* Michel Bissonnette has been named executive vp marketing and business development at Coscient Group.

Coscient president and ceo Guy Crevier says the nomination is intended ‘to accelerate the exploitation of our products and increase our Canadian and international presence. [Bissonnette’s] responsibilities include creating popular and innovative concepts, additional marketing opportunities, and developing spin-off products to generate additional revenues.’

Bissonnette is a former senior marketing exec with Group tva and Groupe Videotron, and former vp/managing director with ad agency Publicis-bcp. The appointment is effective April 12.

* Rose Mangone, vp of publicity and promotions for Alliance Atlantis Communications, has left the company.

Mangone joined Alliance in 1996 and prior to that worked with the National Film Board in Toronto for 25 years. She started her career in administration, moving on to finance, public relations and marketing.

Mangone says she in the midst of looking at her options and plans to resurface in the industry soon.

* Philippe Baylaucq was re-elected president of l’Association des Realisateurs et Realisatrices du Quebec at the association’s annual general meeting last month.

The new arrq board consists of Pierre Paiement, Lucie Fiset, Alain Jacques, Paul Crepeau, Stephan Joly, Roger Cantin, Bruno Carriere, Jeanne Crepeau, Baylaucq and Lucette Lupien, director-general. The arrq reps directors who work in the French-language audiovisual production sector.

* At Vancouver Television, Lynn Raineault is the newly named director of news and current affairs after three years with msnbc in New Jersey. Also, Ross Howard, formerly a Vancouver-based national correspondent with the Globe & Mail, is vtv’s new assignment desk editor, and local radio broadcaster Jason Lee moves into vtv’s sportscasting department.