After Simon Thibault, who moved to General Motors (GM), Audrey-Anne Desaulniers, another battery sector employee from Investissement Québec (IQ), made the jump to the private sector, but this time in wind power, pointed out The newspaper.
Last Tuesday, Audrey-Anne Desaulniers, who worked as a battery sector advisor at Investissement Québec from October 2022 to November 3, registered as a lobbyist for Plan A Capital Inc.
This comes eight months after the departure of IQ’s head of battery operations, Simon Thibault, who left his position to work at GM.
In her mandate, Audrey-Anne Desaulniers mentions that she is preparing to recruit municipalities for the company BluEarth Renewables Inc., whose parent company, DIF Management BV, is based in the Netherlands.
“Presentations to public officials to enable the development and implementation of wind energy projects in accordance with the applicable legal framework” can be read.
Experience with Northvolt
Her bio on Plan A Capital Inc.’s website highlights the former IQ employee’s experiences with the emerging battery industry.
“Audrey-Anne worked at Investissement Québec, where she contributed to efforts to attract and develop business projects in the battery sector, such as Ultium CAM in Bécancour and Northvolt in Montérégie,” it said.
“In the Centre-du-Québec region, she was responsible for building relationships with local communities and actively participated in the coordination of various regional actors,” we add.
Audrey-Anne Desaulniers, lobbyist. Taken from Audrey-Anne Desaulniers’ LinkedIn profile
No interview
On Wednesday, Le Journal was unable to speak to Audrey-Anne Desaulniers. It was his boss, Hugo Bouchard, managing partner at Plan A Capital Inc., who shared details of his new hire’s role.
“In her role, she does not have to apply for funding from any body, including the Quebec government,” he stressed.
“We have no connection to the battery sector,” summarized the one who works more with cities and MRCs on wind power.
Subject to Code of Ethics
For its part, Investissement Québec recalled that “Ms. Desaulniers, like all IQ employees, is subject to the state-owned company’s code of ethics.”
“Certain provisions, in particular regarding the confidentiality of information obtained in the performance of their duties, apply even after employees have left IQ and Ms. Desaulniers has been reminded of these rules,” concluded her door spokeswoman Isabelle Fontaine.
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.