EY Canada adds team of consultants from Montreal-based Pivot Strategy

EY Canada has bolstered its strategy practice with the addition of team members from Pivot Strategy, a Montreal-based, boutique management consultancy focused on the financial services industry.

“We’re very excited to welcome our new team members,” said Linda Williams, EY Canada managing partner, advisory services. “Together, we’ll be even better able to assist our Insurance and Wealth and Asset Management clients to redefine their strategic positioning and design transformative solutions that deliver long-lasting value.”

The Big Four accounting and consulting firm has a full suite of advisory services, supporting private and public sector clients across the country. EY’s advisory offerings span strategy, operations, risk, finance, customer experience and engagement, program management, analytics, blockchain, and IoT.

Pivot Strategy was founded in 2012 by Michel Bernier and Jean-François Gagnon, and supports asset managers, institutional investors, insurers, and banks with consulting in corporate and investment strategy, product development, distribution, operations, and business design innovation.

Bernier and Gagnon will join EY’s Montreal office, along with their team. Bernier joins the firm as EY Canada’s national strategy advisor for insurance & wealth management, while Gagnon joins as a partner in advisory services.

Bernier has more than 30 years of business and consulting experience, with particular expertise in strategy, business design innovation, organizational effectiveness, and digital transformation. Prior to cofounding Pivot Strategy, Bernier was senior partner and Canadian practice leader at consulting firm Oliver Wyman, overseeing the firm’s market and client development, its brand positioning, and the management of its Canadian offices in Montreal and Toronto.

Before that, he was senior vice president of strategic initiatives at Bell Canada, overseeing growth strategy and major transformation initiatives in the enterprise segment of the company. Prior to Bell, Bernier was a senior partner in strategy consultancy SECOR, working at its offices in Paris and Montreal and delivering strategy consulting to major clients such as AXA, Banque Populaire, and Orange.

Gagnon has more than 20 years of experience, and has advised leading financial institutions across North America and Europe. He has strategy consulting expertise in the areas of asset management, insurance, mortgages, banking, and real estate. Gagnon also has extensive experience creating operating models for asset managers and data management strategies to support investment teams.

Before cofounding Pivot, Gagnon was a principal at Oliver Wyman, and a senior associate at Mercer. 

“We are very excited with this opportunity to combine our strong strategy consulting and industry experience with EY’s broad management consulting capabilities to drive our clients’ business forward,” said Bernier and Gagnon. “Working together, we’ll better uncover opportunities and accelerate the implementation of strategic change.”