Denis Brière

Ex officio director – biography

Denis Brière

Denis Brière has been the 25th Rector of Université Laval since June 2007.

Dr. Brière is an ex officio director on the board of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, representing the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities. He also is a member of the association’s Standing Advisory Committee on Educational Issues and Funding.

He was the president of the provincial and federal Committee for the evaluation of environmental policies for the province of British Colombia in the Queen Charlotte Islands from 1979 to 1980,. In 1981, Dr. Brière returned to Quebec and joined the James Bay Energy Corporation.

From 1982 to 1987, he worked for the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) before becoming vice president and director general of the Woodland’s Division at Kruger Inc from 1987 to 1996. In 1994 and again in 2006, he was named Forest Engineer of the year by the Order of Forest Engineers of Quebec.

Dr. Brière was president and chief executive officer of Kruger Forest Products Inc from 1996 to 1998.  He then became President of the Comact Group, a North American leader in the conception and the manufacturing of equipment for wood processing from 1998 to 2000. During this period he was involved in various boards, notably, the Quebec Forest Research Council of which he was the President (and a current board member).

From June 2000 to May 2007, Dr. Brière held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics at Laval University.

In 1972, he graduated from the Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics at Université Laval. He went on to earn his PhD from the Faculty of Forestry of the University of British Colombia in 1979. From 1977 to 1980, he taught at UBC at the undergraduate and graduate levels.