Biography

Gaétan Desroches is the chief executive officer for La Coop fédérée. He has a Bachelor of agricultural sciences from Université Laval and a Master of business administration (MBA) from Université de Sherbrooke.
After finishing his agronomic studies, he got hooked on agriculture and cooperation. He has worked within the La Coop fédérée network for over 35 years where he held various positions in the crop production sector before being appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2006 and eventually Chief Executive Officer in 2014. Today, Gaétan Desroches is at the head of the largest agri-food group in Quebec, and the second largest in Canada.
During this latest mandate, Gaétan Desroches led the restructuring of the organization and the realization of major changes to achieve the enterprise’s mission and ambition. His leadership and vision have allowed Gaétan Desroches to take the necessary business decisions so that La Coop fédérée can continue to grow in an increasingly competitive market that is tending towards consolidation.
Throughout his career, Gaétan Desroches' substantive managerial and leadership qualities have been recognized through various awards: the winner of the 2016 Gala for Top New Performers, the 2016 AQINAC Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, winner of the first-ever Laurent Beaudoin Award presented to an MBA graduate from the Université de Sherbrooke and, lastly, MBA of the Year Award by the Association des MBA du Québec in 2016.
Mr. Desroches has also served on a number of committees and boards of directors during his career, notably on committees of the Centre de référence en agriculture et agroalimentaire du Québec (CRAAQ) and the Centre de recherche sur les grains (CÉROM) board of directors. He currently sits on the board of directors for the Fondation de Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ).