GERTRUDE BOURDON

Executive Director

CHU DE QUÉBEC

A lifelong dedication to public service and patient care, coupled with strategic leadership, is at the core of Gertrude Bourdon’s rise through the executive ranks in Quebec’s health-care system. Today she heads the largest teaching hospital in the province and third largest in Canada, with 14,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $1 billion.

“Having contributed to the creation of the largest teaching hospital in Quebec and the third-largest in Canada through the merger of two large hospitals in Quebec City in July 2012, and having succeeded, after only two years, in creating a strong sense of belonging.”

“Thérèse Casgrain (Canadian feminist icon, senator and the first female leader of a political party in Canada) was a great visionary, and she carved paths that changed the lives of all women today. She was heavily involved in the community, and firmly believed in social and political education. Her strong personal and social values made an incredible difference both for women and Canadian society.”

“At a difficult time in my career, I accepted a lateral promotion to get me out of a place where no career prospects were available to me due to an absence of strong leaders. This lateral move allowed me to come back stronger. You have to know how to be humble.”

“Within my own sector, progress to increase representation of women at the highest levels is exceedingly slow. Boards influence the hiring of university presidents and they have different records around diversity, including the representation of women. Organizations that recognize and embrace the value to be found in having a plurality of perspectives — in setting strategic direction and making the big decisions — are the ones I believe will be best able to serve society and succeed in the global marketplace.”