1. Education

2. Career

3. SM Group International

4. See also

5. Notes and references

Bernard Poulin is a Canadian businessman and humanitarian. He is best known as the president and CEO of the construction and engineering company SM Group International,^[1] which employs more than 1,200 professionals and is active in more than 39 countries, with US$11 billion in projects under management.

Poulin was arrested on September 19, 2017 with seven others as part of a police investigation on the sharing of municipal contracts in exchange for political contributions by engineering firms in Montreal between 2001 and 2009.^[2][3][4] The Montreal Gazette says that Poulin is facing acombination of fraud, abuse of confidence, conspiracy to commit fraud and municipal corruption charges by Quebec's anti-corruption unit (UPAC).

Education

Bernard Poulin earned a bachelor's and master's degree in civil engineering from the Université de Sherbrooke in Canada. He is also a 1982 alumnus of Harvard Business School's Owner/President Management Program (OPM) and subsequently a member of the Harvard University Alumni Association, Montreal Chapter.^[5] In October 2010, New Jersey City University presented Poulin with an honorary doctor of human letters degree.

Career

In 1972, Poulin founded a construction company, Labo SM Inc., and served as president and CEO for more than 40 years as it grew to be SM Group, a large international conglomerate.

He served on the Board of Overseers of Seton Hall University's John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations.^[6] He was a member of the advisory committee of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Quebec.^[7]

Poulin assisted New Jersey City University (NJCU) to form a partnership with the French company Dassault Systèmes S.A. and others to create opportunities for NJCU students; he was subsequently presented in 2010 with the university's Global Leadership Award.^[8]

Poulin served as a member of the board of directors of the Fondation Hôpital Charles-LeMoyne,^[9] and the Jewish General Hospital of Montreal.^[10] In 2009, he co-chaired the first cyclo-challenge against cancer, which raised approximately US$6 million to benefit the Jewish General Hospital of Montreal, the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ) in Trois-Rivières.^[11]

Poulin co-founded the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Sherbrooke. He served as a regional judge for the Entrepreneur of the Year award in Canada.^[12]

Poulin headed up the 2010-11 fundraising campaign for the "Youth Quebec Mission 2010-2013" project.^[13][14] He later became a major fund-raiser for the Union Montreal municipal political party.^[15] He was appointed to the Charbonneau Commission by Marc Lalonde.^[16] In 2011, Pouline was recorded discussing ways of financially influencing political appointments to the Port Authority.^[17][18] On September 19, 2017 he was arrested by the UPAC for his alleged role in a municipal contract scheme.^[19][16][20]

SM Group International

SM Group International, formerly known as Labo SM Inc., was established in 1972 and is based in Montreal, Canada. Poulin is the company's current president and CEO. SM Group International provides engineering, environmental, and project management services, and operates in about than 35 countries around the world.^[21]

In Algeria, SM Group International operates as a subcontractor for the multinational Chinese CITIC Group, which won the contract to build one of the sections of the East-West Highway.^[22] The firm opened an office in Saudi Arabia, and created a consortium with a local company, Gulf Construction.^[23]

SM Group International received the Armatura Award for the commercial innovation category for its work on the Montreal Herald Building – W Hotel, the same award for excellence in steel construction for the Centre CDP Capital Glass Wall, and the Award of Excellence in Architecture from the Association of Consulting Engineers of Quebec for Headquarters for the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

See also

• Culture of Quebec
• History of Quebec

Notes and references

• John Eskow
• John E. Smith
• John Esmonde (politician)
• John Espey
• John Esplen
• John Esposito (poker player)
• John E. Sprizzo
• John Essebagger
• John Essex
• John Esson
• John E. Steele
• John Estell
• John Esten Cook
• John Estes
• John Estey
• John Estmond Strickland
• John Estmond Strickland (Hong Kong)
• John Ethan Hill
• John E. Thomas
• John E. Thrasher
• John E. Toews
• John E. Tourtellotte
• John E. Tourtellotte & Company
• John Etter Clark
• John Etty