Valérie Bonnardel-Vacqué holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Lille and a Master’s degree in Engineering from the École Centrale de Marseille. She has devoted her career to forging links between academia and industry, in fields ranging from fundamental and applied research to technological innovation and its economic, environmental and societal impact.

Valérie Bonnardel-Vacqué is currently Acting Vice-President, Business Development and Investments at Axelys. She is responsible for the development and sound management of Axelys’ external business relationships, particularly with industrial partners interested in intellectual property assets supported by the organization. This work promotes technology transfer and the creation of start-up companies from Quebec universities, colleges and hospitals. She also maintains relationships with numerous public and private partners who help Axelys achieve its overall mission.

Previously, after 15 years in the research departments of major private companies (AkzoNobel and L’Oréal), Valérie Bonnardel-Vacqué was involved for almost 10 years in the development of collaborative university research, both in France, as Managing Director of the Fondation partenariale de l’Institut national polytechnique de Grenoble, and in Canada, with Mitacs. She was also Director of the Innovation Support Office in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at the Université de Moncton. That is where, she developed collaborative research strategies based on best practices in public-private partnerships, and implemented these practices with researchers.

Valérie Bonnardel-Vacqué plays an active role as a volunteer in several organizations dedicated to entrepreneurship (Startup Grand Moncton, in New Brunswick, and Sevea Consulting, in Cambodia), environmental research (CHORUS Research Institute, whose mission is to protect marine ecosystems and promote the sustainable development of human activities at sea) and the professional integration of adults with autism spectrum disorders (as co-founder of the Leonard Algernon Association).