Management Team

A Computer Engineering graduate from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, Paul Raymond has more than 30 years of experience in the business world. Before becoming President and COO of Alithya in 2011 and then President and CEO in 2012, this visionary leader held several key senior management positions in a major IT firm and officer roles in the Canadian Armed Forces. In addition to overseeing Alithya’s organizational development and managing its accelerated growth, he promotes the company in Canada and internationally.

On behalf of Alithya, Mr. Raymond received the 2020 CEO Award presented by Investissement Québec, as well as the 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year Award from EY Québec in the IT category. Paul Raymond also sits on the Board of Directors of WSP Global, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, the Quebec Technology Association, and the Quebec chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He is also a sponsor of CyberCap, an organization whose mission is to support the next generation of digital technologies.

Claude Rousseau joined Alithya in 2015. With a solid professional background and proven leadership qualities, he has risen through the ranks to oversee all of Alithya’s operations in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Prior to joining Alithya, Mr. Rousseau held several key senior management positions during twenty-eight years of service with a national telecommunications giant. In the fall of 2008, he was named President of the Quebec Remparts hockey club.

From 2012 to 2015, he served as an advisor to the senior management team of another major telecommunications firm. He is recognized for tremendous expertise in managing the operations of large companies, and for his unifying abilities and business acumen. Mr. Rousseau holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Laval University.

Claude Thibault has more than twenty years of experience serving as CFO for a variety of companies, both private and publicly-traded. He joined Alithya in August 2018. Most recently, he served as CFO for a national engineering and industrial construction firm.  He has previously worked in a variety of sectors, including high-tech and multimedia, manufacturing, distribution, and the services industry, serving companies operating in both Canada and the United States. He has also worked in the investment banking sector, as well as in corporate financing and Mergers & Acquisitions. He has further applied his expertise and extensive knowledge of the financial markets to the service of numerous boards, and is both a Chartered Professional Accountant, with the Corporate Finance qualification (CPA, CA-CF), and a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV). Mr. Thibault holds a Bachelor’s degree in commerce from HEC Montréal, as well as a Master of Business Administration from McGill University.

As President of Alithya US, Russell Smith is responsible for all Alithya operations in the US market. Mr. Smith’s experience includes raising venture capital and deploying capital to drive growth and profitability, while increasing shareholder value. He also has experience leading business combinations and successfully managing the resulting integrations. In fact, he played an integral role in architecting and executing the business strategy that led to the company to being recognized as a leading Microsoft Dynamics partner.

Prior to working at Alithya, Mr. Smith was co-founder of a company that provided enterprise applications and consulting services to the manufacturing sector, and he also worked for large IT companies. Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Dany Paradis has more than 20 years of experience in the implementation of integrated management and accounting systems. As Senior Vice President, Dany leads Alithya's consulting and sales activities in Quebec, Canada. Her leadership also extends to Oracle practices in Canada, Business Intelligence, and Strategy and Operational Efficiency, as well as to Alithya’s strategic initiatives. Dany Paradis is responsible for Alithya’s global strategy concerning AWS practice, and she is also in charge of the Alithya Digital Solutions Center (ADSC).

Until 2016, Dany was co-president and responsible for the administration of the largest Oracle solutions integration company in Quebec, before an acquisition led to the integration of that company’s activities with those of Alithya. In addition to being a graduate of Laval University in Business Administration and Organizational Information Systems, Dany Paradis is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

Nigel Fonseca is a Chemical Engineering graduate from the University of Toronto and holds a P.ENG designation from the Professional Engineers of Ontario. Formerly the Chief Executive Officer of Systemware Innovation Corporation (SWI), Mr. Fonseca has a strong reputation for driving continuous results through his exceptional leadership skills, deep technical knowledge, and innovative thinking.

Prior to his appointment as CEO of SWI, he assumed the position of Vice President Engineering at SWI, where he successfully delivered on strategic projects around the globe in the energy and financial industries, while ensuring SWI’s adherence to sound IT and engineering practices. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Nuclear Association and has held the position of Vice President, Ontario and Western Canada at Alithya since April 2017.

John Scandar is Senior Vice President and oversees our Microsoft practice. John has more than 20 years of experience in the manufacturing enterprise software market, with an emphasis on leveraging IT investments to improve business success. He has extensive international experience, including sales team management and the establishment of new offices in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Canada. His experience also includes product management and positioning for enterprise software. In his career, he has been instrumental in the success of many mergers and acquisitions, as well as raising private equity and venture capital financing. Prior to being with Alithya, he held several key senior management positions for a few software and system integration companies. Mr. Scandar holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Concordia University in Montreal.

