Meet Our Executive Team

Charles Boulanger

Chief Executive Officer

A serial entrepreneur who has successfully raised over $650M in financing and completed several acquisitions and sales transactions, including two IPOs and one management-leveraged buyout (MLBO), Charles has over 35 years of experience in senior management positions in several sectors, especially in the high-tech industry, with listed and private companies.

Charles has been CEO of LeddarTech since 2012. Since 2011, he has served as President of Moody Management Inc., a private investment firm. Before LeddarTech, Charles 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 (TSX: ATB) from 2004 to 2008. Before joining Atrium, Charles was the Founder and President of Quebec International following a partnership with Phénix Capital.

Charles is active in the investment and entrepreneurship sectors with a direct investment portfolio of about 15 companies and his participation as a sponsor/investor in three separate investment funds. He is currently on the Board of Chimie ParaChem, Pieridae Energy, Averna Technologies and LeddarTech.

Frantz Saintellemy

President and Chief Operating Officer

Engineer, innovator and internationally recognized expert in advanced technologies, Frantz has 25 years of experience in the electronics and automotive sector, with specialized knowledge in automotive, autonomous driving, AI, IoT and automation applications, in addition to business and product development, applications engineering, global sales and marketing. A dedicated entrepreneur and philanthropist, he is also co-founder of Groupe 3737, an incubator and innovation center that houses more than 30 companies and start-ups, in addition to offering a framework for ideation to revenue generation.

Frantz joined LeddarTech in September 2017, having previously served as VP and General Manager of the Automotive and Industrial Division of Integrated Device Technology (NASDAQ: IDTI), a California-based company specializing in a broad array of complete mixed-signal solutions. Prior to IDT, Frantz was President and Executive VP of Global Sales and Marketing at ZMDI AG, a global supplier of MEMs-based sensor solutions for automotive and industrial applications, which was acquired by IDT in December 2015. Prior to ZMDI, Frantz was CTO and Corporate VP of Technical Marketing and Advanced Engineering Group at Future Electronics, a global distributor of semiconductors and passive, interconnect and electromechanical components.

Throughout his career, Frantz has produced numerous patents and technical innovations. He also founded and co-founded many successful start-ups and corporations, the likes of which include SMGT Inc., Q-Links Home Automation, Groupe Reno-Metrix, Capital Plus and OMNI Global, and sits on several boards and advisory committees.

Frantz holds degrees in electrical engineering, business and marketing, and is also a graduate of the MIT Sloan Engineering Fellows Program on Innovations and Global Leadership. He was appointed chancellor of the University of Montreal in October 2021.

David Torralbo

Chief Legal Officer

 

David is a seasoned legal executive with over 20 years of experience specializing in corporate and securities law, public and private M&A, litigation, risk management and corporate governance.

He joined LeddarTech in 2022, previously serving as Chief Legal Officer at Nouveau Monde Graphite. Prior to that, David served as Vice-President, CLO and member of the executive committee of Atrium Innovations Inc., a partner in the corporate group at Davies, Ward, Phillips & Vineberg, and earlier in his career, an associate in the London office of Clifford Chance.

Mr. Torralbo earned his Bachelor of Civil Law (LL.L.) and common law (LL.B.) at the University of Ottawa and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) from McGill University.

Pierre Olivier, Eng.

Chief Technology Officer

Pierre is recognized for his technical expertise as well as his vision. He has decades of experience in the development of high-tech products and is a well-known industry speaker at ADAS and AD technology events and conferences throughout North America and Europe.

Pierre has designed a high number of innovative, adaptable, practical and robust products used worldwide in strategic applications such as emergency dispatch and air traffic control. Before joining LeddarTech in 2010, he worked at DAP Technologies, Adept Technology Canada and CML Technologies. Pierre holds several patents.

As CTO, Pierre is also responsible for LeddarTech’s Global Operations and Mobility Solutions. Pierre holds a degree in electrical engineering from Université Laval and is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec.

Antonio Polo

Vice-President, Software Engineering

Antonio has over 25 years of international market experience in the high-tech and software industry, defining and executing successful strategies for innovation and development of award-winning products for the world’s fastest-moving technology organizations, including cloud service providers, global telecom operators, smart sensor developers, as well as multinational automotive Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs.

Antonio joined LeddarTech as Vice-President, Engineering in June 2018, rapidly expanding the organization with a world-class automotive engineering team in new development centers in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Since joining, Antonio has also held the position of Vice-President and General Manager of the ADAS and AD Sensing Components business unit. In October 2022, he was appointed Vice-President of Software Engineering, transforming the company into an automotive software business model.

Before joining LeddarTech, Antonio served as Head of Software Engineering and System Engineering at EXFO, where he played a crucial role in expanding the software organization in Asia and positioning the company as the worldwide optical test solutions leader in the telecom industry. Before EXFO, Antonio served as Lead Software Engineer and Architect at Cubanacan S.A.

