HEC Montréal’s Pôle D partners with Léger to create LEO Decision
A virtual platform to survey business executives
May 13, 2025
HEC Montréal, in partnership with Léger, announces the launch of LEO Decision, an innovative virtual survey platform designed to facilitate data collection from business executives and other leaders from the business world.
Access to primary data on executives
LEO Decision has been created to address a crucial need: the collection of primary data directly from decision-makers, which is often a challenging and complex task. Until now, research teams and analysts had access to very little primary data directly from this segment of the population.
A little over a year ago, Pôle D (Top Executives and Strategic Management Hub), which focuses on issues related to the strategic challenges faced by executives, began building this platform with Léger, a marketing company renowned for its surveys and market research. The Hub invested and participated in its design. This has resulted in a unique tool in North America that will provide researchers at Pôle D with access to reliable and high-quality data to fuel their research.
“The work carried out by Pôle D has highlighted a paradox: the study of CEOs, despite their role, still relies largely on secondary data, due to a lack of direct access and suitable infrastructure. This panel is a game changer. Thanks to this partnership, we are paving the way for unprecedented fieldwork and providing our scholars and PhD students with optimal conditions for their research.”
Guy Girard, Jean-Marc Léger, Alaric Bourgoin and Caroline Aubé
“The launch of LEO Decision represents a major milestone for HEC Montréal and Léger. This innovative platform is poised to become an essential tool for research, businesses and even institutional settings.”
Not just a panel, but a community
Through this partnership, Léger is able to join forces with a major academic player whose research teams enjoy a solid reputation. It also allows the company to establish not only a panel of participants but also a virtual arena for the community of decision-makers. In fact, the platform will give members access to relevant data such as the findings of recent surveys, as well as tools and materials related to the issues affecting business leaders. The videos from Pôle D’s documentary series Atypique, on the qualities of leaders, are an example of the content that will be shared there.
“Our goal in contributing to the creation of LEO Decision was to provide the business community with a reliable platform built on methodological rigour and direct communication with decision-makers. It serves as a structuring tool for research, in addition to being a valuable source of strategic intelligence.”
LEO Decision currently has 16,000 participants in Canada and hopes to increase this figure to 40,000. These individuals range from leaders of small teams of less than 10 employees to CEOs and executives of large companies.
Executives who register on the platform receive incentives tailored to their needs, including exclusive insights from ongoing surveys. LEO Decision is also committed to limiting solicitations to a restricted number of surveys on topics agreed upon with them, while ensuring strict confidentiality regarding their participation.
“As an expert in public opinion and business trend analysis, I have always been convinced that the best decisions are made based on reliable data and collective intelligence. LEO Decision, in collaboration with HEC Montréal, is a unique platform that offers businesspeople, managers and decision-makers a safe space to share their opinions on strategic issues that affect their company and sector.
In a world where access to information is a lever for performance, their contribution is essential. I invite them to take part in the discussions shaping the future of business and to influence upcoming decisions by signing up for LEO Decision.”
So far, LEO Decision has conducted three public surveys on the subject of American tariffs. A joint survey with Pôle D on the personality traits of executives is also underway. Several other joint research-driven surveys are expected each year, in addition to public or private surveys conducted for Léger Marketing’s external clients.