To all the wonderful people along my path,

I wanted to take a moment to share my most heartfelt thanks to you for the important place you have had in my life.

I have had the great privilege of living a full and meaningful life, and it would seem that the time has now come for me to venture to the next chapter of my journey.

To my family, I love you very much and I am very proud of you. Please continue to shine your light in this world. Bring good at every occasion that you can. Even the smallest gesture can open the doors to goodness and bring hope. I am proud of you all, and now pass on the torch to you to continue our family legacy. I know you will do it with grace and kindness.

To my Otto’s family, the people that have helped build what I consider to be some of the most beautiful and successful companies in our wonderful country. Thank you for your passion, your dedication and your perseverance through the ups and downs of our 60-year history. It is the care that you have for your work and for each other, our partners, our clients and our community that has made all the difference and brought us success. What we do is important and we are making a positive difference in the world. Please always remember that!

To my dear friends and extended family here in Canada and in Switzerland, thank you for your love and for bringing the beauty of music, art, laughter and celebration into my life. You have brought me joy in so many ways and my heart is filled with gratitude for the sweet moments we have shared. Keep spreading the joy. Keep cherishing the blessings. There are many.

My life has been a great adventure. I have experienced what it is like to discover what I love, to learn different skills (skiing, golf, tennis, opera and the pure joy of driving beautiful cars), to meet people from different corners of the world, to fight for something I believe in, to build something that I am proud of, to help and support where I could, and to make the acquaintance of many beautiful and inspiring people every step of the way.

I have experienced the greatest joys and have also faced some great challenges and sorrows and through this I have come to appreciate that this is the beauty of life.

I was asked by my family what word of advice I would like to share and it is simply this: think positively. Had I realized how great an impact that could have on my life, I would have dedicated myself to mastering the art of thinking positively a long time ago. We always have a choice when faced with any situation: we can face it with fear, which will lead us to think negatively, or we can think positively and face it with hope. What if things turn out just the way they were meant to turn out and everyone wins?

This is to live La Vie en Rose. Life lived through rose-coloured glasses is inevitably more beautiful.

I wish you all well on your journeys. Thank you for making mine as full and rewarding and meaningful as a little girl from a small village in the north of Quebec could have ever dreamed of.

I will carry you all in my heart on this next stretch of my journey and will always be just a thought away.

God bless you all and be well.

Sincerely and with heartfelt gratitude,

Huguette Koller