Claudine Bouchard
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating and Infrastructure Officer, Hydro‑Québec
President and Chief Executive Officer, Société d’énergie de la Baie James
Claudine Bouchard was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating and Infrastructure Officer at Hydro‑Québec in 2023. In this capacity, she oversees the development of an increasingly smart and interactive energy system designed to provide high‑quality electricity service in keeping with customers’ needs. She is also tasked with making the grid more resilient to extreme weather events.
Also serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of Société d’énergie de la Baie James (SEBJ), Ms. Bouchard is responsible for Hydro‑Québec’s highly diversified infrastructure and assets, including 87 generating stations, some 264,000 km of transmission and distribution lines, 2,600 km of roads, 375 bridges, 5 airports and more than 350 buildings with a total replacement cost of some $350 billion. She manages a capital program that will increase from $6 billion in 2024 to $14 billion in 2029, as well as the company’s refurbishment and expansion projects. Her teams provide the expertise and technical support needed to carry out both current and future projects, while also optimizing work methods and processes related to environmental management and occupational health and safety. The progress achieved in this regard by Hydro‑Québec—which ranks among the largest contractors in Québec—has led to a 26% reduction in the company’s workplace accident frequency rate over the past two years, making it six times lower than that of the Québec construction industry.
A seasoned manager known for her human leadership, Ms. Bouchard has over 25 years’ experience at Hydro‑Québec, where she has held positions of increasing responsibility in several fields. As Executive Vice President and Chief Infrastructure and Energy System Officer, she oversaw the completion of the $7.4‑billion Romaine hydropower project in 2022—one of the largest infrastructure projects carried out in Canada in recent decades. With an annual output of 8 TWh, the Romaine complex generates enough energy to supply 470,000 households.
Ms. Bouchard holds a Bachelor of Science from Université de Montréal and an MBA from Université du Québec à Montréal and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, as well as a Masters Certificate in Marketing Communications Leadership from York University. She also completed a business negotiations program at Harvard.
Certified by the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés, she serves on the board of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ). In addition, she is a member of the FCCQ’s executive committee, chairs the organization’s human resources committee, sits on the urban forestry leaders committee set up by the Société de verdissement du Montréal métropolitain (Soverdi) and has led Hydro-Québec’s Centraide Leadership campaign since 2018. Moreover, she volunteers as a leader of the A Effect and as an ambassador in the Women’s Leadership Program of the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie Saguenay‑Le Fjord.
In October 2021, Ms. Bouchard received the prestigious Woman of WaterPower Award from Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE) and WaterPower Canada (WPC) in recognition of her contribution to the Canadian hydropower industry and the advancement of women in the renewable energy sector.