She is also president of the board of Fondation du Musée maritime du Québec and leader of the Quebec working group on maritime decarbonization. Now she has one more title: winner of the Great Lakes/Seaway Review 2023 Impact! Award. The award recognizes outstanding women in shipping and is given annually in partnership with Women in Logistics to an outstanding woman based on her contributions to her company and/or the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway shipping industry.

Winners must also demonstrate a style of leadership that garners respect and action and have an attitude of sharing accomplishments with the staff around them. 

Leadership Philosophy 

Trépanier is a senior member of management at FedNav, which operates a fleet of about 120 bulk carriers trading worldwide and owns about 60 of them. The company employs about 300 office staff worldwide, including 195 in its Montreal headquarters, and has commercial offices in Charlotte, Hamburg, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore and Tokyo. 

With such a global undertaking, communication is obviously key, both within the organization and with the many outside sources with which FedNav interacts every day. That is where Trépanier comes in. Her job duties include maintaining close contact with stakeholders, governments and partners as well as communicating Fednav’s position on current issues in the marine industry and supervising internal and external communications. 

Her role in the various professional organizations is similar, again working closely with governments, associations, ports and customers. “My goal is to be informed of progress as well as problems,” she said. “I tend to help develop clear and unified positions in order to promote and position Fednav and the marine sector.” 

In all her roles, Trépanier’s philosophy is to begin with listening, to be aware of others’ needs and to work to develop consensus. “This experience has been and still is useful when I am involved in a working group or with partners,” she said. “I like collaboration and target consensus building approach.” 

Frank discussions mark her leadership style. “I like to consult my colleagues to make sure I adequately communicate with our stakeholders,” Trépanier said. “I like frank and honest exchanges in order to obtain efficient results.” 

Trépanier considers some of her greatest professional accomplishments to be those involved in raising public awareness of the role of shipping in their daily lives. She mentioned a public campaign she was part of while serving as president and chief executive officer of the St. Lawrence Economic Development council (SODES), a role she held from 2010 to 2019, before joining Fednav in January 2020. 

“At SODES, we worked extremely hard to promote the marine sector through a public campaign called ‘Brought to you by ship. My river, my provider,’” Trépanier said. “After two different rounds, a survey demonstrated that population was more informed, and this was based on accurate information.” 

Promoting the Industry 

Letters of nomination for the Impact! Award commonly mentioned how Trépanier has been able to unite the many maritime-sector stakeholders and rally them around key issues of strategic importance for the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes shipping industry. 

Building consensus and speaking in a unified voice is key, she said. “I often felt that we, as an industry, were not speaking with a unified voice externally. I know each company or association has some specific needs, but when we speak to governments , we have to express a common goal and vision. Without that, it is difficult to get support.” 

Over the years, Trépanier has also developed a passion for the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway. “I have been raised by the St. Lawrence River, and this amazing waterway has always been part of my life, even if I didn’t plan to work in the marine industry,” she said. “I studied literature at university, which doesn’t necessarily lead to marine! My passion for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway has developed more and more through the years when I got to learn how wonderful this industry is.  I firmly believe it needs our constant attention and support, taking into account its economic, environmental and strategic role.” 

That passion for the industry has led to specific tasks Trépanier has taken on, including helping to protect seafarers by shaping the guidelines for the shipping industry in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Like everybody, the pandemic hit us head on,” she said. “At Fednav, people are at the first rank in our priorities. Of course, we wanted to provide a safe environment to our seafarers. I was in close contact right at the beginning with the taskforce put in place by the Canadian government to manage the different issues related to COVID-19. Getting the vaccine, when it was available, was one big priority. We obtained some stock, distributed it on board as soon as possible and made sure to have the medical assistance to give the shots. COVID-19 tests were also of a great importance at the beginning. Through our agencies and with our fleet team, we were constantly making sure all the needed material was provided to assure a safe environment on board.” 

Trépanier has also been very involved in protecting the industry’s role in the economy. 

“Since I have worked in the marine sector for 25 years, I got the opportunity on many occasions to expose the major economic impact of the industry,” she said. “Of course, through those years, I have developed a good network within governments. When ministries are consulting for some projects, they now have the reflex to contact me to get an input. And since Fednav is a major player in the industry, I also get some calls to provide information on different initiatives. My goal is always to share accurate information to make sure that industry’s role is well understood.” 

Trépanier is quick to say the efforts are not hers alone. Instead, she is part of a bigger team working toward these efforts.
Looking ahead to future issues, she sees decarbonization as an important issue still to be tackled. Although decarbonization has many challenges, it must be done, she said. 

As women continue to be underrepresented in the shipping industry, Trépanier is also committed to encouraging the women around her. She spoke about what helped her succeed. 

“Often, I have been asked if it was difficult as a women to make my place,” she said. “I worked hard, made sure to collaborate and count on my brain, not on superficial aspects. Also, I am honest. When I don’t know something, I tell it, and then I add that I can learn.” 

She wanted to thank her mentors and guides along the way, including Captain Rosaire Desgagnés, whom she said was extremely generous when I started and was always there to answer her questions. 

Outside of work, Trépanier enjoys spending time with her daughter,  Évelyne, with whom she stays in close contact even though Évelyne has now left home for her studies. She also likes reading, walking and cooking and eating dinners with friends. 

Mario Girard, board chairman of the St. Lawrence Economic Development Council, is one of those who wrote a letter supporting Trépanier’s receipt of the Impact! Award. 

“Ms. Trépanier has consistently stood out for her leadership and ability to unite the many maritime-sector stakeholders and rally them around key issues of strategic importance for the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes shipping industry,” he wrote in his letter. “This was true throughout her 10 years as SODES president and CEO and continues to be true since she joined Fednav as director, external relations and communications. Ms. Trépanier continues to share her skills, experience and ideas to increase the maritime industry’s effectiveness and impact within our communities. Her efforts have significantly helped enhance public knowledge and perceptions of our sector. Ms. Trépanier has always been greatly appreciated by all of her collaborators and all Québec maritime community stakeholders.” 

Paul Pathy, president and CEO of FedNav Limited, added his praises as well. Pathy has known Trépanier for 10 years or more, meeting multiple times at industry events and functions. 

“ I really believe she has had an outsized impact on our industry,” he said. “She is extremely knowledgeable about the subject matter and the key players in industry and government. She is direct and convincing and very good at getting her point across and achieving her goals.” 

Those traits are important as she often needs to get government officials or other key stakeholders to see her point of view or find points of compromise or common interest when there is a disagreement, he said. “Her character, industry knowledge and ability to deal with people allows her to build bridges between people, companies and government,” he said. 

Pathy described her as passionate, knowledgeable and goal oriented. 

He added, “One way or another, she will find a way to get the job done.”