Valérie Lavoie - Biography

Executive Vice-President, Property and Casualty Insurance
President and Chief Operating Officer, Desjardins General Insurance Group

Valérie Lavoie joined Desjardins in 1994 and held various strategic positions before being appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Desjardins General Insurance Group in 2019. At that time, she also joined the Desjardins Group Management Committee as Executive Vice-President, Property and Casualty Insurance.

Valérie’s ability to rally teams at Desjardins around a common goal—to always do what’s best for members and clients—is one of her stand-out strengths.

In her previous roles, Valérie gained valuable actuarial and distribution experience. Today, she heads an executive division that employs more than 7,000 people, serves 3.8 million clients across Canada and has chalked up more than $7 billion in gross written premiums.

Valérie is a driver of change in the property and casualty insurance industry. As well as serving as the Deputy Chair for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, she sits on the boards of the Insurance Institute of Canada, the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation and Équité Association.

She is also involved in her community. Mother of 2, one of her sons is on the autism spectrum and she’s dedicated to raising awareness for the cause.

Valérie is a graduate of Université Laval and has bachelor’s degrees in biology and actuarial science.