Louis Vachon, president and CEO of Montreal-based National Bank of Canada, has been named the 2012 Financial Person of the Year by Finance et Investissement (FI), the Montreal-based, French-language sister publication of Investment Executive. The award was presented at a ceremony in Montreal on Feb. 5.

Vachon ranked first on FI‘s annual Top 25 list of financial services leaders in Quebec, as selected by a jury of seven prominent figures in the province’s financial services industry. Vachon took second place on the Top 25 list last year.

Vachon’s award recognizes his integral role in the acquisition of TMX Group Inc. by Maple Group Acquisition Corp. (both based in Toronto). Maple Group, a consortium of Canadian banks (including National Bank), pension funds and investment funds, completed its purchase of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the alternative Alpha exchange in August 2012. In an interview published in the February issue of FI, Vachon described the process of the TMX acquisition as a “marathon.”

Under Vachon’s guidance as president and CEO, roles he took on in 2007, National Bank’s profits have doubled and the bank reached a record level of sales in 2012. Also in 2012, the bank sold off subsidiary Natcan Investment Management Inc. to Toronto-based Fiera Capital Corp. As a part of that transaction, Vachon was made a board member of Fiera.

Vachon held the role of chief operating officer at National Bank from July 2006 to 2007. He also was chairman of National Bank Financial Ltd. and Natcan Investment Management, from January 2005 to July 2006.

Vachon told FI that he wants the bank to focus on providing succession-planning support to the growing number of entrepreneurs who will be selling or retiring from their businesses in the near future. Says Vachon: “We have estimated that 40% of our commercial clients will transfer ownership of their company within the next 10 years.”

The focus on entrepreneurs is not a big leap for Vachon. The son of an entrepreneur, he has always respected those who create innovative businesses.

“When I was a child,” Vachon told FI, “it wasn’t hockey players that were admired; it was entrepreneurs.”

Vachon sees 2013 as a year of transition for National Bank, which plans to continue the integration of HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., an investment firm it acquired in 2012. As well, National Bank will deploy new services, such as a platform for granting mortgage financing in all its Quebec branches.

Vachon is a chartered financial analyst and holds a master’s degree in international finance from the Fletcher School, a Tufts and Harvard University co-operative graduate program. He also is chairman of the Conseil des Gouverneurs associeés Université de Montréal.

Runner-up on the 2012 Top 25 list was Monique Leroux, president and CEO of Desjardins Group. Leroux ranked first on last year’s list. Jean-Guy Desjardins, chairman, CEO and CIO of Fiera Capital, came in third.

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