The McGill-HEC Montréal EMBA offers two types of scholarships, one for leaders of Aboriginal origin, the other for managers of non-profit organizations. This year, the McGill-HEC Montréal EMBA program awarded one of its scholarships to Maxime Allard, director of the volunteer cooperation program at the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation.
Maxime has been working in the non-profit and international cooperation world for more than eleven years. He has held various roles in organizations such as Canada World Youth and Oxfam-Québec before joining the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation.
The Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation’s mission is to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of populations through quality education in Africa and Haiti. The Foundation coordinates many projects each year aimed at strengthening the capacities and well-being of communities while having education at the heart of each of its interventions. In Quebec, the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation’s flagship project is La Dictée P.G.L.
After just over two years in his current role, leading an international project and a team of 20 employees, Maxime felt the need to push his learning further. Following his analysis of the different program choices available to him, Maxime selected the EMBA program for its pedagogy:
«Les MBA et EMBA des autres universités sont une série de cours de 1 à 3 crédits où sont transmises principalement des connaissances, alors que l’EMBA de McGill et HEC Montréal repose sur le développement de savoir-faire et de savoir-être essentiels à des fonctions de leadership, ce qui m’interpelle beaucoup plus.»
The Executive MBA program will allow him to develop as a leader in order to increase his contribution to the strategic reflexions and the medium and long-term development of his organization.
Maxime is also a seasoned cyclist who has traveled impressive distances such as Montreal-Îles de la Madeleine, Vancouver-San Francisco or even Cairo-Cape Town on two wheels. However, Maxime’s true passion is “to surpass himself and take on challenges that are difficult to complete”.
«C’est pourquoi mon dernier voyage de vélo fut sur la côte Ouest américaine, moi qui déteste les côtes. C’est pourquoi je suis inscrit à mon 3e triathlon Ironman cet été. […] Mais c’est aussi pourquoi en 2001, alors que je me dirigeais vers une carrière paisible et bien rémunérée en science de la santé, j’ai décidé de tout laisser tomber et de recommencer dans un domaine qui me mènera vers la coopération internationale. »
Beyond his interest in strategic thinking, in developing his networking skills, and in taking his career to another level, for Maxime, the attraction of the EMBA McGill-HEC Montréal also lies in the challenge that it represents. A time challenge, obviously, but also challenging himself to make sure that the program’s learning has a real impact in his organization and in the non-profit world.
