For the last seven years, Michel has represented the Province of Québec on the Board of the National Association of Automobile Clubs of Canada (NAACC), the country's oldest such umbrella organization, speaking on behalf of vintage car clubs from all regions and provinces nation-wide.
He has been invited as Class Judge for various types of vehicles at signature events, among which: the Louisville Concours d'Elegance in Churchill Downs, Kentucky; the Concours d'Elegance at French Lick-West Baden, Indiana; the Elegance at Hershey, Pennsylvania; the Arizona Concours d'Elegance in Phoenix; the Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance in Florida; the Stan Hywet Concours in Akron, Ohio; and the Cobble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Ontario for which he also served as Special Advisor to the Chairman.
He has published many articles on a wide range of topics, including specific marques, individual collectors, as well as museums and events in Canada and the U.S. He is a regular contributor to Hagerty Classic Cars' weekly e-mag as Canadian correspondent; and in French, to Le Magazine de l'Auto Ancienne, Canada's oldest such publication (1974) based in the Montreal area. He has also written for The Skyline and Torque, both publications of the Classic Car Club of America, as well as the Packards International Magazine in Santa Ana, California, among others. He has done extensive research, writing and editorial work for the 52-page Cars & Jazz book produced for Mr. Nicola Bulgari, renowned collector of American automobiles both in Italy and the US.
As a former CEO of several major international foundations, Michel enjoys advising not-for-profit associations, foundations and Concours d'Elegance on growth strategies, including capital campaigns, fund-raising, branding, marketing, media relations and communications. He has studied extensively how automotive museums, both private and public, operate as organizational models. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the America on Wheels Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
In 2012, he was named “Personality of the Year” by the Club des Voitures Anciennes du Québec (or VAQ), Canada's largest antique car club, in recognition of his involvement in the antique car hobby across North America and quality of his writing in three languages: English, French and Italian.
He is also Executive Producer of the CARMA double album – A Musical Celebration of the American Automobile – with internationally renowned jazz/pop singer, composer, arranger and pianist Carol Welsman (11 recorded albums to date) of Los Angeles.
Michel's latest related mandate involves the creation of an international car museum in Montreal with the family and many friends world-wide of the late Gilles Villeneuve of Formula 1 fame. As Chief Executive Officer of this first-of-a-kind project in Canada, he sits of the Board of Directors of the Villeneuve Automotive Museum not-for-profit corporation chaired by Joann Villeneuve, Gilles' wife, with Vice-Chairs, daughter Melanie as well as son Jacques, also an F1 world champion, among other racing distinctions.
YEARS - 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013