Mississauga, June 1, 2026 – Bayer celebrates Jacqueline De Gagné, former Head of Law, Patents and Compliance (LPC) in Canada, on receiving the BLG Stephen Sigurdson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian General Counsel Awards (CGCA), presented by ZSA Legal Recruitment.
The award recognizes De Gagné’s more than 30-year career at Bayer, where she served as Chief Legal Officer and helped shape the company’s legal, compliance, and governance functions across Canada and internationally. Since joining Bayer in 1995, she aligned legal strategy with business outcomes across pharmaceuticals, radiology, consumer health, and crop science, always with people at the center of decision making.
“There's no one more passionate or caring about patients and farmers. She is the one person you can always call. No matter if it's day or night. She is a trusted partner, and I think we all just loved working with her so much. She really cares about the people.” — Viktoria Friedrich, Country President and General Manager, Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Canada.
De Gagné’s leadership was instrumental in guiding high stakes litigation, patent enforcement, class action defense, corporate governance, and compliance. Her global experience, including an international assignment at Bayer’s headquarters in Germany and later leading compliance for Bayer China, brought perspective that strengthened how Bayer serves Canadians and communities worldwide. She is widely recognized for integrating legal insight with commercial strategy and patient access considerations to support long term business outcomes.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, De Gagné is known as a trusted advisor, colleague, friend, and mentor. She built high trust, high performing teams where people felt supported and empowered to do their best work, championed collaborative decision making, and fostered a culture of listening, learning, and moving forward together. Her influence reaches beyond any job description, touching patients, farmers, consumers, and the communities she served.
“The greatest lesson I’ve learned through my career is that you’re not alone. You’re never alone,” said De Gagné. “There are always people to bounce things off, but even more importantly, learn from, listen to, pull from, gain support from. We can’t make decisions in a vacuum, and we should never do that.”
A graduate of the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, De Gagné holds a Master of Laws in Health Law and Intellectual Property from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Chartered Director designation from The Directors College. She is also a qualified patent agent and trademark agent, a rare combination of credentials that reflects her expertise across the full spectrum of legal, regulatory, and governance matters in the life sciences industry.
De Gagné is an active volunteer with the Alumnae Initiative for Women at the University of St. Michael’s College and the Friends of the Kelly Library, and she is a strong advocate for mentorship and reconciliation.
The Canadian General Counsel Awards are Canada’s national program dedicated exclusively to recognizing excellence within the in house counsel community. The Lifetime Achievement Award is one of the program’s highest honours, recognizing individuals whose careers have shaped legal practice, strengthened corporate governance, and inspired the next generation of legal leaders. De Gagné joins a distinguished group of past recipients, including John Laidlaw, KC (Irving Oil, 2025), Simon A. Fish (Bank of Montreal, 2024), and Gordon Currie (George Weston Limited, 2023).
Supporting Quotes
“Jacqueline helps us all appreciate and respect the contributions of people who have come before us and those who will come after. It’s made our purpose as an organization so special and gives us a responsibility to build something of value for the future Bayer community. Jacqueline’s vision is rare in the corporate world today, and part of her amazing legacy.”
Curtis Bunz, Head of Law, Bayer Canada.
“Jacqueline exemplifies the highest standards of Canada’s in‑house legal profession. Her leadership advanced corporate governance, elevated the role of strategic legal counsel, and set an example as mentor and role model for women in a demanding field merging law and science. Few have shaped the industry as meaningfully,” said Christopher Van Barr, Partner, Gowling WLG. ““It has been a tremendous pleasure, honour and privilege to work with Jacqueline over the years. I’ve learned from her that there is a Bayer way of doing things, which demands excellence and ethics, and to my mind was really Jacqueline’s way of doing things. Jacqueline always made you proud to be part of her team.”
“She allowed people to be accountable and gave them opportunities in perhaps the most unnerving of environments and just let them flourish.”
Andrew Mandlsohn, Legal Counsel, Law, Patents and Compliance, Bayer Canada.
“Jacqueline guided Bayer and, by extension, external counsel through high stakes, multi-year disputes, class actions, IP litigation across pharmaceutical crop science, and she delivered tremendous outcomes.”
Marina Sampson, Partner in Dispute Resolution, McCarthy Tetrault.
“Jacqueline is an exceptional lawyer, but more than that, she is a fearless leader, a passionate advocate, and an empowering mentor. She creates an environment where people feel challenged not only to do their best work but also feel trusted to take responsibility and to work on their own leadership,” said Yoo Jung Jung, Legal Counsel, Law, Patents and Compliance, Bayer Canada. “It's been truly, truly a privilege to work with her and learn from her, and we are so thrilled to see her being recognized for her lasting impact, not only on the organization, but also in the industry and in the legal field.”
About the Canadian General Counsel Awards
The Canadian General Counsel Awards (CGCA), presented by ZSA Legal Recruitment, are Canada’s premier national programme designed exclusively to recognize excellence in the in-house counsel community. Each year, the CGCA brings together leaders from across the legal profession to celebrate outstanding achievement, leadership and innovation among corporate counsel. The BLG Stephen Sigurdson Lifetime Achievement Award honours individuals who have demonstrated sustained excellence and made a lasting impact over the course of their careers.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. In line with its mission, “Health for all, Hunger for none,” the company’s products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2025, the Group employed around 88,000 people and had sales of 45.6 billion euros. R&D expenses amounted to 5.8 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.