Marc-André Blanchard

Executive Vice-President and Head CDPQ Global, Global Head of Sustainability 
CDPQ
Former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations

As Executive Vice-President and Head of CDPQ Global, Mr. Blanchard is responsible for CDPQ’s three main regional operations outside of Canada: United States/Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. As such, he is responsible for CDPQ’s international offices, with the objective of diversifying the portfolio by taking a holistic view in approaching the various markets. In addition to representing CDPQ with key stakeholders in global organizations, his mandate includes ensuring visibility as a partner of choice in targeted geographies. He sits on the Executive and Investment-Risk Committees.

Mr. Blanchard has a solid track record as a lawyer, as well as in business and international affairs. Before joining CDPQ in September 2020, he was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York from 2016 to 2020. In that role, he demonstrated exceptional leadership in promoting better alignment of capital with sustainable development. From 2017 to 2020, he sat on Canada’s North American Free Trade Agreement Council. Prior to that, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada’s leading law firms. In the 20 years he worked there, he also served as Managing Partner for Québec, litigator and strategic advisor for companies.

In addition to a Bachelor of Laws from Université de Montréal, Mr. Blanchard holds an LLM in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Master’s in International Affairs, both from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He was called to the Québec Bar in 1992.

Very active in the community, Mr. Blanchard has been a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Development Finance since 2019. He also sat on the Boards of Directors of the Conference Board of Canada and the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. His philanthropic activities include serving as a Director of the WoodGreen Foundation and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, as well as chairing the Board of the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer at Université de Montréal.

In 2016, Canadian Business ranked him one of Canada’s most powerful business leaders. In 2013, Canadian Lawyer ranked him among the 25 most influential lawyers in the country, and Catalyst Canada awarded him the CEO Recognition Award for his leadership on gender diversity. In 2016, he received the Avocat émérite award from the Barreau du Québec.