Laurentian Bank has announced the appointment of Denis Desautels as its chairman of the board. Desautels will assume his new duties on March 17, succeeding Jon Grant, who has held the position since March 2001 and is retiring after being a board member for 15 years.

Executive Director of the Centre on Governance of the University of Ottawa since October 2001, Desautels was also Auditor General of Canada for a full decade, from April 1991 to March 2001. Before then, he was a senior partner at the Montreal office of professional services firm Ernst & Young.

After earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University, Desautels became a chartered accountant in 1966. With Ernst & Young, where he served as manager of the firm’s Montreal and Quebec City offices, among other positions.

He was made a Fellow of the Order of Chartered Accountants of Quebec in 1986 and of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 1991.

In 2001, he received honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa and from the University of Waterloo, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Desautels has been a member of Laurentian Bank’s board of directors since December 2001.

“I am extremely pleased that Mr. Desautels has agreed to become chairman of the board. He brings exceptional experience to Laurentian Bank as well as a great interest in, and thorough knowledge of, corporate governance issues,” said Raymond McManus, president and CEO.

“I am especially enthusiastic about playing such a stimulating role in a financial institution that stands out in many areas. Corporate governance is one of these areas, one in which Laurentian Bank has repeatedly been a step ahead of its competitors,” said Desautels.