Board of Directors
Marc Courtois, MBA
Member of the BOD
Marc was an investment banker for over 20 years at what is now RBC Capital Markets. He was responsible for the coverage of the firm’s largest clients in Quebec notably Quebecor, BCE and Air Canada. Some notable transactions that he was responsible for are the IPOs of Air Canada , Bell Canada International and Quebecor World, the joint acquisition of control of Continental Airlines by Air Canada and TPG Capital, the sale of Montreal Trust by BCE, the sale of control of Donohue by Quebecor, the acquisition of World Color by Quebecor World and the acquisition of Videotron by Quebecor. Since leaving RBC Capital Markets, Marc has been involved in Board work. He is a past Chairman of Canada Post, NAV Canada, Aireon and the Pembroke American Growth Fund and a past director of Groupe TVA and Ovivo. He is also a past chairman of the Montreal Children’s Foundation and a former director of the MUHC and the MUHC Foundation.
Didier Leconte, MBA
Independent Member of the BOD
Didier is an experienced leader in the fields of biotechnology and life sciences. He holds an Engineering Degree from the Sorbonne University, in France, and an MBA in Technology Management from the UQAM. Over the years, Didier has been instrumental in shaping Quebec’s aggressive strategy in support of life sciences. He has been Vice-President of Investments in Life Sciences at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Vice-President of Investments in Life Sciences and Technology at Investissement Québec, where he played a crucial role in fostering innovation and investment in healthcare technologies​​. He held various board positions for many successful institutions and companies at different stages of development, including his involvement with adMare BioInnovations, Valeo Pharma, JAMP Pharma, Congruence Tx, DalCor Pharma, Axelys, Montreal InVivo and BioQuebec.
Claudia Raggi, MD
Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer, member of the BOD
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Claudia is an expert in human development and stem cell differentiation. Educated in medicine at the University of Rome La Sapienza and at the Catholic University of Louvain, Claudia has been a full-time basis and translational scientist since 2009. Inventor of Morphocell's iPSC-based platform technology, with unique expertise in preclinical development of cell therapy products and cell manufacturing, Claudia built and leads the Company's passionate team of engineers and scientists that is bringing its engineered tissues to the clinic.
Massimiliano Paganelli, MD, PhD​
Co-Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer, member of the BOD
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Max is a pediatric transplant hepatologist, head of the Liver Tissue Engineering and Cell Therapy Laboratory at CHU Sainte-Justine and associate professor of pediatrics at the Université de Montréal. He earned his medical degree at the Sapienza University of Rome, and trained in pediatrics in Rome and in pediatric hepatology and transplantology in Naples and in Brussels. Max also has a Ph.D. in hepatology and cell therapy from the Catholic University of Louvain. Expert in cell therapy of liver diseases, he is a Stem Cell Network investigator and a CIHR/FRQS-funded scientist. Driven by the needs of his young patients, Max is seeking better ways to treat liver disease using novel stem cell therapies. Max has been leading Morphocell as president and CEO since 2019.