Internal team

Chloé Legris, ing

Cofounder and CEO

About Chloé :
Chloé is the Co-Founder and CEO of Espace-inc. A trained Mechanical Engineer, she has always been passionate about innovation, especially those which truly make a difference socially and environmentally. That is why Chloé has, over the years, developed and launched many innovative projects surrounding clean technology such as the creation of the 1st international dark sky reserve, which awarded her Radio-Canada’s Scientific Prize of the Year in 2007. Deeply humane, Chloé sees herself as privileged to meet and share part of the entrepreneurial journey of entrepreneurs who seek support from Espace-inc, to be able to watch them evolve and grow both as entrepreneurs and human beings!

COACH

Nicolas Rudloff

Director of Operations

About Nicolas :
A true jack of all trades, Nicolas has worked in the areas of culture, energy, health and agribusiness, where he has put his dynamism and ability to connect with people at the service of the development of local and international markets. As the cofounder of three businesses, Nicolas has always favoured the creation of long-lasting relations with the people around him. Involved in his community, he has, among other things, been a municipal councillor and has been a judo instructor for many years. Nicolas joined Espace-inc in 2018 and is now Director of Operations.

COACH

Alain Perreault

Early Stage Portfolio Lead

Alain holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal and a MBA from INSEAD de Fontainebleau in France. He has dedicated most of his career to launching businesses from technologies developed in universities, specifically ones derived from the engineering sphere. Dealing with intellectual property, strategic partnerships, financing and management challenges have been at the heart of his mandates as Executive and Strategic Consultant since 1995. Since 2007, Alain has also been involved in launching one of the first nut production agricultural companies in Quebec, Au jardin des noix.

COACH

Julian Giacomelli

Growth & Leadership Portfolio Lead

À propos de Julian :
Julian is the co-founder of RISE Kombucha and Crudessence, Montreal based cutting edge good food startups. He was CEO at Crudessence from 2010-2013 and CEO at RISE from 2016-2019. He now works as a coach, facilitator and in-house entrepreneur for businesses looking to intensify and broaden their positive impact.

COACH

Olivier Caré

Market Entry Portfolio Lead

About Olivier :
Olivier has participated in the development of a business specialized in computing services for SMEs from 1997 to 2000 as a Technical Director Associate. He then moved on to become the Software Director in charge of the development teams from 2000 to 2002. In 2002, he decided to take the plunge and launch his own company in the computing industry, a business he sold in 2013. Today, Olivier owns a business coaching firm.

COACH

Louis Mousseau

CRO in residence & Sales Lead

About Louis :
In the past 15 years, Louis Mousseau has managed many e-commerce businesses such as MDF commerce, K-eCommerce, Softvoyage and OpenText, as well as his consulting firm which specializes in services dedicated to entrepreneurs. Louis offers his support to emerging tech businesses in the management of their operations, sales, marketing and corporate strategies.

COACH

Patrick Bernier - EN

Director of Human Resources in Residence and Innovation Leader

About Patrick :
Patrick has a 20-year experience working in human resources, more specifically with executive management teams. CEO of Équipe Humania since 2005, he puts all of his know-how into the deployment of business strategies and the mobilizing of managers. Coaching business leaders, facilitating planning for SMEs, hosting conferences and developing a 4.0 talent management guide are some of his many skills. A great thinker and forerunner in various areas of business, he is definitely an influencer in the entrepreneurship sphere, mainly thanks to his curiosity, insight and leadership.

COACH

Michel Bernard

Director of Regional Business Development and Collaborative Model

About Michel :
Entrepreneur at heart, Michel started his career in business development and quickly found himself, at the age of 26, in charge of a sales team in the food industry and later took on the pharma industry. In 2005, he started his first business in human resources procurement, and then, a second in technology to support the first and sell under licence. In 2014, wanting to give back, he volunteered to coach entrepreneurs in their growth. Enjoying the task greatly, he then decided in 2007 to dedicate his time to the best business accelerators in Quebec to help more entrepreneurs. Since 2020, Michel has been a member of the board of directors of La Vague, an organisation specialized in eco-friendly solutions. He is known for his humane values of collaboration, listening and empathy. Michel favors creativity and innovation while always being forthright to make sure the entrepreneurs he coaches make progress !

COACH

Cédric Laigniel

Lead Gen, Candidate Applications and Cohorts Coordinator

About Cédric :
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Cédric was predestined to, one day, launch his own business, or at the very least, evolve in an entrepreneurial environment. After spending a number of years in graphic design and marketing, he decided to go out on his own and launch his communication agency; a stimulating and rewarding experience that lasted many years, but also one that brought on many challenges, all of which allow him to better understand the reality entrepreneurs live in. Throughout his career, he also worked in the fields of event planning and philanthropy for over 10 years. In both areas, he was able to successfully showcase his humane and relational qualities. Now with Espace-inc, since nearly the very beginning, not only has Cédric been the corporate memory of the organization, but he also takes on many key roles such as digital marketing management, candidate applications, customer relations as well as the coordination and hosting of cohorts.

Barbara Hogg

Marketing and Communications Coordinator

About Barbara :
Barbara worked at Cascades (a flagship of Quebec entrepreneurship) in marketing, communications as well as quality and environment management, for almost 20 years, in both Quebec and the United States. She was later involved in the growth of a SME expanding internationally in the agribusiness sector and also launched her own business in event planning. Whether it be in the environment of an important manufacturing company or an expanding SME, she was always able to use her thoroughness, leadership and entrepreneurial spirit to promote the organization she represents. Barbara’s event planning skills have benefited the Parc Marie-Victorin in Kingsey Falls, since 2015, as she is an active member of their Board of directors.

David Allard-Martin

Operations Coordinator

About David:
David is a creative person who is passionate about material culture, technology as well as territorial and environmental issues. After obtaining his degree in Civil Engineering from Université de Sherbrooke (B.Ing), he dove into the universe of entrepreneurship as he cofounded the cooperative La Fabrique, a complex of collective fabrication workshops in Sherbrooke. Highly interested in the creative spheres, David then took on a Master’s Degree in Environment Design at l’École de design de l’UQAM. His creative research project on urban infrastructures in northern environments led him to working with communities from Nunavik and Groenland. Simultaneously, he designed websites and management platforms for UQAM, which had hired him as a Computer Systems Analyst after he completed his Master’s. In 2022, David joined the Espace-inc team as Operations Coordinator. David is known for his leadership, his great versatility and his propensity to put the human being at the heart of every project he develops.

Amélia Bourbonnais

Administrative Coordinator

About Amélia:
Amelia has a versatile personality and enjoys discovering new spheres of knowledge. Her capacity to renew herself as well as her flexibility have led her on unexpected paths. With a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Intercultural Studies in hand, she began her career in the education field, then immersed herself in the world of art, took a leap in the agricultural sphere and finally landed at Espace-inc in 2019. Her thoroughness, her sense of organization as well as her conciliatory and benevolent nature make her a solid anchor within the team.