Antonio holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Software Engineering and a Master of Business Administration (Executive MBA) from Université Laval. He also undertook studies in the Executive Entrepreneurship Program at Babson College.

Ronny Cohen

Vice-President, Automotive Strategy and Business Development

Ronny has 30 years of experience in the hi-tech industry, possesses a B.Sc. with honors in Physics and Mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds 12 patents. In 1995 Ronny co-founded Comsys, a wireless communication start-up. Then in 2015, with Youval Nehmadi, he co-founded VayaVision, a sensor fusion and perception software company concentrating on the autonomous driving market monitoring the driving environment with 3D sensing and cognition.

VayaVision developed an innovative patented technology that enables best-in-class sensing, with added value cognition abilities at an affordable price. In July of 2020 VayaVision was acquired by LeddarTech, a leader in ADAS and AD technology. VayaVision’s VAYADrive sensor fusion and perception technology, combined with LeddarTech’s LeddarSense technology, enabled LeddarVision, an agnostic sensor fusion and perception stack for the automotive, mobility, and industrial vehicle markets.

Daniel C. Aitken

Vice-President, Global Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations

With more than 25 years’ experience in the technology industry, including strategic business development, marketing, communications as well as mergers and acquisitions, Daniel is responsible for the development and execution of the corporate marketing and communications plan and for sustaining corporate brand and strategic initiatives. In addition, Daniel manages the Investor Relations portfolio of LeddarTech, working closely with the Executive Management team.

Daniel began his marketing career in 1994 and transitioned into the technology industry in 1996, eventually becoming the Director of the Strategic Business Development unit of Future Electronics. As president of his own marketing agency, Daniel relocated to Los Angeles in 2008, where he provided consultancy services to various corporations. In 2012 he joined the German-based tech company ZMDI, where he successfully held the position of Director of Global Marketing and Communications. He later relocated in 2016 to Silicon Valley to lead the marketing efforts of Integrated Device Technology as Senior Director of the division. Daniel’s efforts at both ZMDI and IDT contributed significantly to their eventual individual acquisitions.

Daniel joined LeddarTech in 2018 as Vice-President of Global Marketing and Communications. In 2020 the role of interim VP of Product Line Management was added to his portfolio until 2022. In January of 2022 he was promoted to the position of Vice-President of Global Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations.

Claude Savard, CPA, CA

Chief Financial Officer (Interim)

Claude has over 35 years of executive financial experience, most recently serving as the Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Asteelflash Group for over 13 years. Before this position, Claude held other executive roles, particularly as the Vice-President of Finance and as General Manager for Vachon, a division of Culinar and previously as a Partner at the certified accounting firm of Mallette, Benoit, Boulanger and Rondeau.

Michael Poulin, Eng.

Vice-President, Corporate Strategy and Development

Michael has over 20 years of experience in software-centric technology companies, having held various positions in fast-growing start-up environments in the telecommunications, medical devices and ADAS/AD markets.

Since joining LeddarTech, Michael has held several key roles, including executive leadership positions in product development, product management, business development, sales, strategic partnerships and corporate development. He played an instrumental role in developing the LeddarEngine™, the Leddar™ Ecosystem and partnerships with leading technology companies, automotive Tier-1s/Tier-2s and semiconductor suppliers. In addition, Michael has experience leading acquisitions that have strengthened LeddarTech’s position as a leader in environmental sensing, including sensor fusion and perception software.

Michael holds a degree in electrical engineering from Université Laval and is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec.

Gail Saintonge

Vice-President, Human Resources (Interim)

Gail has over 20 years of experience as a human resources leader and a successful change management professional specializing in recruitment and organizational development. Gail is responsible for the overall global management of LeddarTech’s human resources portfolio.

Prior to LeddarTech, Gail’s career experience spanned several industries, including pharmaceutical, telecom and consumer goods. Notably, she played an active role in defining and implementing best-in-class talent attraction strategies for the Canadian telecom company Telus during its pan-Canadian growth phase, where she spent 13 years. Gail also played a central role at one of Canada’s leading consumer goods retailers, Dollarama, developing and implementing corporate HR and business processes that spearheaded the company’s rapid expansion at a national and international level.

Gail joined LeddarTech in 2021 as Head of Global Talent Acquisition and was quickly promoted to Director. In early 2023, she was promoted to Interim Vice-President of Human Resources. Gail is known for her unwavering integrity and honesty, and her impact has been measured by her ability to drive results and fuel LeddarTech’s growth and success.

