Scientist and manager, Anne Légaré is leaving Optech.

Seen by her colleagues, she is rigorous, methodical, and caring. A strong personality, wrapped in great gentleness. This is Anne Légaré, the woman who led operations at Optech with an iron hand for more than ten years.

Women remain rare in physics (AIP, August 2013), and through her passion, Anne helped bring balance to this field. A graduate in Engineering Physics from Polytechnique Montréal, Anne continued her studies and earned a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. She pursued her work in the biomedical research sector by joining BioSyntech, a company specializing in the design and manufacture of biotherapeutic medical devices, as a project manager.

During her 10 years at BioSyntech, Anne honed her skills and carved out a leadership role. She climbed the ranks to become Director of Instrumentation, a key figure ensuring compliance with surgical precision. Later, Anne joined Optech in 2011. Initially, she was meant to be only passing through, providing temporary support to the small team. She signed a short-term, part-time contract — but it’s hard to do things halfway when you are a woman with such heart.

Over the next decade, Anne gave far more than what was expected. From the very beginning, she analyzed and identified Optech’s challenges and took charge of operations management. Optech was growing rapidly, but this expansion threatened the organization’s foundations. Security was needed. Security everywhere.

To establish a solid management structure, Anne worked tirelessly, building bridges between the finance team, project management, and Optech’s various partners. She made the establishment and enforcement of processes her personal mission. Her calm demeanor, intelligence, and dedication enabled her to achieve her goals and greatly contributed to giving Optech a stable and strong reputation — to the point of becoming recognized for its rigor, a quality that remains at the core of Optech today.

This summer, Anne is preparing to take her bow and leave Optech after guiding the organization through profound change — always with discretion and reassurance. This woman of quiet strength inspired her colleagues and brought the Optech team together around a shared goal: to grow soundly, on solid foundations.

Dear Anne, we can never thank you enough for being who you are. You can now gently begin new projects, find peace with your loved ones, rest easy, and savor the wonderful feeling of a duty accomplished — and far exceeded.