Name Bernard Poulin Role Businessman | ||
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Education Universite de Sherbrooke | ||
Bernard Poulin is a Canadian businessman and humanitarian. He currently serves as president and CEO of SM Group International, one of Canada's leading engineering firms. SM Group employs more than 1,200 professionals and is active in more than 39 countries, with US$11 billion in projects under management. Thirty-seven engineers from SM Group pleaded guilty and agreed to pay fines to their professional order for acting as nominees for illegal political financing on november 18, 2016, according to Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec’s website. Bernard Poulin was arrested on September 19, 2017 with seven other suspects as part of a police investigation on the sharing of municipal contracts in exchange for political contributions by engineering firms. The Montreal Gazette says that Poulin is facing some combination of fraud, abuse of confidence, conspiracy to commit fraud and municipal corruption charges by Quebec's anti-corruption unit (UPAC).The charges relate to the awarding of municipal contracts in engineering in Montreal between 2001 and 2009.
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Education
Bernard Poulin earned a bachelor's and master's degree in civil engineering from the Université de Sherbrooke in Canada. He is also a 1982 alumnus of Harvard Business School's Owner/President Management Program (OPM) and subsequently a member of the Harvard University Alumni Association, Montreal Chapter. In October 2010, New Jersey City University presented Poulin with the Global Leadership Award and an honorary doctor of human letters degree.
Charity work and Recognition
Poulin has actively supported higher education initiatives and for 10 years has served on the Board of Overseers of Seton Hall University's John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations. He is also a member of the advisory committee of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Quebec.
Poulin has formed an alliance with New Jersey City University (NJCU) and has begun to assist the University in partnering with the French company Dassault Systèmes S.A. and others in order to create new opportunities for NJCU and its students.Poulin received in October 2010 the prestigious Global Leadership Award of the NJCU during the celebration of the 80e years of the University.
Poulin also serves as a member of the board of directors of numerous organizations, including, the Fondation Hôpital Charles-LeMoyne, and the Jewish General Hospital of Montreal. In 2009, Poulin co-chaired the first cyclo-challenge against cancer, which raised approximately US$6 million to benefit the Jewish General Hospital of Montreal, the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ), and the regional hospital of Trois-Rivières.
Additionally, Poulin is co-founder of the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Sherbrooke and an honorary member of the Drawing Society of Canada. Poulin also serves as a regional judge for the Entrepreneur of the Year award in Canada and as honorary president of the organizational committee of Vinum & Musica, an annual event to benefit the Concours Musical International de Montréal.
Bernard Poulin is also the honorary chairman of the campaign "rebuild hope" from the charity of Père Dehoux in Haïti.
Furthermore, Bernard Poulin is the President of the 2010-11 fundraising campaign for the "Youth Quebec Mission 2010-2013" project. This project is an initiative of CIME, a non-lucrative association that promotes musical arts. The launch of the campaign "Youth Quebec Mission 2010-2013" took place on Monday, November 15, 2010 in Montréal.
SM Group International
SM Group International, formerly known as Labo SM Inc., was established in 1972 and is based in Montreal, Canada. Poulin is the company’s current president and CEO. SM Group International provides a range of engineering, environmental, and project management services with operations in more than 35 countries (North America, Central America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East).
In Algeria, SM Group International collaborates, as a subcontractor for the multinational Chinese CITIC Group, which won the contract to build one of the sections of the East-West Highway, a project valued at US$5 billion.
Also in Algeria, SM Group is about to complete the supervision of construction of the dam Kerrad up to 85 meters. The project, which includes a water line of 88 kilometers and a water treatment plant, will allow a dozen towns water supply.
The company, which generates 50% of its revenues internationally, is also active in Morocco, where she won for thirty million dollars in contracts over the past two years, according to its president. Haiti is also in the crosshairs. She is vying to manage the rehabilitation of water system in Port-au-Prince.
The firm is also positioning itself in Saudi Arabia, where she opened an office, and created a consortium with a local company, Gulf Construction.
One Canada’s most prestigious engineering firms, SM Group International has received numerous awards and recognition for its services and projects, including the Armatura Award for the commercial innovation category for its work on the Montreal Herald Building – W Hotel, the same award for excellence in steel construction for the Centre CDP Capital Glass Wall, and the Award of Excellence in Architecture from the Association of Consulting Engineers of Quebec for Headquarters for the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, among other honors. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec was created in 1965 to manage funds deposited by Quebec’s pension board.
Personal life
On September 19, 2017, Bernard Poulin was arrested by the UPAC for his alleged role in a municipal contract scheme.