#IC21 Speaker Spotlight: Laurent Duvernay‑Tardif, Offensive Lineman, Kansas City Chiefs and Canadian Medical Student
On Wednesday, June 9, Invest Canada ’21 is pleased to welcome featured speaker Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Offensive Lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs and Canadian Medical Student.
His meteoric rise has been so remarkable that the Kansas City Star called him “the most interesting man in the NFL.” And for good reason: not only does Laurent Duvernay-Tardif play for the Kansas City Chiefs, but he is also studying medicine at McGill University.
In May 2014, at the age of only 26, the Mont-Saint-Hilaire native became the 10th Canadian — and first Quebecker — to be drafted by an NFL team. In his second season in Kansas City, the six-foot-five-inch 330-pound player earned the position of right guard on the team. He finished his third season this winter. At 29, he was celebrating his first Super Bowl victory.
Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. He watched his team return to the Super Bowl a few months back while working as an attending physician in Quebec’s healthcare system.
Duvernay-Tardif will sit down with Novacap’s Jacques Foisy, his high school football coach, for a fireside chat about leading with purpose and the difficult decision he made not to play. Passionate about both football and medicine, Laurent turned a deaf ear when counselors and family members advised him to choose between sports and studies. And it proved to be the right choice! “It’s all about balance. Don’t give up on your passions!” he tells the young people he meets at the many talks he gives at schools.
As a result of his efforts on and off the field in 2020, he was named a co-winner of the Lou Marsh Award, given annually to Canada’s top athlete. He is the first active NFL player to hold a medical degree and has demonstrated foresight and maturity in thinking about life after football.
The session at Invest Canada will be just one of 18 content sessions at the conference following seven days of networking for the 600+ attendees. The conference also features a Masterclass and a complimentary wine tasting with a world-renowned winemaker.
You can view the agenda and register for Invest Canada here.
