The mission of Foundation “Le Sentier” is to ensure the sustainability of the operations of the organization of the same name, which offers transition support services to our Canadian military veterans. It also offers targeted support to research and to organizations directly related to our Veterans well-being.

Chair: Maj(ret) Charles de Kovachich, CD, B.Comm

Charles de Kovachich has been President of The Trail Foundation since October 2021. With a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from Concordia University, he has worked for over 30 years as an investment advisor and wealth manager for clients across Canada.

He served in the Canadian Forces with the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment (RCA) for over a decade, attaining the rank of Major. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the same unit from 2008 to 2015. He is also a member of the board of Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, a governor of Les Amis de la montagne, a non-profit organization that safeguards the heritage of Mount Royal, and was honorary president of the Mount Sinai Automobile Rally in 2012. He is a Director of the Montreal Artillery Association and the Westmount Battery, two organizations that support veterans and perpetuate the military heritage of the Montreal region.

He also sits on the Board of Maison Bieler and has been Vice-President of The Trail Foundation since its founding in 2018.

Vice-Chair: Lt. Col. (ret.) Daniel F. O’Connor, CD, rmc, AIC, LLB, BCL, MBA, B Eng.

Daniel O’Connor graduated from Kingston’s Royal Military College with a degree in electrical engineering. He also holds two law degrees (Civil Code and Common Law) and an MBA from McGill University. In addition to his private practice in commercial law and intellectual property, he has over 37 years’ service in the Canadian Armed Forces, both regular and reserve components. He became Commanding Officer of the Black Watch Regiment (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, and at the end of his command was invited to assume the role of Honorary Colonel.

In addition to his community and sports involvement, Mr. O’Connor has been involved in the cause of veterans’ support for over 20 years. He is a member and has served as President of the Quebec Branch and President of the Last Post Fund. Since 2002, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of Maison Biéler inc. and has served as Chairman of the Board since 2013. When Le Sentier was created in 2018, he accepted the presidency of its Board of Directors.

Secretary-treasurer: Brigadier-General Dan Chafaï, CD, lawyer, B.A.A.m Fisc.

Holder of a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Quebec in Montreal in 1996 and in law from the University of Sherbrooke in 1999, Mr. Dan Chafaï was admitted to the roll of the Quebec Bar in 2001. In 2003, he completed a master’s degree in taxation planning from the University of Sherbrooke. He also holds a Masters in Defense Studies from the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. He works on the South Shore of Montreal with his firm, which specializes in tax planning.

Mr Dan Chafaï also had a second career with the Canadian Armed Forces as an infantry officer for more than 35 years. During his service in the Canadian Army Reserve as a citizen-soldier, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

During his service and with the experience acquired during his deployment to the Middle East, he has witnessed firsthand the challenges that post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues are causing to his brothers and sisters in arms. He then decided to get involved in an organization that shares his concerns and his desire to help these soldiers and veterans in need.

Director: Russell Hiscock, B.MAth M.A. (economics), MBA (finance), CFA, CPA-CMA, ICD.D

Russell recently retired as President and CEO of CN’s Investment Division. The division manages some $18 billion in assets for the trusteed pension funds of Canadian National Railway, one of Canada’s largest corporate pension plans. The pension fund is primarily internally managed, and has significant exposure to investments in all asset classes of equities, fixed income, real return, real estate, infrastructure and private equity.

With a career spanning more than thirty years in institutional investment management, Russell has substantial first-hand knowledge of actively managing equity portfolios in both Canadian and international equity markets, as well as extensive private equity investment activity. Mr. Hiscock is also an experienced operating executive, having presided over the Fund’s real estate and oil & gas companies.

As CEO of the division, he was responsible for organizational and managerial leadership, strategic planning and human resources management. Russell has held numerous external positions on corporate and not-for-profit boards, including serving on several hospital foundation and industry association boards. He also sits on the Board of Governors of the University of Waterloo. He holds an Honours B.A. in Mathematics (1975) from the University of Waterloo, an M.A. (Economics) from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA (Finance) from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School. He holds CFA, CPA-CMA and ICD.D designations.

Russell is a member of the Board of Directors of Maison Bieler inc.

Administrator: Captain(Navy) (Ret.) Peter Langlais, OMM, CD

Peter Langlais is a graduate of McGill University (B.Comm.) who worked for over 30 years with SNC-LAVALIN. He has held several executive positions in project management, strategic management and operations at both national and international levels. He was responsible for major international hydroelectric infrastructure projects. In parallel with his civilian career, he served in the Royal Canadian Navy for 27 years, including 7 years as Commanding Officer of HMCS Donnacona (1978-1985).

Despite his demanding schedule, he was also involved with the National Fields of Honour, where he was provincial president (1991-1994) and national president (1994-1996). He has been Treasurer of The Trail since 2018. CapV (ret) Langlais is an Officer of the Ordre du mérite militaire.