Concordia appoints a new chief financial officer

Sonia Trudel has been appointed Concordia’s chief financial officer (CFO). She will be joining the university on August 17.

A chartered professional accountant (CPA), chartered accountant (CA) and bilingual senior executive, Trudel brings more than 20 years of experience in finance, accounting and management to her new role.

“Sonia emerged from the interview process as a very strong candidate,” says Alan Shepard, Concordia's president. "Our selection committee was impressed by her experience, which includes working for public institutions that have faced funding cuts similar to those we are dealing with. She will succeed Patrick Kelley, who has done an outstanding job in this essential role.”

To ensure a smooth transition, Trudel will work alongside Kelley, as a special advisor to the president, to complete and close the books for the 2014-15 fiscal year. She assumes the CFO role one month later, on September 21.

Shepard thanked the members of the CFO selection committee for their time and commitment. The committee included the president; Benoit-Antoine Bacon, provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs; outgoing CFO Patrick Kelley; and Board members Françoise Bertrand, Jean-Pierre Desrosiers and Georges Paulez.

About Sonia Trudel

Trudel has held high-level positions in the public and private sectors.

As general manager for CBC/Radio Canada's Real Estate Division at a time of government-imposed budget cuts, she implemented several measures to reduce expenses, including a strategy for building management that saved $12 million over a 10-year period.

She also generated $111 million in savings over an eight-year period, and $47 million in additional savings forecast over a four-year period through various activities that included developing and selling surplus land, minimizing payments in lieu of taxes and implementing energy saving projects.

“One of the reasons I was interested in working for Concordia is because of its commitment to improving society through education and research,” says Trudel. "I have also been impressed by its work in sustainable development, a key area of interest for me."

During her career, she was vice-president of Finance, Administration and Asset Management for the Old Port of Montreal and general manager for Nexacor, a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin O&M, where she reduced expenses by $20 million through energy-saving strategies. Trudel was also director of Finance for TeleReal Inc., a subsidiary of BCE and comptroller for both the Montreal Eaton Centre and Les services financiers Rodine.

“Sonia is an outstanding professional with a great track record. Her past experience fits well with Concordia’s needs,” says outgoing CFO Kelley. “Her appreciation of the university education environment is especially welcome. She’ll do a fine job as CFO.”

Along with her ability to set and achieve strategic priorities, Trudel has led high-performance teams based on open communications and a collaborative approach to leadership. Last fall, she lectured at HEC Montréal, where she created the course "Finance for CPAs" and developed a training course on strategies for managing corporate and government real-estate assets that will be offered this fall.

The recipient of various professional and corporate awards, Trudel received the 2007 Prix Femmes d'affaires du Québec for professionals and managers in public or parapublic organizations, a Pilier d'Or award for environmental merit from the Association des gestionnaires de parcs immobiliers institutionnels (AGPI), and several Office Building of the Year (TOBY) Awards from BOMA Québec and BOMA Canada.

Trudel holds a bachelor of business administration (major in accounting) from HEC Montréal, and the designation of master of corporate real estate (MCR) from CoreNet Global.