Mathieu Duguay, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer

Mathieu Duguay has been COGIR Real Estate’s Chief Executive Officer since 2014 and the firm’s Senior Partner since 2004. Since Fall 2022, he’s also Chief Investment Officer.

Over the years, Mr. Duguay has enhanced Cogir’s enviable reputation in the fields of management, acquisitions, development, construction, partnerships and capital markets. He has proven his undeniable ability to assemble a first-class management team that is fully committed to its corporate mission.

Mr. Duguay is also quite involved, both personally and through Cogir Real Estate, in many charitable endeavours, particularly those concerning education, health issues, sports and the arts.

Bruno Desautels, Chief Partnership and Corporate Affairs Officer

Mr. Desautels became a member of COGIR’s executive board in October 2014. As Chief Partnership and Corporate Affairs Officer, Mr. Desautels is responsible for maintaining and developing COGIR’s investment activities and tax planning.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Desautels was a partner at KPMG LLP, where he gained significant experience in real estate, mergers and acquisitions, negotiations, and business development.

Mr. Desautels is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) and holds a bachelor’s in commerce from Université du Québec à Montréal.

Raymond Paré, President and partner, Construction Division

Mr. Paré joined Cogir last June. He brings with him a wealth of experience in the construction industry. His expertise will help shape this division over the long term by integrating industry best practices, thus helping to make Cogir Construction a leading player in this sector in Quebec

Stéphane Côté, President, Major Projects Division

A determined visionary and active entrepreneur in the Montreal business district, Stéphane Côté graduated in 1992 with a major in economics and a minor in administration from Université du Québec à Montréal. Obtaining a contractor’s licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Quebec, he quickly developed an interest in renovation and conversion projects. The transformation of the old Hudson’s Bay warehouse into lofts marks the debut of his real estate entrepreneurial career in Montreal.

In 1998, he incorporated DevMcGill and served his clients well by carrying out multi-phase and mixed-use projects that featured a classic and trendy design and revealed a unique creative talent that focused on a new lifestyle.

Always with the same vision in mind, building smart living environments for tomorrow, DevMcGill continues to enrich the lives of its residents, helping residential areas to grow and to thrive.

Frédéric Soucy, President, Retirement Home Division

Mr. Soucy is responsible for the overall Retirement Home division across Canada. In this role, he is responsible for business strategy, team leadership, asset performance, client relationships, and business development.

Mr. Soucy holds a Bachelor of Marketing degree from the École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Université de Sherbrooke. He has more than twenty years of management and business development experience.

Prior to joining COGIR Realty, he worked at RONA (TSX : RONA), where he was one of the company’s commercial builders, serving as National Sales Director.

Jean-Marc Bélanger, Chief Operation Officer, Multi-Residential Division

Jean-Marc Bélanger joined Cogir over 15 years ago as Director of Marketing and Procurement. After successfully meeting this challenge, he was promoted to Vice President Operations for the multi-residential division. Since September 2023, he has been Chief Operating Officer for the multi-residential division across Canada.

Mr. Bélanger has solid management experience and an excellent understanding of Cogir’s mission and values. His passionate approach, which puts the customer – whether tenant or building owner – at the heart of operations, has enabled this division to grow significantly in recent years. With the collaboration of his team, he has also overseen the marketing and operation of several major projects totaling over 7,000 doors in recent years, including Humaniti Montréal, Mostra Longueuil, Mostra Candiac, Odea, Haleco and others. Mr. Bélanger is a graduate of Université de Sherbrooke and HEC Montréal.

Louis Parent, Senior Vice-President, Commercial Division

Louis began his career at Cogir as a real estate leasing trainee in June 2015. His energy and fast understanding of real estate issues enabled him to quickly climb the ranks from Operations Supervisor, to Director, and finally to Senior Leasing Director for the Commercial Division seven years later.

After leaving the company for a short period to take up a new challenge with the Carbonleo team, Mr. Parent is back as Senior Vice-President, Commercial Division since November 2023.

Serge G. Duguay, Founder

With a strong background in real estate, Serge G. Duguay incorporated COGIR Real Estate in 1995 and served as its president until 2013, before handing over this role to his son, Mathieu Duguay.

Still very much involved with the company, he uses his 40 years of experience in property management to develop a unique approach that has made COGIR a distinctive brand in the industry.

What was originally a small company with just a few employees has become a true leader in real estate and the 55th-largest employer in the province of Quebec.

David Eskenazy, Chief Executive Officer, Cogir Management USA

Mr. Eskenazy leads our USA team as the CEO having last served as President of Merrill Gardens, and was previously the Chief Financial Officer for Aegis Living.

Prior to that, he spent 20 years with RC Hedreen Co., a Seattle-based hotel development company, and for 16 years was a member of the Board of directors for Outerwall (NASD: OUTR), parent company for Redbox and Coinstar, prior to its acquisition by Apollo.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Assisted Living Association as Vice Chair.