Board of Directors

Michel Brûlé
Chairman of the Board

For more than 20 years (1978-2000), Michel Brûlé has pursued two careers, in part concurrently: first, at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) as a professor, R&D lab director, and dean of research activities, and secondly in business, as an entrepreneur and the founder of six technology companies. He sells two of his companies in 2000, including Inno Media Logic (IML) Inc., a transaction that was honored by the CVCA (Canadian Venture Capital Association) the “Best VC Deal in Canada for 2000.”

Shortly after, he launches a private VC fund, M&M Investments, and becomes a professional angel investor. Concerned by the start-up funding gap in Québec, he adds a hand in starting up the FIER Longueuil regional economic intervention fund (founding member, president of its Investment Committee) and the Québec Angel network (founding member, Board vice-chair and chair). He also serves a two-year term on the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) Board. The Québec Angel network has become the largest, by far, in Canada and the only one with a sizeable sidecar fund (Anges Québec Capital) of $85 million.

Overall, Michel Brûlé has served on numerous (>40) Boards, spanning the whole spectrum of private and public companies and community-based organizations. He is currently active on two high-tech companies’ Boards, LeddarTech (chairman) and Octasic (member, chair of two committees), on an Investment Committee (co-chair and member) of Québec Government-owned financial company Investissement Québec and Anges Québec Capital.

Early 2011, Michel Brûlé is nominated by the Québec government on its new Investissement Québec Board, a new legal entity from the merger of two institutional financial arms (banking + private equity). Mr. Brûlé chaired the Merging Committee, then served on the Board until September 2017 leaving as legacy the creation and expansion of a very dynamic group combining expertise in direct VC, PE and Fund of funds. During that same period (2011-2017), he serves on the Advisory Board of Omers Venture Capital, a fund then spanning the Canadian and US markets.

In recognition of his contribution, the National Angel Capital Organization named him “Canadian Angel of the Year” in 2010. He also received an Honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Ottawa in 2012.

Mr. Brûlé holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ottawa. He is also a Certified Business Administrator (ASC).

 

Charles Boulanger
Board member  (See biography above)

 

Carl-Peter Forster
Board member

Carl-Peter Forster joined the LeddarTech Board of Directors in January of 2021.

Mr. Forster has an extensive senior management background in the automotive industry with brands including BMW AG, in Munich, where he held various positions in the Engineering department, notably as Vice-President. He was also Managing Director of BMW South Africa, and a member of the board of BMW AG, responsible for global manufacturing, until 2000. Between 2001 and 2009, Mr. Forster was Managing Director of Adam Opel AG, then from 2006 President and CEO of General Motors Europe and a member of GM’s Global Automotive Strategy board. From 2010 to 2011, he was Group CEO of Tata Motors (which included Jaguar Land Rover).

Since 2013, Mr. Forster has been a special advisor to the Chairman of the Geely Group, also holding board positions at Volvo Cars Group in Gothenburg (Sweden), Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. (Hong Kong), as well as CEVT (the Geely engineering center in Gothenburg) and Chairman of The London Electric Vehicle Company (formerly The London Taxi Company) until 2019.

In addition to serving as a board member for LeddarTech, Mr. Forster is currently Chairman of Chemring Plc, Chairman of the Shareholder Committee of Hella KGaA and a member of the boards of IMI Plc, Babcock Plc, The Mobility House AG, Gordon Murray Design Ltd., Kinexon GmbH, Clear Motion Ltd. and Envisics Ltd.

Mr. Forster holds a degree in economics from Bonn University and a degree in aviation and space technology from the Technical University in Munich, Germany.

 

Simon C. Morris
Board member

Simon Morris is a serial technology entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience, leading three technology start-ups focused on the development of innovative signal processing technologies, in particular for automotive applications. Most recently he was founder CEO for IRYStec Software from January 2016, and in that role raised both seed and series-A financing while securing multiple automotive Tier-1 and OEM design wins leading to IRYStec’s acquisition by Faurecia-Clarion in March 2020. Simon was also CEO of CogniVue Corporation, which developed a patented low-power computer vision and neural net processor technology, tools and embedded vision libraries deployed in automotive camera systems and consumer smart camera products. With its computer vision processor in production vehicles, CogniVue was then acquired by Freescale Semiconductor (now NXP) in September 2015, delivering one of the highest ROIs for its venture investors. Prior to CogniVue, Mr. Morris was Director at BDC Venture Capital and from 1995 to 2006, he held various senior and executive leadership positions at Atsana Semiconductor, which was his first start-up, and senior management positions at Texas Instruments (TI) in Dallas, Texas and Nice, France, including leading the definition and development of TI’s first 3G wireless base station chipsets.

Currently, Mr. Morris provides venture coaching to several tech entrepreneurs, primarily in the automotive market, while he considers his next venture. Mr. Morris holds an M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering and a B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada and completed Queens University Executive Business Program. He is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario and was an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2014.

