Bio

MJ worked for more than 10 years in international business development, attracting foreign investments (FDI) to Montreal. She helped developed financing (venture capital) strategies and headed business development efforts in the US and Europe. She also joined the management team of a California-based biotechnology company that set-up operations in Montreal at the end of the 1990s. In 2003, she started her first consulting company, Nuno ID Inc, which offers turn-key FDI services for foreign companies and local economic development organizations.

MJ is an economist but lucky for you, she does not hold a Master or Doctorate in economics. She did a Bachelor (Université de Montréal) so just enough to keep an open mind and still be able to explain monetary policy to a 2 year old. In fact, when friends and professors at the faculty asked why she did not pursue her Master in economics, the obvious answer was that she did not want to become a “technician” and do statistical regressions for the rest of her life. Then she went on to do a Master in public administration at ÉNAP in Montréal (go figure!). She learned first hand how resilient bureaucracies can be. She also learned their lingo (they do talk in codes you know!).

In 2006, MJ read The Black Swan from author Nicolas Nassim Taleb and it was a turning point: now someone who understands and brilliantly exposes the major flaws in economic science and in the financial industry. That led her to the Austrian school of economics, the work at the great Mises Institute and studying the performance of other wealthy individuals and investment firms who work with this theory. It also saved her portfolio from the 2008 crisis and helped her see other opportunities going forward.

Now, Marie-Josée helps investors and business leaders understand and exploit changes present in business cycles (Austrian school). She enjoys keeping you informed on the big picture and helping you avoid the errors of the crowd. In her speaking engagements, she wishes to revive a sense of liberty and possibilities within individuals whose DNA is now infected with the entitlement mentality. Marie-Josée is frequently asked to comment on different economic issues in the media and has a column (FreedomTalk) in the magazine Canadian Money Saver. She is also Fellow at the Montreal Economic Institute – an independent free market think tank in Montreal.

MJ is an avid equestrian, passionate about classical dressage and has her own horse, the historical “Canadian” breed, which she keeps (20 feet from her office!) on an equestrian farm in Hudson, Quebec. She is fluent in both French and English.