As president and CEO of the National Bank of Canada since 2007, Louis Vachon is responsible for the strategies, direction and development of the bank and its affiliates. He has largely contributed to the growth of this bank, and hails from a family of successful business people. The basis for his success has been an innovative approach to building customer loyalty through communication, which is summarized in a simple yet visionary motto: one client, one bank.
Before being named CEO, Louis Vachon was Chief Operating Officer of the institution. Between 2004 and 2006, he was, sometimes simultaneously, Chair of the Board of National Bank Financial, Inc. (National Bank of Canada’s main affiliate) and of Natcan Investment Management, having at that time taken on the responsibilities of CEO of National Bank Financial, Inc.
Louis Vachon holds a bachelor’s degree from Bates College and a master’s degree in international finance from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University, and he is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He began his career in 1985 at Citibank, and one year later joined Lévesque Beaubien Geoffrion, a future affiliate of National Bank Financial. In 1990, he joined BT Bank of Canada, the Canadian arm of Bankers Trust, where he eventually became president and CEO, before rejoining National Bank in 1996, first as President and CEO of Innocap Financial Management and then as Senior Vice-President, Treasury and Financial Markets.
Louis Vachon sits on the boards of Fiera Capital and Molson Coors Brewing Company, and is involved in a number of social and cultural organisations.
In 2001, Louis Vachon was named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40. In both 2012 and 2014, Quebec-based financial publication Finance et Investissement named him Financial Personality of the Year, and in 2014, he was named CEO of the year by Canadian Business. In 2015, Louis Vachon was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bishop’s University.