Concordia’s CFO Denis Cossette to retire at the end of 2025
Denis Cossette, Concordia’s chief financial officer, has decided to retire at the end of 2025, after almost 40 years in financial management, mostly focused on higher education.
“During Cossette’s tenure as CFO, the university has benefited immensely from his wide-ranging expertise in budgetary and strategic planning, his insightful financial analyses and his unparalleled understanding of Quebec’s fiscal environment,” says Concordia President Graham Carr.
Cossette joined Concordia as CFO in 2016 and was reappointed in 2021. Previously, he served as associate vice-president of Financial Resources at the University of Ottawa, which included one year as interim vice-president of Resources.
“Thanks in large part to Denis’s leadership, Concordia has continually met challenges ranging from the pandemic to the current political climate with innovative financial solutions that have propelled our community forward,” Carr says.
Under Cossette’s financial leadership, Concordia became the first Canadian university to issue a sustainable bond in 2019. That same year, along with Marc Gauthier, university treasurer and chief investment officer, Cossette, as fund president, began the drive to reorient the Concordia University Inter-generational Fund (then, the Concordia University Fund) toward its 100/0/10 goal — allocating 100 per cent of its investments in sustainable areas, ending investments in oil and gas, and ensuring 10 per cent of investments go to impact projects. In April, Concordia became the first university in Canada and potentially in North America to achieve such a target.
Carr points out that both initiatives, among others, encapsulate Cossette’s commitment to Concordia’s core values of sustainability, social justice and environmental responsibility. They also illustrate his talent for maintaining a principled approach when making operational decisions.
“Denis has been a wonderful colleague, always patient, optimistic and collaborative,” Carr says.
“With Anne Whitelaw, provost and vice-president academic, he has represented senior administration on all matters related to the university budget. Through townhalls and other events, he has proven adept at explaining complex fiscal issues to the community as openly and transparently as possible.
“Personally, I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have asked Denis for advice about impending decisions or relied on his capacity to propose elegant solutions for challenging situations; all of it offered without ego, with grace and good humour, and with wisdom.”
Denis also regularly gives back to the university. For many years, he has served as chair of the Leaders Committee during the university’s annual Centraide Campaign and has a relationship with that organization spanning four decades.
The university will soon launch a formal search for the next CFO.
“Once again, we appreciate Denis’s consideration and professionalism in providing sufficient notice to ensure a full transfer of knowledge and smooth transition to his successor,” Carr says.
“We will certainly take time to celebrate Denis and his accomplishments this fall. Until then, please join me in thanking Denis for everything he’s done over the past nine-plus years to help Concordia earn its place as one of the world’s best young universities and to lay a sturdy foundation for its continued success.”
