Florence Turpault-Desroches
McGill-HEC Montréal EMBA
Age: 40
“Bold, creative, and pragmatic leader who inspires teams, drives collaboration, and pushes boundaries.”
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec
Family Members: Mathieu Dubois (husband), Jérémi Dubois (son), Charlotte Dubois (daughter)
Fun fact about yourself: I initially thought I was destined for a career in the arts. Not only did I dream of becoming an actress (after nearly 10 years of theater), but I also spent over 13 years practicing folk dance! While my EMBA has given me greater expertise in strategy and finance, I’d say I’m truly versatile—I can clog dance and master the art of improvisation too!
Undergraduate School and Degree:
UQAM – Université du Québec à MontréalBachelor’s degree in Communication – journalism
Where are you currently working? Vice President of Communications and Philanthropy, La Presse
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles: For two years, I was involved in the communications committee of La féminisation du leadership, an alliance of influential leaders from the business, economic, education, and institutional sectors. This organization aims to reflect, write, and take action to turn this approach into a true organizational transformation strategy.
Since 2021, I have also been a board member of Canada’s largest classical music festival, the Festival de Lanaudière.
Additionally, I contribute to the Ste-Justine Children’s Hospital Foundation by serving on the communications and marketing committee for their major fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $500 million by 2028.
For the first time this year, I also joined the jury for the Force Avenir awards, which recognize, honor, and promote student engagement in projects that help shape conscious, responsible, active, and persevering citizens—both deeply connected to their communities and open to the world.
Key Achievements for La Presse, a national newspaper in Montreal:
- Designed and led an innovative organizational structure to support philanthropic development, achieving an average annual donation increase of 10% (from $3M in 2019 to $9M in 2024).
• Strategically mobilized employees, governance, and senior leadership, driving a cultural transformation that fully integrated philanthropy into the organization’s core.
• Developed and implemented the first global outreach plan, aligned with strategic priorities.
• Optimized matrix management, enabling the achievement of key organizational objectives.
• Created two bold editorial sections, transforming the practices of a 50-journalist team.
• Oversaw journalists in high-risk areas and led major investigations, strengthening the organization’s reputation and impact.
Leadership roles for La Presse:
- Vice-president of Communications and Philanthropy
- Senior Director of Communications and La Presse Foundation
- Senior Director of Information
- Content Director for the daily magazine-style section and then the general News section.
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I dedicated a significant amount of time and effort to my final project, which focused on the effects of power on leadership behavior. I spent countless hours reading studies, books, and articles on the subject, as well as conducting numerous interviews with executives. These interviews allowed me to connect with highly-renowned individuals with impressive careers who generously shared their experiences and the challenges they faced.
I absolutely loved working on this project and realized just how much I enjoy writing. As a former journalist, I’ve always had a passion for writing, but this in-depth work reignited that passion even further. So much so that I later accepted a publishing house’s proposal to expand this project into a book, which—if all goes well—should be published this fall.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? In 2019, I left the newsroom to work on the administrative side of the company. The challenge ahead was immense. After 10 years of transformation and restructuring at La Presse, I was the sole person responsible for communications and philanthropy. Not only did I have to bring communications operations back to the core of the organization, but I also needed to build La Presse’s very first philanthropic program—at a time when hardly any media outlet in the country had attempted such an initiative.
Six years later, beyond the growth of the donation program, what I am most proud of is the culture we have built. We had to assemble teams. More importantly, we had to collaborate across all departments to turn employees into ambassadors of our mission and establish philanthropy and communications as key pillars of the organization. What makes me the proudest today is the engagement and collective mobilization of my teams, working hand-in-hand with others to achieve results.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? Sujata Madan. When I enrolled in the EMBA, her module terrified me. But she completely erased all my fears about finance and accounting with her highly concrete, practical explanations and examples—mostly involving pizza and beer. She is one of the most generous and caring people I have had the privilege of meeting in my career, and she made all the difference for me at the start of the program. She gave me the strength to keep going.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? When my boss suggested that I take a business administration course, my first instinct was to worry – it felt like the goal was to mold me into expectations rather than help me leverage my differences. I doubted whether it was a good idea—until I came across a book: Managers Not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development by Henry Mintzberg.
In his book, Mintzberg calls for a radical shift in the way leaders are trained. He argues that traditional MBA programs, with their standardized and theoretical approaches, should be replaced by methods focused on experience, collaboration, and the real complexity of management. He also delivers a sharp critique of the business world, which, in his view, tends to favor profit-driven leaders over those who value human impact.
But Henry Mintzberg didn’t just write a book—he also inspired the creation of an EMBA program aligned with his vision of future leadership, a unique partnership between two universities, HEC Montréal and McGill. Curious to learn more, I asked to meet the person in charge of recruitment—a man of uncommon kindness—who convinced me to enroll with one simple sentence, which I jotted down at the very beginning of my notebook:
“What we want is to use who you truly are, so you can develop your leadership in line with your values, while giving you the right tools to succeed.”
What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work?
They ranged from the importance of understanding different contexts (including our own) to think critically and make the best possible decisions in the calmest way. This mental approach—rooted in contextual awareness—encourages decision-making that is far less impulsive and emotional, allowing me to be much more confident in my choices every day.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? My husband and I had been looking to move with our two children for several months. We found our dream home during the EMBA. The program director had advised us against making “big changes during our studies.” Still, we decided to go ahead with the purchase, which meant managing major renovations on our condo to sell it, along with necessary work on the new house—all while juggling moving boxes, team projects, studying, and work. While we’re now happily settled and confident in our decision, those months in the whirlwind were incredibly stressful. Thankfully, I have an exceptional husband who took on as much of the mental load as possible, allowing me to focus on delivering everything I needed to. I couldn’t have succeeded without him, and without the support of our families!
What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? Make the most of every minute, every moment, and every experience. The EMBA, despite being incredibly demanding, offered me the rare opportunity to take a step back and focus on myself. It’s a journey where you have the privilege to reflect, question, and better position yourself for what’s next. So, embrace every class, every meeting, and every team project as a chance to learn and grow.
What was your biggest regret in business school? No matter how deeply I reflect, I have no regrets!
Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I admire all my classmates for very different reasons. Some have shown exceptional resilience, others have embraced change, and some have stood out for their generosity. If I had to choose just one, it would be Caroline Paquin. Caroline wasn’t the most outspoken in class—she remained rather discreet—but she demonstrated extraordinary inner strength. She started from far, very far, and is probably the one who worked the hardest among us to earn this diploma. I have rarely seen someone as determined as she was to succeed, and I am deeply proud that she has received this well-deserved recognition.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? Nothing beats an immersive experience for the opportunity to step back and transform. I also wanted to improve my English. Practicing it one weekend per month for a year allowed me to make rapid progress that would have been impossible with online or even part-time learning. Being there in person also fostered strong and lasting connections with my classmates.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? To continue working in an environment that allows me to be creative, authentic, and develop impactful projects for society.
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