Former President and Chief Executive Officer of Innovitech, now Senior Partner and head of the Québec City office, Sylvain holds a strategic position across all of the firm’s business units. With over 30 years of experience, he is recognized as an expert in innovation and territorial strategy, with a particular focus on high technology and sustainable aerospace. His leadership is reflected not only in executive direction, but also in his active involvement at various levels of the firm’s mandates, including with Aéroports de Montréal for its Mirabel innovation site and the Espace Aéro aerospace innovation zone. Sylvain excels at building ecosystem networks, drawing on his extensive experience in this field.
Throughout his career, Sylvain has distinguished himself through his deep involvement in economic and regional development, creating and managing ecosystems across a range of cutting-edge technology sectors. His previous role as Executive Director of NanoQuébec (now PRIMA Québec) reflects his ongoing commitment to fostering innovation in emerging fields. His contributions to the Canadian Space Agency as Special Advisor for Innovation further demonstrate his national engagement in advancing innovation.
One of Sylvain’s most notable achievements is his pivotal role in designing and managing the GARDN aerospace consortium for nearly a decade. This experience gave him an in-depth understanding of the Québec and Canadian aerospace innovation ecosystem, as well as expertise in the collaborative dynamics of sectoral clusters and other innovation ecosystem models. GARDN, an industry-led consortium, brought together 40 public and private sector partners, and Sylvain successfully extended its initial mandate for a second term by securing $26.4 million in public funding.
Sylvain’s leadership, strategic vision, and extensive experience make him a driving force behind Innovitech’s success, and contribute significantly to the evolution of innovation ecosystems and organizations.