HEC Montréal awards Doctorate honoris causa to Jean-Marc Léger

Jean-Marc Léger, economist and founding President of Léger, was awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by HEC Montréal at the convocation ceremony that was held on May 21. This honour commemorates his exceptional career and outstanding influence in his field in Quebec and around the world.

Revolutionizing market research

Mr. Léger began his career as a researcher, and then manager, before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship in 1986, and founding Léger with his father. Under his leadership, Léger has become the largest Canadian-owned polling, market research and analytics firm, with 15 acquisitions and more than 600 employees in Canada and the United States.

By developing digital solutions such as the LEO online panel, customer experience measurement, the Analytical Division and CUBE AI, an artificial intelligence tool, Jean-Marc Léger has revolutionized market research through his strategic and innovative vision.

Here are a few other highlights of his remarkable journey:

• In 2007, he founded and chaired the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research (WIN), which includes the 50 largest independent survey and market research firms in the world.
• Fellow of the Canadian Research Insights Council, he was elected by his peers in 2023 to its Canadian board of directors and to ESOMAR’s international council.
• He was named one of Canada’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024 by The Hill Times and one of Insight250’s 75 Legends in the insights and market research industry worldwide.
• He was President of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal and the Publicité Club.
• He has been involved as a philanthropist in numerous charitable works, including for Centraide and the major fundraising campaign for Université de Montréal.
• He is a regular contributor in the Canadian media, and is also the pollster for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post and The Atlantic.
• He collaborated with Jacques Nantel, HEC Montréal Professor Emeritus, and Pierre Duhamel, Development Advisor at HEC Montréal’s Pôle D (Top Executives and Strategic Management Hub), to co-author the bestselling book Cracking the Quebec Code: The 7 keys to understanding Quebecers, which inspired a documentary series broadcast on Télé-Québec.