Vincent Chornet,
President & Chief Executive Officer
Vincent Chornet is co-founder of Enerkem. He is also co-founder of Fractal Systems Inc., a private technology company that is active in transforming heavy oil and crude bitumen into lighter oils. From 1996 to 2002, prior to founding and heading Enerkem, Mr. Chornet was involved as an entrepreneur and consultant in the development and funding of industrial projects in the power production and specialty chemical sectors, and in assisting start-up companies, including CSF Biotech (now Bioxel Pharma), Gelkem Inc. (Procyon Pharma/Ambrilia Biopharma), and Zaio Corporation. Before 1996, he worked at the Laurentian Bank of Canada. Mr. Chornet holds a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce and Finance from École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Montréal.
Dino Mili,
Vice-President,
Business Development
Dino Mili has more than 15 years of professional experience in the industrial and renewable energy sectors and related fields, as well he has worked on energy projects representing investments of more than $350 million. His responsibilities have centred on development, acquisition, and project financing for energy sector projects, including hydroelectricity, wind, forestry biomass, and landfill gas projects. Most recently, Mr. Mili worked with a major Canadian hydroelectric and wind developer to finance a major wind project in Québec. He has also worked with Domtar Inc., a pulp & paper company, in developing energy projects aimed at reducing the company's energy costs and exposure to fossil fuel prices. Previously, Mr. Mili held the position of Vice President of Business Development for CHI Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Enel GreenPower, a world leader in the renewable energy sector, to develop the company's Canadian market. Mr. Mili is a Chartered Accountant, and worked for 8 years with Price Waterhouse, a major international accounting firm, before moving to the energy sector.
Esteban Chornet,
Chief Technology Officer
Esteban Chornet is co-founder of Enerkem. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from ETSIIB in Barcelona, Catalunya (Spain) and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University, Pennsylvania (USA). From 1970 to 2007 he was Professor of Chemical Engineering at Université de Sherbrooke, located in Sherbrooke, Québec (Canada), where he taught the fundamentals of the discipline and conducted advanced research in the biomass, energy, and environmental sectors. From 1993-2003, Mr. Chornet was also a Principal Research Engineer with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Colorado (USA).
At Université de Sherbrooke, where he holds, since 2007, the Industrial Research Chair in 2nd Generation Biofuels. Dr. Chornet has supervised 74 graduate thesis (among them18 Ph. Ds) from which over 200 refereed publications are available in the scientific and engineering literature. Dr. Chornet received the 1984 Steacie Fellowship Award from the Government of Canada and was a 2004 laureate of the Prix Lionel Boulet, which is the highest technology prize awarded every year by the Government of Quebec. Dr. Chornet is a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society of Canada's Academy of Sciences as a Fellow from the Academy of Sciences. As Chief of Technology Officer of Enerkem, he provides vision, direction, mentoring, innovation, catalytic reaction engineering expertise and process integration.
Jocelyn Auger
Vice-President and General Counsel
Jocelyn Auger has over 10 years of commercial and legal experience within both law firms and corporate settings. Before joining Enerkem, Mr. Auger was a partner at one of Canada's fastest-growing independent law firms, where he also served as the co-chair Business & Technology Practice Group and was responsible for the firm's information technology operations. In his years as practitioner, Mr. Auger gained substantial experience in the execution and management of activities related to licensing, the establishment of joint ventures, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and other commercial transactions.
Jocelyn Auger holds degrees from the University of Sherbrooke and the European Academy of Legal Theory in Brussels. In addition, he is a member of the Barreau du Québec and the Licensing Executive Society (LES).
Denis Arguin,
Vice-President,
Engineering & Implementation
Before joining Enerkem, Mr. Arguin was Director of Process Technology at Minerals Technologies Inc. in Pennsylvania (USA). Prior to that, he was the Director of European Operations in a division of MTI, based in Brussels. Before pursuing his Executive MBA, he held the position of Regional Manager for the Northeast Canada and U.S. region at Mintech Canada Inc. Mr. Arguin has also gained extensive experience through his work at Montreal-based petrochemical companies such as Kemtec, Union Carbide, and Gulf Oil Refinery Ltd.
Mr. Arguin holds an Executive MBA in Operations Management from the University of Western Ontario, and a Bachelor's Degree (B. Science) in Chemical Engineering from Université de Sherbrooke.
Marie-Hélène Labrie,
Vice-President,
Government Affairs & Communications
Marie-Hélène Labrie began her career working for the Government of Canada, in the Department of National Defense, Industry Canada, and the Privy Council Office. She has also held the position of Director of Marketing and Strategic planning for CAE, a world leader in aviation simulation and training. In this position, she was responsible for marketing communications, strategic planning, market analyses, and competitive intelligence. For the past two years, Mrs. Labrie has worked as a Strategy and Marketing Consultant for Enerkem and other companies, including Oliver Wyman Delta Organization & Leadership and Desjardins Financial Security.
Mrs. Labrie holds a Master's Degree in International Business (MSc.) and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration (BBA) from Université Laval in Québec.
