Sara-Maude Poirier and Arnaud Bedrossian recognized for their academic excellence

The Governor General’s Academic Medal, the most prestigious award that students at a Canadian academic institution can receive, has been awarded to Sara-Maude Poirier and Arnaud Bedrossian.

It is worth noting that academic performance serves as the selection criterion across all levels of study, and it includes the following: CGPA, awards, scholarships and other distinctions, all academic achievements, and overall assessment of the file. There are two additional elements for graduate students: quality of the master’s thesis, doctoral thesis or supervised project, and excellent academic record.

Gold Medal 

Sara-Maude Poirier – PhD in Administration (Marketing)

Sara-Maude Poirier’s outstanding academic and scientific achievements have set her apart throughout her doctoral studies. She maintained an exceptional CGPA of 4.2 out of 4.3 and successfully defended her doctoral thesis in December 2025, which was accepted without any revisions and was granted the Best Doctoral Thesis Award for 2025. This is a testament to the remarkable rigor and quality of her work on recommendation agents, artificial intelligence and the protection of personal data.

Alongside her studies, Sara-Maude became a professor in 2024 at the Université du Québec à Montréal, where her teaching skills and ability to mobilize the student community have earned her plaudits. She also won the Award for Teaching Excellence for having taught courses at HEC Montréal in 2023. In addition to receiving the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Jean Chagnon Scholarship, which enabled her to conduct research at Oxford University, she has presented her work at leading international conferences.

She is a passionate researcher, valued collaborator, and an outstanding communicator and popularizer of knowledge, and has already published three non-thesis articles in renowned journals, including two as lead author.

Silver Medal

Arnaud Bedrossian – Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance)

Arnaud Bedrossian’s remarkable academic performance during his undergraduate studies earned him a CGPA of 4.16 out of 4.3 and he was ranked first in his specialization on the Honour Roll. Thanks to an academic excellence scholarship, he spent one year studying at Oxford University, where he achieved a First Class average, the highest distinction in the program. While serving as program ambassador during his stay, he also received over $200,000 in merit-based scholarships.  

Recognized for his intellectual rigor and exceptional analytical skills, Arnaud distinguished himself through his ability to delve deeply into complex concepts in finance, management and business valuation, while applying them to concrete issues related to financial markets and innovation. He also excelled during his internships in mergers and acquisitions and private equity.

He assumed several important leadership roles during his studies, notably as a founding partner of HEConomie and Oxford Varsity Fund, two student funds. He also represented Oxford University on its hockey team. His professionalism, collaborative spirit and commitment to his peers and various School committees further add to his high-potential trajectory.