Montreal's Top Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 42
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MONTRÉAL’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Pomerleau employees build success through culture
A
fter completing two
internships and
working for a year
and a half with
Pomerleau Inc.,
Raphaëlle Bourassa-Descoteaux
left to work for another company.
After just over a year, she
returned to the Montréal-based
construction company.
“I did enjoy my other experience,
but Pomerleau’s values and culture
brought me back,” says BourassaDescoteaux, assistant project
manager, who returned almost two
years ago. “I know it’s cliché, but
we really are like one big family.
We want to work together and help
each other. I really enjoy being part
of that and missed it when I left.”
Sophie Morin, executive
vice-president and chief legal
officer, says this culture starts
from the top. On her first day
with the company six and a half
years ago, she met the then CEO.
“He said his most important role
was to ensure the well-being and
happiness of the employees. This
legacy is still felt today.”
She says the team culture is
nurtured through events such
as team building retreats, where
employees get to know each other
and do strategic planning for the
company, but also through various
activities targeting the needs
and realities of the employees.
Bourassa-Descoteaux appreciates
equity, diversity and inclusion
events like a recent panel on
women in construction. “Women
shared experiences and advice
regarding being a woman in a
male-dominated field. It was
helpful for the younger women in
the field, like me,” she says.
A project that Morin says has
really brought the team together
is construction of the Réseau
express métropolitain (REM), the
largest public transit project in
Québec since the inauguration
of the Montréal Métro in 1966.
NouvLR, the consortium including
Pomerleau, AtkinsRéalis, Dragados
Canada Inc., Aecon Group Québec
Ltd. and EBC Inc., is responsible
for the infrastructure engineering,
procurement and construction of
the project.
When you work hard and
have the chance to see that
your work has contributed
to something that will
change people’s lives,
it’s truly gratifying.
— Sophie Morin
Executive Vice-President
and Chief Legal Officer
Employees at Pomerleau leverage technology to build the infrastructure of the future.
“We knew from the start that this
project would permanently change
the city of Montréal. There will
be a before and after REM,” she
says. “For Pomerleau, it was the
first time we bid on such a major
project, with so many collaborators
from many different countries and
backgrounds. We really brought
out the best in each partner to
successfully complete this contract.
“I was moved to see my
colleagues’ work when the first
construction began and to ride
the REM with my husband and
daughter. When you work hard
and have the chance to see that
your work has contributed to
something that will change
