CHL Leaders: Dominic Poulin enjoying new role in private equity business
A Bachelor of Commerce degree helped lay the groundwork for Dominic Poulin’s career as a private equity and real estate analyst with Desjardins.
The former QMJHL defenceman, who laced up for four seasons from 2010 to 2014, seeing stops with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Gatineau Olympiques, and Baie-Comeau Drakkar, attended McGill University after his days in the junior circuit to pursue an education while also skating for one more year with the varsity Redmen.
“I was at the end of my fourth season in the Q and I had to make a decision because I had an offer from McGill University to go and play hockey there and go to school. It was a great opportunity for me,” Poulin told Junior Hockey Magazine as part of its CHL Leaders segment. “I had to make a decision and focus on my career, and that’s what I did. I am happy where I am right now.”
In his current role, Poulin, a native of L’Ancienne Lorette, Que., is responsible for capital management, focusing on the pension plans of Desjardins’ 45,000 employees. Poulin works on the private equity side of the business, a position he enjoys, and one he is relatively new to as well, as he recently joined the company following a stint with industry competitor PwC Canada.
Poulin points to some key areas that helped forge his current career path, including the experiences he takes with him from his days in junior hockey and how they still help guide him today.
“I was fortunate enough to go to great schools, but I always say that hockey, and more specifically the Q, has brought me a lot at a personal and a collective level,” Poulin detailed. “It wasn’t always easy, both on and off the ice, but overall my experience has been a big contributor to what I do today and my success in the workforce.”
It was also the important life lessons that help guide Poulin in the working world today.
“This experience taught me so much in what I do today and helps me on a day-to-day basis in my job,” Poulin said. “I think the league is also putting a lot of effort into this and making it possible for the players, but at the end of the day, it is the players’ responsibilities to take ownership in what they want to do in life and what they want to become. That’s what I did, that’s what a lot of guys who I played with did, and still do today, so I think the CHL definitely brought me a lot in this aspect of my life.”
Listen to Dominic Poulin’s full interview with Junior Hockey Magazine here.
