Passing of Mr. Pierre Arbour: Quebec loses a philanthropist
MONTREAL, July 26, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - It is with great regret that the Foundation Arbour announces the recent passing of its founder, Mr. Pierre Arbour. Businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Arbour had a remarkable career in the finance industry that brought him to work for the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and to sit on the boards of several notable Quebec companies.
In 1966, M. Arbour met Jacques Parizeau, one of the pioneers of the CDPQ, and joined this institution by becoming the founding manager of the common stock and equities portfolio. In the following years, Mr. Arbour was appointed to the board of the following companies including Provigo, National Drug and Chemical Ltd., Société d'ìnvestissement industriel (SDI) du Québec and later to the board of Consolidated Bathurst Inc.
In 1979, Mr. Arbour left the CDPQ to create Alkébec Inc., an oil and gas exploration company, which in 1984 became a venture capital firm whose goal was to invest in Canadian companies, both public and private. During this same period, he also founded and became president and CEO of Monterey Capital Inc., a company involved in the distribution of industrial equipment.
Building on his experience, in 1993 he published Quebec Inc. and the Temptation of State Capitalism, in which he describes his experiences at the CDPQ, exposing the risks of political and nationalistic cross contamination in the investment decision-making process.
In 2005, Mr. Arbour founded La Fondation Universitaire Pierre Arbour (known today as La Fondation Arbour), which offers merit-based scholarships to Master's and PhD level students at the Université de Montréal, Université du Québec à Montréal, McGill University, Concordia, Polytechnique, HEC, ÉTS and Université de Sherbrooke. The purpose of these scholarships is to encourage the higher education of young people in fields that Mr. Arbour believed would be conducive to the development and economic growth of Quebec society. To this end, after more than 10 years of operations, La Fondation Arbour has awarded 230 scholarships, worth $3.5M, to post-graduate students in the areas of computer science, engineering and business administration.
"Throughout his life, Pierre was committed to bolstering Quebec's economic development and competitiveness and he recognized the pivotal role that higher education would play in this equation. This is his legacy, and his foundation will continue to encourage success in higher education in Quebec", said Philippe Arbour, Vice-President of La Fondation Arbour.
Mr. Arbour was laid to rest on July 21 during a private ceremony at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, surrounded by his family and friends.
SOURCE Fondation Arbour
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