automotive News 2021), Top Performing Executive (2020 – World Executive Forum), Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Top 10 Young Tech Leaders to Watch and various other awards and distinctions.
Yann Delabrière
Board Member
Yann Delabrière joined the LeddarTech Board of Directors in February of 2021.
Mr. Yann Delabrière possesses over 30 years of experience in senior executive positions in the aerospace, identity, security and automotive industries. He was a Non-Executive Director of ST Microelectronics until May 2024. He was Chairman of the Board of IDEMIA until April 2023, a global leader in augmented reality, where he previously served as President and CEO. Until June 2024, Mr. Delabrière also served as Lead Independent Director of Alstom S.A., which develops and markets integrated systems that provide sustainable foundations for the future of transportation.
Mr. Delabrière served as Chairman and CEO of Faurecia (now FORVIA), a worldwide leader in automotive equipment, from February 2007 to June 2016, and as Chairman through May 2017, where his leadership led to the growth of the organization, particularly in North America and Asia, and helped restore its profitability and cash generation capabilities. Prior to Faurecia, Mr. Delabrière held the Chief Finance Officer position at PSA Peugeot Citroën (now Stellantis), beginning in 1990. In parallel to his position as CFO, Mr. Delabrière later became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PSA’s consumer finance unit. Mr. Delabrière served as non-executive director and chairman of the audit committee for Capgemini SE, a leading IT services company.
Between 2017 and 2020, Mr. Delabrière also lent his executive experience to the aerospace, identity and security industries. From 2017 to 2018, he was advisor to the board then CEO of Zodiac Aerospace, and oversaw the company’s sale to Safran Group in 2018. From 2018 to 2020 he was president and CEO for IDEMIA. Mr. Delabrière also previously occupied the roles of Non-Executive Director at Société Générale, Group CFO for the high-end retail group Printemps (now known as Kering) and CFO for the French export credit agency Coface after a term with the French Court of Auditors and three years within the French Foreign Trade Ministry beginning in 1983.
Mr. Delabrière holds a PhD in Mathematics, having graduated from the École Normale Supérieure and the École Nationale d’Administration. He is also a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor) and Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (Officer of the National Order of Merit).
Sylvie Veilleux
Board Member
Ms. Sylvie Veilleux is a strategic global technology leader and former CIO with over three decades of experience, holding top management positions at several global technology firms. She served as the first Chief Information Officer at Dropbox (Nasdaq: DBX), where she developed the organization’s first global strategic IT function, enabling it to expand and scale before and after its IPO. Ms. Veilleux served in several critical technology roles at multinational firms such as Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Salesforce (NYSE : CRM), Mozilla Corporation and Franklin Templeton Investments (NYSE: BEN), where her expertise includes driving various digital transformation efforts at different points of maturity in both public and private companies, scaling for growth at inflection points such as IPO, M&A and robust operations and cyber security leadership.
Ms. Veilleux serves on the LeddarTech (NASDAQ: LDTC) board as an independent director and member of the Audit Committee, and as an independent director and member of the audit committee for Softchoice (TSE: SFTC). Ms. Veilleux serves on several private companies as non-executive Board Chair and Compensation and Nomination Committee chair for Cinchy, an independent director for Prezi, and an independent director and member of the audit committee for QScale. Previous board service includes Europcar Mobility Group when it was a publicly traded company as an independent director and member of the Strategy Committee, the Nomination and Compensation and Human Capital Committee and Chair of the Tech and Cyber Committee, and as an independent director on the board of H1.
Ms. Veilleux was recognized by Forbes CIO NEXT 2021 Top 50, by Technology Magazine Top 100 Women in Technology 2021 and by the California Diversity Council in 2017 as a Distinguished Chief Information Officer. Ms. Veilleux studied Computer Science at Collège de Limoilou in Quebec City, Canada.
Lizabeth Ardisana
Board Member
Ms. Lizabeth Ardisana is the CEO and the principal owner of the firm ASG Renaissance, LLC, which she founded in 1987. ASG Renaissance is a technical and communication services firm with experience providing services to clients in the automotive, environmental, defense, construction, healthcare, banking and education sectors. As CEO of ASG Renaissance, she has worked on numerous alternative fuel, electric vehicle and advanced technology projects. Ms. Ardisana is also CEO of Performance Driven Workforce, LLC, a scheduling and staffing firm founded in 2015 and has since expanded into five states. Prior to starting ASG Renaissance, Ardisana worked at Ford Motor Company as an engineer.
Ms. Ardisana, a Hispanic and female business owner, is an active business and civic leader in Michigan. Ms. Ardisana has been a member of the board of directors of Huntington Bancshares Inc. from 2016 to 2023, a member of the board of directors of Clean Energy Fuels Corp. since December 2019 and a member of the board of directors of FirstMerit Corporation from 2013 to 2016. Ms. Ardisana has also held numerous leadership positions in various non-profit organizations, including the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Skillman Foundation, CS Mott Foundation, Kettering University, Metropolitan Affairs Coalition and Focus: Hope. The governor of Michigan appointed her to the Executive Committee of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, where she serves on its finance subcommittee. Ms. Ardisana is vice chair of the Wayne Health board of directors, serving on the audit committee.
Ms. Ardisana holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Texas, a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Detroit.
