Denis Brière

25th Rector of Université Laval

2007–2017

Denis Brière was born in Sainte-Martine, Québec, and studied at Collège de Beauharnois before completing his bachelor of arts in 1968 at Séminaire de Valleyfield. While there, he received a scholarship from the Ligue provincial de football du Québec as the defensive player of the year in 1967. In 1972 he earned a degree from the Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics at Université Laval. In 1979 he received a PhD in forest management from the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses from 1977 to 1980.

From 1979 to 1980, he chaired the federal-provincial committee for the evaluation of environmental policies in British Columbia. In 1981, Mr. Brière returned to Québec and joined the James Bay Energy Corporation. From 1982 to 1987, he worked at the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada, then served as vice-president and general manager of the Woodlands Division at Kruger Inc. from 1987 to 1996.

In 1994 he was named Forest Engineer of the Year by Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec in recognition of his important role in organizing a provincial forum on forest research in Québec. He received the award a second time in 2006, along with three fellow professors, for his work developing the Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics.

From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Brière was president and CEO of Kruger Forest Products Inc., which has more than 2,000 employees and annual sales of $500 million. He then moved to Comact, a North American leader in the design and manufacture of wood processing equipment, serving as President from 1998 to 2000. During this period he became heavily involved on a number of boards, including as chair of Conseil de la recherche forestière du Québec.

In 2000, Mr. Brière was named dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics at Université Laval. During his time in the position, he was actively involved in developing his faculty and promoting every aspect of Université Laval. In 2007, Mr. Brière was elected 25th rector of Université Laval.