Fiera Capital Corp. (FSZ-T) has named Maxime Ménard as president and chief executive officer of Fiera Canada and its global private wealth operations.

Ménard will be based in Montreal at the firm’s global head office and will join Fiera Capital’s executive committee.

"I am thrilled to step into this new role and join Fiera Capital's high-performing and dedicated team. I see this as a tremendous opportunity to contribute to the firm's expansion, leveraging our top-tier investment platform," Ménard said in the announcement Monday afternoon.

"Our ability to build diversified portfolios with a range of public and private market strategies is a unique and highly competitive advantage in the industry.

"We can drive a substantial increase in our revenue and make a lasting impact in the Canadian market."

The hiring places Ménard in contention to succeed current global CEO Jean-Guy Desjardins, who is also chairman of the Fiera board.

Desjardins, 79, returned to the global CEO role a year ago when then-CEO Jean-Philippe Lemay left the company.

Although no firm date has been set, Desjardins has publicly acknowledged his intention to leave the CEO’s role. 

"Maxime's exceptional career reflects his ability to play a strategic leadership role to drive performance and stay atop of market trends, as well as develop successful client relationships," Desjardins said of the Ménard hiring.

"His extensive knowledge and understanding of the asset management landscape will add to the strong executive team we already have in place and contribute to the firm's success. 

“We are ready to begin 2024 with a solid plan for growth and increased sales and distribution resources in each of our four key regions in order to develop new business opportunities and enter new markets."

About Maxime Ménard

Ménard will be responsible for oversight of Fiera Capital's Canadian and global private wealth activities, collaborating with both the  public markets and private markets leadership teams. 

He brings over 25 years of experience in the investment industry into his new role. 

Before joining Fiera Capital, Ménard spent 20 years in leadership positions at Jarislowsky Fraser, acting as president, CEO and member of the board of directors and management committee for the past five years. 

He holds a bachelor of business administration from York University and an MBA from HEC Montreal.

Ménard sits on the board of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance and was named vice-chair in June 2023.

Fiera Capital Corporation is an independent global asset management firm.

As of the end of Q3 2023, the company had approximately $155 billion of assets under management. That was down approximately $3 billion from its year-earlier AUM, according to Fiera’s quarterly financial reports.

Its assets under management span a wide range of public and private market asset classes to institutional, financial intermediary and private wealth clients across North America, Europe and Asia.