Pierre Simard Bio

Pierre founded Champlain Financial Corporation (“CFC”) in 2004 with the objective of making investments in Canadian small and mid-market companies. Prior to founding CFC, Pierre co-founded Champlain Capital Partners, our U.S. affiliate which raised a US$150 million buyout fund in 2002. Prior to his foray into private equity, Pierre worked for five years as an investment banker with Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and, prior to that, for two years at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Inc. Over his career, Pierre has participated in the origination and execution of over 40 transactions including, among others, exclusive sales, high yield debt financings, management buy-outs and initial public offerings. Pierre also worked at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a major Canadian financial institution and for Lancaster Financial Corp., a private investment banking firm. Pierre received a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Laval University, a Graduate Degree in Management from the Université Catholique de Louvain, and an M.B.A. from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.