Nicole Dubé, marketing director, la Fédération des producteurs de lait du Québec, Longueuil, Que.

Milk has done Nicole Dubé good. Since joining la Fédération des producteurs de lait du Québec in 1984, she has racked up an impressive list of honours and awards for challenging how milk should be marketed. She has taken a mass approach to marketing the product – including, for example, partnering with young artists to create CDs – and in the end has proved it’s possible to turn a commodity into a sophisticated brand. It’s a vision that’s earned her the title of Quebec’s top marketer twice, in 1992 and 2001 from the Association Marketing de Montréal.

Before milk, Dubé helped launch pay TV in Quebec with Premier Choix, and had stints in marketing at some of the province’s best-known brands, including Jean Coutu and Pharmaprix.

Beyond the boardroom:

* She is past president of the Publicité Club de Montréal and is currently a mentor of the Association de agences des publicité du Québec.