Claudine Bouchard to lead Hydro-Québec

Claudine Bouchard will succeed Michael Sabia as President and CEO of Hydro-Québec, Hydro-Québec announced Wednesday.

This appointment follows the resignation, three weeks earlier, of Sabia, who chose to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet.

Bouchard will take up her new post on Saturday.

“I am honoured by the mandate entrusted to me,” Bouchard said in a news release. “It’s a great privilege to lead this company, which has so profoundly marked Québec’s history, and which will play a key role in its development for decades to come. I am deeply committed to the vision behind our plan. Together with our teams, I will dedicate myself to fully implementing it for the benefit of our customers and all Quebecers.”

Bouchard was previously Hydro-Québec’s executive vice-president and chief operating and infrastructure officer. She has been with the utility company for 25 years.

In its press release, Hydro-Québec called Bouchard a “visionary and strategic” leader with a “results-oriented approach.”

“Hydro-Québec will play a central role in Québec’s economic future, with its $200 billion infrastructure plan that we continue to move forward with,” said Quebec Premier François Legault. “Wind power projects are being developed in the regions, and we are finalizing the historic agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador. We need a strong leader capable of delivering results.

“Claudine Bouchard knows the company inside out. She has clearly demonstrated that she knows how to get things done, bring teams together and lead concrete transformations. I am convinced she has what it takes to lead Hydro-Québec in this new phase of its development.”

–With files from La Presse Canadienne