Mr. Lessard has more than 35 years of experience in the field of international cooperation, with the Canadian International Cooperation Agency, Développement international Desjardins and the Centre d’étude et de coopération international (CECI). Most of his career has been devoted to the development of bio-food chains in the context of the fight against poverty, mainly in West and Central Africa, but also in Latin America and Haiti. More specifically, his expertise focuses on the study, validation and dissemination of technical innovations related to the intensification and processing of agricultural products; capacity building of operators and private service providers to operators; and the organization and structuring of all economic stakeholders around promising development sectors.
In addition to developing theoretical and practical skills in results-based management, Mr. Lessard has developed recognized expertise in organizational development, particularly with respect to cooperative units. He has to his credit two publications, one a practical method of organizational strengthening; the other on the engineering of development projects.
Concurrently with these international development activities, he shared his practical experience as a lecturer for nearly 10 years at the Faculty of Continuing Education at the Université de Montréal (Certificate in International Cooperation); and at the University of Montréal-École Polytechnique de Montréal ( a course titled “The engineer in International Development Projects”).