As Senior Vice President, Oracle Practice, US at Alithya, Mike Feldman’s leadership skills have been instrumental in assisting Alithya teams in implementing and optimizing ERP, EPM, and HCM solutions for some of Oracle’s most successful cloud transformations. After serving in key leadership positions with consulting firms including Andersen Consulting and Ernst & Young, Mike founded Travercent, a leading US-based Oracle Cloud-focused consulting group, initially focused on the healthcare sector, that was acquired by Alithya in December 2019.

Since obtaining his Bachelor of Business Administration and Master in Professional Accounting degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, Mike has acquired more than 25 years of software consulting and industry experience, helping clients build comprehensive solutions that produce measurable returns on investment. In his current role, Mike continues to extend his expertise to Alithya customers who are seeking to connect, transform, and grow their businesses.

Barry O’Donnell heads Alithya’s business unit responsible for providing to our customers transformative change enablement via our on-demand, subscription-based Adaptive Learning™ proprietary platform.

In 2022, Barry joined Alithya as Senior Vice President, Alithya-Vitalyst, after leading the acquired company for nearly five years as President and CEO, where he was instrumental in doubling the US-based company’s revenues during a period of progressive growth. Under Barry’s leadership, Vitalyst established itself as a leading provider of applications training solutions, while earning a Microsoft Solutions Partner designation for proficiency in modern work. As Senior Vice President, Alithya-Vitalyst, Barry continues to advance the legacy of the company’s outstanding achievements and is responsible for the development, direction, and management of the division’s revenue-based activities.

Prior to being named CEO of Vitalyst, Barry O’Donnell served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Account Management for the company, and his professional career in progressive sales and operations spans more than 20 years. Barry holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University, and later completed the Executive Program in Strategic Sales Management from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Away from the office, Barry previously served as a civic Committee Member for more than a decade in his hometown of Moorestown, NJ.

Michel Lacasse heads the business development teams in Canada. He is also responsible for the company's sales-related strategy, tools, and processes. With a bachelor's degree in business administration (BBA), and a CMC (Certified Management Consultant) certification, Mr. Lacasse has held a variety of positions in the information technology field for more than 35 years.

After working as a senior consultant for two international firms, Mr. Lacasse held management positions in companies in the value-added resale (VAR), software, manufacturing, and telecommunications sectors. In 2015, Michel Lacasse joined Askida as a partner and Vice President, Business Development, with his main responsibilities being the development of new markets and the growth of the company. Askida, with expertise in software quality assurance and advanced applications development, was acquired by Alithya in 2020, and Mr. Lacasse was subsequently promoted.

Mr. Lacasse is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Resources for Children with Diabetes Foundation. He also sits on the Board of Directors and the Advisory Committee of several Quebec companies working in the IT sector.

As Vice President, General Manager of Alithya France, Franck Benhamou is responsible for Alithya's operations in France in four offices: Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Sophia Antipolis, and Toulouse. A computer science graduate from the University of Nice, he has amassed a lengthy track record in the realm of IT services and development.

After holding key positions in large organizations and heading vast business units, Franck’s entrepreneurial spirit inspired him to establish his own company to provide IT services tailored to his clients’ needs. Mr. Benhamou joined Alithya in November 2003, following the acquisition of his firm by Alithya.

Lawyer and member of the Quebec Bar, Nathalie Forcier specializes in commercial law, securities law, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Alithya in 2018 as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Ms. Forcier worked successively for two cross-border listed multinationals, building a solid reputation for her work on strategic issues related to business law and corporate governance. Prior to holding executive positions in the legal services departments of major technology companies, Ms. Forcier was a partner at one of Canada's largest law firms. Her business acumen and extensive experience provide invaluable support to the execution of Alithya's organic growth strategy and acquisitions. Ms. Forcier holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Law from Laval University.

With a degree in computer engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada, Robert Lamarre has an extensive background in the technology sector, where he has worked since 1987. He specializes in acquisitions integration, managing real estate portfolios, and procurement. He joined Alithya in April 2016 as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer and is responsible for overseeing Alithya’s information technology operations, an area critical to the company’s strategy and growth.

Prior to joining Alithya, Mr. Lamarre spent much of his career working for an international technology company, where he rose through the ranks and held a number of executive positions, including Chief Operating Officer for the Northeastern Region of the United States.

Steeve Duchesne joined Alithya in 2020 following the acquisition of Askida, a firm specializing in software quality assurance and application development which he founded 22 years earlier.

A holder of a diploma in Information Technologies from Laval University, as well as a graduate education experience in Project Management from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi, Steeve Duchesne is passionate about entrepreneurship and is active in the community. In addition to his involvement in Quebec’s IT sector, he participates in numerous fundraisers and is invested in the next generation, a cause very dear to Alithya.