Louis-Éric Vallée, president and CEO of Saint-Jacques Vallée Young & Rubicam, passed away on March 25 after a battle with cancer.

After graduating from Université du Québec à Montréal in 1976, Vallée began his career with J. Walter Thompson, but left a year later to join Y&R Montreal. In 1995, he founded Saint-Jacques Vallee Young & Rubicam with Madeleine Saint-Jacques through a management buy-out of the agency.

Throughout his career, he worked with brands including Chanel Canada, Danone, Loto-Quebec, Kruger and Molson Coors.

The SVY&R homepage has been turned into a tribute to Vallée, and condolences have been posted on the agency’s Facebook page, many of them thanking the Quebec industry leader.