 

Peter Marks
Board member

Peter Marks joined the LeddarTech Board of Directors in October of 2018. He is the owner of Executive Consulting Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.A. Mr. Marks has extensive experience serving as a member on several Boards of Directors. He served as board member at Broadcom Inc. and is presently Executive Advisor at Gryphon Investors. He has decades of automotive industry experience, most notably in his past position as Chairman, President and CEO of Robert Bosch LLC, where his responsibilities included the Americas. In addition as Member of the Board of Management he had global responsibility for capital investment, manufacturing, environment and safety.

Mr. Marks has 35 years’ experience in industries such as automotive, technology, consumer goods and building technology, as well as in businesses serving different sales channels worldwide, including in North America, South America, Germany, Hungary, Russia, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Korea, India, China, Australia and South Africa. He has a keen interest in organizational development for leadership, strategic planning, production systems (“lean” manufacturing), engineering systems, project management and global business unit organization. Mr. Marks holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from the Fachhochschule University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

 

Dominique Bélanger
Board member

Dominique Bélanger is Managing Partner, Co-Investments with BDC Capital. He is also Managing Partner of Diversified Portfolio and GO Capital.

Dominique joined BDC in 2010 as a Director, Strategic Investments for BDC Venture Capital. He was promoted to Vice-President and managed the Strategic Investments & Partnerships fund. Dominique also worked as Managing Director, Fund Investments before heading the Co-Investments team in 2017.

Before joining BDC, Dominique was co-founder and President of Gamerizon Studio Inc. Previously, he was Chief Financial Officer of the venture-backed Quazal Technologies Inc. (acquired by Ubisoft). He also advised various technology companies and private investors on investments, financing, start-ups and restarts.

Dominique began his professional career as a communications officer for the Canadian Armed Forces in 1994. Then, as a senior consultant with Deloitte Consulting, he went on to carry out several IT strategy operationalization mandates for multiple Fortune 500 companies. In 2003, he joined the venture capital firm Innovatech Montreal as Investment Manager, IT and Telecom, and then continued to manage the assets once Coller Capital acquired Innovatech’s portfolio.

Dominique holds an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada, an MBA from HEC Montréal, Université de Montréal’s business school as well as a certificate in entrepreneurship from MIT.

 

Yann Delabrière
Board member

Yann Delabrière joined the LeddarTech Board of Directors in February of 2021.

Mr. Delabrière possesses over 30 years of experience in senior executive positions in the aerospace, identity, security and automotive industries. He is presently a Non-Executive Director of ST Microelectronics. He also currently holds the position of Chairman of the Board of IDEMIA, a global leader in augmented reality, where he previously served as President and CEO. Mr. Delabrière also acts as Lead Independent Director of Alstom S.A., an industry giant that develops and markets integrated systems that provide sustainable foundations for the future of transportation.

Mr. Delabrière’s previous senior and C-level experience in automotive is impressive. He was Chairman and CEO of Faurecia, a worldwide leader in automotive equipment, where his leadership led to the dramatic growth of the organization, particularly in North America and Asia, and restored its profitability and cash generation capabilities. Prior to Faurecia, Mr. Delabrière held the Chief Finance Officer position at PSA Peugeot Citroën, which eventually led to joining the newly created Executive Committee of the Group. In parallel to his position as CFO, Mr. Delabrière later became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PSA’s consumer finance unit.

Between 1983 and 2018, 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. During his tenure, Mr. Delabrière restructured and oversaw the company’s sale to Safran Group in 2018. At Capgemini, he also served as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the company’s audit committee. Mr. Delabrière 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).

 

Derek Aberle
Board member

Mr. Derek Aberle’s experience includes senior executive roles in large, global 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. He also led Qualcomm’s technology and IP licensing business through a period of tremendous growth and profitability, 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 XCOM Labs, a company focused on developing and commercializing advanced wireless technologies, where he presently serves as Executive Vice Chairman. He also is the CEO of Prospector Capital Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.

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. He is a board member for XCOM Labs, Prospector Capital Corp., Jaws Juggernaut Acquisition Corp., the Alliance for SoCal Innovation and EvoNexus (a Southern California incubator).

 

Nick Stone
Board member

Mr. Nick Stone possesses over 20 years of experience in the investment industry and has been partner with FS Investors since 2010.

He previously served as Vice President of TPG Capital, one of the world’s largest private equity funds and an investment professional with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Co. and Morgan Stanley. As a result, Mr. Stone brings a wealth of knowledge in finance, global markets and high-level investing. He has been involved in investments totaling $20 billion and approximately $2.5 billion in equity capital during his successful career.

Mr. Stone graduated cum laude from Harvard, was an Arjay Miller Scholar at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and resides in La Jolla, California.