Alliance presidency elections: Thank you for your support!

Nov 27, 2015



Dear friends, dear fellow cooperators,

It is with great enthusiasm that I am addressing you today as the newly elected president of the Alliance. I am humbled by the trust and support you demonstrated in Turkey on November 13th. It is an honor and privilege to serve as president of the Alliance and I intend to spare no efforts in assuming my new role.

I would like to take the opportunity to recognize Dame Pauline for her tremendous work and unparalleled commitment to the cooperative movement. She has been and will remain a great source of inspiration, for me personally, and to cooperators around the world.

I also want to congratulate all the candidates with whom I look forward to collaborating on the future of the cooperative movement.

The election campaign has been an opportunity to collectively reflect about the future of our movement and of our Alliance and for members and candidates to propose new ideas. This input will be highly valuable as we develop a concrete plan of action for the Alliance. I hope to maintain this kind of open dialogue with members through my mandate.

As discussed with many of you, I am anxious to start working together with you on 3 main priorities:

  • To increase member engagement and services to members.
  • To pursue, more than ever, the Alliance leadership role on the international stage in representing the cooperative movement.
  • To support the growth and development of cooperatives around the world.

I believe that we should build on the efforts of the recent years and continue to develop the immense potential of cooperatives to empower even more people and make the world a better place. A defining strength of cooperation is to be a united network of organisations deeply rooted in communities and having an undeniable impact globally.

As the Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group, a leading cooperative financial group in Canada, since 2008, I have been a privileged witness of the power of cooperation. Together with the 50 000 employees and 5 000 elected officers, we brought Desjardins Group to the rank of 5th strongest financial institution in the world while remaining strongly committed to our cooperative values, people and communities.

It is with enthusiasm that I invite you to submit comments and questions.

I am highly stimulated by the challenges and opportunities ahead of us. And I know that together, we have the power to succeed.

Sincerely,

Monique F. Leroux