Reimagining a smart, sustainable growth

Mission : researchers and entrepreneurs

Working with marine/wild life requires top expertise, a human sensitivity, high tech equipment and a vast playground that inspires creativity, sustainability and innovation. Our goal is to help entrepreneurs develop products that are aligned with the needs of a new, subtainable, economy.

The team

Martin Beaulieu, PhD

Entrepreneur-in-residence, NOVARIUM

Martin Beaulieu is President and CEO of the Société de promotion économique de Rimouski (SOPER). He is also a member of the Regional Development Committee of Investissement Québec and was president of the Technopole maritime du Québec. He holds a master’s degree in protein chemistry and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry of polymers (Laval University). Prior to joining the SOPER team, he was Director of Operations at InnoVactiv (Rimouski, Quebec) and before that, Research Coordinator at the Nestlé Research Center (Lausanne, Switzerland). Dr. Beaulieu is also a scientific advisor for various Canadian research organizations and a member of several boards of directors including the Société portuaire du Bas-Saint-Laurent et de la Gaspésie. He has done research at the Departments of Food Science of the University of Guelph (Canada) and the University of Georgia in Athens (USA).

Amélie Desrochers

Chief Accelerator

Trained as an Economist, Amelie enjoys destroying old decaying structures (while respecting all things vintage) and she always finds opportunities to perform what she calls ‘creative contamination’. Amelie scaled an AI-related techs Startup, SOCAMI, for 8+ years. The startup’s main client was Google and the IP was sold to the Government of Quebec in 2012. Geeky and macro-minded, her fascination for building dynamic innovation ecosystems brought her to San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal and now Rimouski, a coastal mid-size city which is renowned for its worldwide expertise in ocean-related science and technology. Amelie holds a Bachelor degree in Applied Economics from HEC Montreal and a Masters in International Economics from University of Montreal. She worked as a diplomat for Canada’s Global Affairs and the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office where she led climate-related government relations and designed digital diplomacy campaigns and public policies related to Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Climate-related initiatives. She is currently developing NOVARIUM – St. Lawrence Innovation Campus, an innovation campus dedicated to the Blue Economy in Quebec and its marine accelerator, FLOTS. Amelie co-founded Hub de l’EST, an NGO dedicated to support entrepreneurs located in remote areas. She also co-founded Les Enfants Sauvages inc, a business that offers temporary lodging in nature for remote workers. Its first project, Petit Metis, was launched in 2022.

Rémi Richard

Entrepreneur-in-residence, FLOTS

Remi Richard’s first startup, Pomelo Health, established itself as one of the leading digital health startups in North America with 12,000 physicians using it to reach more than one million patients per year before being acquired by TELUS in 2021. In ten years, Rémi has been directly involved in raising tens of millions, recruiting and managing 130 employees, launching and growing an international office (Boston, MA), as well as the commercializing a high-tech, regulated, SaaS product across North America.

As part of the largest cleantech private investment fund in the country, Remi has been interested in the fight against climate change for several years. This is why, he is happy to join forces with FLOTS in maximizing entrepreneurs’ impact in the fight to restrict & mitigate climate changes.

Remi is involved in numerous charities, including a recent initiative to facilitate cash donations to the homeless using RFID technology. He studied at Laval University and McGill University, he sometimes acts as a mentor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was recently named as one of the top 25 innovators in Quebec by C2 Montreal in addition to being part of Infopresse Top 30 under 30.

Marianne Brisson, M.Sc

Director of innovation

Fascinated by the ocean, Marianne grew up in the Gaspé Penninsula and developed a very special relationship with the sea. Her professional path mainly revolved around politics and business but her affection for this vast waterfront brought her back to her roots. Marianne is the Director of the District of Marine Innovation where she brings together a variety of stakeholders who are committed to bring innovation to the industry and develop the future of the blue economy.