5 Questions for Jonathan Légaré

Every month, we bring you a profile of a leading ethics and compliance professional. This month, we would like to introduce you to Jonathan Légaré, founder, CEO and Managing Partner of VIDOCQ.

VIDOCQ is a highly respected Canadian provider of enterprise risk management and incident response services, specializing in financial crime, third-party checks, cybercrime, geopolitical risk, crisis management and regulatory compliance.

Earlier in his career, Jonathan honed his expertise in financial crime with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and led a group of investigators as part of the Charbonneau Commission. These days, he oversees VIDOCQ’s operations in New York, Montreal and Toronto, working quietly but effectively behind the scenes to serve an elite group of clients.

1. What drew you to a career in ethics and compliance?

I never really saw my career through an ethics and compliance lens. I’ve added it to my wheelhouse out of necessity, as I’ve been called upon to advise on issues related to corporate ethics. I actually consider risk management and compliance to be more of my thing.

2. Who or what has inspired you and influenced your career path?

My path has been shaped by a wide range of influences, rather than any one person or piece of writing. These days, I find people in the business world tend to gravitate toward gurus. They hang on every word of the latest TED Talk phenom or star podcaster to guide them in their careers.

Personally, I’ve come to the conclusion that I learn just as much, if not more, from the people I deal with every day — my inner circle, my co-workers, my clients — and the various things I listen to, watch or read. You need to treat all the new ideas and out-of-the-box thinking you run across with a balanced combination of curiosity, skepticism and open-mindedness.

3. What do you think are key considerations in ethics?

I keep a close eye on trends and patterns in corporate social responsibility. We may very well be coming to the end of the age where corporations were the purveyors of moral authority —and thank goodness for that! Today’s organizations definitely have a role to play in CSR, but painting them as the guardians of morality, in my humble opinion, is dangerous for society and risky for the companies themselves.

We have to be very careful to avoid falling into the trap of “purpose washing” and woke capitalism, both of which can be used to cover up practices that are less than ethical. Ethics has to come from a real, authentic place. It can’t be a marketing ploy. Even though that’s exactly what it sometimes becomes, unfortunately, both here at home and around the world.

4. What are the issues in ethics and compliance that keep you up at night?

The rising cost of ethics and compliance globally is particularly worrisome. Although it’s good that companies are being held more accountable, the growing number of obligations they face come with a price tag, and a hefty one at that. And nobody wants to pick up the bill.

The regulatory safety net is being cast wider onto areas like privacy, cybersecurity, money laundering, ethics and sustainability, and the holes in the net are getting smaller. There’s a cost to all of this, which ultimately undermines companies’ ability to remain competitive. Seeing that happen at the same time as these inflationary headwinds are blowing is something of a concern. It’s like we all want to go full steam ahead without paying any heed to the cost, as if we had endless resources at our disposal.

5. What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

To have a healthy sense of skepticism, to question everything, to take nothing as set in stone and to try to understand things – really understand them – before accepting them as an incontrovertible truth. With all the information swirling around out there and our attention spans dwindling, I have to think these are wise words indeed. I’m happy to pass them along because I’m afraid that people these days, both those working in ethics and compliance and those in the broader business world, are far too gullible.